How the prolonged absence of Clark affects the fever fever eliminations series

Indiana fever said Thursday that Caitlin Clark goalkeeper is absent for the rest of the WNBA 2025 season, missing the last three games in the team’s regular season and any potential playoff games. The announcement ended weeks of speculation at the moment when Clark, who has not played since July 15 due to a right -off injury, would return – a frustrating chapter for Clark and fever, which are currently the head n ° 8 for the WNBA qualifiers.

Clark did not miss a match during her four seasons at Iowa or her first season in the WNBA, when she won the recruit of the year and led the league in assists and at 3 points. But she had a hard time staying healthy throughout 2025, appearing so far in only 13 of the 41 Indiana games.

Three different injuries forced her to miss the final of the commissioner on July 1, won by fever on Minnesota; The star match, for which she was captain for the competition in her original arena, Gainbridge Fieldhouse; And the last seven weeks of the season.

What does this mean for fever and WNBA that Clark will not be in the playoffs? And what is the next step for the 23 -year -old, who is one of the largest stars of professional sports?

How do news on Thursday have an impact on the rest of the fever season and hopes in the playoffs in the future?

The fever has suffered so many injuries and new players added and withdraw this season that they have proven that they were rolling with the punches. And they will not be surprised by this news – they are all the time around Clark and know how its recovery takes place. Despite all the difficulties, four fever players appeared in the 41 games: Kelsey Mitchell and Lexie Hull guards, and publishes Aliyah Boston and Natasha Howard.

It is still a very good and experienced quartet of players to take in the playoffs if the fever can lock their place in the playoffs. Mitchell and Boston are both summit in career on average, and Hull has high -level medium -level (7.2), rebounds (4.4) and assists (1.8). Howard is a triple WNBA champion with Seattle (twice) and Minnesota.

In August, after end -of -season injuries for the guards Aari McDonald and Sydney Colson, the fever added the veteran guard Odyssey Sims. They also added aerial powers later in the month after the loss of Sophie Cunningham for the season. Sims and combined Powers played 55 games in the WNBA qualifiers. Powers won a WNBA title with Washington.

Obviously, this team is not like what was expected in May, but its resilience has never disappeared. Clark being officially closed is a blow, but the fever has played more than twice as many games without Clark this season than with her. – Fupel

How did Indiana play without Clark?

The good news for fever is that they still have two healthy all-stars in Boston and Mitchell, who intensified the main creator of the Indiana perimeter in the absence of Clark. Mitchell has an average of 21.2 ppg and 3.9 APG in 28 games without Clark, against 19.2 ppg and 2.2 APG as part of an All-Star rear area duo.

However, the recent wounds to the guards beyond Clark tested the depth of Indiana. The fever won five consecutive games from July 24 to August 3, but just after the victories sequence that was broken in Los Angeles, they lost McDonald and Colson in a defeat against Phoenix. Including this match, which none of the two players finished, Indiana has known 4-7 in its last 11 games. Then Cunningham, who has an average of 11.2 ppg in 13 departures, was also lost for the season.

Curiously, Indiana still has a better clear note (less than 2.5 points per 100 possessions) in this period than Los Angeles (less-3.5), according to WNBA Advanced Stats. The sparks are 1.5 game fever for the eighth and last point of playoffs, which is why fever makes the playoffs in 93% of the simulations using the ESPN basketball power index (BPI). But the net note of Indiana is the last among the eight teams currently in the position of playoffs, which does not increase well for an upheaval in the first round. – Pelton

Why has the fever made the decision now?

The fever could have been ready to eliminate the Clark season even before Thursday. But Clark is a fierce competitor, and the management of the fever probably wanted to give him every opportunity to come back if she could. Throughout, it seemed that the fever tried to balance Clark’s encouragement while trying to remain pragmatic.

But with the end of the regular season next week, the chronometer had been made to him on his return. There was no reason to continue to suspend the hope of fever, the fans, many of which probably provided for this announcement, or for Clark to continue to push towards an impossible objective. – Fupel

What does Clark mean for the season for his immediate future?

She ends her second season after having on average 16.5 points, 8.8 assists, 5.0 rebounds and 1.6 interceptions in 13 games. Even in her time out of the field, she has never been disengaged from fever. It was a vocal and energetic presence on the bench, and we can expect what will remain the same for all the remaining games of Indiana. But there is no more pressure to push himself physically, which is for the best. It can focus on health, the implementation of training routines that will continue in the offseason and support the team for the duration of the 2025 season.

As for what it means for WNBA, Clark is clearly the biggest draw in the league: its presence in the court even arouses people who are not big sports fans. We will certainly miss the playoffs. But if the classification is holding, Indiana will still host its first eliminatory match since 2016, and through the League, there remains anticipation for the playoffs and several intriguing scenarios. – Fupel

What should we expect from Clark next May in its third season of the WNBA?

For this season, the season is a memory. We are still at least eight months from the start of the regular season of 2026, more than enough time for the Clark groin completely.

Perhaps the most convincing parallel with Clark Lost 2025 is the second NBA season of Michael Jordan. After winning the recruit of the year, as Clark did last year, Jordan was limited to 18 games and seven departures in 1985-1986 by a navicular fracture. (A key difference: Jordan returned to the playoffs, lowering 63 points on the possible Celtic champion at the Boston Garden in a defeat in the first round.) The following season, Jordan has an average of a career of 37.1 ppg and finished second in MVP.

There is also the previous WNBA. The MVP A’ja Wilson quarter went from 20.7 ppg on average as a recruit at 16.5 in 2nd year, partly due to a sprained ankle which cost him a few weeks. The following year, in 2020, Wilson won the first of these MVP trophies. Sue Bird managed to play 34 games during his second season despite a knee injury that required microfracture surgery during the next off -season. In the 3rd year, Bird helped lead the Seattle storm at the first of its four championships.

This does not mean that Clark will win a score title, MVP or a championship in 2026, but its potential should not be limited by what happened this year.

An interesting question is not to be missed so long could change the plans of Clark’s off -season. She opted against any competition organized after her recruit campaign, but going so long without competitive games may not be ideal for Clark this time. This could make participation in play 3 against 3 of Invalided or go abroad more attractive. – Pelton