The Indiana Fever stepped into Caitlin Clark’s second season with a lot of hope, which forced teams to take them seriously. Barely into the season, the Atlanta Dream dominated with their physicality, handing Caitlin Clark’s team their first loss of the season in just the second game. In reply, the Fever gave it back in the very next game. But one thing didn’t change: how Dream and many teams dominated with physicality against the fame-heavy Fever side. Cut to today, they have been bruised and battered with multiple injuries, and the team is yet to get a playoff spot. And the coach is searching for an escape.

For good, they still found the energy to turn their Achilles heel around. Against the likes of Dominique Malonga, Ezi Magbegor, and Nneka Ogwumike, they had 42 rebounds while allowing just 21. It was a dominating display and a tick mark on their road to the playoffs. However, their journey doesn’t get easier as they have yet another clash with the Lynx while DeWanna Bonner’s Mercury and the Phoenix crowd are waiting for revenge. Take the Valkyries and Sparks in the picture, who are also in the race. With no playoff position guaranteed yet, and the squad yet to tick all boxes, Stephanie White can only hope for her girls to pick up the pace to win 22 games at least. It is now more on hope because even with the new signings shining, the questions about their dwindling resources continue.

As an Athletic correspondent has cited that Caitlin Clark’s absence will be the death of this Fever side. While talking about Fever’s shot at the playoffs, Sabreena Merchant said on the “No Offseason: The Athletic Women’s Basketball Show”, “It’s a lot more challenging without Caitlin because they just don’t have a margin for error, right? Like if Shey Peddy is not hitting four threes a game, which has happened so far, but there’s just not enough firepower right now. And you really just need Caitlin to fill in all of the other holes that have been created by these injuries.” Mind you, this episode was released before the Fever blew away the Storm, but the argument still holds.

A lot of Fever’s offense depends on their outside threat. Caitlin Clark and Kelsey Mitchell were once predicted to be the Stephen Curry and the Klay Thompson for this Fever squad. But then Clark suffered injuries, and the entire team had to compensate for her outside shooting, among other things. Lexie Hull was on a heater for some games, and she is slowly getting her shot back. Sophie Cunningham had a string of great games, but the MCL tear took her away, too. However, as it has been repeated multiple times, it’s “next woman up” for Fever.

Now, Shey Peddy and Odyssey Sims are slotted at point guard; they are tasked with giving Mitchell some support. So far, it has worked. Peddy is averaging 9.3 points and 2.0 assists in her 3 games coming off the bench. More importantly, like Merchant mentioned, she is giving a credible threat from downtown by averaging two 3-pointers at a whopping 60%. That number is more than twice her career average, and the law of averages is lurking close behind. Some time or another, that number should catch up. 

On the other hand, Sims is averaging 9.8 points and 4.2 assists per game, comparable to McDonald’s numbers. She is making 0.8 each game at 38.5% as compared to McDonald’s 1.2 at 30.8%, although with a much higher sample size. None of these are comparable to a fully-fit Caitlin Clark. She averaged 3.1 three-pointers made at 34.4% last season while shooting the most in the league. 

Even in her stop-start 2025 season with a three-point drought, she shot 2.2 per game at 27.9%. When it comes to Clark, some things are not about hard numbers. The threat is bigger than the execution. Her range is a tactical weapon that could be used in multiple ways, and having her on the court will make Stephanie White and the team’s life so much easier, even if she is not at her best.

Aliyah Boston Is Missing Caitlin Clark the Most

When Clark was around, she unlocked a completely different Aliyah Boston. Well, she has been half bad without her either. She is averaging 15.4 points and 8.4 rebounds in her last 10 games while chipping in with 3.4 assists. That includes her 27-point 9-rebound performance against the Storm. However, Clark-Boston formed a famed two-woman duo in the last year, unlocking defenses on their own. When Clark is missing, Boston doesn’t have that connection with anyone else on the team.

“You mentioned able to get in the pick and pop and two-woman game and such. How much of have you missed that? Like that’s something you really thrive off of but have not been able to get to as much.” A reporter asked Boston after the Storm’s win. To that, Boston replied, “Yeah. I think just I think it’s great that we’re trying to find that a little bit more, especially with Kelsey coming off, and I think that’s definitely what we’re just trying to do, just find different adjustments to make depending on how teams cover us.”

When Clark was balling, Boston didn’t have to try as much. The Iowa alum is a creative cheat code. All Boston had to do was make the right runs, and she found her. Slowly but surely, she is trying to execute similar plays with Mitchell and Co., but it’s definitely not as easy. Boston received 105 assists from Clark last year, which is 44.5% of her field goals. Unfortunately for her, Clark is still a couple of games away from returning. 

“I don’t have any specifics on it. I think right now it’s day-to-day,” White said before their Storm matchup. “She’s progressed in her rehab, and I anticipate, hopefully, by the end of the week, she’ll be on the floor, at least in practice.” That means the Phoenix Mercury game is one to look forward to. There is some hope still, but till she comes back, White and Co. will have to make do.