Caitlin Clark’s second preseason with the Indiana Fever will be remembered less for her play and more for her broader impact. She sat out the preseason opener with a leg injury, enjoyed a homecoming at Iowa in an exhibition and played 23 minutes in a win at the Atlanta Dream in the final tuneup to the regular season.
As Clark enters her sophomore season as a professional, interest in her progression hasn’t waned, and speculation is rampant about how far she can take the Fever this season.
Tickets sold out in 24 minutes for her return to Carver-Hawkeye Arena, and fans lined up hours before her exhibition game against the Brazilian national team at her alma mater earlier this month. The roar from the crowd when she buried a 3-pointer, launched just behind her No. 22 court logo where she set the NCAA’s scoring record as a senior, was the latest example of Clark’s legacy and reach. So too were the 1.3 million ESPN viewers who watched the contest.
Indiana went undefeated in the preseason. The Fever have less than a week before their regular season begins Saturday at home against Angel Reese and the Chicago Sky.
Here are four thoughts on how Clark and the Fever look heading into an anticipated season.
1. Fever’s ongoing rotation experiment
Indiana returns only five players from last season’s roster, and its front office put a premium on adding experience. DeWanna Bonner, Natasha Howard and Sydney Colson are previous championship winners with other franchises, while Sophie Cunningham played in the 2021 WNBA Finals with the Phoenix Mercury. Coach Stephanie White used different starting lineups in each of the Fever’s three preseason games. In Saturday’s 81-76 preseason victory at the Atlanta Dream, Cunningham started and Bonner came off the bench.
White said she wanted to see Cunningham’s energy at the start and Bonner’s production coming in as a sub. “We’ll probably continue throughout the course of the week, tinkering a little bit,” White said. “But (the) preseason gives us a good opportunity to see what we like.”
White also noted guard Lexie Hull’s energy when playing alongside Cunningham, highlighting the duo’s off-ball movement, intensity on defense and communication.
The Fever are still looking to build layers in their offense and work on defensive coverages, White said. With many new players, she said she hopes that Indiana’s rotations will be figured out by the middle of the season.
“I don’t anticipate us being where we want to be,” White said about the start of the season. “My goal is All-Star break, so I have that in mind in terms of our progression.”
2. Will Clark’s quad injury be an issue?
Clark wasn’t on the injury report before Indiana’s preseason finale against the Dream. However, before tipoff, she said she had been dealing with left quad tightness. Clark had previously said she didn’t know when or how she sustained the injury.
“Our medical staff has been really helpful, and I feel really good,” she said Friday.
White said the Fever was thinking “long-term” about Clark’s status and did not want to risk further injury, so they held her out of the preseason opener against the Washington Mystics. Clark moved well Saturday, even as at least four Atlanta players guarded her. Clark finished with 13 points, seven assists and six rebounds. No one with the Fever expressed being overly concerned, but Clark’s injury is worth monitoring as Indiana’s season gets underway.
The Fever have two other health situations to consider. Reserve center Damiris Dantas did not play Saturday with a left lower leg injury. Cunningham left midway through the third quarter with a right ankle injury and did not return. Cunningham wore a protective boot after the game, but White said that Cunningham told her she’d be fine.
“I trust her,” White said.
3. Clark and Bonner look comfortable together
Clark’s final assist Saturday came on her prettiest pass of the game — a three-quarter court stretch pass to Bonner, who was streaking up the floor, for an easy layup. The pass was reflective of the chemistry between the new teammates, with Clark knowing Bonner will sprint down the floor, and Bonner ready to catch and finish Clark’s passes.
Clark helped recruit Bonner to Indiana, and the 14-year veteran has already provided leadership lessons to teammates.
“Just the way she talks and she leads, for me as a second-year point guard, I want to win for her,” Clark said earlier in camp.
Added Bonner: “The relationship is going great. I love (Caitlin).”
Bonner’s place in Indiana’s rotation will get sorted out during the regular season, but her presence in the locker room is already being felt.
4. Roster cut looms
The Fever’s roster appears mostly set after three preseason games. Indiana made three cuts leading into Saturday’s exhibition. Before the season opener, it must release one more player with the decision likely coming down to forward Makayla Timpson, a second-round pick in April’s draft, or 26-year-old guard Jaelyn Brown.
“(Timpson’s) ability to come in and impact from that post position, she doesn’t try to force things,” White said. “She allows things to come to her. She plays with great pace as a young player. She’s poised, and she’s ready when her number’s called.
White added: “Brown is dynamic. She’s athletic. She has a great ability to get downhill. She and Kelsey (Mitchell) are really deadly in that midrange. She’s a great rebounding guard.”
White said they are tough to compare as they bring different skills.
One potential difference could be their respective contract situations. Timpson is on a rookie-scale contract, and Indiana controls her rights for potentially the next four seasons. Brown is on a one-year deal. With so much roster uncertainty looming for next offseason — Indiana has only two players under contract for next year, excluding Timpson — the security the rookie would provide could be a distinguishing factor.
(Photo: Kevin C. Cox / Getty Images)
