Last season, the Dallas Wings might have been amongst the lowest standing teams in the WNBA. But their matchups against the Indiana Fever? Nothing short of high-gasoline fire. The energy for their series was introduced in the very first meeting in Arlington just a couple of days before the 2024 WNBA All-Star Week in Phoenix where despite the 101-93 loss, Caitlin Clark delivered a league record 19 assists in the game. This season, not much has changed.

The reigning ROTY did miss the very first game where Kelsey Mitchell’s 32 points held Wings off in the 94-86 win despite Paige Bueckers’ 27-point masterclass for Dallas. But this time around, the first overall pick will face the former first-overall pick. The only problem– Clark isn’t exactly back yet. The Des Moines native has had bad luck with injuries this season, already missing nine games: first due to the left quad strain then recently due to left groin injury. Still, the last time she did return against the New York Liberty, her performance gave them their first defeat of the season with a 32-point session. But this return hasn’t been as welcoming.

In the Valkyries 80-61 loss, she had already mentioned before the game that returning from recovery “has honestly been hard, I’m not gonna lie to you.” Yet, the point guard contributed 10/5/6 in 25 minutes. The pressure is exactly where the assists leader shows up her best. So, as she gets ready to meet her college nemesis Paige Bueckers for the first time in the professional world, even the league’s social media accounts are hoping to see some high-temperature flares. The atmosphere? Even the WNBA believes that smoke detectors might go off.

Clark might be going through a slump, owing to her back-to-back injuries and minute limitations. But her excellence isn’t something that can just get lost. And that’s exactly why the WNBA’s official Instagram account posted a reminder to the basketball world of what truly the generational talent Caitlin Clark is. Dropping a 30-second promo featuring Clark’s highlights from this season, the WNBA captioned the post, “Warning: If you see smoke, do not be alarmed. That’s just Caitlin Clark heating up. Tune in to Fever vs. Wings on July 13 at 1 pm/ET on ABC.”

In the montage, the clips boasted everything from Clark’s deep logo-3s, to her unpredictable passes, and her separation creating abilities. And in between were warning to the other 12 teams: “WARNING: The following footage contains a woman on fire… Nets will sizzle… Defenders will get burned… Game plans will go up in smoke… All attempts to contain Caitlin Clark will fail… Viewer discretion is advised… Welcome, to the W!”

The tone of the voiceover itself would tell you how serious things are going to get as the two first overall picks and faces of their respective franchises will go face-to-face once again, reminding us of their Hawkeyes-Huskies matchups throughout their NCAA careers. The two guards are also doing pretty good in the league despite being fresh faces still. Here’s their averages for the season:

Despite both playing the point, Caitlin Clark and Paige Bueckers bring strikingly different styles to the court. Clark, with her deep shooting range and high-volume playmaking, contrasts sharply with Bueckers’ smooth scoring and elite defensive instincts. The best part? The afternoon game set for July 13 will be played in the Gainbridge Fieldhouse that has seen overflowing crowd and electric environments since Clark has entered Indianapolis.

Their long-awaited showdown is set to be a blockbuster just like their first meeting par-Clark at the American Airlines Center, where over 20,000 fans packed the arena.

That previous matchup drew 1.14 million viewers on ION, even without Clark on the court. The game was just the eighth regular-season contest in WNBA history to break the 20,000-fan mark and the 10th overall. With both stars healthy, this could be the most electric WNBA matchup of the year. Clark already helped deliver the most-watched WNBA game in 25 years when the Fever faced the Chicago Sky on ABC, averaging 2.7 million viewers.

For now, the Fever have problems to solve and not much time to solve them as their next game against the Dream comes after just one day’s rest.

What Happened To Playing Fast-Paced Basketball?

“More than anything, we want to continue to be exactly what they are: a fun, fast-paced, up-tempo style of play.” This was one of the first things Stephanie White said after being announced as the Indiana Fever coach last year. The expectation was the same with their point guard being Caitlin Clark and the fact that the Fever were the second fastest team last year with 97.54 possessions per 40 minutes. They made important additions in the offseason with this perspective and playstyle in mind.

Despite Clark’s absence, the core philosophy should remain the same and not be dependent on one player. The fans initially thought this team would gel and then play that exciting brand of basketball, and we have even seen flashes of that this season. However, they have not consistently played like that despite Kelsey Mitchell still one of the leaders in quick downhill runs. The Fever are the 9th fastest team in the league with 95.27 possessions per 40 minutes and also the team with the second fewest assists, with only 63.75% points coming from assists. Clark’s absence has played a part, but there is no excuse for being this low at almost mid-season.

That problem becomes worse when it comes to Caitlin Clark. 74.6% of her points have come unassisted, which is virtually the worst in the league. While she is a ball-heavy point guard and is in the provider role the majority of the time, a good thing for the team, especially Aliyah Boston. This also shows that the team is not majorly designing plays around their best player. She has had to do the majority of the work herself. This could change from here on if McDonald and Clark click together, which they failed to do in the last game.

The popular opinion is that White is slowing the pace of this side, which was not the expectation. That is also hurting Clark, as the Fever is a much more balanced team when she is given the freedom to control the pace and tempo of the game. Clark was the train at Iowa playing under Lisa Bluder’s quick-tempo offense. She thrives in that style and brings her teammates to her level as well. There are no signs of a change in tactics moving forward, as calls for balance have increased with this loss. White has said that she will continue to have 2 primary ball handlers on the court to reduce pressure on Clark.

In a season where expectations were sky-high, the Fever now find themselves at a crossroads. Clark’s return should have been a spark, but instead, it’s exposing deeper issues within the team’s identity and execution. The team has unique challenges, but Clark has shown before that she can bounce back from such injuries and setbacks. She’ll be looking to remind star rookie Paige Bueckers who set the standard, when they meet in Sunday’s marquee showdown.