Kelsey Mitchell must remedy major issue for Fever to win without Caitlin Clark

The Fever didn’t get off to the start many fans imagined after they crushed the offseason. Indiana opened the season with a win over the Chicago Sky, split two games against the Atlanta Dream, lost a heartbreaker to New York, and then suffered two rough losses to the Mystics and Sun. The last two losses were without Caitlin Clark, who is out with a quad injury. 

Indiana must put a stop to this losing streak as soon as possible or risk falling too far behind other contenders to secure home-court advantage for the playoffs. The key to stringing together some wins is making up for Clark’s scoring and outside shooting. DeWanna Bonner has finally found her rhythm, but the Fever will need everyone to step up, especially Kelsey Mitchell. 

With Clark out, Mitchell is the Fever’s most dynamic perimeter player. She can beat defenders off the dribble, get into the paint, and hit tough shots. Recently, Mitchell has struggled to find the bottom of the net. That is an issue she must solve to help the Fever win without Clark. 

Kelsey Mitchell has been inefficient lately

Kelsey Mitchell is usually a rather efficient scorer, averaging 42.5 percent shooting from the field and 37.6 percent from three for her career. So far, she is shooting well below those averages to start the season, converting only 38.7 percent of her field goal attempts and shooting 29 percent from three.

Mitchell was dealing with a dislocated finger earlier this season, which may have something to do with her recent struggles to find the bottom of the net. However, she didn’t have the same problem to start the season and has struggled especially in the Fever’s last few games. 

Over the Fever’s last two games—the losses to Connecticut and Washington—Mitchell hit only eight of her 31 field goal attempts and got nine of her 27 points from the free-throw line. Her 25 percent shooting against the Mystics was the lowest mark of Mitchell’s season. The last time she hit a worse field goal percentage was in May last year in a brutal 102-66 loss to the New York Liberty. 

READ MORE: Kelsey Mitchell admits Fever's biggest weakness is off the court

Mitchell is one of the Fever’s best scorers and a key to the team’s success. She needs to be involved in the offense as much as possible and actually make a solid percentage of her shots if the Fever are to make up for the 19 points per game that are sitting on the bench with Caitlin Clark. 

It is not just on Mitchell to boost the Fever’s offense in Clark’s absence—that will be a major team effort—but she is a crucial part of that challenge and her current inefficiency is only making things more difficult for Indiana. 

Being this inefficient is not the norm for Mitchell

As mentioned, Mitchell has been a pretty efficient scorer over her career. She also started the season off strong, converting 50 and 60 percent of her field goal attempts in her first two games. Mitchell even scored efficiently in last year’s playoffs, making 42.1 percent of her field goals against the Sun. 

So, it shouldn’t be much longer until Mitchell regains her usual form and provides the Fever with an efficient scoring option. The Fever will need it to overcome this adversity. Kelsey Mitchell must remedy major issue for Fever to win without Caitlin Clark