Who knew a simple quad strain could cause so much commotion? Indiana Fever is hitting panic stations right now because of Caitlin Clark’s two-week absence. We have talked a lot about the Fever star’s impact on the league, but her impact on her team is not brought up nearly enough. Indiana is not at full strength right now anyway, with Sophie Cunningham recovering from a rolled ankle. So losing Caitlin Clark at this stage? It’s bound to hurt. 

The thing about CC is that she’s the ultimate competitor, but also a team player. She’s aggressive, she wants to win, but she wants to win the right way. The six-foot-tall star is a true point guard, and she is always concerned about getting her teammates involved in every single play. Of course, her offensive bag is big enough on its own, but it’s her facilitation that makes her stand out. So, how will her absence affect the Fever?

Well, according to YouTube content creator and basketball enthusiast Rosalina Lee, there might be some cause for concern for Indiana. “It does make me a little worried because the Indiana Fever do not have a backup playmaker anywhere near the level of Caitlin Clark,” she said, pointing out the Fever’s lack of playmaking depth. For a minute, Sophie Cunningham looked the part in the pre-season game against the Mystics, but she didn’t make the final cut in Lee’s eyes after a disastrous loss to the Liberty, where she recorded no assists.

Without Clark, the Indiana Fever offense is quite stagnant and disjointed. There are way too many isolations. Or as Lee put it, “The team looks like a train without a conductor.” But they have to adapt, and they have to plan. CC missing two weeks of ball was not on anyone’s 2025 bingo card, and the Fever will have to figure out a way to compensate for her loss. Lee is expecting this situation to be “a wake-up call” for the Indiana Fever.

Clark has a usage rate of 25.9%, and is spearheading her team with 19 points and 9.3 assists per game. And no one’s nearly close to that. Kelsey Mitchell, who sits second, is averaging 2.3 assists per game, and Sedney Colson, who was brought in as the backup point guard, first player off the bench, has managed 1 assist across three games. The veteran has over a decade of experience, winning two rings with the Las Vegas Aces, but to replace Clark? Her production will need to be a lot higher. 

So Lee’s guessing Krauskopf and Amber Cox might as well have a task at hand right now. “I kind of think that the Indiana Fever might be looking for some sort of like a backup point guard in the middle of the season,” she predicted. The Fever have the cap space. But are they really putting it to use when Clark’s bound to miss games against 3 teams that currently linger at the bottom of the table? Sophie Cunningham, for one, seems ready for the challenge without their star player.  

“It’s a great opportunity for us to learn offense,” she says. “Move the ball, pass, cut. We just can’t stand and watch anymore. I think it’s going to be good for us to actually get into our action.” An ESPN analyst may have echoed the same thing. The silver lining.

“Not going to be easy,”: ESPN analysts break down what Caitlin Clark’s absence means to the Indiana Fever

How do you replace Caitlin Clark? The Indiana Fever is being posed with a series of difficult questions in their superstar’s absence–how will they run the offense? Who will lead the team? And most importantly, how do they manufacture wins without their leading scorer and facilitator? These are difficult questions, but even difficult questions require an answer. 

ESPN’s Michael Voepel, however, had a very interesting take on the matter. “If there were a so-called “good” time in the season for this to happen, it’s now.” He wrote in a recent article by the sports media company. He reasoned that Caitlin Clark’s absence will be a great litmus test for the budding Indiana Fever team.

And to be fair, that’s completely true. Though CC won’t be taking the court for atleast another two weeks, they still have Aliyah Boston, and Kelsey Mitchell, alongside a couple experienced vets. On the off-chance that the Fever face a Tatum-like situation with Clark in the postseason, this experience will be very useful for their chances at success.

Voepel brought up how this injury has forced the Fever to address an important concern of overreliance. “Coach Stephanie White has talked about the Fever needing to improve when Clark doesn’t have the ball in her hands, and now Indiana will have to do that while Clark is sidelined. It’s not going to be easy, but they have no choice.” Because without Caitlin Clark, competing in the WNBA will be just that little bit harder for the Indiana-based team.

It will be interesting to see how this injury plays out for both Caitlin Clark and Indiana. The six-foot-tall point guard will be going in for a re-examination on June 9th, post which a decision will be made about her return to sport. Fans are hoping that she suits up for the June 10th game against the Atlanta Dream, but that’s just wishful thinking at the moment. Hopefully, the situation sorts itself out as soon as possible, as the WNBA just isn’t the same without the former Hawkeye!