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The Indiana Fever will face some early adversity during the 2025 WNBA season. Fever superstar Caitlin Clark will miss at least two weeks with a quad injury. The team did not announce when Clark suffered the injury. Regardless, the Fever will be without their best player at a crucial junction during the regular season.
Indiana is currently 2-2 after dropped a pair of close one-score games against the Dream and Liberty. It is good to see the Fever play competitively in every single game. That said, Indiana needs to start stacking wins if they want to position themselves well for the postseason.
The Fever will be without Clark for at least four games: two against the Mystics and one each against the Sky and Sun. That number could increase if Clark is not ready to get back on the court after two weeks.
If you ask Fever coach Stephanie White, Clark's absence will change how the team plays over the next few games.
“I don’t think we change how we play, I think we change what our emphasis is,” White told the media on Monday. “Our off-ball actions as opposed to some of our on-ball actions when we get to our on-ball actions, utilizing our personnel in a different way.”
This may be true, to a point, from a schematic perspective. However, it would be foolish to assume that missing Clark would have no impact on how the Fever play basketball.
Now the question becomes who will help fill the void left by Caitlin Clark? Which Fever players need to have the biggest impacts to make up Clark's production?
Below we will explore three Fever players who need to step up during Caitlin Clark's absence.
Fever should use this opportunity to feature DeWanna Bonner
The Fever made one of the offseason's biggest additions, adding WNBA legend DeWanna Bonner during free agency.
Bonner brings veteran leadership and postseason experience to a Fever team with big goals for the 2025 season. Unfortunately, the Fever have yet to figure out how best to use Bonner.
Bonner has scored a total of 10 points in the first four games of the season, despite playing just over 21 minutes per game.
There is no question that Bonner is a baller. After all, she is third on the WNBA's all-time scoring list.
The Fever would be wise to use this opportunity to feature Bonner on offense. Indiana has enough talent at guard between Kelsey Mitchell, Lexie Hull, Sophie Cunningham, and Sydney Colson to get by. But the Fever will need every other position to starting pulling more weight.
Designing some plays around DeWanna Bonner could help the Fever both now and later.
Bonner's leadership and veteran experience could easily help the Fever pick up a few crucial wins over the next few weeks. It could also help create more chemistry between Bonner and the rest of the team, which could be crucial during the playoffs.
I'm not saying the Fever should give Bonner a full 40 minutes. But they do need to get Bonner the ball a lot more.
Pressure will be on Sydney Colson to start at point guard
The Fever announced on Tuesday that Sydney Colson will start in place of Clark on Wednesday against the Mystics.
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Colson has been in the WNBA since 2011, but she has only started 10 career games. She has not been a large part of Indiana's rotation through four games, logging four points on just 24 minutes.
Colson may benefit from Indiana new offensive approach while Clark is on the bench.
Coach White explained a few ways how the Fever offense may look different on Wednesday night.
“A lot of times with [Clark] and the ball in her hands, our shots are coming above the break,” White said. “Now we might get the ball moving end-line to end-line when we’re moving it side-to-side, so I don't think it changes how we play. I think it just changes the emphasis on the actions that we get to.”
Like with Bonner, this is a great opportunity for Colson to gain more chemistry with Indiana's starters.
It will be interesting to see how many minutes the Fever give Colson on Wednesday night.
Fever fans should expect more minutes for Sophie Cunningham
Sophie Cunningham has already made an impact for the Fever in her first two games. But Indiana may need her to take it to the next level with Clark out.
The Fever acquired Cunningham in a massive multi-team trade back in February.
Cunningham had an impressive debut with the Fever, logging nine points, six rebounds, three assists, and a steal in 20 minutes against the Dream.
Cunningham may not have a new role with Clark on the bench, but the Fever may need more minutes from the seven-year veteran.
I would expect Cunningham to average closer to 25 minutes per game while Clark recovers from her injury. That comes to 20 minutes per game so far in Indiana, and her career average of 22.7 minutes per game.
Cunningham brings a lot to the table on both offense and defense. She may be the Fever player who needs to step up the most with Clark on the bench.
