After the Pacers advanced to the next round of the Playoffs earlier this week, Gainbridge Fieldhouse will once again be buzzing as the Fever look to kickstart their season. The expectations will undoubtedly be high. “Listen, we’re in this to win championships. It doesn’t happen overnight, we have a lot of work to do…but that’s the standard,” said GM Amber Cox on Media Day. Having completed a roster overhaul in the offseason, the Fever camp featured 10 new players this season, looking to make an impact.

With two new starters on the squad in Natasha Howard and DeWanna Bonner, Coach Stephanie White has emphasized building chemistry and evaluating their rotations in the preseason. White’s plans, however, seem to have met a roadblock. Or is it just a clever strategy that had been in her mind all along?

Will Caitlin Clark Be Available Against the Washington Mystics?

The excitement in Indiana was expected to be at an all-time high in the Fever’s preseason opener against the Washington Mystics. After adding defensive reinforcements to a squad that featured a deadly offensive duo in Clark and Boston, fans have started to believe the ultimate salvation is within reach. The enthusiasm, however, suffered a blow when Meghan Hall of USA Today dropped an unpleasant update.

The USA Today reporter posted on ‘X’, sharing that superstar Caitlin Clark might have to sit out their preseason opener. Worried by the news, fans have been hoping that it wouldn’t turn into an injury that lingers on during the season. Clark has endured injuries to her left leg in the past as well. One such instance came last year against the Connecticut Sun in May when she ran into a screen in the first half and rolled her ankle. This came at Gainbridge Fieldhouse itself. The reigning Rookie of the Year returned to play in the second half, indicating the injury wasn’t major.

“Every basketball player’s had an ankle injury,” Clark said later on. “If you [haven’t], you’re not a true baller, I guess. I don’t know. It’ll be a little stiff, but I’ll be good.” So, fans are hoping this will be the case again.

 

Clark has been a durable asset for the majority of her professional career, indicated by her highly demanding college career at Iowa, where she played significant minutes and shouldered a heavy burden. Similarly, she played in all regular-season games in her rookie WNBA season in 2024, averaging 35.4 minutes per game. There was one incident when she did not return to the court after running into a hard screen and rupturing her eardrum in the process. But even this couldn’t let the resilient guard miss further games as she was cleared to compete soon after.

Owing to the popularity of Caitlin Clark, it raises another potential problem for the Fever. As Clark appears set to miss the game against the Mystics, the Fever’s attendance numbers might take a hit. With this being an Indiana debut for many of the players, such a scenario might leave a sour taste in the newcomers’ mouths.

However, Indiana fans finally breathed a sigh of relief upon updates from Scott Agnes. “No need to panic. Caitlin was at practice and moving around just fine.” Scott, a Fever beat reporter, clarified on ‘X’, “It’s the first game of a back-to-back, and Sunday’s game is for her and Iowa fans. This exhibition game is about getting a look at everyone.” Then Chloe Peterson, who observed the Fever’s practice on May 2, provided a reassuring update: “For what it’s worth, she seemed to practice normally today. She was wearing sweatpants, but did the half-court shot as normal, too. Could be a precaution as it’s a preseason game, as well.” Because of the sweatpants, it was hard to tell whether there was a brace or wrap, but her movements looked as smooth as always. Hence, the Fever, aware of Clark’s toughness and the low stakes of a preseason game, likely opted for caution, especially with a high-profile game against Brazil looming on May 4 at Clark’s alma mater, Iowa.

So, Clark’s clips from the last day of training camp do give a reassuring picture. A fan of Luke Combs, she was further seen turning up “Ain’t no love in Oklahoma” before she got her shots up post practice. While Clark has adored the singer publicly, her own biggest admirers will be waiting for her with open arms.

“I honestly haven’t been back to Iowa City a ton since I left a year ago,” Clark said. “I’ve only been back a couple times, once for a football game and once for my jersey retirement. So, it’ll be fun to get back there, see some of my former teammates, my friends that are there. A lot of my family will be coming.”

Another exclusion from their opening preseason game was expected to be Brazilian Damiris Dantas, who recently experienced a loss in her family. Damiris was absent from the team’s media day festivities as well due to an excused personal absence. This raised concerns amongst the fans over her availability, which have now been cleared up. As Clark is the only name on the Fever injury report, Dantas has now sparked excitement over her availability for the preseason opener against the Mystics. The center, who was protected over Temi Fagbenle in the expansion draft, hopes to repay the Fever’s faith this season.

While the Fever fans would still be disappointed about CC’s absence, they would be thankful it won’t be one that keeps the guard out in the long run. After facing off the Mystics, the Fever will soon be returning to Gainbridge Fieldhouse as they’re set to face a familiar rival on the 18th of May when the Chicago Sky come to town.

White’s preseason plans

Now that the season vibes are here, fans across the league are eager to witness Clark’s stardom again. Coach White, however, will delay the joy of the fans as her comments indicate that Clark’s minutes might be limited in the preseason.

When asked about their back-to-back preseason games and their plans surrounding recovery, Stephanie replied. “Yeah, I mean, first and foremost, we know what the goal of preseason is. Certainly we want to win, but it’s to see a lot of different players, to make sure that we can really evaluate. It’s to make sure that we can start to build our rotations, look at our depth, look at some different lineups.” While fans may be disappointed with the news now, they’ll probably appreciate White’s decision in the future.

Clark’s teammate Kelsey Mitchell also emphasized the importance of recovery for everybody, including their star. “Oh, I think recovery is everything. I think if you’re in tune to your body, you know what you need. The young ones, specifically Caitlin, hopefully they take more being tuned to that this year. And just for the duration of knowing what we have back-to-backs, but it’s important that we do take recovery seriously,” said the veteran.

With a team that has more than enough in its arsenal to compete, Fever knows its durability will be the key to a deep playoff run. It starts now.