Uncertainty Continues for Caitlin Clark, Fever With WNBA Playoffs Looming

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 she had 40 points, 29 assists, six steals and 10 turnovers in 79 minutes during the three-game winning streak before her latest injury.

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 [HAS] Some injuries were no longer injuries for some people at the beginning of this season, “said Clark on Saturday and found that some injuries to other all-star selections led to minute restrictions.” Many people were in the same boat as me. “

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A simple extension of the season leads to another problem – the competition against NFL and college football programs deeper in September. This could be solved in a new collective agreement.

Until then, Indiana has to learn to deal with Clark’s third absence this season, which leads to 10 missed games. Clark didn’t miss a single game in college or her rookie season with the fever.

Despite the injuries, Indiana retained a winning record (12-11) and a playoff positioning. The fever was also able to win the commissioner cup via Minnesota with a 74-59 win without Clark.

The team also overcame the departure of Dewanna Bonner, who lost their starting job after three games and played in only nine before they were lifted and returned to Phoenix.

And of course it took some time before everyone was on the same side after a massive overhaul outside the season that included the attitude of a new general manager, Amber Cox. The return of White – Indiana’s original No. 22; And the addition of other players with title.

“I think it was a roller coaster ride with patch and valleys, injuries and switching,” said Kelsey Mitchell, three-time all-star guard. “I think that’s part of a professional athlete, but I think you have to go through such things to be one of the teams that you talk about at the end of the season.”

The fever believe that they can still be one of these teams.

Since Mitchell Indiana listed 19.1 points per game and all-star center Aliyah Boston and presented a more user passing game with average values of 15.8 points and 7.6 rebounds, Indiana still has two of its basic columns on the pitch.

Indiana also has more options such as striker Natasha Howard and Backup Guard Sophie Cunningham to close the gaps until Clark returns.

“Consistency, attention to detail, to ensure that we are defensively a beast unit,” said Cunningham when she identified other corrections required. “I think everything starts at the defensive end with our intensity and our aggressiveness. If we do that, we will win these ball games.

Ultimately, however, the persistent question is whether Clark can stay healthy long enough to bring Indiana to the championship.

“It is really difficult to get back,” said White. “She has to give itself some grace. She comes back from an injury.”

Reporting by the Associated Press.

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