Without a doubt, Caitlin Clark’s second year with the Indiana Fever has not been the best for the 23-year-old star. Although everything seemed to indicate otherwise at the beginning, injuries got in her way.
On May 26, it was confirmed that CC would have to be sidelined due to a strained left quadriceps. This injury kept her out of action for five games.
A month later, her groin injury also meant she was absent from the team. And although she returned to the court for a short time, the discomfort persisted, leading her to appear in only 13 Indiana games.
Despite her absence and the loss of Sydney Colson, who tore her left anterior cruciate ligament (ACL), and Aari McDonald, who fractured a bone in her right foot, the team is trying to recover and compete for a spot in the playoffs.
Swoopes is concerned about Clark
WNBA legend Sheryl Swoopes discussed this in her most recent appearance on “The Women’s Hoops Show” on Friday. “They have enough to hold on and make it to the playoffs,” she began enthusiastically and hopefully.
However, she couldn’t help but express concern about Clark’s current condition if she decides to return to the court: “A grown injury is a serious injury. You can sit out two months and do your rehab and all the things and feel good, and then, come game time, you can make the wrong cut, the wrong move, and there it goes again,” Sheryl said.
In addition, the WNBA icon stressed the importance of CC’s return to Indiana being as careful as possible and when she is in peak physical condition. She also revealed what the 23-year-old star will have to work on if she wants to perform as she did before:
“Caitlin’s strength of being able to see the floor and get the ball where it needs to be. And of course her logo threes with a groin injury, you lose some of that strength,” she explained. “Last thing is she has to get back in basketball shape, not just shape,” Swoopes said.
Sheryl remains hopeful for the Fever
Despite the injuries plaguing the team -the most recent being Sophie Cunningham‘s against the Sun- the team is currently in sixth place at the time of this writing.
In the next nine games, Indiana will face the four best teams in the league right now, so they will be put to the test and every win will count.
However, despite Clark’s absence, Swoopes believes the Fever have a good chance of making the playoffs: “I think they have the pieces even if Caitlin doesn’t come back. It has been really impressive some of these wins that they have been able to get without her,” she said.
In addition, the legend said the team has shown admirable resilience lately: “And we look at, you know, how they finished off July. They were on a five-game winning streak, and they were able to down teams like the Mercury, the Aces, the Storm.”
Although Clark’s return date has not been officially confirmed, Sheryl and Fever fans remain hopeful that the team will make the playoffs.
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