WNBA Best Bets: Key Matchups and Caitlin Clark's Injury Update

SportsGrid

Watch WNBA Best Bets: Key Matchups and Caitlin Clark's Injury Update - SportsGrid on Dailymotion

Transcript

00:00DRS today a triple header Thursday in the WNBA and some marquee games that we will see unfold

00:07and it's an important time second half of the WNBA season now fully underway after the all-star

00:14break here are the three games on this Thursday the Connecticut Sun and the LA Sparks two teams

00:20not in playoff contention at this moment the Sparks six-point road favorite the big one

00:26that we hope was a little bit bigger the Indiana Fever at home a two and a half point dog back in

00:31Indianapolis against the Las Vegas Aces Caitlin Clark has already been ruled out now missing yet

00:38another game with that groin injury the Seattle Storm hefty favorite in Chicago DRS as we look

00:44at the standings and we look at everything that is happening right now in the WNBA of course

00:51it's a 44 game season it's the longest we have ever seen most teams have played more than 22

00:57at the all-star break and now beyond but still only the top eight of a 13 team league make the playoffs

01:05it makes your games that you're playing right now even more important in the fever aren't even 500

01:11against an Aces team starting to play better looking like the version we had seen in Sin City

01:16the last few years led by the reigning WNBA MVP in Asia Wilson yeah both of those teams have 12 wins

01:23so this is a really big game for the middle of those standings here and making the playoffs which

01:27we probably won't see Caitlin Clark by the way is there a prognosis do they have like a time like

01:31say back two to three weeks or we expect back for this game are we even hearing that yet from her team

01:36or no just taking it day by day day by day really DRS it's really been an update each and every time

01:42they go to the practice floor they ask Steph White the head coach in India and she basically says

01:47that that they're evaluating it they're working through it all that stuff but again the idea of

01:53soft tissue being first the groin or first the quad and now the groin not a great sign that Caitlin

01:58Clark is fully going to be probably ever healthy throughout the entirety of this season how many

02:04games do they play during the regular season because the fever 12 and 12 obviously that's 24 games

02:09it's a four so granted we have 20 which is fine there's 20 more games left to go even if she sits

02:14out 10 games and the fever don't even tread water but they're right around that playoff spot if she's

02:19back let's just say with 10 games to go you estimate they'll go worst case scenario six and four and

02:25probably get in the playoffs that's how you have to play it out and also as much as the WNBA players

02:30don't want to see the fever in the playoffs not because they're a good team because they don't want to

02:33see Caitlin Clark have any like you know national stature there the WNBA should be tilting the scales

02:38on their way for saying you know what they got to get in like like even if we have to limit the

02:43COVID like oh well some team's going to forfeit this week like no no no no just replay this game

02:48two weeks down the line so everybody's healthy and ready to go they need her in the playoffs but

02:52you can't afford the slow play at this point it's not a disaster if the season ends today they still

02:56be in the playoffs they're a decent team outside of Caitlin Clark but what good of the Indiana fever to

03:01themselves if Caitlin Clark comes back a little bit too early and she only plays at 70 percent of her

03:05capacity throughout the playoff run here rest her up you have plenty of time they'll probably take

03:09another loss today and I know it sucks losing basketball games but look at the bigger picture

03:14not the short term absolutely so DRS right now where things stand the aces have won three straight

03:20they're 12 in 11 that is the sixth best record in the WNBA again the top eight make the postseason

03:26the fever at an even 500 12 and 12 seventh best mark in the WNBA where things stand and the fever

03:33have a half game lead one more win currently than the Washington Mystics who sit in that eight spot

03:39at 11 and 12. Three of the 13 teams around the WNBA the Sun the Valkyries and our reigning champs

03:48the New York Liberty have played 22 games that is exactly the midway point of the WNBA campaign

03:55everybody else 23 games or more and again DRS on this three game win streak Asia Wilson's been going

04:02nuts for Las Vegas 34 and 16 37 and 10 before the all-star break first game and a big 15 point

04:09win at home against the Atlanta Dream who won last night in Phoenix against the Mercury who are the

04:15third best team in the W 24 and 12 for Asia Wilson in DRS it's an interesting perspective on the fever

04:23who made all these acquisitions and moves this offseason to bolster the roster around Caitlin Clark

04:29to not just be a good team or a playoff team but a true championship contender here are the odds for

04:36Indiana preseason plus 390 third best price behind the New York Liberty and the links the win total

04:43was 30 and a half it's going to take a Herculean effort to get there at this moment can they even

04:4819 of their final 20 game yeah that's what it would need right yeah that's going to be very difficult

04:55for them to do they did win the Commissioner's Cup which will have its advantages and Caitlin Clark

05:00entered the year as the favorite to win the MVP award it's availability why she hasn't been out

05:05dealing with the injuries what let's see what's the advantage they get from the Commissioner's Cup

05:11is there an advantage that they get in the playoffs or maybe a tiebreaker like what is that

05:16I don't know we'll look into that yeah like a nice thing on the resume they made more money because

05:27of it I don't know yeah but I don't know if it does have actual playoff or postseason incentive maybe

05:32we can look that up here for that Commissioner's Cup but as you can see Caitlin Clark two to one to

05:37win the WNBA WNBA MVP before the year that's a much larger price at this moment I'm not sure the

05:46championship contender but Donnie there will be that idea of what if for Indiana when Caitlin

05:53Clark returns if she is close to a hundred percent because we really haven't got a full picture of

05:59what this fever team looks like this season yeah exactly and you won't might not know when you get

06:05that camaraderie that you like to build up because you do have a lot of moving parts on that team that

06:09you figured would gel over the 40 games now having half of those games and still expected to gel once

06:14you get into the playoffs but it is a sprint here like there's it seems like it's a lot because you

06:18only play 24 games 20 or so on the horizon but before you know it we'll be in the playoffs and

06:23with Caitlin Clark is there they'll be in there but just a matter of is she going to be healthy does

06:27it matter like in the standings for yourself for the fever like no once you get to the playoffs that's

06:32all that matters the same thing we see in the NBA every single year hey look this team is injured

06:36this team's not playing well they might not even make the playoffs but being ranked here in the odds

06:40race as if they're a top four team because you know what the capabilities could be if they're

06:44healthy and make the playoffs that's what you're getting out of the fever right now also if the

06:49season ended today in Indiana was the seventh seed they would take all the reigning champs in the New

06:54York Liberty in that opening round that wouldn't be the easiest draw no benefit for the team in terms

07:00of performance incentives DRS we did just confirm for that Commissioner's Cup crowd

07:05this is a great job so we can be able to test that if any of those are the reasons they would be

07:11really like the lagoon what we're not one of the reasons they would see is we're being a

07:15team that's the manager not one of the the what weけど we think uh that's not one of the

07:21helpline is a team to take it again and the team is doing something I would make more like

07:25just if we don't have a team that's willing to come so we make more of the team to the lineup right

07:26so we're doing this one of the teams that we don't think about the team that we're doing so we're going to watch

07:31we're going to get more of the team all that we're going to be a great job so we're going to get the team and

Category

Transcript

Recommended