Fever star on track to play this week
INDIANAPOLIS – Indiana Fever star Caitlin Clark is on track to play this week, coach Stephanie White said Monday.
Clark, who has been out since June 26 with a left groin injury, participated in the 5-on-5 portion of practice for the first time since she suffered the injury. She seemed to work at full speed, running up and down the court and shooting as normal at practice in front of season-ticket holders allowed to watch Monday afternoon.
Still, the Fever want to be cautious with her return.
Clark has missed five consecutive games with her groin injury, which is her second injury of the young season. She has missed 10 of the Fever’s 18 total games so far this season, with a left quad injury holding her out for five games earlier this season.
It’s the first time in her collegiate and professional career she has missed games. So, the coaching staff is easing her back into the fold in hopes of preventing another setback.
“I hope so,” White said when asked if Clark would play against the Valkyries on Wednesday. “The same structure, I would say, return to play structure as we have been doing. She gets to do a little bit more, and then we see tomorrow: is there progress, or is there any regression? How does she feel? How does she look? What does recovery look like? And so this was really the first time we’ve been able to get around as live action. So, we’ll see what it brings tomorrow.”
Clark typically carries a heavy load on the court: She’s guarded at 94 feet, double- or triple-teamed, pushes the ball in transition and plays over 30 minutes a game every night when healthy. It can be exhausting for Clark, and any other player, to play and be guarded like that.
And that’s why the Fever brought Aari McDonald back into the fold.
Indiana signed McDonald to a hardship contract in early June, and she played three games while Clark and fellow guard Sophie Cunningham were out. The Fever noticed McDonald was a great fit with their team, but they had to release her when Clark and Cunningham returned because of hardship rules.
Indiana had to wait 10 days to re-sign McDonald because of WNBA rules, but the Fever jumped at the chance when they could. Indiana ended up waiving DeWanna Bonner, who felt like she wasn’t a good fit with the team, and re-signed McDonald to a standard contract for the rest of the season.
McDonald has been filling in Clark’s spot nicely, starting each of the past three games when she has been out. McDonald is fast and shifty, able to run a transition offense similar to Clark, and is a gritty defender, even at 5-6.
Aari McDonald hasn’t played with Caitlin Clark yet: ‘It’s going to be fun’
With Caitlin Clark out injured, Aari McDonald has picked up the slack at point guard. She’s looking forward to chance to get on court with Fever star.
Now that Clark is close to returning, White is still finding a way to get McDonald significant minutes. The Fever ran multiple actions with McDonald and Clark on the court on Monday afternoon — McDonald brought the ball up the court as the point guard, while Clark played off the ball.
“I think it’s gonna be fun,” McDonald said. “I think that with Caitlin and I working to perform with each other, we’re gonna create more shots for ourselves and just for others around us, and just expect a lot of fast pace and a lot of ball movement.”
Clark will still be the primary point guard when she returns, of course.
But White has been working to find more off-ball opportunities for Clark throughout the season, in hopes of alleviating pressure on her while still keeping her on the court. With McDonald’s fast-paced nature and similar offensive style, she’s the perfect complement to Clark on the court.
“I think it’ll be really good, you know, for us to be able to get C off the ball a little bit more in certain situations,” White said. “And playing on the floor with Aari gives her that opportunity to do that. I think we can give her a break. I think we can get her and our team different looks when that happens. This is really the first time that we’ve been able to practice that, so look forward to exploring that a little bit.”
Chloe Peterson is the Indiana Fever beat reporter for IndyStar. Reach her at capeterson@gannett.com or follow her on X at @chloepeterson67. Get IndyStar’s Indiana Fever and Caitlin Clark coverage sent directly to your inbox with our Caitlin Clark Fever newsletter.
