Kyra Lambert played WNBA ball for a full five seconds across two games. After playing in Europe for years, she had finally received the opportunity to show her skills on the big stage. “This means everything,” Lambert had said. But fate had other plans as Sophie Cunningham’s season-ending MCL tear forced Fever to shuffle the roster yet again. And Lambert didn’t come out on the other side, as she was waived just five days into her seven-day hardship contract. The reason reported by this was that the Fever wanted an experienced guard to replace Sophie Cunningham and Caitlin Clark.

In came Shey Peddy, following a similar trajectory to her new teammate, Odyssey Sims. Like Sims, Peddy, too, played for the Los Angeles Sparks, on a rest-of-the-season hardship contract, before being released after six games. The veteran brings 8 years of WNBA experience, something the Fever sorely needs in the backcourt. In her first presser since penning the contract with the Fever, the 36-year-old pointed out a major difference between the Sparks and the Fever when it comes to preparation time.

When a reporter asked, “How much does it help that there is 4 days between games for them that you can actually practice and learn what’s going on?” Peddy replied, “Oh, it helps a lot. It helps a lot. When I joined LA, it was like right into the game. So, that’s kind of like unsettling, cuz you don’t feel confident. You want to go out there and just get your best performance. So, being in here getting these reps in is really helpful.”

When it came to her LA stint, she was signed on June 14 and was thrust right into a game against the league leaders Minnesota Lynx, on the same day. Although she didn’t start the game, she came off the bench for 7 minutes and had 3 points, 2 assists, and 1 rebound in her cameo appearance. The Sparks threw her in the deep end, and she did fairly well against the best team in the league.

Peddy went on to average 5.0 points,2.7 assists, and 3 rebounds in her 6 games with the Sparks. She started the other five games, putting in a solid shift for the Sparks in a time of dire need. But she has a lot more time before her first game for the Fever, allowing her to form some chemistry with her teammates and understand how Stephanie White’s system operates.

Shey Peddy out to steady the Caitlin Clark-less Fever

As reports suggested that Shey Peddy was brought in primarily to replace the experience of Sophie Cunningham in the backcourt, this was all but confirmed by Stephanie White in a recent presser. “I mean, [Cunningham’s injury] had a lot to do with it,” White said, explaining the Fever’s decision to sign Peddy and waiving Lambert. “Some stability, steadiness,” Peddy said when asked what she brings to this Fever team. “I’ve been called a steady Betty, so I feel like you know what you’re gonna get out of me.”

The Fever has had to change things up more often than not. Caitlin Clark has failed to find her rhythm due to her injuries. They found some consistency with their backcourt pairing of Aari McDonald and Sydney Colson, but they lost both to injuries in the same game. So, White switched to a system without a recognised point guard. Cunningham proved to be a reliable ball handler in that system, but now even she is out for the season. Talk about bad luck.

“Now we have to figure out how we’re going to play without Sophie, who can play in certain roles, substitution patterns, and what kind of wrinkles we can throw out there … It doesn’t get any easier,” White said on Tuesday. There are only 9 regular-season games left for the Fever, and Caitlin Clark doesn’t seem to be coming back for them. She had another minor setback recently, which could send her timeline back even further. 

So Peddy seems to be their backup point guard until the season ends, unless things change in the next few days. In her 122 games, she has averaged 5.9 points and 2.3 assists while averaging less than one turnover per game. The role of a midseason addition is one Peddy is used to. Hopefully for Fever fans, Peddy becomes the steady hand they need to lock down their place in the playoffs.