The Indiana Fever were dealt a blow on Monday as the team announced superstar guard Caitlin Clark would be out for at least two weeks with a left quadriceps strain.
After those two weeks, she’ll be re-evaluated, suggesting an absence likely longer than just a fortnight. It’s unclear when Clark suffered the injury. She did not look hampered in any way against the Liberty on Saturday, though that doesn’t mean the injury didn’t come then.
It’s the first injury blow that Clark has suffered in her young WNBA career after playing all 40 games last season. She didn’t miss a single game at Iowa during her four years with the Hawkeyes either.
This will be uncharted waters, then, for both Clark and the Fever. Naturally, Indiana’s roster is built around Clark, so this will certainly test their depth early in the season. Over the offseason, the Fever overhauled the roster and brought in more talent as they looked to take the next step from playoff team to title contender.
Now, that newfound depth will be tested in a big way. Sydney Colson is the only backup point guard on the bench and will likely see an uptick in playing time after being a DNP-CD on Saturday against the Liberty.
But the biggest rise in contributions will mainly need to come from other sources. No one player can replace what Clark does, but multiple players can fill in the gaps.
Kelsey Mitchell will likely become the lead ballhandler in the starting lineups while Sophie Cunningham has shown some flashes of ballhandling ability in the two games she’s been available for the Fever.
It’s hard to expect much more out of Aliyah Boston than what she’s provided to open the season, as she’s averaged 18.5 points and 10.8 rebounds per game. However, after speaking about using her as a hub offensively before the season, she’ll likely only become an even more central figure in what Indiana is doing on that end.
Indiana will also need DeWanna Bonner, who has had a very slow start to the season, to find her form and help contribute in a number of ways, including with her scoring. Through the opening four games, Bonner has just 10 total points and is shooting 2-16 from the field overall.
Replacing Clark will have to be a by-committee approach for Indiana over the next two weeks, and for a team that spoke about their depth heading into the season, it’ll be a big test of how much that can be relied upon early on.