I had wanted to write about the Seattle Storm’s surprising 3-1 start this week, but that will have to wait. Maybe if they keep it up, we will do a deep dive next week. For now we turn our attention, along with the rest of the WNBA community, to Caitlin Clark’s left quadriceps strain. 

On Monday, Fever head coach Stephanie White tried to spin the injury as a positive. She noted that the absence would give Clark more time to break down the game from the sideline. White said it would also give the rest of the team an opportunity to grow and learn how to play without Clark, so that they would be that much better when Clark returns.

While that may be an optimistic view, I believe there could be some truth to it. Caitlin Clark struggled at the start of her rookie season, likely as a result of a hectic schedule with little practice time. After the extended Olympic break, Clark averaged six more points per game and her effective field goal percentage rose from 50.9 to 54.2. Clark has gotten off to a much better start this season, but she is coming off a 10-turnover game against the Liberty. Perhaps a chance to reset won’t be a bad thing.

The Fever are integrating three new rotation players this season, a task that was complicated by Sophie Cunningham missing the first two games with a right ankle injury. While Cunningham and Natasha Howard have played well in their first opportunities, with Clark, DeWanna Bonner has struggled. Bonner moved to the bench Saturday against New York but her shooting woes continued. She is 2-16 from the field on the season, including 0-4 on threes, and her usage has plummeted to 10.7 percent. She has never had lower than 17.3 percent in any of her 15 previous WNBA seasons. If Clark’s absence helps Bonner bounce back, that could be quite positive for the Fever long term.

In the short term, I wonder if Sophie Cunningham will replace Clark in the starting lineup. The Fever are very short on ballhandling, and bringing Bonner off the bench would make it easier to ensure one of Bonner and Kelsey Mitchell is on the floor at all times. Neither is a true point guard, but given the talent of Indiana’s individual scorers and the floor spacing provided by Cunningham and Lexie Hull, I think Indiana can mostly get away without playing a point guard. The only point guard on the roster is Sydney Colson, who hasn’t played more than eight minutes a game since 2019. While she should play more until Clark returns, I highly doubt she’s going to join the starting lineup.

Defensively, the Fever might actually improve with Clark out. Indiana is actually third in the league in defensive rating on the young season, but I think that’s mostly due to three point shooting luck. Indiana’s opponents are shooting just 27.4 percent from three, while the league has a whole is shooting 32.9 percent. Indiana’s defense may not need to rely on luck in the short term.

Mitchell and Colson are the only players on the roster shorter than Clark, which means opposing teams will have to deal with a lot of size on the perimeter. Hull and Cunningham can both be pests on the wing, while Natasha Howard is a former Defensive Player of the Year inside.

On offense, my only concern is ball movement. With just one true point guard on the roster, I worry there will be a lot of one-on-one offense with four people standing around watching. Howard, Mitchell, Bonner and Aliyah Boston are all capable one-on-one scorers, but that is a tough way to make a living. My hope is that the offense will run through Boston and Howard in the high post. They can work the high-low with each other, a dribble-handoff with one of the guards, or find open shooters if they draw help.

One point in Indiana’s favor as they deal with Cailtin Clark’s injury is the schedule. In the four games before Clark is reevaluated, they play the Mystics, Sun, Mystics and Sky. The Sun and Sky are still searching for their first win of the season while the Mystics have a losing record. The schedule gets a bit tougher after that, but not too much. The Fever should be able to at least keep their head above water with Clark out, and then it just becomes of question of having enough time to reintegrate Clark while keeping the rest of the roster healthy. I thought the Fever were one of four title contenders coming into this season, and I don’t believe this injury changes that. Though if Indiana struggles and Seattle continues to rack up wins, I may change my mind.