Caitlin Clark may be out for a bit. How do Fever adjust without her? 'We're better when she's involved'

Indianapolis Star

6 days ago

INDIANAPOLIS – The Indiana Fever may have to brace to be without star Caitlin Clark for a significant amount of time — again.
Clark, who has had bad luck injury-wise this season, suffered her fourth separate muscle injury of the season July 15 against the Connecticut Sun. That injury forced her to pull out of the 3-point contest and the All-Star Game in Indianapolis this past weekend.
Fever coach Stephanie White said following practice Monday that Clark is going to meet with doctors on Monday and Tuesday for additional opinions on her injury. Clark will make the trip to New York for Tuesday's game against the Liberty, but she is not anticipated to be available to play.
The Fever have not set a timetable for her return, waiting to see the opinions of doctors in the next couple days.
'These soft tissue injuries sometimes nag until you can actually have time to really allow them to heal in the offseason,' White said Sunday. 'So we'll just take it one day at a time and as they come, and this group will continue to progress together.'
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Clark has missed 11 of the Fever's 23 games with various injuries this season: she suffered a left quad strain on May 24 that kept her out for five games over a two-week period, then suffered a left groin injury on June 26 that kept her out another five games and two weeks.
She has already missed one game with this most recent injury, as the Fever played in New York on July 16.
It's been a frustrating season for Clark, who hadn't suffered any injuries in her collegiate or professional career before this season.
"When the injury happened, it was pretty frustrating, considering, I knew what the coming days were gonna hold for myself," Clark said Saturday ahead of the All-Star Game. "But I feel like dealing with that, and then also just like trying to look at it in the most positive manner that I can. ... I think just it all comes back to having a good perspective on everything."
The Fever (12-11) have, in spurts, figured out how to find a flow without her. Indiana is 8-6 with Clark on the floor, and 4-5 without her — 5-5 including a Commissioner's Cup win over the league-leading Minnesota Lynx, which isn't tallied in the regular-season standings.
The game definitely flows differently without Clark on the floor. Clark likes to play fast, with frequent passes up the length of the floor for easy baskets ahead of the defense. She can find minuscule openings in defenses for assists, and she draws so much attention with the ball in her hands that she is frequently guarded at 94 feet and double-teamed.
The attention defenses give Clark help to space the floor, and her ability to anticipate the defense and find those holes in the schemes can help the Fever move the ball.
But right now, it's time for someone else to step up.
'We always want her to play. We're better when she's involved and on our roster,' Fever guard Sophie Cunningham said July 16. 'She draws so much attention. Her ability, you know, just to spread the court and pick teams apart is huge, but I do think it gives us confidence knowing that we can be successful without her too… it is important that if someone's missing, who can step up? And I think that we've shown that we can do that.'
Aari McDonald, a midseason acquisition for the Fever, will likely take over Clark's starting spot while the star is injured. McDonald, standing at 5-6, does like to play in transition, but she isn't as fast or anticipatory as Clark.
The Fever tend to move to more of a classic half-court offense when Clark is out of the game, and that is likely what they'll return to in her absence. It's something that can be successful, but it's also an offense that is more predictable.
But Indiana has also shown it can get into a flow without Clark — evidenced by a three-game win streak that included a Commissioner's Cup win over the Lynx. The margin for error is less, but the Fever can still be successful without Clark.
'I think it changes our offense a little bit, where some teams are going to be a little more back, depending on matchups on the floor,' Fever forward Aliyah Boston said. 'I think we space the floor really well. Everything changes when we hit shots.
"I think if we come out and start this next game, hit some shots to open up the floor a lot, and obviously Caitlin's a fantastic passer, but I think if we figure out, once again, different ways to get everyone that needs to touch the ball, the ball, and when and where. So we just continue to trust our offense and let it flow.'
The Fever star has missed 13 games overall, including the Commissioner's Cup which doesn't count in the regular-season standings.
Indiana is 8-6 with Clark on the floor, and 4-5 without her — 5-5 including a Commissioner's Cup win over the league-leading Minnesota Lynx, which isn't tallied in the regular-season standings.
8 p.m. ET Tuesday, July 22, 2025, at Barclays Center in New York.
TV: ESPN, with Ryan Ruocco (play-by-play), Rebecca Lobo (analyst), Holly Rowe (sideline)