Lexie Hull's Impact

Rather than roll out a click bait article on whether past and current players are embracing the force that is Caitlin Clark, and the immeasurable impact she has had on women’s basketball, I am going to stick to my roots—looking at film—and talk about how Lexie Hull has helped turn around the Indiana Fever’s season. Indiana started 1-8 but has gone 8-3 since the All-Star break.

If you have watched the Fever play over the last two years, then you know that Hull has not always been a proficient markswoman at the WNBA level. In fact, she has been so inefficient on the offensive end of the floor over that span, one could argue she was playing for her WNBA life this season. Hull’s turnaround could not have come at a better time for herself and Indiana as this is also the final year of the 3-year contract she signed as a rookie. It is now likely that the team will pick up her option. Let us take a look as to why that will likely be the case.

The Fever recently compiled all 32 three-pointers that Hull has hit this season thus far (as of 9/9/24). We can take it another step further to pull together her shot chart data:

Left Corner – 10

Right Corner – 8

Left Wing – 6

Right Wing – 8

For those who have watched Indiana closely this year, this confirms that Hull is a catch-and-shoot specialist with a little mix of movement shooting that is particularly effective as an outlet for Clark and Aliyah Boston. Of her 32 triples, 19 were assisted by Clark or Boston, and an additional four stemmed from ball screen actions initially involving those two. So, 71.9% of Hull’s makes from beyond the arc involved them in some capacity with a majority having direct involvement.

I do want to touch on some of the movement shooting examples as I think that is a natural extension to her catch-and-shoot ability. At the beginning of the 2:03, 4:03, 4:12, and 5:14 marks Hull works in tandem with Boston on “Get Action”—when a player throws a pass to a teammate and immediately follows that pass to get the ball back, usually from a handoff. The significance of this is that these are designed actions for her. Currently, the scouting report on Hull is that you do not want to leave her. By sprinkling these in during the game and potentially over the course of a playoff series, now you are asking her defender to chase her in a ball screen situation every now and then.

While I do not want to get too far ahead of myself, a natural extension to this could feature some cutting actions before receiving the handoff for a chance at a layup with at least two of the weak side help defenders glued to Clark and Kelsey Mitchell. But even without that, Hull becoming a reliable outside shooter has helped keep her in the starting lineup over the Fever’s last six games, but her defense is going to keep her on the floor regardless.

Consistently tasked with defending the opposing team’s best wing player, she is also not shy about stepping in to draw an offensive foul. On the flip side, Hull is averaging 3.5 personal fouls per game over her last six games, fouling out against the Minnesota Lynx, which is somewhat concerning if that trend continues.

Securing extra possessions is another way that she impacts the game and earns playing time. Hull leads all guards on Indiana in offensive rebounds per game despite playing less than half the game (18.5 minutes per game). She must continue to make an impact without having the ball in her hands because it is going to be in Clark’s hands a majority of the time and for obvious reasons. Boston is going to get her fair share of touches and Mitchell will continue to be the scoring engine the Fever need her to be.

I do not like getting cute with labels, but Hull may very well be the glue on this team. Her defensive impact and ability to secure extra possessions has always been valued, but her scorching hot three-point shooting has allowed Indiana to reach new heights. With the Fever making the playoffs for the first time since 2016, Hull’s ascension may be the reason they make it past the first round.