Indiana Fever Stretch Without Caitlin Clark Reveals Hard Truth
It’s been five games since preseason MVP favorite Caitlin Clark was sidelined with a left quad strain.
Tuesday night perhaps best illustrated the impact of her absence as the Indiana Fever fell silent in the second half, ultimately falling 77-58 in a Commissioner’s Cup game against the Atlanta Dream. Indiana’s 58 points marks their lowest output since 2017, an ugly showing for a team typically vaunted for their offensive prowess.
The Indiana Fever have managed to tread water, sitting at 4-5 on the season and picking up a pair of wins against the Washington Mystics and Chicago Sky despite the loss of their leading scorer.
Still, concern is mounting for a Fever squad that added depth in the offseason in an effort to provide a stronger supporting cast for their budding superstar.
For Indiana, losing their offensive engine was always going to be an immense challenge. It’s hard to replicate Clark’s on-court production, even by aggregation. That said, the numbers point to some red flags that even a fully healthy Clark may not be able to completely conceal.
Now with a five-game sample size, let’s dive into the splits.
The Fever averaged 88.0 PPG in four games with Clark, second-highest in the WNBA during that span. That’s been cut down by double digits—Indiana is averaging 76.4 PPG without Clark, the second-lowest mark in the league since May 25.
They go from averaging 20.0 AST (5th in WNBA) to averaging 17.8 (10th in WNBA).
Both make sense in the context of Clark’s injury, as the 23-year-old led the league in assists last season and averaged 9.3 in her first four games.
Indiana did fare better with other traditional metrics. The Fever remained in the top third of the league in FG% and actually saw a slight uptick in three-point volume, a more diversified effort from distance that could be worth maintaining even upon Clark’s return.
The most jarring discrepancy, however, regards their pace of play.
Fans have been quick to notice that the Fever look noticeably slower without Clark on the floor. The numbers loudly back that claim up.
