Caitlin Clark Making Big Impact on Pacers’ Tyrese Haliburton Amid Injury Rehab

“It sucks that she’s been hurt for as long as she has. But just for us to be able to communicate even in our recovery, we lift at the same time, so it’s just us two in the weight room,” Haliburton said of Clark. “We spend a lot of time together. It’s good to have each other to lean on in a time like right now.”

The Fever and Pacers share a home arena, Gainbridge Fieldhouse, and Clark and Haliburton have become cheerleaders for each other since Clark was selected with the No. 1 overall pick out of Iowa in 2024.

The 6-foot Clark, who finished fourth in MVP voting last year, has only been healthy for 13 of the Fever's 36 contests thanks to her various maladies, and it's unclear if she'll be able to return in time to rejoin fellow Indiana All-Stars Aliyah Boston and Kelsey Mitchell on the hardwood for a playoff push.

The Fever Are Fighting for Their Playoff Lives

The Fever are currently the No. 6 seed in the WNBA with a 19-17 record, but are just 1.5 games clear of the No. 9-seeded Los Angeles Sparks. Given that only the top eight seeds in the 13-team league will qualify for the playoffs, every game down the 44-game regular season's home stretch counts.

The WNBA's top five teams appear to have separated themselves from the rest of the pack. Last year's runner-up, the Napheesa Collier-led Minnesota Lynx, currently occupies the WNBA's No. 1 seed with a 29-7 record, 5.5 games clear of the 24-13 Atlanta Dream.

Three-time MVP center A'ja Wilson's Las Vegas Aces — who won two straight titles in 2022 and '23 — are riding high on a 10-game win streak and are currently just a half-game behind the Dream with a 24-14 record. The ascendant Phoenix Mercury (22-14) and defending champion New York Liberty (22-15), led by two-time MVP power forward Breanna Stewart, one-time MVP center Jonquel Jones and three-time All-WNBA point guard Sabrina Ionescu, round out the cream of the regular season crop, by record anyway.