Caitlin Clark, Aliyah Boston, or the newbies, confidence had hardly ever wavered for Stephanie White’s squad before their 2025 campaign. “Like every time we get on the court, and we are practicing or we are playing pick up, we are like ‘I can’t wait to get this season started,’” the 2023 No.1 pick had expressed. The firepower was loaded. Every lapse addressed. Championship-contenders was a term being thrown around. But two weeks in, the off-season limelight has begun to dim for the Indiana Fever. Power rankings are telling a different story than they did a month ago. However, if history tells us anything, this one from the NBA, they can bounce back, and it might depend on who steps up.
After maintaining a streak of 185 consecutive games played, dating back to her college days, Caitlin Clark was shown a way to the courtside. As per reports, the reigning ROTY is estimated to be sidelined for 2 weeks after suffering a quad injury, and things look bleak for the team. Especially after the loss to the Mystics that pushed them down to 2-3. A natural transition here? Shift of offensive responsibility to forward Aliyah Boston. At least that is what Logan Murdock can draw from his memory of the 2000-01 Lakers.
“This reminds me of 2000-2001 Lakers season,” he started, speaking of the Fever’s situation. “This was the second of the three-peat. It happened later in the season, but Kobe was out for like 15 games to him, right before the end of the season. And you saw the offence immediately go towards Shaq and then Kobe finds his way, and then they went against 15-1 to win the title,” the reporter noted on The Ringer WNBA Show with host Seerat Sohi.
The Lakers were coming off a championship run that season, and both Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O’Neal were in their prime. But the former could only manage about 68 games after several minor injuries, including hip and elbow bursitis. At one point, he was sidelined on a 9-game stretch. But the Lakers never let up. Not only did they finish 56-26, but they also went undefeated in the playoffs until game 1 of the finals. Shaq, a dominant centre then, had taken the offensive reins in his star guard’s absence. And interestingly, both of them finished the season averaging 28.5 and 28.7, respectively.
So now, with Clark, the Fever’s dominant PG out, Murdock seems to be drawing a parallel. “I see a bit of the symmetry,” he adds, but further admitting, “though in this case, guard is the better player.”
Losing the reigning ROTY’s 19-point and 9-assist average is sure to be a sting for the Fever. But they do not have to dwell on it, given the talent they boast. Stepping up in her absence, Boston, who’s averaging a double-double of 16.8 points and 10 rebounds, is expected to replicate what Shaq did all those years ago. And urgently so, because Sohi’s revelation of the nature of Clark’s injury isn’t looking very positive.
“They are very tricky injury,” the host noted further on the podcast. Her research has shown that 2 WNBA players with quad injuries in the past have ended up missing 12 games and 6 weeks each. So she adds, “Like if you are a Fever fan, don’t even look into the NBA history because quads and their recovery time, and the way that they can keep lingering, and impact players… are just not a fun worm hole to go down.”
Though the Fever sensation is estimated to miss 4 games for now, her re-evaluation on the 9th of June is going to give us a clearer timeline. For now, Boston will have to stir the ship because that loss against Washington was not a good look. As for CC, she will continue contributing from the courtside.
Caitlin Clark to watch the Indiana Fever play from the bench
“Now she’s going to see it on the sideline. She’s going to be hearing us talk about it on the sideline from a coach’s perspective… It gives her an opportunity to see it from a different lens.” Though Clark’s current situation poses a deep threat for Indiana Fever, head coach Stephanie White was optimistic. She rallied the fact that Clark can assess the team’s gameplay and get a different perspective of the game, instead of that from the hardwood. Clark can now make her own observations, returning to the hardwood with an improved vision.
As a standout player, the star guard has had a telling run during her sophomore year so far. She fetched 20 points, 10 rebounds, and 10 assists in the season opener against Chicago Sky before going on an impressive 27-point and 11-assist run in the game against the Atlanta Dream.
She is irreplaceable. But Coach White has to turn to someone in the PG role, and she is looking at her veterans– Sydney Colson and Sophie Cunningham. Though neither of them delivered against the Mystics, they could be the ammunition Boston can use when she takes the reins. With HC White making roster adjustments and reworking on her gameplay, it will be interesting to note how Indiana Fever’s fate plays out in the upcoming matches.
The post Kobe Bryant Triggers Bold Locker Room Ask From Indiana Fever as National Reporter Drops Alarming Signs Around Caitlin Clark’s Injury appeared first on EssentiallySports.
