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Things felt like they were finally clicking into place for the Fever just days ago: the team was on a hot five-game win streak, shots were falling, and plays were working. Fans were even kicking off the Stephanie White outrage apology tour, and there was a little bit of electricity in the air: they might just end up running away with the season after all — or come mighty close.
The team has already been playing without Caitlin Clark, who injured her right groin in mid-July (her fourth injury of the season), but they had Aari McDonald and Syd Colson on deck, both of whom are more than capable of delivering results. But last night’s game against the Mercury took the pair out: Colson departed the game after suffering a knee injury in the first quarter, and McDonald left the arena in crutches.
The situation is, to be blunt, pretty bad. There’s just over a month left in the WNBA season, which isn’t a lot of time in the grand scheme of things — and it seemed the Fever were on the brink of something special.
The Fever’s playoffs might be dashed
The most obvious impact so many injuries could have on the Fever is the combination could end up just too much for the team to overcome in so short a period of time. Though the Fever has proven to be more than resilient so far this season, three key injuries would be (and is) a lot for any team.
Coach White has so far only noted McDonald and Colson will be evaluated more Friday, and so far the team hasn’t made any further announcements about their injuries or timeline for return. Natasha Howard and Sophie Cunningham also suffered milder injuries during the same game, which forced White to keep Lexie Hull and Kelsey Mitchell in for longer than she might have otherwise just to finish out the game.
The longer term picture is unclear, but if Clark, McDonald, and Colson are all out for several games, the playoffs may be a tough goal for the team to make. It could be dangerous to bring Clark back to the court too soon, and McDonald and Colson similarly need to be allowed the space to adequately heal from their respective injuries over fighting through and making a playoff push that comes with a lot of risk.
Of course… this is the Indiana Fever, and this year’s team has demonstrated a relentless inability to bow to fear and chaos — something they may need to tap into now more than ever.
