Throughout the offseason, the Indiana Fever have hyped their roster upgrades. Now, they’ll see if they’re making a significant difference.
On Monday, the Fever announced second-year guard Caitlin Clark has suffered a left quadriceps strain and will miss at least two weeks with the injury. During this stretch, the Fever are scheduled to play four games, including two in the Commissioner’s Cup.
This marks the first time Clark will miss regular-season games in the WNBA. Through her first four games this season, the 23-year-old had averaged 19 points, six rebounds and 9.3 assists per game.
If Clark had suffered this injury last season, the Fever would’ve faltered without her.
Before taking the former Iowa standout with the No. 1 pick in the 2024 WNBA Draft, Indiana hadn’t made the playoffs since the 2016 season. More importantly, the roster lacked star power outside of forward Aliyah Boston and guard Kelsey Mitchell.
This offseason, however, the Fever retooled their squad, signing forwards DeWanna Bonner and Natasha Howard in free agency. They also hired new head coach Stephanie White, who won the 2023 WNBA Coach of the Year Award with the Connecticut Sun.
It’s still too early to tell if these offseason additions have catapulted Indiana into the WNBA’s elite. The Fever are 2-2 and coming off Saturday’s 90-88 home loss to the New York Liberty, the defending champions.
Three-time champion Howard has averaged 13.3 PPG and 7.3 RPG through her first four games this season. Bonner, meanwhile, has floundered. In her first four games, the six-time All-Star has averaged 2.5 PPG and 5.3 RPG.
“You know, [Bonner] probably had the toughest transition of anybody,” White told CBS Sports’ Erica Ayala in a story published Saturday. “She was really a priority in us getting her shot opportunities in Connecticut and how we got them in a slower-paced system. Now, it’s finding where we can fit in a flow in a really fast system, with heavy ball-dominant guards.”
Optimizing Bonner could solve one of the Fever’s biggest remaining problems and ensure they have the firepower to win games with or without Clark.
