Indiana Fever star Caitlin Clark set to miss Sunday game due to…..
The Chicago Sky are still struggling to understand the Indiana Fever. The clubs may be tired of one another by the time they tip off on Sunday at Wintrust Arena. It will be their second meeting in eight days and their third in four weeks. The burden is on the Sky to repay the Fever for their two-game winning streak in their first home game of the season series.
It’s a tough challenge, the Clark one. Averaging 16.2 points and 6.2 assists per game, Caitlin Clark is competing with Angel Reese for the title of Rookie of the Year. The guard has been the focal point of the Fever’s winning run of four games, their first since 2015. And she’s the main reason why the sold-out crowd—whose courtside tickets were going for as much as $1,450 as of Saturday—is predicted to assemble on Sunday. Clark didn’t provide much of a threat in the first encounter, scoring 11 points on 4-for-11 shooting from the field on June 1. In the second game on Sunday, she scored 23 points and dished out nine assists, demonstrating a return to shooting form.
Although Clark’s spectacular scoring efforts aren’t the reason the Sky is losing these games, every defensive strategy against the Fever starts with the star guard. The Sky have experimented with switching up Clark’s 1-v-1 defensive assignment, but Sunday’s Chennedy Carter matchup is probably in the works.
The defense will concentrate on two things as a unit to slow Clark down: When she goes to the rim, take the ball out of her hands and avoid fouling her. Although Clark, who is 17th in the league in attempts made from the free-throw line, is still learning how to get there, she took six in her most recent game against the Sky. Another significant obstacle for the Sky in stopping Clark is her developing relationship with center Aliyah Boston, who has settled in after a rough beginning.
As the Fever struggled through a losing streak, Boston’s early-season troubles became a focus point. But this month, everything started to make sense. Over the past five games, Boston has averaged 18.4 points and 11.4 rebounds, including a game last weekend where they scored 19 points against the Sky. Furthermore, her and Clark’s relationship is finally starting to heat up and give the one-two punch that the Fever had been promised.
