In less than two days, the Indiana Fever will take on the Connecticut Sun before the WNBA All-Star break kicks in. But one question around their biggest star remains: Will Caitlin Clark finally be free from her minutes restriction?
In the last five games Clark has played, she has averaged just 24.2 minutes on the court, with the limit being 25 minutes. So as the season moves forward, and every game starts to matter a little more, the Fever need their star guard on the floor as much as possible. However, when head coach Stephanie White was asked if that restriction would be lifted against the Sun, she didn’t have a clear answer.
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“I have no idea,” White said during her recent conversation with the reporters. “It’s one day at a time.”
Caitlin Clark has been dealing with a nagging back injury throughout the season. Injuries have already forced her to miss four games, with her back being the biggest reason behind her limited minutes. So it’s clear the Fever are prioritizing her long-term health, especially when the rest of the team has shown it can hold its own without their floor general.
But White’s uncertainty about whether those restrictions will continue is still a little unusual. However, if there’s one thing the minutes restriction hasn’t done, it’s slow Clark down.
Even while spending less time on the court than usual, she recently exploded for a career-high 45 points against the Seattle Storm. In the process, she also became the first player in WNBA history to record at least 40 points and 10 assists in a single game.
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Then, 24 hours later, Caitlin Clark was back on the floor against the New York Liberty, where she led the Fever to another win with 17 points and 7 assists.
So for what it’s worth, Clark herself feels “good, great” after the back-to-back games. But White admitted there were still times when she felt her star guard “looked like she was a little off-balance.” And that alone shows the Fever still believe there is work to do before taking the supporting wheels off completely.
For now, Indiana’s approach isn’t changing. The Fever would rather take things one game at a time than rush Caitlin Clark back into a full workload, even if it means keeping one of the league’s brightest stars on a minutes restriction a little longer. Now, whether that changes against the Sun remains anyone’s guess.
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