Aliyah

Boston

On a night when Caitlin Clark’s road struggles continued, Boston stepped up with the most productive night of her WNBA career. Recording her second 30-point game, Tuesday’s victory was the first in which Boston surpassed that mark. Over her last two outings, the third-year forward/center has scored 57 points on 25-of-37 shooting from the field. Just as important as the points are the shot attempts. Before Sunday’s loss to the Aces, Boston had not attempted 18 shots or more in a game since May 24 against the Liberty. While Clark may receive the mainstream attention, the Fever are at their best offensively when there’s a concerted effort to get Boston the ball in spots where she’s most effective early and often. Tuesday night, Aliyah’s effectiveness opened things up for others, helping Indiana compensate for Clark’s limited scoring.

Early in the game the Aces put two players on the ball which forced Clark to pass out of each double. As a result, she found Aliyah Boston for eight of her 10 assists. Clark dealt with the physicality of Jackie Young and the length of A’ja Wilson all afternoon, and as a result Clark didn’t have an efficient afternoon scoring the basketball. Only one of her 10 three-point attempts dropped. Most of her made field goals came from drives downhill to the basket and even one-on-one looks rather than on screening actions.

Boston took advantage of the Aces’ hedges on Caitlin Clark early by rolling hard to the basket on the pick-and-roll. 80 percent of Clark’s total assists turned into Boston scores which resulted in 16 of her total 26 points. Boston accounted for over 60 percent of the Fever’s total scoring in the first quarter. The Aces had trouble stopping Boston, especially when A’ja Wilson was switched onto a guard. Also, Boston continues to prove how well she can facilitate especially down the stretch of games. She found Kelsey Mitchell for a wide open three that tied the game at 69 with a little over five minutes left in the fourth quarter.

Thursday’s game was a tale of two halves for Boston. After a dominant first 20 minutes in which she accounted for 15 points, seven rebounds and three blocked shots, the Fever forward/center was rendered ineffective in the second half. Boston attempted just three shots in the second half, which should not be the case for a player of her caliber. While Golden State undoubtedly deserves credit for its defensive adjustments, including making life difficult for the guards entrusted with getting Boston the basketball, Indiana has to be better offensively. Boston and the Fever will look to bounce back when they visit the Aces on Sunday.

Besides Caitlin Clark, Boston was the Fever’s best playmaker on Saturday afternoon. Four of her six assists were kick outs to shooters. While Boston’s shots were highly contested and didn’t fall, she made sure to get on the boards and create extra possessions for her teammates. Boston was who set up a bunch of Kelsey Mitchell’s huge shots in the fourth quarter. Not only did Boston give Mitchell space to create on pick-and-roll actions with her screens, but Boston just had excellent awareness to keep the ball moving and get it to Mitchell, the fourth quarter’s hot hand.

Filling in for Jonquel Jones a second time, Sabally held her own defensively holding Aliyah Boston to an inefficient 4-for-10 from the field. The Liberty scout on the Fever included Sabrina Ionescu assisting Sabally, helping her double cover Boston. But on the offensive end, however, Sabally played her best in the first half and struggled to make shots in the second, mirroring the issues her team had on Saturday afternoon. In the first half, Sabally cut backdoor and scored on multiple looks at the basket. But then in the second half, Sabally had to deal with Boston’s single coverage and Sabally she took a couple of wide open threes that didn’t fall.

Hull was pesky on both sides of the ball on Saturday afternoon, making most of her threes, all of which were catch and shoot opportunities that came off of passes from Caitlin Clark or Aliyah Boston. Hull made effort plays, getting on the offensive glass and moving without the basketball. Defensively she had to try to contain Breanna Stewart which was a difficult assignment for a wing around four inches shorter than Stewart. Hull did her best, crowding Stewart and forcing her into difficult shots.

Clark’s return to play opened with a bang after being out for five games. With 1:30 left in the first quarter, Clark scored 9 points off three straight three-pointers in 47 total seconds to tie the game up at 24 apiece. Clark would hit three more three-pointers in the first half including a 31-foot step-back trey over the outstretched arms of Breanna Stewart. Half of those first half made threes were from over 30 feet deep. Clark’s second half was quieter on the scoring front, but she still found ways to impact the game. Six of her nine total assists all came in the second half, finding Kelsey Mitchell and Lexie Hull for open shots in addition to hitting Aliyah Boston cutting to the basket on the inside.

Clark will make her highly anticipated return to the Fever’s starting lineup to play against the still undefeated New York Liberty in a Commissioner’s Cup game. While Clark was out for five games, back-up point guard Sydney Colson started in her place. Clark said pregame that she won’t be on a minutes restriction.

The Dream kept Boston in check on Tuesday, forcing her into an inefficient shooting performance while holding her to below 10 points for the second time all season. Ironically, the third-year center’s only other single-digit scoring performance came earlier this season in a victory over the Dream, when she scored a season-low four points. The good news for Boston, and her fantasy managers, is that Indiana won’t face Atlanta again until July. In the meantime, her next opponent will be the Liberty on Saturday, which is a team she scored a season-high 27 points against back in May.