The Indiana Fever have hit form despite Caitlin Clark’s absence.
Despite the superstar guard missing four games through a groin injury, her team has gone 3-1 to lift the Commissioner’s Cup and move to 9-8 on the season.
The Fever play the Los Angeles Sparks on Saturday after snapping a 16-game winless streak against the Las Vegas Aces.
Clark has already been ruled out, but former WNBA coach Carolyn Peck thinks Indiana is a better team when the ball is being spread around.
“Indiana is even more dangerous when Caitlin Clark doesn’t play,” she said on ESPN’s SportsCenter. “Because she’s a ball-dominant guard.
“The ball is in her hands a lot, so you know what you need to try to take away. But when you look at Indiana now, they’ve got so many weapons.
“When you have a point guard like Kelsey Mitchell, and Aari McDonald making plays on the perimeter, and a post like Aliyah Boston, I’m gonna tell you: Indiana, they are a threat.
“And it’s specifically on the defensive end. Stephanie [White] is so pleased with the intensity that they’re bringing defensively with their length, their switches. They’ve wreaked havoc on their last two opponents.”
Fans were split in the comments, with some noting that the Fever’s form was hard to ignore and others branding Peck a ‘hater.’
“They play with more freedom without her. It is the reality,” wrote one.
“Indiana finally got their rhythm and will be even more dangerous when CC plays again,” added another.
Clark had been struggling from beyond the arc before her injury but is still managing 18.2 points per game — slightly down on her career average of 19.
The Fever have been outstanding on defenseGetty Clark and Reese both featured in last year’s All-Star gameCoach Stephanie White has done well without her talisman and may decide to change the game plan when she returns.
Clark has been a polarizing figure since turning pro and the recent All-Star voting highlighted the split.
The former Iowa standout won the fan vote to be crowned a team captain but was only No.3 for the media and her fellow pros judged her to be the ninth-best guard in the W.
Peck’s position on Clark also came under scrutiny in July 2024.
The Fever sensation was the clear favorite to be named Rookie of the Year but the ESPN analyst was banging the drum for college rival Angel Reese.
“This is a player who has come in and is putting up grown woman numbers,” said Peck at the time.
Clark ended up comfortably securing the nod after setting WNBA records for single-season assists, single-game assists, rookie scoring, and rookie 3-pointers.
She received another potential blow after the All-Star coaching staffs were set, with Team Clark being led by Minnesota Lynx head coach Cheryl Reeve.
Last year, the coach took to social media to voice her frustration with the WNBA’s television coverage, and appeared to claim the league was showing Clark favoritism with the number of games that featured Indiana.
She used the hashtags ’12teams’ and ‘theWismorethanoneplayer’ to make her point, and replied ‘that part’ when a fan suggested the WNBA only cared about promoting Clark.
Reeve was also head coach of the 2024 Team USA Olympic basketball team that did not include the Indiana guard, but denied having anything to do with the exclusion.
Tip-off is on July 19 at Gainbridge Fieldhouse.
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