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Has Caitlin Clark already clinched WNBA Rookie of the Year following win vs. Wings?
Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark could be a virtual lock to win Rookie of the Year after another outstanding showing against the Dallas Wings.
On Sunday, the Fever (17-16) beat the Wings (9-23), 100-93, to move one game above .500. Clark finished with 28 points, 12 assists and eight rebounds on 10-of-19 shooting. Meanwhile, fellow guard Kelsey Mitchell scored a season-high 36 points on 12-of-22 shooting.
The Indiana Fever's backcourt duo packed the one-two punch vs. the Dallas Wings
— WNBA (@WNBA) September 1, 2024
Mitchell: 36 PTS, 6 REB, 12-22 FG, 5-7 3PT
C. Clark: 28 PTS, 4 REB, 12 AST, 10-19 FG, 5-11 3PT#WelcometotheW pic.twitter.com/r2lY4IOZHB
Since returning from the Olympic break, the Fever are 6-1. According to StatMamba, Clark — the No. 1 overall pick of the 2024 WNBA Draft — has averaged 24.6 points per game, five rebounds per game and nine assists per game during this stretch. She has also shot 48% from the field, 39% from three and 92% from the foul line.
StatMamba adds that Clark needs 128 points and 41 assists over her last seven games to break the rookie scoring record and the league's assist record.
Caitlin Clark since the break:
— StatMamba (@StatMamba) September 1, 2024
24.6 PPG
5.0 RPG
9.0 APG
48/39/92%
6-1 W/L pic.twitter.com/I2lVKtT5sj
Caitlin Clark now needs to average 18.3 PPG & 5.9 APG over her remaining 7 games to:
— StatMamba (@StatMamba) September 1, 2024
• Break the rookie season PTS record
• Break the WNBA season AST record pic.twitter.com/MU8ovZWwlR
Through 32 games, Clark has averaged 18.4 PPG and 8.3 APG, so it wouldn't be surprising if she matches or surpasses these marks.
With Clark on the verge of breaking multiple records, expect her to pull away from Chicago Sky forward Angel Reese in the ROTY race. Per Tim Reynolds of the Associated Press, BetMGM recently listed Clark's odds of winning the award at -5000, meaning she's a heavy favorite.
Clark could help the Fever make their first playoff appearance since 2016, strengthening her ROTY case. Indiana is sixth in the WNBA, if it stays in this position, it will make the postseason.
More must-reads:
- Kelsey Mitchell’s season-high 36 points lead Fever over Wings
- Sky rookie Angel Reese sets pair of WNBA rebounding records
- The 'American League WAR leaders' quiz
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Slo-Mo Video of Sophie Cunningham's Flagrant Foul on Paige Bueckers Sparks Backlash
In a Tuesday night meeting at the Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, the Indiana Fever hosted the Dallas Wings, looking to advance to 19-14 on the year, and also looking to improve their record without Caitlin Clark to 11-9 on the year. With Clark dealing with a groin injury that has prevented her from playing since July 15, the Fever have relied on others to step up in her absence. One player who has been highly reliable with Clark on the mend is 28-year-old guard, Sophie Cunningham. The seven-year veteran spent the first six seasons of her career with the Phoenix Mercury before being traded to the Fever this offseason. Cunningham came into Tuesday's bout averaging 8.7 points, 3.7 rebounds and 1.0 steal per game on the year, but has seen an uptick in scoring over the past four games, averaging nearly 15 points per game. However, while Cunningham's scoring has been a plus for the Fever as of late, she finds herself at the center of controversy on Tuesday following a flagrant foul on Paige Bueckers. With 7:23 remaining in the first quarter, Cunningham attempted to contest a three-point attempt by the Wings' No. 1 overall pick, but ended up landing in Bueckers' landing space. After a review of the play, the foul was upgraded to a flagrant 1, and the video of the incident has fans perplexed. "That’s IT," questioned one fan. "In what world is that a flagrant on Sophie Cunningham," added another. "That foul from Sophie Cunningham wasn’t anything close to a flagrant, these officials love making it hard to enjoy watching hoops," wrote a third. Sophie Cunningham's Issues With WNBA Officiating WNBA officials have been widely criticized this season by a plethora of players, coaches and media members, but none seem to have more run-ins than Cunningham. She has been hit with flagrants or fines on multiple occasions this season: June 21: Fined $400 for altercation with Connecticut Sun's Jacy Sheldon. July 23: Fined $500 for TikTok where she @ WNBA refs and played Sabrina Carpenter's song "Manchild," indicating she was calling them "stupid," "slow" or "useless." August 5: Fined $1,500 for comments about WNBA officials on her podcast "Show Me Something." What's at Stake for Sophie Cunningham? While she wasn't ejected due to it being a flagrant 1, if she were to be assessed another, she'd be automatically ejected. In addition to posisbly being ejected, Cunningham also puts herself at risk for a possible suspension if she accumulates too many flagrants or technicals. With Clark banged up, and the Fever in the thick of the playoff race, they cannot afford to lose another key player.
