Uncertainty continues for Indiana Fever and Caitlin Clark as her healthy teammates carry their playoff hopes

Chicago Tribune

3 days ago

INDIANAPOLIS — The Indiana Fever thought Caitlin Clark's return might solve their wild first-half ride. They were getting healthy, beating good teams and starting to meet expectations.
Then the two-time All-Star got hurt again in the final minute of last Tuesday's game at Connecticut. Indiana lost by double digits the next night to defending champion New York.
Clark missed last weekend's All-Star festivities in Indianapolis and is likely to sit out Tuesday night when the Fever again play the Liberty. It's all creating uncertainty about Clark and Indiana's championship aspirations.
'These soft tissue injuries sometimes nag until you can actually have time to really allow them to heal in the offseason,' Indiana coach Stephanie White said after Sunday's practice. 'So we'll just take it one day at a time and we'll continue, as a group, to progress together.'
Neither White nor Clark have provided a timetable for Clark's return.
As a rookie, Clark helped the Fever snap a six-year playoff drought and during the three-game winning streak before her latest injury, she had 40 points, 29 assists, six steals and 10 turnovers in 79 minutes.
Her name and that of the league's other superstars have packed arenas and been the focal point of broadcast deals.
Amid a rash of injuries, the WNBA needs its top players on the court more than ever. According to The Next, which tracks injuries in the league, there have been more than 140 injuries so far this season.
Those numbers fed into last weekend's debate over whether league officials should consider extending the season next year now that teams are playing 44 games instead of 40.
'I feel there's been quite a few injuries over the course of the beginning of this season for quite a few people,' Clark said Saturday, noting some injuries created minutes restrictions for other All-Star selections. 'A lot of people have been in the same boat as myself.'
Simply extending the season creates yet another problem — competing against the NFL and college football telecasts deeper into September. That's something that could be resolved in a new collective bargaining agreement.
Until then, though, Indiana must learn to deal with Clark's third absence this season, so far resulting in 10 missed games. Clark did not miss a single game in college or her rookie season with the Fever.
Indiana has maintained a winning record (12-11) and playoff positioning despite the injuries. The Fever were also able to win the Commissioner's Cup over Minnesota with a 74-59 win without Clark.
The team also overcame the departure of DeWanna Bonner, who lost her starting job after three games and played in only nine before being waived and returning to Phoenix.
And, of course, it took time for everyone to get on the same page following a massive offseason overhaul that included the hiring of a new general manager, Amber Cox; the return of White — Indiana's original No. 22; and the addition of other players with title-winning experience.
'I think it's been a rollercoaster ride with peaks and valleys, injuries, switching lineups,' three-time All-Star guard Kelsey Mitchell said. 'I think that's part of being a professional athlete. But I think you need to go through things like this to be one of the teams they talk about at the end of the season.'
The Fever believes it still can be one of those teams.
With Mitchell leading Indiana in scoring at 19.1 points per game and All-Star center Aliyah Boston showcasing a niftier passing game to go along with averages of 15.8 points and 7.6 rebounds, Indiana still has two of its foundational pillars on the court.
Indiana also has more options such as forward Natasha Howard and backup guard Sophie Cunningham to help fill in the gaps until Clark returns.
'Consistency, attention to detail, making sure defensively we're a beast unit,' Cunningham said as she identified other needed fixes. 'I think it all starts on the defensive end with our intensity and our aggressiveness. When we do that, we tend to win those ballgames. You're going to have a little bit of slippage every now and then, but you can't have landslides.'
Ultimately, though, the lingering question is whether Clark can stay healthy long enough to push Indiana into championship position.
'Working your way back into it is really difficult,' White said. 'She has to give herself some grace. She's coming back from an injury.'