Fever finally receive good injury news with key guard set to play

The Indiana Fever are finally catching a break. After a week filled with backcourt injuries, the team received a much-needed boost on Monday: veteran point guard Sydney Colson is good to go.

Colson, who left Friday’s 85-83 loss to the Connecticut Sun with a leg injury, was not listed on the Fever’s latest injury report. That clears the way for her to start Tuesday night against the Washington Mystics. That's a huge relief for a Fever team that will be without Caitlin Clark and Sophie Cunningham.

Clark remains sidelined with a quad strain, while Cunningham re-aggravated an ankle injury in the fourth quarter of Friday’s game. With both ruled out for Tuesday, the Fever will once again be short on playmakers, but having Colson back in the lineup should bring much-needed stability.

Indiana signed former No. 3 overall pick Aari McDonald to a hardship deal on Monday to temporarily bolster their backcourt depth. She’ll back up Colson, who now finds herself back in the lead guard role for a team desperate to steady the ship in Clark's absence.

Sydney Colson can stabilize the Fever's offense without Caitlin Clark

Colson signed with the Fever in February to be a reliable veteran presence behind Clark, someone who could provide leadership and experience in limited minutes.

But now, just a few weeks into the season, her role has grown beyond what anyone anticipated. With Clark and Cunningham both out, Colson will be the one tasked with running the show on Tuesday.

That job became even more important with the news that Cunningham, a capable secondary ball handler and excellent floor spacer, will also miss Tuesday’s game.

Cunningham had taken on some of the backup point guard responsibilities behind Clark and Colson, giving Indiana another option to initiate the offense. Without her, the Fever will need to look elsewhere for both facilitating and perimeter shooting, two areas already in short supply without their star point guard.

That's where Aari McDonald could factor in. Signed to a hardship deal on Monday, McDonald will back up Colson and likely be asked to contribute right away.

The former No. 3 overall pick spent the first three years of her career in Atlanta before being shipped to the Los Angeles Sparks last season. McDonald would go on to appear in games and make 10 starts before entering free agency. She re-signed with Los Angeles in April but failed to make the final roster.

McDonald is an experienced guard who can run a WNBA offense, something Indiana sorely lacked in Friday’s chaotic loss to the Sun. If she can provide even a few solid minutes, it could help ease the burden on Colson.

The Fever will have to rely on stopgaps and smart execution until Clark is reevaluated next week. That starts with Colson. She may not have been brought in to carry the offense, but right now, she’s the one best positioned to hold things together.

With Colson back and McDonald in the mix, the Fever finally have a chance to settle in and steady the backcourt until Clark returns.

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