Weve reached the halfway point of the WNBA season. Heavyweights have begun to separate themselves in the standings, and the bottom of the leaderboard is looking especially lonesome. Perhaps the most interesting group, however, is somewhere in the middle, where the Indiana Fever are situated among the ranks of the Las Vegas Aces, Washington Mystics and Golden State Valkyries.
Notably, that collection of teams does not include the Atlanta Dream, who enter Fridays tilt with the Fever at 12-7. Theyve topped Indiana in two out of three matchups this season, leading to what should be a thrilling series finale in front of a desperate Indiana crowd.
Venue: Gainbridge Fieldhouse Indianapolis
Time: 7:30 p.m. ET, Friday
TV: ION, WNBA League Pass
Streaming: Fubo (try for free)
Watching in person? Get tickets on StubHub.
At their peak, the Fever resemble a legitimate WNBA title contender. At their lowest? Well, look no further than what happened Wednesday at Gainbridge Fieldhouse. Golden States stout defense held Indiana to just 61 points on 30.9 percent shooting from the field, with Kelsey Mitchell contributing a team-high 12 points over 30 minutes. Clark was largely ineffective, recording 10 points, six assists, five rebounds and four turnovers.
Unfortunately for Clark, that performance wasnt exactly an outlier. Shes understandably struggled to stay consistent as shes battled various injuries, but Wednesdays outing marked her sixth game out of 10 shooting 36 percent or lower from the field. Shes also made just three of her last 28 3-point attempts.
The Fever obviously need to turn things around, but thats easier said than done against the Dream. Atlanta has been every bit as suffocating defensively as the Valkyries, albeit with plenty more polish on offense. Led by Allisha Gray and Rhyne Howard, this group limited Indiana to a season-low 58 points when they last met on June 10 (though Clark was sidelined for that one).
The Dream prioritize the perimeter, and they do it better than virtually any other team in the league. Atlanta ranks No. 1 in opponent 3-point makes (6.4) and attempts (19.8) per game and lands inside the top three in both categories on offense. Gray has been particularly efficient, sinking 41.6 percent of her looks from deep while averaging a career-high 19.4 points per game.
A loss would put the Fever in a difficult position with the All-Star break approaching. Indiana hosts Paige Bueckers and the surging Dallas Wings on Sunday before heading out of town for back-to-back meetings against the Connecticut Sun and New York Liberty early next week, marking the teams third and fourth games in four days.
Theres plenty of season left and plenty of time for Clark to get right but this upcoming stretch will set the tone for whats ahead.
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This article originally appeared in The Athletic.
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