Broadcasters praise to be better than ever in wings win as the damned Caitlin Clark statistics appear

For the Indiana fever it started to feel like a no-win situation. When Caitlin Clark plays, teams attack her defensively and spits the attack too late. When she sits, the score of a cliff and even Aliyah Boston – normally a rock – is not the same. They dropped a extractable game on the Valkyries with Clark. Then they collapsed without her against the sparks, despite the fact that Boston grabbed a Double-Double. So what exactly works for this team? Well, that was the threatening question that went to Dallas on Friday. And for once the answer did not follow the usual script.

The Indiana fever (8-8) took a strong 94-86 road victory on the Dallas wings on Friday evening and marked head coach Stephanie White’s 100th career victory. Indiana came burning, hit their first seven shots and built a 33–13 lead at the end of the first quarter. Kelsey Mitchell set the tone early with 10 points, while Aliyah Boston and Natasha Howard added important contributions. Dallas made a late push and briefly took the lead, but the defense of Indiana held with the piece to close it.

That burning start attracted everyone’s attention, including the employment cabin. While the fever dominated the first quarter, the commentators said, “Indiana, what a first quarter. They only missed two field targets!” The admiration only grew: “They were flawless in their execution … I thought they would come up with more energy, more effort. I have never seen the fever play like this … They came out much faster and Dallas has not recovered yet.” And then came the in advance: “This can simply be an example of what the defense of the play -off fever will look like – whether they have Caitlin or they don’t have a caitlin on the floor.”

The milestones also flowed in. Aari McDonald earned her first start with Indiana and delivered 13 points and 6 assists. The 33-point first quarter of the team was their highest of the season, and their 56 first half points bound for the fifth in franchise history. Mitchell dropped 32, expanded her double digits score streak to 16 games, the third fever player this season became a 30-point game and surpassed 500 career rebounds, making it the fourth fastest player in the history of WNBA to reach 4,000 points, 500 assists and 500 assists and 500. Natasha Howard placed her 51st career Double-Double with 15 points and 13 rebounds in her return to Dallas.

Early in the season, the Indiana Fever looked like a team that was ready to set the tone on defense. Due to their first five games, they held a top 3 defensive rating in the competition on 93.9-yes, Top three. Even with Caitlin Clark put aside as a result of a quad injury, the attack still buzzed in the top six. But that defensive wall burst against the then Windless Zon, which erupted 85 points in Gainbridge Fieldhouse-Alleen theirs at the second highest scoring match of the season. To make matters worse, Indiana ended that night with only eight active players after both Sydney Colson and Sophie left Cunningham injuries and eventually descended 85-83. Yet head coach Stephanie White remained clear in the eyes: “Especially the defensive end of the floor, we will be a work in progress”, She said before she stood opposite her former team.

Despite the bumps, it is potential there and it starts with Aliyah Boston and Lexie Hull. Boston, the second only for A’ja Wilson in blocked shots (chased hair with only 0.1 per game), anchores the paint with elite timing and basketball IQ. Add the perimeter of Hull and the fever have the basis of a defense that can cause serious problems. As White said “Offensing we had pieces of our rotation from the line -up … So we know that we will be in performance offensive.” But with this kind of defensive backbone, especially during injuries, Indiana knows exactly where to lean.

Skip Bayless weighs as Caitlin Clark fights with malaise, injury and heaven -high expectations

Caitlin Clark is officially in the most difficult shooting of her young Wnba career. After set fire to freedom for a career-high 32 points on 1 June-included a scorching 7-of-14 of-14, they look at everything she would be. She followed that by going 4-out-6 from deep against the Connecticut Sun. But then, the slump struck. During her last three games, Clark only went 1-from-23 from outside. That’s not an exaggeration –1 of 23. The sound has become louder and even one of her largest old supporters could not remain silent.

Skip BaylessWho sings Clark’s praise since her Iowa days, spoke her cold line on Friday. “I am enthusiastic and lyrical about her, but now I have to be honest,” Bayless said. “She is officially in a deep, deep three -point shooting malaise. It is the worst three -point shooting in the history of WNBA. She is more than three games, one for her last 23 out of three. It is just hard to watch.” And he supported it with numbers. Clark’s current three -point percentage is 29.5%and ranks its 55th under 61 qualified shooters in the competition. She is bound for the WNBA lead in assists per match (6.9), but also leads in turnover – 223 in total, five more than Angel Reese, who is second.

She has now also missed two consecutive games with a left lies injury – first against the Sparks on Thursday and again Friday evening versus Dallas. This is only a few weeks after returning a quad injury that sidelined her five games. Head coach Stephanie White spoke on Thursday evening about her status: “I think it’s a daily day with how she responds to the treatment … I stay in my lane and let our strength and conditioning and our athletic training staff do what they do best.” Bayless added, “It seems that great shooters do not go through this kind of long -term malaise … I am sure that some of the experienced stars who have criticized her are shrugging and say ‘you tell’, when they have to root for her to click out of her sinking.”

However, Clark’s impact on the fever and the competition cannot be denied in a malaise. In just two WNBA seasons, she had an average of 19.0 points, 8.5 assists and 5.6 rebounds over 49 games in the regular season. She has already been voted Rookie of the Year and selected for an all-star game. This piece may be difficult, but for a player who is already rewriting the record books, it is only one chapter in a much larger story.