Mock Trade Sends Suns' Dillon Brooks to Lakers for $66 Million Duo
The Phoenix Suns are set to enter next season with an almost completely different roster than what they had last season after making major changes to it this offseason. Of course, the Suns broke apart their star trio of Devin Booker, Keivn Durant and Bradley Beal as they traded Durant to the Houston Rockets and bought out Beal’s contract, allowing him to sign with the Los Angeles Clippers. Now Booker is the only remaining star from their big three and he is set to be the centerpiece of Phoenix’s future after they signed him to a massive contract extension this summer. For the Suns, they have done a solid job of building a younger roster as they landed Jalen Green, Dillon Brooks and Mark Williams via trades and also selected Khaman Maluach, Rasheer Fleming and Koby Brea in the 2025 draft. While the Suns have made some major moves this offseason, more could be on the way before the start of next season as multiple players continue to be in trade rumors. Suns predicted to send Dillon Brooks to Lakers With this in mind, SB Nations’ Jacob Rude recently released a mock trade that would see the Suns send Brooks to the Los Angeles Lakers for two players. In the trade, the Suns would send Brooks to the Lakers in exchange for Gabe Vincent and Maxi Kleber. This would be an interesting trade for both teams involved and one that does not make a ton of sense for the Suns to make. Of course, the Suns could look to trade Brooks at some point before next season’s trade deadline as they may try to add more young talent to their roster but to swap him for two veterans who struggled last season does not make a ton of sense for Phoenix. For the Lakers, adding Brooks to their roster would be a massive upgrade after losing Dorian Finney-Smith in free agency as the veteran forward would give them a solid scorer and great defender alongside Luka Doncic and LeBron James. Despite this, the Suns would likely want more in return in a potential trade for Brooks that would likely require Los Angeles to include draft capital and a young player. Because of this, it is highly unlikely that the Suns would consider this offer for Brooks, especially before he even suits up for their franchise.
Bryson DeChambeau divulges Scottie Scheffler's biggest advantage
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Cowboys Release New Depth Chart As 'Difficult Decisions' at Receiver Loom
The Dallas Cowboys receiver room right now is giving head coach Brian Schottenheimer and the personnel department a lot of headaches - but in a good way, if there is such a thing. Yes, CeeDee Lamb and George Pickens are top of the pile, but behind them, it is rather jumbled. KaVontae Turpin could easily be seen as the third receiver, so too Jalen Tolbert. But behind them are Jonathan Mingo, Jalen Brooks, Ryan Flournoy, and Traeshon Holden. Will the Cowboys carry five receivers? Or six? Either way, players are going to miss out and might even land on the practice squad. You can see the crowd in the new depth chart released on Tuesday ... And for offensive coordinator Klayton Adams, he is loving the competition. ... at receiver (and beyond) ... “It's been fun to watch that group," Adams said. "That's really what you're trying to build in every room is a lot of really difficult decisions for the personnel guys and the coaching staff and incredible amounts of competition. So that being what we want this team and organization to be 100% about is competition, that's our calling card, is what the receiving room is doing right now, and making it very difficult for people to figure out who's going to be what number, whatever. I love it, I think it's great." For most, it is Turpin and Tolbert occupying the third and fourth receiver spot (in any order), with Mingo and then possibly Brooks making up the group as part of special teams. Still, that will mean Flournoy and Holden will be the ones to miss out, which is why the next two weeks of practice and the preseason games are going to be vital to the final outcome of the room. Who will see their stock rise and who will fall? Schottenheimer wanted competition, and when it comes to the receiver room, boy, he got it.
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