Indiana wins by 24 without their franchise guard, and somehow we're still starting with the number Caitlin Clark just put in the record books. If you're just joining, Indiana's availability mess started with Clark's recurring back issue and Aliyah Boston's lower-leg concern. Then it turned into a depth problem serious enough to bring up hardship-contract questions. Clark was already day-to-day as Indiana got ready to host Los Angeles, so every practice report and lineup choice was under a microscope. This is the Indiana Fever Daily Podcast. Today — Mitchell's box score, a Sports Illustrated line about Clark that I've been dying to say, and Golden State crashing the top three. Cera, where do we start? Athlon Sports writes:
One of the players who stepped up the most, however, was Ty Harris. Head coach Stephanie White chose the veteran guard to start at point guard in place of Clark, and she delivered with a remarkable performance. Harris played 30 minutes, her most in a game this season, and recorded 16 points, five rebounds and three assists.
Ty Harris — 30 minutes, the most she's played all season, 16 points, five boards, and only two turnovers running the point in Clark's spot. That's the story from this win, and people are barely saying her name. And it's the right story. Mitchell goes nine-of-thirteen for 26, Boston adds 17, but Harris is why the halfcourt didn't wobble. Two turnovers as the emergency point guard against set defenses — that's control. We're talking about someone who played five games last year in Dallas because of a knee injury. Five. And she says her number got called and it went well. That's the quiet part of a Clark-less win that actually matters. Quick availability note — Clark missed the Sparks game and Tuesday's practice, and her status for the Aces is still up in the air. So this isn't a one-off; White may need Harris again. Robin Lundberg, writing in Sports Illustrated:
But a quick glance at some of the most basic statistics shows that she is doing just fine. In fact, Clark is currently carrying the best combined points and assists per game averages in WNBA history. Clark currently sits fourth in the league in scoring at 21.2 points per game. She is second in assists at 8.2 per contest. No WNBA player has ever averaged at least 20 points and 8 assists over the course of a season.
Okay, this is the number I've been sitting on all week. Twenty-one point two and eight point two — nobody in WNBA history has ever averaged twenty and eight over a full season, and she's doing it right now. And in June alone? 21.9 and 8.2. She's the only player ever to hit twenty and eight over a month, and per SI, she's done it five separate times. We've been stuck in the injury loop while she's quietly putting up the best points-and-assists pace this league has ever seen. Here's why it lands harder today, though — she just missed a game. When she's healthy, the level she's giving Indiana is historic. That's why the back-injury management matters. And it sharpens something uncomfortable. If her individual production is that good and Indiana's offense still sits seventh, you can see the gap cleanly when she's off the floor. From Clare Brennan at Sports Illustrated:
The Aces rebounded after their loss to the Liberty with wins over the Wings and Sky to end the week. Jackie Young notched 28 points and eight assists in Chicago, draining four of her six attempted three-pointers. She and A’ja Wilson combined for 58 of the Aces’ 107 points on Sunday, with Wilson gathering 15 rebounds to go along with her 30 points.
Golden State's officially in the top three now — three-and-oh, including a win over the Liberty. That's an expansion team already crashing the conversation Indiana keeps hovering around. And Mabrey's 53 is the headline hook, but look at the shooting line — 45.9% from the field, 40.3% from three, career-high 21.2 a night. That one-night explosion has a full season behind it. Right, and here's what I've been chewing on: the Fever won by 24 without Clark, and we're still not in this top three. So where's the gap? Can they close it, or is it real? It's real. Golden State's a top-three team by results right now — Indiana's chasing that, not sitting in it. That's the standings piece people keep skating past. If you're enjoying the Indiana Fever Daily Podcast, take a second to subscribe and leave a review wherever you're listening. It's a quick way to support the show, and it helps other Fever fans find us.
What we're watching next: Clark's status for Sunday's Fever-Aces game, the next availability checkpoint.
As always, we've got links to every story from today's show in the show notes. If one caught your ear, you can go deeper there.
That's Indiana Fever Daily Podcast for today. This is a Lantern Podcast.