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https://xcancel.com/TonyREast/status/2054723427123052701

Nekias Duncan Contributor

Thu, May 7, 2026 at 12:34 PM EDT·

Indiana Fever

Tale of the Tape: 24-20 (6th), 106.2 offensive rating (3rd), 101.8 defensive rating (7th), +4.5 net rating (4th)

The Big Number: 0.93

Much has been made about the publicly conveyed desire to give Caitlin Clark some off-ball reps. It’s a common-sense counter to the way teams defend her.

Clark has dealt with legitimate backcourt pressure — a defender picking up her beyond half-court while actually getting into her handle — 928 times since entering the league in 2024, per Second Spectrum. Not only is that tops in the league, but she’s also the only player above 900 reps — and that’s with her appearing in only 13 games last season.

Over the past two seasons, on possessions where Clark was on the floor but didn’t bring the ball up, the Fever generated 0.93 points per trip. That’s a fine number, slightly above the league average of 0.91 in that span, but certainly lower than when Clark did the honors (0.96).

During the preseason, the Fever generated over 1.4 points per trip on the possessions where Clark was on the floor but didn’t bring the ball up. Now, that is a wildly unsustainable number for several reasons, but the process we saw is what should excite people.

With Kelsey Mitchell, Raven Johnson, or even Aliyah Boston bringing the ball up the floor, Clark can be utilized in different ways. On a basic level, she could be afforded more spot-up opportunities. In terms of actual movement, we got to see Clark flying off of screens to either set up a touch:

Or to set a screen herself:

To the latter example, the Fever were experimenting with Boston initiating ball screens last season, so this isn’t exactly new. But if we see the volume jump, I can’t imagine defenses having much fun deciding on a coverage. Do you really want to switch a small onto Boston? Do you really want a big or even a forward trying to chase Clark around?

Also Important: 19%

The Fever made a noticeable leap defensively last year, going from one of the league’s worst units in 2024 (107.5 defensive rating, 11th of 12 teams) to a serviceable group last year (101.8, 7th).

A big part of that growth was their uptick in aggression. Their pick-up points were higher; bigs were at the level of screens more often; their off-ball physicality was arguably the toughest in the league to deal with. Because of this, they forced a lot of turnovers; opponents coughed it up on 19% of their possessions last season, the third-highest rate in the league.

It generally isn’t easy to replicate that high a figure as offenses (and spacing) across the league continue to get better. Luckily, the Fever have the personnel to maintain their concepts from last year; Johnson in particular should be a stocks (steals + blocks) monster for this group if the preseason is any indication.