Caitlin Clark showed exactly why she raises the ceiling of this team. Playing without Aliyah Boston against the Seattle Storm, they needed something extra. They got it from Clark, who dropped a career-high of 45 points and 10 assists. The performance also highlighted the need to have a suitable backup for Clark, who is already on a minute restriction due to back issues.
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And now, WNBA analyst Rosalina Lee has some thoughts about the pecking order.
“I do not like to see Raven Johnson run the offense,” Lee said in the latest video on her YouTube channel. “She does have a nice floater, I will say, but she’s too green. She’s not ready to run the offense. When you have Ty Harris [Tyasha Harris], she’s proven she’s a good backup point guard.”
For Lee, Johnson has not been the best orchestrator in the limited time so far. Coach Stephanie White has admitted in the past that she sees the offense running faster with Johnson on the floor. But her minutes have thinned out since, with Harris growing in prominence. That has largely been due to Harris’ performance. She dropped 5 points and 3 assists in 14 minutes against the Storm and followed it up with 11 points, 4 assists, and 2 rebounds against the Liberty. Harris now averages 4.5 points and 2.1 assists per game while shooting 28.6% from the three-point line.
In comparison, Johnson averages 4 points and 1.6 assists. In addition, Johnson averages 1 turnover per game, while Harris averages 0.7.
Harris has also played under White while in Connecticut. Also, Harris is a more reliable perimeter shooter, with her career 3-point percentage at 37.6%. Johnson, on the other hand, is still sharpening that side of her game and is a rookie.
Her stronger suit was the defensive contribution, which has not worked out as well as she might have hoped. For now, it seems Harris has earned the backup point guard role behind Caitlin Clark. She could still add some impact playing alongside a premier ball handler, but taking that role is still down the road. But early-season sparks showed that Raven Johnson still has the talent to get that place back.
For now, the Fever is proud of its 110-107 victory over the Seattle Storm. Interestingly, Clark became the first player in the league to record more than 40 points and 10 assists in a game. Plus, Clark and Kelsey Michell combined for 75 points in the game—a franchise record for the highest points by a Fever pair in a game.