Shaky Caitlin Clark Reality at the Core of Fever Insider’s Locker Room Dilemma

With the barrage of injuries the Indiana Fever have had to face this year, they have relied heavily on players with hardship contracts. The best example to show the importance of these hardship contracts is Odyssey Sims. Signed on a seven-day hardship contract after Aari McDonald and Sydney Colson both went down in the same game, she has managed to carve out a role for herself. But with Caitlin Clark’s return becoming a reality, the Indiana Fever face a tough decision regarding their locker room.

With Caitlin Clark starting to ramp up in her pursuit of a return, the Indiana Fever would have to waive one of their three current players on hardship contracts. As of now, Indiana has Shey Peddy, Odyssey Sims, and Aerial Powers on hardship contracts. But, assuming Caitlin Clark comes back, the league rules would raise a dilemma of releasing one of them. Analyzing this tricky position for the Indiana Fever, WNBA insider Tony East explained the situation looming with Caitlin Clark’s return. 

During the latest edition of the Locked On Women’s Basketball podcast, he said, “If Clark comes back, they would only have three players out for the season…Having three players out for the season is a huge deal. Once they go down to three (should that happen), they would not be allowed to have three hardship players. They would only have two at that point. So they couldn’t have all three of Sims, Powers, and Peddy. They could only keep two. I would say that with Cunningham down and with Bibby back, maybe they would just keep point guards.”

As per the league’s rules, the maximum size of the roster allowed is 12 players. As of now, the Indiana Fever has just 9 healthy players. Therefore, they can fill the rest of the roster with hardship contracts. However, if Caitlin Clark does come back, their roster will go back to 10 players, meaning one of the three hardship contracts would need to be waived. 

Continuing his analysis of the situation, Tony East continued, “So the hypothetical here is that Caitlin Clark is back. And the, you as the Fever, you have Clark, you have Mitchell, you probably have Sims, I would guess. Do you really need a fourth guard? Maybe they would keep Shey Peddy because they’ve been so snake bitten at the ball handler that you just want to have one ready to go just in case. Or do you keep Powers, where right now your options on the wing are Lexie Hull and Chloe Bibby.” 

The Indiana Fever’s main injuries have been to the point guards this year. After losing Caitlin Clark, Aari McDonald, and Sydney Colson, things were so desperate that Kelsey Mitchell and Sophie Cunningham had to take over the ball-handling duties for a few games. However, now that they have a reliable backup in Odyssey Sims, and with Sophie Cunningham out for the rest of the year, it will be interesting to see if they sacrifice a little bit of depth at the guard position to bolster their wings. This, of course, is only a decision for a time when Caitlin Clark is back. Sure, she has started ramping up her work, but there are still many steps to go until her return.

But if one player had to gain from some much-needed stability to the guard carousel, it’s Aliyah Boston. But that’s not to say that Boston hasn’t been pulling her weight in the roster already. She has been crucial in bringing stability to the injury-riddled Fever side.

Aliyah Boston’s Crucial Late Steal Hand Indiana Fever Edge in the Playoff Race

In the Indiana Fever’s continued fight to lock up a playoff berth, their latest challenge was against a familiar but tricky opponent, the Los Angeles Sparks. Though on paper, the Fever were a much better team than the Sparks, they had lost their previous three meetings against them. However, this time around, with playoff pressure mounting, the Indiana Fever finally defeated them. 

In a game where the Sparks had a double-digit lead at one point, the Indiana Fever fought back valiantly and managed to pull off a close 76-75 win. While the usual leader, Kelsey Mitchell, seemed to have an off day (5-14 for 12 points), Aliyah Boston and Odyssey Sims led the Fever to a comeback win. Odyssey Sims finished the game with 21 points and also scored Indiana’s last five points. 

But the main star of the night was none other than Aliyah Boston. She finished the night with a 21-point, 11-rebound double-double. She also recorded her career-high 6 steals, including one with just 1.9 seconds left. Although Kelsey Mitchell shockingly missed both free throws, the Sparks were unable to make the shot and, as a result, suffered a huge blow to their playoff expectations.

With this win, the Indiana Fever is 3 games ahead of the Sparks and needs just two more wins to confirm a playoff spot. However, that challenge will not be easy as they are up against some tough opponents in the Golden State Valkyries, the Phoenix Mercury, and the Minnesota Lynx. It remains to be seen if Caitlin Clark can make an appearance in any of the remaining regular-season games. 

Nevertheless, for the Indiana Fever, the priority right now is just making sure they get to the playoffs.