Why the Fever see Caitlin Clark's injury as an 'opportunity for growth' for the star guard and the team
The Indiana Fever's upcoming stretch is far from the worst time to be without Caitlin Clark. The franchise is banking on the early-season setback — at minimum two weeks without the MVP contender while she rests a left quad strain — ultimately benefiting its championship intentions.
'When you're playing in the end of the year and you're playing in the postseason, your rotation can be a little bit deeper,' head coach Stephanie White told reporters on Tuesday. 'And you want players to have confidence in those moments to be able to step up and make the play or take the shot. So I think it gives us opportunity for growth.'
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Clark got up shots in an open portion of Fever practice on Tuesday, an indication her injury isn't severe. White approached guard Sophie Cunningham's ankle injury cautiously in the season's first week and the Fever, fully invested in their championship window, appear to be doing the same with their franchise cornerstone.
The league's assists leader traveled with the team to Baltimore, where the Washington Mystics (2-3) will host the Fever at CFG Bank Arena on Wednesday in their first game without Clark. She never missed a game in four years at Iowa, a durability she was proud of for the fans who filled arenas to see her. The Mystics moved both Fever games this season to the larger arena with triple the capacity of their regular home.
Here's how the Fever are moving forward without Clark in the lineup.
Fever to start Colson in place of Clark
Sydney Colson will start at point guard for the Fever on Wednesday against the Mystics, White told reporters on Tuesday. Colson carved out a 10-year career coming off the bench, winning two WNBA championships in three seasons with the Las Vegas Aces. The 5-foot-8 guard played pivotal minutes in the clinching Game 4 of the 2022 WNBA Finals after point guard Chelsea Gray injured her foot. That type of big-moment experience is why the Fever wanted her on their roster.
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'I work hard and everybody that I play with, they know I want the best for each individual person and what's best for the team,' Colson told Yahoo Sports ahead of the season opener. 'If that means that I'm not playing at all and my role is to cheer for everybody, be a good scout player and get people ready for the games, I take that very seriously. If I need to go on the court and contribute, I also take that very seriously.'
Colson won't replace Clark's scoring (19 points per game ranks eighth in WNBA), but is a standout communicator, can facilitate in the half-court and will immediately improve their starting defense. It will give the team a chance to stack minutes with other main ball handlers for when Clark is taking breathers on the bench in postseason play.
'It's going to look different without the ball in Caitlin's hands,' White said. 'So what are our looks? Who can we get our looks for? And then the ability to communicate that to everybody on the floor in live action. And that's the piece that we're still growing with. We can't call a timeout every time to get a matchup or recognize a switch, and so she can help us with that on the floor and she can set the tone on the defensive end.'
Colson played a season-high 13 minutes in the season-opening win over Chicago with a 17-plus/minus off the bench. She played 11 combined minutes in the home-and-away split to the Dream. White did not play Colson in the loss to New York over the weekend.
The Fever believe Caitlin Clark will benefit from watching her team from the sidelines while she nurses her quad injury. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)
(Kevin C. Cox via Getty Images)
Who else can step up?
Cunningham will also play heavy minutes at point guard, White said. Expect Colson to set the tone, while Cunningham continues to play off the bench in the sixth-player role for which she's known. Her contributions, particularly from the perimeter, will need to help make up the scoring deficit without Clark.
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'The other thing we love is what Sophie or Lexie [Hull], whichever one, brings us from the bench and having that spark, having that punch,' White said.
Cunningham debuted in Atlanta after missing the first two games with an ankle sprain. She's played about 20 minutes in each game, scoring a combined 14 points, shooting 5-of-10 (3-of-6 from 3). White was cautious about the shooter's return from that injury, keeping it on the safe side while Cunningham appeared healthy and ready to play in the home opener.
'Sometimes you have to save players from themselves, right? Help them understand the big picture,' White said the day before the opener. 'It's not an advantage for us if she plays, but then she blows up and has swelling or tweaks and then is out for another two to three weeks.'
One of Clark's unparalleled strengths is her range and ability to draw out defenses that create space and open shooters. The Fever will need to find other looks without Clark's vision, pinpoint passes and individual shot creation to bail out the offense.
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'Clearly we want [Clark] out there,' Cunningham said. 'I think she draws so much attention and she's a phenomenal, phenomenal player. But at the same time, I think it's a great time for her to learn from the sidelines. It's a great opportunity for us to learn offense, right? Move the ball, pass, cut; we just can't stand and watch anymore. So I think it's going to be good for us to actually get into our action. And then defensively, for us to take another jump up a little bit and be more aggressive on the defensive end.'
It could also be a good time for DeWanna Bonner to settle into the offense after a subpar start to the season. She has 10 points, shooting 2-of-16 and missing all four of her 3-point attempts. Bonner came off the bench against the Liberty, a situation she hasn't experienced since 2016.
Clark's opportunity from the sideline
Clark said on the eve of the season that she doesn't believe she's 'at the peak of my game yet.' The injury is an opportunity to continue improving her own game and that of this particular roster.
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'Now she's going to see it on the sideline, she's going to be hearing us talk about it on the sideline from a coach's perspective,' White said. 'There's varying levels to how you see the game as a player in year 1 [and] 2, and a player in year 9 [and] 10, and as a coach and assistant coach and all those things. So it gives her an opportunity to see it from a different lens.
Clark leads the Fever in average minutes (34.9), scoring (19.0), 3-pointers (2.8) and steals (1.3) per game. She's top-10 in league usage rate (27.1%).
Her two-player game with center Aliyah Boston has blossomed even further in year 2, resulting in about five points of Boston's 18.5 ppg average. Nineteen of Clark's league-high 37 assists (51%) are to Boston, per Her Hoop Stats. Nearly half of Boston's assists are to Clark. The point guard's time away is an opportunity for Boston, who is more poised in her third year, to build chemistry playing off another guard.
Fever's favorable schedule without Clark
The WNBA features a quick and condensed season. A mini losing streak can quickly drop a team out of the standings' top four and the opportunity for home-court advantage in the playoffs. It's common for the No. 1 team's losses to stay in the single digits.
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The four games the Fever play in the next two weeks are forgiving. After the Mystics, they host the winless Connecticut Sun (0-4) on Friday. It will be the first time White faces her former team.
The Fever's Commissioner's Cup schedule tips off on Tuesday with the Mystics in town, and continues next Saturday at the Sky (0-4) in a rematch of the season opener at Chicago's United Center.
The first real concern will be on June 10 in Atlanta if Clark is not cleared. Atlanta's size caused matchup problems for the Fever, and they split their first two games in a season series that could break ties for seeding come September.
A loss to the Dream could sink any chance the Fever have at winning the Eastern Conference Commissioner's Cup title game berth. The Liberty (4-0), who play at Indiana again on June 14, are the favorites.
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