"The HISTORIC ROY Battle" - ESPN breaks down Fever vs Sky: Caitlin will beat Angel Reese tonight

Caitlyn Clark and Angel ree meeting again tonight both so far making history in their rookie Seasons Clark has been on a heater since the return from the Olympic break she's in the top five in points threes and assists per game over that time and set the rookie three-point record against Connecticut on Wednesday despite the increased workload Clark has managed to increase her efficiency as well and she's the overwhelming favorite to win Rookie of the Year at minus 5,000 now not to outdone Angel Reese has a chance to stand alone in his free books tonight Reese has 22 double doubles tying Tina Charles for the most by a rookie in W NBA history Reese in the sky thus far surpassing expectations they had the lowest win total entering the season but currently hold the final playoff spot our WNBA reporter Alexa philipo joining us live from Chicago ahead of round four between Clark and Reese Alexa let's let's start with the road team in Clark not only has Caitlyn Clark thrived since the Olympic break but she's led the fever to four of five wins and they're pushing for the number six seed what are they saying about the team's recent string of success and their path forward well Christy sides the head coach of the fever was telling us that shoot around today that she's just really proud of how her team did not waver when they started one and eight on the season and because of that they're really seeing the fruits of all their hard work from earlier on till now and what we're seeing at the O past the Olympic break is that they've really been one of the hottest team teams in the league with that offense that's humming behind Caitlyn Clark as you were just describing then also Kelsey Mitchell playing some of her best basketball too but for chrisy side too it's not just about what they've done so far it's about the path forward as you were saying so for them that means defense you said that they're still spending about 75 to 80% of their practices on the defensive end of the floor and if you remember they were pretty much the worst defensive team in the league to start the season Jay and so for them Chrissy sides was saying they just need to get around seventh or eighth in the league in that kind of cat ategory and that will really be a good compliment to their redot offense and so Chris decides are saying hey look as long as we continue to have that mindset we're going to continue to grow we're going to continue to get better then the future will be bright in Indianapolis yeah they brought this thing a long way from the start of the Season uh let's talk about angel ree who's had who's played at an historic level all season long with the sky have fallen in five of their last six games what Chicago saying about their issues well Chicago's really been focused on late game execution because that's been an issue in the last three games in particular where they've lost by combined eight points St so that's really tough when you're fighting for a playoff spot and every game matters especially a game like tonight when you're playing against a fever team that's also trying to make it into the playoffs so for them they just want to make sure that they are focusing on the details especially down the stretch and close games and their defense in particular has to be on point Teresa weather spoon the head coach said they have to be disciplined on the that end of the floor they need to have great ball screen defense today against the fever in particular their helps side defense needs to be there as well and remember they're going to be without top scorer Kennedy Carter today this is the third game she's missed since the Olympic breake due to illness and so they have to be intentional they have to move the ball on offense and make sure that they're able to create those good looks that usually they're able to get with Kennedy on the floor but one of the consistent threads that we hear from Teresa Weatherspoon throughout this losing stretch is hey they don't have a towel to throw in and it's not over until they say it is Alexa Philippi live in Chicago ahead of the sky and fever tonight Alexa thank you they dropped that one to Dallas despite that 42o explosion and when you look at 40o games in WNBA history Wilson she might end up on top of this list by the end of the season she has three now only two players ahead of her Diana terazzi and Briana Stewart let's look at the Slate for tonight Ty Carter is here and we have five games in the WNBA tonight we're going to hit on some of them you're going to give us a player to watch for each team in each matchup and we'll start with the links they're five and0 since that Olympic break who are you looking for on that side of the ball and the Mercury who they're playing tonight the links look phenomenal right now like they're clicking on all cylinders but who I'm looking for in this matchup is nefisa clier and if there wasn't a woman in the league named Asia Wilson she would very much be I think in my opinion one of the Front Runners for MVP because nefisa CER is just that good with the way that she's Dynamic with the basketball in her hands she can score at will she's also finding her de her teammates and uh she's just kind of a do it all player with her size and relentlessness to get to the basket and finish and then on the other hand for the Phoenix Mercury we have