INDIANAPOLIS — Aari McDonald has not been with the Indiana Fever for a very long time. Even still, she’s quickly gained a two-word reputation among her teammates and coaches.
Gym rat.
After practice, she’s regularly the last one to leave the court after getting up more shots. At night, she walks with her husband to the gym to get up even more shots. And when she’s not in the gym, she’s studying film, whether it’s opposing teams or figuring out how to get the best out of her own teammates.
It’s that level of preparation that led to Wednesday, when McDonald poured in a career-high 27 points, leading the Fever to a third consecutive victory with a 107-101 win over the Mercury.
“My teammates,” McDonald said, “they’ve been talking like, ‘Hey, 2, keep shooting.’ So I think tonight I was really like, ‘OK, like this is my time to shine.’”
The Phoenix defense, focused on limiting a red-hot Kelsey Mitchell and fellow All-Star Aliyah Boston, gave up a lot to McDonald. She lived in the paint on the night with seven of her 11 field goal attempts coming at the rim. McDonald also drew a host of fouls, converting on all 10 of her free throw attempts.
Every point was vital for the Fever as Mitchell, who entered the game fresh off a 35-point outing against the Sky, was limited to a season-low eight points. Boston, meanwhile, had just five points through the opening three quarters.
Still, the Fever led entering the fourth behind McDonald, who scored 23 points through the opening three frames. In the fourth, Boston came alive, scoring 17 points to help Indiana to a third straight win, matching their longest win streak in an up-and-down season.
“She’s been huge,” head coach Stephanie White said. “Aari gives us another player who can get downhill. Her speed was on full display today….The ability to have a player who can get downhill on days when – Kelsey hadn’t had very many days where she hadn’t been able to make her way to the rim – but on days like today when there’s one of them, you got another player who can create for herself and others.”
A seamless fit with the Fever
When the Fever broke training camp in early May, McDonald was not on the roster. In fact, she wasn’t on any WNBA roster, having been cut from the Sparks during the preseason.
Undeterred, McDonald stayed in the gym and bided her time, waiting for an opportunity to knock. When Clark went down with a knee injury early in the year, McDonald joined the Fever via an emergency hardship exemption, giving her a limited time to make an impact.
It only took one game as McDonald stepped in against the Mystics and stood out from the jump, helping the Fever snap a losing skid at the time. By rule, though, her initial stint in Indiana was short-lived as, once the team got healthy again, McDonald could no longer remain on the roster.
However, after the Fever parted ways with DeWanna Bonner, a roster spot and — more importantly — cap room became available, and the team nearly immediately signed McDonald. In her second game back, she moved into the starting lineup, a sign of how quickly she’s gelled with the roster.
“Aari’s a point guard. She’s got a point guard mentality,” White said. “She came in knowing more than half of our offensive sets.”
The only time McDonald has exited the starting lineup since then was when Clark briefly returned from injury. Aside from that three-game stretch, McDonald has started the last nine games for the Fever, averaging 25.8 minutes per contest.
She’s been productive as well, scoring 8.8 points and dishing 5 assists per night to go along with 1.3 steals per contest. So far this season, the Fever have been nearly four points better offensively per 100 possessions with McDonald on the floor versus off.
Maybe most importantly, her speed also allows the team to continue to play fast, a trademark aspect of their offense with Clark healthy and one that’s been hard to replicate otherwise.
And, again, all of this comes with McDonald joining the team mid-season on multiple occasions. That she’s fit so seamlessly for the Fever has been a huge bonus for a team that has now played over half the season with Clark sidelined.
“I would say being a student of the game,” McDonald said of how she’s fit so seamlessly. “Always watching the film, asking questions and just knowing where my teammates like the ball and figuring out ways for them to be successful on the court.
“Everyone is encouraging me, so it’s just I have to believe. So, I mean just staying in the gym, staying locked in and just staying aggressive, that’s been the key for me.”
Pushing for postseason positioning
Both by design and by necessity, the Fever have had to move on from wondering when Clark would rejoin the roster. After spending much of the first half of the season in limbo, waiting for their superstar point guard to return, the Fever have now refocused on the present.
After opening the second half of the season with a loss that dropped them to .500, the Fever were firmly in a battle to even secure a playoff spot. That made knocking off the Mercury, currently the No. 3 seed, all the bigger a win on Wednesday.
Now, after their win streak, the Fever are in the sixth seed. Still, two games are all that separate their current spot and being out of the postseason altogether. By that same token, though, 2.5 games separate them and the suddenly vulnerable Liberty for the No. 2 seed, too.
With just over a month remaining in the season then, nearly every game is going to be of importance for a Fever team fighting to not just make the playoffs, but move up the standings.
Whether it’s a game with a team just above them in the standings, like Wednesday’s against Phoenix, or a team just below them in the standings, like their win over the Aces to kickstart the current win streak, the home stretch of the season will see them scratching and claw for their spot in the playoffs.
Fortunately for them, they have someone in McDonald who has plenty of experience doing just that.
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