The Indiana Fever still have it. Even without their coach, Stephanie White, who missed the game due to personal reasons, and two key players, Sophie Cunningham and Caitlin Clark, they blew past the Chicago Sky 79-52 for their second consecutive win after a string of losses. Kelsey Mitchell led all scorers with 17 points, while the emergency recruit Aari McDonald chipped in with 12 points. The point of change and the good luck charm seems to be McDonald’s signing. Ever since she has come in, everyone on the Fever side has remembered how good they are!

On Saturday, Austin Kelly, an Indiana assistant coach, replaced White, and the trio of Kelly, Karima Christmas-Kelly, and Briann January (all assistant coaches) made sure the Fever would climb back to .500. And despite White and Clark’s absence, the team’s offense looked ready and efficient; The team recorded 14 assists on its first 20 made field goals. They also finished with 19 assists on 27 baskets and shot from 45.8 percent from the field and 40.7 percent from 3-point range. They look good, but McDonald’s presence was the highlight.

And Austin Kelly agrees! He said in the post-match press conference, “I mean, she’s taken full advantage of the opportunity and, you know, that’s, you know, we see it every year, players go down there on hardship contracts, and she definitely stayed ready. We all always talk about staying ready so you don’t have to get ready, and you know she’s the epitome of that; like, she has fully displayed that.”

McDonald’s season started on a disappointing note after she was cut by the Los Angeles Sparks. She was waiting in the wings, hoping for the phone to ring. And it did, as the Indiana Fever brought her in. She has since slid into the team like a glove, providing instant energy, defensive intensity, and a spark off the bench that has quickly made her an invaluable part of the rotation.

In the two games, McDonald has played more minutes than she normally does, with 25 minutes or more per game, while scoring 9.5 points, 3.5 assists, and 3.0 steals per game. McDonald has taken over the point guard duties with their starting guard, Caitlin Clark, still out with her injury. She has even compensated for the outside shooting from Caitlin Clark while shooting 0.364 from the outside, which is second best on the roster, only behind Lexie Hull. Her volume has been impressive too, as she has attempted 5.5 threes per game, only slightly less than Clark herself. 

Kelly further praised his new recruit, saying, “Couldn’t be more proud of her um, and how she’s kind of transitioned and you know, kind of taken us to another level you know and and allowed us to kind of continue to play the same way we want to play on both ends, even with the absences that we do have. So, a lot of credit to her.”

On defense, McDonald has been rock solid, holding her ground and injecting some much-needed grit into the Fever lineup. She has already drawn five offensive fouls in just two games, the second most on the team, showcasing her physical presence and awareness. Her arrival has brought stability to the squad, allowing others to focus on their roles without the added pressure of Clark’s absence. 

While she does not match Clark’s creativity, McDonald makes up for it in other areas and has even brought renewed attention to some gaps in Clark’s game, especially the last game before she got injured. Clark becomes the first player in WNBA history to have multiple career games with 10 or more turnovers after recording 10 in the game against the New York Liberty. The other game where she had that stat was her debut game against the Connecticut Sun. 

Her ball-handling troubles are well known, as she has averaged 5.0 turnovers per game this season. Even in the 2024 season, she fumbled the ball 5.6 times per game. Aari is on the other end of the spectrum in this aspect, as she has recorded just 1 turnover in two games. Her career turnover stats are just slightly worse, as she has averaged 1.7 turnovers per game. Possibly, the two can complement each other in the long run, with McDonald being more reserved and defensive while Clark is the expansive and creative machine she is. 

Candace Parker Highlights Areas for Caitlin Clark’s Improvement

While the whole league has been gushing over Caitlin Clark and her game so far, even she has parts of her game that she can improve upon. Clark herself knows that she has improved one significant aspect in the offseason—her build and physicality. While she is out with her quad injury, she has time to think over her game and just take a step back. Now a three-time WNBA champion, Candace Parker, has given her suggestion on how Clark could improve and even touched upon her higher-than-average turnovers so far. 

Parker said on Jemele Hill’s Spolitics podcast, “So I think just in terms for her, it’s going to be, ‘What are you doing without the ball in your hands?’ and I think it’s going to be taking care of the ball for [Clark]. Those two things,”

We have seen so far this season when Clark was on the court, the Fever were at their best when she was dictating the play. But it is not always going to be like that, the opponents are going to be ready and put more pressure on Clark, being the engine of the offense and figure out what her patterns are. So, she needs to bring the off-the-ball movement in her locker too to add even more variety to her game. Parker further mentioned that the turnover stat will improve as time goes on. 

She said, “I think all of us young turn the ball over. And especially when you’re the focal point of the entire defense, you’re gonna have more turnovers, you’re gonna have more live-ball situations. And the competitive element of you, you tend to take more chances early on.”

Clark plays a very bold brand of basketball, making very difficult passes and even more difficult shots. She knows she is just that good but taking more risky bets means you will inevitably fall on the wrong side sometimes. As she plays more and more games in the W, she will learn to measure her risks and recognize the patterns in her opponents too. 

The Fever have a tough decision ahead of them, as McDonald has impressed and time is ticking with Cunningham and Clark set to come back in the coming weeks. Either way, this is a better problem to have than their lack of depth in the position earlier. The fans are hoping she will stay but the Fever are saying, we will cross that bridge when we come to it.