The Indiana Fever have
kept their heads
above water while missing Caitlin Clark. When Clark returns,
the team could take a big step forward.
After amassing a 20-20 record in Caitlin Clark’s rookie year in
2024, the Indiana Fever were among the most active teams in the
offseason trying to build around their sensational star.
They sit at 15-12 after a win against the Phoenix Mercury on
Wednesday night, which doesn’t seem like much of a
step forward, but it’s impressive considering Clark has now missed
over half the team’s games this season.
The team that was put together to play around Clark had to learn
how to play without her and has done that well enough to keep the
Fever firmly in the playoff hunt by going 7-7 in the games Clark
missed.
But to make any noise in the playoffs, the Fever will need Clark
at her best with a team that’s comfortable playing around her.
Clark is a singular talent, which makes her one of the most
exciting players in the league, but also someone who teammates need
to play with to get a feel for her game.
Fortunately, the Fever’s solid play without Clark seems like it
can mostly be woven into a game plan that includes her as well. As
long as she is healthy and gets some regular-season reps, the Fever
could be a team nobody wants to play come playoff time.
More from opta analyst
Mitchell
Momentum
The Fever had a lot of roster turnover ahead of this season, but
it was all around top returning players Caitlin Clark, Kelsey
Mitchell and Aliyah Boston.
Boston has been the perfect third player in the offense. She
takes advantage of mismatches and openings when they’re given to
her, but doesn’t need a ton of shots to be effective. She doesn’t
get enough credit for being an elite passing big who always makes
the right plays and is an integral part of punishing a leveraged
defense.
But it’s Mitchell who has been the go-to offensive player lately
with Clark injured despite a quiet game against the Mercury. She
exploded for 35 points in the Fever’s 93-78 win over the Chicago
Sky on July 27, nailing seven 3-pointers and dishing out six
assists.
The dynamic scoring will get the headlines, but it was
encouraging to see another game in which Mitchell utilized her
playmaking. She doesn’t have the vision of Clark, but she’s good at
making the simple reads and has displayed excellent touch when
finding her teammates.
All her passes won’t have this much flair, but it’s nice to see
Mitchell engaged with playmaking again. She averaged a career-low
1.8 assists last season as she took a backseat to Clark and Boston
in that regard. That number has crept up to 2.8 this year, as
Mitchell has flashed her playmaking chops often when Clark hasn’t
played.
The Fever need her to tap into that playmaking when Clark
returns as well. Mitchell is an electric shooter and scorer, but
she needs to take advantage of passing lanes when defenses home in
on Clark. The Fever have more firepower around their core this
year, giving Mitchell more options when she drives. If she
continues to lean into playmaking a bit more when playing alongside
Clark, it’ll make the Fever’s offense much more deadly.
Mitchell’s scoring outbursts lately with Clark sidelined might
make fans assume that she’s been much better as the primary option,
but that hasn’t really been the case. Though her scoring increases
without Clark, her efficiency drops – typical when a player has a
heavier offensive burden.
The malleability of Mitchell is crucial for the Fever with Clark
going in and out of the lineup. She’s capable of being the top
option and keeping the offense afloat, but is an excellent
complement to Clark when the two play together due to her shooting
and dynamism.
Mitchell’s offensive
DRIP (the offensive part of our projection of a player’s
contribution to a team’s plus/minus per 100 possessions) is
fourth-best in the WNBA, while Clark is first.
Simply put, the Fever have one of the best offensive duos in the
league and, if Mitchell maintains her higher level of play overall
and good enough playmaking when Clark comes back, they’ll be a
nightmare matchup for any team in the playoffs.
Defensive
Improvement
It’s easy to imagine the best version of the Fever as an
offensive juggernaut behind Clark and Mitchell. But the team needed
to tighten up defensively to make a real run in the postseason.
Last year, the Fever allowed the second-most points per game in
the WNBA. This year, they’ve allowed the eighth-most points per
game. They currently rank sixth in defensive TRACR.
It might be tempting to think the team is adopting a more
defensive-minded approach without Clark. However, that hasn’t been
the case.
The Fever have allowed slightly fewer points per game with Clark
out of the lineup (81.5 in games with Clark and 80.9 in games
without her), but some of that is because they’re playing at a
slower pace. The team is actually holding opponents to a much
better field goal percentage with Clark in the lineup. Teams shoot
40.9% against the Fever in games Clark has played compared to 45.7%
in games she hasn’t.
Clark gets compared to Stephen Curry a lot, but it’s usually
about their offensive games. It’s fair to compare them on defense,
too, where both players manage to be better than popular opinion
despite shouldering huge offensive burdens.
While Clark may not be a difference maker on the defensive side
of the ball, she’s not a liability either. She rates among the best
Fever defenders by defensive DRIP.
Minimum 100 minutes
played
There shouldn’t be much concern about a steep defensive drop-off
when Clark returns. The Fever’s strength defensively will continue
to be Boston’s versatility inside, solid play on the wings and a
cohesive unit that’s greater than the sum of its parts.
There will still be a feeling-out process when Clark returns,
which still seems to be a few weeks away. With all the new players
on the roster this year, it’s imperative that Clark gets in a
healthy stretch of several games in a row so the team can be fully
actualized in the playoffs.
But if that does happen, the Fever still have the potential to
be a real threat. The team came into the season with a lot of hype
and that’s subsided somewhat due to Clark’s injuries.
But their play without her has shown this roster is very good
with a healthy Clark and should complement her well when she gets
up and running again.
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