Caitlin Clark, Aari McDonald figuring out how to make Fever better

But McDonald was more than useful during her time on a temporary deal. Her pace and intensity lifted the Fever on both ends. She deservedly became a starter. Indiana hated to lose her.

And they wanted her back. Once the Fever settled their situation with DeWanna Bonner, McDonald returned. She thought it was surreal to return somewhere she seemed to fit well and called coming back amazing — this time, on a more permanent basis.

As McDonald re-entered the picture, Clark was sidelined with a different injury. That sequence of events is what made this past week important for the Indiana Fever. Finally, after many missed chances, the circumstances made it possible for McDonald and Clark to play together.

“I think we can get [Clark] and our team different looks when that happens… look forward to exploring that a little more,” Fever head coach Stephanie White said of the two playing together. She was anticipating easing the on-ball pressure on Clark and having her be a part of a more balanced role.

The two are both naturally point guards. White was, and still is, facing the challenge of balancing their on and off ball reps when sharing the floor. And while their minutes together matter — a great deal, in many ways — having McDonald and Clark both available in the same game has stabilized their Fever’s rotation in a meaningful way.

McDonald is the perfect gap filler for the emerging Fever. Her pesky defense at the guard spot adds to every lineup she’s a part of. Her attention to detail and constantly-moving mind and body get her into open space on offense with and without the ball.

Those are valuable skills. But McDonald is a point guard. That’s Clark’s position. There were questions about how the two natural ball handlers would fit together.

“She’s as active as they come. She’s going to be aggressive, she’s going to pressure you,” Clark said of McDonald before being asked about their fit together. “I think it will be great… I think it’ll be nice to play with another point guard who can read the floor really well and get me to come off of a few screens rather than just playing out of ball screens.”

It’s not that either player can’t play with initiating guards. Kelsey Mitchell is an All-Star starting for the Fever and both McDonald and Clark have blended their strength’s with Mitchell’s level.

But McDonald and Clark overlapping with some of their best abilities was still going to be something new. Two instinctive initiators were going to have to figure out their place when playing together — and how to maximize a new-look rotation featuring both of them.

“With Caitlin and I playing with each other, we’re going to create more shots for ourselves and for others around us,” McDonald said. “Expect a lot of fast breaks and a lot of ball movement.” She thought the on and off-ball balance for the two guards would come easy.

White opted to start both players alongside Mitchell against the Golden State Valkyries early this week, though the head coach later admitted that was more about matchups. Still, it was a chance for the Fever to see the two dynamic guards on the floor together to open a game. Lexie Hull went to the bench.

For a few minutes, the Fever were zippy. Everything looked great. Then, a collapse. Golden State punched them in the mouth for three quarters in a 19-point Fever loss.

That day, the McDonald-Clark duo was a -8 when sharing the floor across 12 minutes. It wasn’t right, at least in the starting five. White later explained that the decision to have Hull come off the bench. “That was something specific to Golden State,” she said.

Three days later, McDonald went to the reserve group against the Atlanta Dream. That didn’t erase her minutes alongside Clark, though. Instead, it moved them and made them better — just as the Fever hoped.

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With 6:29 on the clock in the first quarter, McDonald entered the game. 17 seconds later, she scored. Later in the period, she and Clark had their first extended run of play together as a staggered duo, and the Fever won their combined minutes in that period. For the game, Indiana outscored Atlanta by 19 with the Clark-McDonald pairing on the floor in just 13 minutes. The Fever won by 17 in total.

That rotational shift was effective. Clark was better despite an off shooting night, dishing out nine assists while getting more on ball reps. McDonald worked around her, then led the second unit when Clark exited. She finished with three assists.

McDonald had six points that night. Clark, an All-Star again, finished with 12 in a win over a talented Dream team. It’s exactly the result the Indiana Fever wanted to see from the pairing.

“I think that just gives the defense another thing they have to plan for,” Clark said of playing with McDonald.

The big-picture outlook for the duo has been the nature of the Fever season. Players have been in and out for health reasons all years. Others have stopped by, then left. It’s been very start and stop. That hurts consistency.

It’s rare that a team is establishing chemistry and figuring out lineup synergy this late in the campaign — the Fever are nearly halfway done with games. But for Indiana, who had McDonald on a hardship deal and Clark in and out, finding that connection has been necessary. Those two have been terrific at various times throughout the season and are now tasked with being great together.

After several games apart, those excellent moments are overlapping. Through three games, the Fever are +5 with the duo on the floor, and they’ve gone 2-1 in those outings. And that’s after a dreadful first game.

Sunday, the Indiana Fever thumped the Dallas Wings for a second-straight win. The McDonald-Clark duo combined for 19 points and 19 assists. That’s the ball movement they hope to provide. As they have grown together, the team has too.

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