Kia copper uh she's the second leading scorer in the WNBA right now and she's been able to do that with her willpower her athleticism and they're going to need her tonight and I think K's going to show up it's her birthday today so I wouldn't be surprised if she goes off for a career high or or anything of that matter but she played with nefisa CER on the USA team she's going up against her USA Coach so why not have a phenomenal game and on the other side you got copper that you're looking for as well from the Phoenix Mercury and as we move on to a game that I know a lot of people are going to be watching tonight Caitlyn Clark and the fever back in Action I feel like this is a measuring stick game against Connecticut because when when the fever started out they had three games in the first uh month or so against the Connecticut sun and the sun just destroyed them and DJ kingon was all over Caitlyn Clark what do you expect in this matchup well I'll say the positive thing about that we talk about how D Carrington she's a pesky Defender she gets after it she talks a lot of trash she's going to try to get in your head she's playing well and I think she's a person who you can look to to be uh in that most improved player conversation and I think she's kind of leading the charge when it comes to that based off for the way that she has been able to elevate herself but and she's going to try to do just that she gets the the call to go up against Caitlyn Clark but where we'll give Caitlyn Clark Grace and will account for her growth is each time she's played the Connecticut son she's gotten better with the ball in her hands and that very first match up on May 14th that was Caitlyn Clark's first game of her WBA career she had 10 turnovers now the second time that the sh excuse me the Indian a fever and Connecticut sunet she only had five turnovers their last meeting she only had three so it goes to show that she's handling the pressure a lot better so I agree with you Chris when you say that this is going to be a measuring stick type of game and then uh of course the the easy transition Caitlyn Clark in the fever to Angel Reese in the sky they have the last playoff spot right now but they're sliding hosting one of the teams chasing them the Washington Mystics facing Chicago Reese is not one of the players that you're spotlighting tonight who is it on Chicago side I'm going for Lindsay Lindsay Allen tonight and I really like her game because she just kind of gets in where she fits in with her role she's a starter but she's going to pick and choose her spots to get to while also getting her other teammates involved and I think she's been playing the unsung hero role for the Chicago Sky Team to be elevated and get going she plays defense as we see that block right right there but she's also been Relentless in her attack to get to the basket and deliver big buckets when need it so I really like her she's had backtack game scoring and double figures and then Kennedy Carter is out tonight due to health and safety protocols so therefore they're really going to need Allan to step up and then on the other side for the mystics we got Britney sites she's been falling she's had backto back 20o games they were able to knock off the storm who's a very good team right now a playoff team and Britney syy she's a competitor even though the mystics are eight and 22 that's not a reflection of who she is she wants to win and so that's why I think she's going to be that player to watch out for tonight because she's hungry yeah some of these teams at the bottom of the standings are are starting to pick off some of these teams at the top and what we have one versus last tonight the top team in the league versus the last place team the liberty and the Sparks late night in La who are the players you're circling in this one well we're going to go Brianna St for the New York Liberty uh she was struggling to find her shot coming off of the break and then when they faced the uh the sparks in that first game out of the break she was able to find her rhythm going three for four from Deep so this could be another chance for her to get back on track when it comes to knocking down the three ball at will it's been an area that she's struggling in all season long but she found success against them and they W the New York Liberty beat the Sparks by 30 points when they met coming off of that break in I could see that happening again tonight and then on the other hand I really love rakia Jackson for the LA Sparks now she's just a rookie but she is a rookie that gets after it and she's had to fill some big shoes with the second overall pick in Cameron Brink when she went out with that ACL um Ria Jackson has stepped up in a big way she's been a scorer she just had a 25o game and she's led the team in scoring in their last three contests so she understands what she has to do to try to get them going but now it's about getting some wins the Sparks are on an eight game losing streak all right Let's uh look ahead to the games tonight there are five of them Ty Carter giving us some players to watch tonight on each side the one game we didn't hit storm hosting the dream that's at 10 p.m. eastern time storm have uh sputtered a little bit of late in the [Music] dream [Music] for Fore speech [Music] look [Laughter] is come h [Music] look all [Music] up [Music] fore foree foreign speech look I'm is look [Music] somee get oh [Music] spe