INDIANAPOLIS — Caitlin Clark would make any WNBA team better, but she is the perfect fit for what the Indiana Fever needs.

Clark, who is expected to be drafted No. 1 overall to the Fever in Monday's WNBA draft,  will very likely join the starting lineup for the Fever, pairing her with reigning Rookie of the Year center Aliyah Boston, third-year forward NaLyssa Smith, veteran forward Katie Lou Samuelson, and 2023 All-Star guard Kelsey Mitchell.

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At this point, Indiana has the frontcourt figured out. Boston and Smith are a dangerous duo in the paint, averaging 14.5 and 15.5 points per game, respectively. Especially with a year under Boston’s belt, she has learned to fight through the lane to get high-percentage shots. Samuelson is a veteran who can stretch the floor in both a guard and forward role.

In Clark, the Fever have found exactly what they need in the backcourt: a confident point guard who can run through traffic, direct plays and still score herself at a high volume.

Her biggest competition for the point guard starting role will be Erica Wheeler, who is in the final season of a two-year, near-max contract with the Fever. Wheeler, an All-Star in 2019, started at point guard last season, averaging 9.9 points and 5.0 assists per game.

But Wheeler isn’t a strong 3-point shooter — she shot just 2.4 3-pointers per game at a clip of 30.9%.

Something the Fever desperately missed last season was multiple consistent 3-point shooters. Kelsey Mitchell was the only player to attempt more than 100 3-pointers in the 40-game season, and she made 39.8% of her shots beyond the arc.

The Fever’s 3-point game was easy to guard, though, as opponents only needed to focus on Mitchell, who was the only person to shoot over 31% from beyond the arc — other than Boston, who only took 12 3s last season.

Adding Clark will help spread out the floor. With a 37.7 career shooting percentage behind the arc and countless flashy long-range 3s from her college career, WNBA veterans will make it a point to keep close to her defensively.

It still stands to be determined if coach Christie Sides will let her pull up from the logo in transition — Sides is a methodical coach, and most of her game plans do not include transition 3-pointers. But there also hasn’t been a player on the Fever’s roster that can consistently make those long 3s, so only time will tell to see if Sides will open up a different side of the playbook.

The Iowa guard’s extravagant post-entry passes, too, will open up a new set of plays for the second-year Fever coach, as the Iowa guard averaged 8.2 assists per game throughout her college career. Clark played a more traditional, back-to-the-basket post offense in her first three years at Iowa, and she easily dropped in no-look or behind-the-back passes to center Monika Czinano.

Sure, the WNBA is becoming more positionless each year, but Boston has the strength to not only catch those passes from Clark, but go up against the best centers in the league to get those passes through the hoop. Clark also got some more ‘positionless’ assist work in her final year at Iowa, as the Hawkeyes transitioned to more of a fluid offense with no true center.

With Clark the bonafide missing piece for Indiana, the Fever will have its most complete starting lineup since Tamika Catchings retired in 2016. It should be enough for the Fever to improve upon their 13-27 record from last season — and possibly make the playoffs, where Indiana hasn't been since 2016.

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: What Caitlin Clark will bring to Indiana Fever as WNBA top draft pick