Caitlin Clark has missed significant time for the Indiana Fever. Her first game back after her most recent injury was the worst game played by the team as a unit.
Sophie Cunningham was open about how the Fever transitioned to a completely different style depending on whether Clark is in the lineup or not. This holds a lot of truth. The Fever have only played one solid, complete game after Clark has returned from each injury.
"It's when she's playing with us, we play a different style [of] basketball. And it's almost like two different teams, right? When she's with us, you play a different style [than] when she's hurt, which hopefully she's done being hurt. Lord, please hear us."
That almost perfect game came against the defending champion New York Liberty at home back on June 14 when Clark put up 32 points in the Fever's massive win. Despite still putting up double figures against the Aces, Sun and Valkyries all games following the victory over the Liberty, the dynamic in which the Fever played was still very much off.
And this is the concerning part for fans going forward. It became even more clearer after their embarrassing loss to the Valkyries Wednesday, also Clark's first game back from a groin injury, where the team shot just over 30 percent from the field, their worse of the season. What's even more eye opening is when a player on the roster recognizes that there's a different approach whether Clark is in the lineup or not.
Caitlin Clark and the Fever have to find their identity and stick to it
Head coach Stephanie White's coaching style appears to be a slow-paced, let the play unfold and attack approach. So far, this hasn't completely worked out for the Fever. They have several players who have been known to be more efficient in a quick tempo, run the ball offense, not just exclusive to Clark.
The interesting thing to notice is that during Clark's absence this is exactly how the Fever play. And they've been very successful with a fast style beating some of the top teams in the league including the Minnesota Lynx to win the Commissioner's Cup, without Clark.
She returns to the lineup for Wednesday's game and the Fever looks like a completely different team. The slow pace in which they played created a lot of problems for them against a quick Golden State team that smothered them on defense.
The Fever failed at keeping up with them, the slow pace they played at led to careless turnovers and there was no energy. Clark plays conservatively trying to spread the ball around as much as possible but when the team is down by double digits, the best shooter on the court needs to be the one taking the shots.
It turns out ESPN analyst and former college basketball coach Carolyn Peck wasn't too far off the mark with her recent analysis.
"I think Indiana is even more dangerous when Caitlin Clark doesn't play. Because she's a ball-dominant guard [and] the ball is in her hands a lot, so you know what you need to try to take away," she said during an appearance on SportsCenter.
Peck took a lot of backlash for this analysis. She in no way stated that the Fever are better off without Clark and she certainly shouldn't be discredited despite her 39 percent field goal percentage. She still very much elevates the game for her team. She has simply had a very up-and-down start to her sophomore season in the league, which has been injury plagued. The Fever have to find an identity and stick with it.
This doesn't mean sticking to the same game plan, but rather fall into each player's strongest skill. Simplify the playbook and go back to what has worked - setting screens for Clark and Mitchell for deep three opportunities, finding Lexie Hull and Sophie Cunningham in the wing and feeding into Aliyah Boston in the paint.
The Fever have to find their rhythm and continue to build strong on-court chemistry prior to reaching the latter stretch of the season or it will be a long road ahead for them.