Caitlin Clark was expected to miss four games with a quadriceps injury, and two of them are already down the drain. Everyone had gone into an optimism-overdrive trying to spot that elusive silver lining. Maybe Stephanie White would finally set the tone for the season. Maybe her experiments would finally leave the lab. Maybe—just maybe—Clark would absorb some sideline wisdom she couldn’t find while sprinting up and down the court.
“We got a real opportunity to grow here, playing with different lead guards,” White had said just four days ago. “Playing in different actions, seeing what all of our off-ball stuff can look like.” Honestly, all that hasn’t paid off when it was supposed to. Especially after that loss to the Mystics, the next game against the Sun was supposed to be less like a challenge and more like a chance to catch a break. Because let’s be honest—it should have been a cakewalk.
Well… they lost both games. Narrowly, painfully, and not in the fun “we’re building character” way. That “depth” the front office was so proud of this winter? Feels like it’s hibernating. The Colson “elite communicator” White was banking on? Yeah, she couldn’t quite communicate the team into existence either. And the one player who looked ready to step into the stepper’s borrowed shoes? She, too, limped off. Her key ingredient in this experiment, whose speed and downhill driving were supposed to keep Indiana’s tempo up and defenses dizzy? Yes, her rhythm needed a timeout as well. Not much flowed, and fans are not happy. But, at the center of their complaints is just one player, mainly.
Fans criticize veteran after disappointing Connecticut Sun game
Even before Clark was forced to take some time off, Coach White had been in mad-scientist mode—playing with lineups and juggling patterns during her star player’s bench minutes, all in the hope of cracking the perfect group before the All-Star break. Remember Indiana’s season opener against the Sky? Clark took a breather at the end of the first quarter and again in that first matchup against the Dream. Sydney Colson had then stepped in to handle the ball like the seasoned pro she is.
However, against the Sun, with some seconds remaining in the first quarter, Colson rolled her leg while driving to her right. Sophie Cunningham did step into her place, but the team was already approaching her with caution since she had only recently returned after a preseason injury. So, now, who was supposed to be the engine of the offense? Well, for that, hark back to the Fever’s second match with the Dream and then their Saturday faceoff against the Liberty. And you will be able to clearly see the plot twist that was supposed to pay off.
Both times, Clark started her break at the beginning of the second quarter. And stepping into the spotlight? None other than Kelsey Mitchell, who took over as lead creator and was trying to keep the offense humming in Clark’s absence. Against the Sun, though, she just could not find herself on the court.
“I think Kelsey Mitchell has a “don’t bench” clause in her contract. She just keeps getting away with atrocities,” wrote a fan. Well, so far, this season, Mitchell has not been what fans wanted her to be. But there is a reason Fever cored her and then extended a supermax contract. Her career trajectory with the Fever has only gone up, with 2024 being her strongest season yet. Mitchell averaged a career-high 19.2 points per game (same as Clark), and started in 38 of 40 games, averaging 32 minutes per game. So, the slump right now is likely a product of so many changes and a rebuilding squad. And now, with both Cunningham and Colson injured, we really don’t have any option to blame or bench her. If anything, the squad needs to boost her efficiency both mentally and physically.
I am not joking, the way we get stagnant while Kelsey Mitchell drives around like a lunatic.
That’s what happens when no one trusts a pass will come.
Team chemistry is awful when she has the ball….
They just stare at her
— uh oh, we’re not alike (@taterthotiana) May 31, 2025
“Kelsey Mitchell plays basketball like someone’s 2k MyPlayer the first game after equipping new animations…” wrote one fan. Well, we talked about boosting efficiency—and as funny a turn of phrase as that might be, it does point to something crucial. Some of Mitchell’s movements on the court have been noticeably uncharacteristic. Take that one drive down the lane, for instance—it was blocked with surprising ease by Olivia Nelson-Ododa, and the Sun turned it into a fast-break score, ironically in the same style Mitchell was aiming for.
At times, Mitchell tries so hard to make something happen on her own that she forgets to move the ball—something that goes against one of Stephanie White’s core philosophies. White is trying to mold the Fever into a fast-paced, fluid team, and that starts with trusting the pass. And it’s especially important now for Indiana to lean into more drive-and-kick action—something that could open up much-needed rhythm on offense. This is where Mitchell needs to focus less on finishing every play herself and more on spraying those passes out to the corners. Players like DeWanna Bonner, Sophie Cunningham, and Lexie Hull are lurking there, ready to make defenses scramble if they’re given even a sliver of space.
“Kelsey Mitchell isn’t as good as some Fever fans want you to think.” Wrote a fan. Mitchell has been the cornerstone of this squad and was one of the reasons they got to the playoffs last year. Even towards the beginning of the season, she was an able support to Caitlin, but ever since she has become the premier scorer, that responsibility has weighed her down. Against the Mystics in the last game, she scored 14 points while going 4-16 from the field. That carried into the Sun game, as she was just as inefficient. She went 4/15 and 0/4 from beyond the arc against the Sun, and the fans seem to have had enough. Well, it could be mostly because of how she had the ball during the final possession of the game and missed banking on that chance rather than her overall skills. So, yes, frustration is understandable but she needs time.
“Kelsey Mitchell, I love you but you need to stop with all the dribbling in the paint! Take a beat.” Wrote another fan. Even her fans did not shy away from criticizing her. The decision-making has been questionable. But some jumped to her defense also saying that she might’ve thrived more in a system with a guard like Natasha Cloud running the show and a dominant post presence like A’ja Wilson backing her up. So, forget Clark not being there. Even with her on the court still figuring things out defensively, it’s hard to see this current core (add in Boston) clicking into a title-contending machine—at least not yet. Someone on social media also made a Lillard–McCollum comparison, and it sort of tracks.
What do you think?
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