Some call it bad luck, some call it a well-orchestrated effort by the refs to overlook the targeting. But whatever the case, one thing’s clear: The Indiana Fever’s dream of a championship is in shambles. Their short-term goal, instead, has become at least making it to the postseason. With multiple players out with injuries—the most notable being Caitlin Clark—can they hold on? Well, maybe. But the road will surely not be easy, especially with the team teetering on the edge in the playoff standings.

On August 25, during the No Offseason: The Athletic Women’s Basketball Show podcast, journalist Sabreena Merchant broke it down to a T. “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.

To this, co-host and analyst Zena Keit said, “I was scared when Odyssey Sims [had] that groin thing. I was like, ‘Hold on, no, no, no, no, no, no. We’re not doing this again. We’re not doing this again. We’re not going to do this to the hardship players. Come on’. Again, another Aari McDonald situation. And, you know, it was good to see her come back on the floor. But Indiana…obviously making the playoffs is not what they started with. It was to get to the finals, right? And that shift down is tough for Indiana Fever fans to have to experience.” 

“But I’ll say, if they do make the playoffs with this level of hardship, I’ll still say bravo. Like, that is impressive. I don’t know how long they would last, but that would be an impressive feat for them to do,” she then concluded. Thankfully, Clark is slowly but surely making her way back. As per an update by head coach Stephanie White, the point guard had participated in a walk-through on Monday and continues to work on her endurance.

White also mentioned that “it would take multiple practices for Clark to return to action” as per ESPN. “I want to see her in practice. Live in practice. I want to see her continue to work to not just build endurance, but to be able to handle contact [for] 94 feet as it’s going to be in-game, and to be able to do that and sustain from an endurance standpoint,” the HC noted. At this point, the good thing is she’ll at least be returning this season, as opposed to multiple others who won’t. Take Sophie Cunningham, for example, who suffered a season-ending right knee MCL tear. Or Sydney Colson, who’s currently out for the season with an ACL tear in her left knee. And, who can forget Aari McDonald suffering a broken bone in her right foot earlier this month.

Now, Shey Peddy and Odyssey Sims are slotted at point guard; they are tasked with giving Kelsey Mitchell some support. So far, it has worked. Peddy is averaging 9.3 points and 2.0 assists in her 3 games so far. More importantly, like Merchant mentioned, she is giving a credible threat from downtown by averaging two 3-pointers at a whopping 60% field goal percentage on average. On the other hand, Sims is averaging 9.8 points and 4.2 assists per game.

Those are definitely not bad numbers, but no one can replace Caitlin Clark, can they?

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 8.3 rebounds in her last 10 games while chipping in with 2.9 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. Hopefully, things will get better soon. Till then, the Indiana Fever squad will have to make do.