Fever’s Reliance on Caitlin Clark to Get Exposed

The young WNBA season of the Indiana Fever has just become much more complex. The Fever are now forced to play without their attacking focal point after rookie sensation Caitlin Clark was sidelined for at least two weeks due to a left quad strain.

So far in her college and professional careers, Clark has never missed a game. Indiana’s offense has been characterized by her presence, so losing her would make it difficult to maintain identity in addition to replacing production. It won’t be simple.

Clark has led the WNBA in assists with 9.3 per game so far this season and is averaging a team-high 19.0 points per game. She also has good rebounding stats, averaging 6.0 rebounds each game.

Although she hasn’t had particularly good field goal shooting (40.3 percent), her shot volume (15.5 attempts per game), which ties her with Kelsey Mitchell for the team lead, makes her an important part of Indiana’s strategy.

Her influence goes beyond numbers. With a usage percentage of 25.9 percent, Clark leads the Fever roster and ranks 13th in the WNBA. You don’t substitute that kind of workload with a single player. A complete team effort will be needed to close this gap.

Luckily for Indiana, going into 2025, the front staff prioritized backcourt depth. To add flexibility and experience to the roster, the Fever signed veterans Sydney Colson and DeWanna Bonner.

Both are nearing the twilight of their careers, but they have experience under duress and can still play valuable minutes when Clark isn’t there.

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