A smiling Caitlin Clark talked to reporters on Tuesday about how it would feel to return against the Golden State Valkyries on Wednesday, which is now expected.
“It’s going to be fun to get back out there,” Clark told Scott Agness. “I don’t know what kind of minutes I’ll get. But when I’m out there, just compete and play hard. It’s hard sitting out and watching for a few weeks. I’m excited to get back out there.”
WNBA fans, especially those of the Indiana Fever, will be excited to have Clark, now a two-time all-star, back in the fold.
It’s not clear how much Clark will play, as she said. But if she wasn’t healthy enough to play 30 minutes or so, it wouldn’t make sense to have her on the floor.
The bigger question is what kind of production will the Fever get from Clark on Wednesday afternoon against Golden State?
In the three games before her injury, Clark experienced the worst shooting stretch of her professional or college basketball career, making just 1-of-23 three-point attempts.
Now that she’s missed five games, it’s safe to assume she wasn’t healthy. She did appear to tweak something at the end of the game against Seattle when she played last, and finished with just six points.
Yet, even before that, Clark just didn’t look right. Hopefully, she is now. But Wednesday’s afternoon game, which is part of the WNBA’s “Camp Day,” will be a lot more exciting with Clark on the floor than without her.
As for Indiana, the return couldn’t come at a better time. The Fever did win the Commissioner’s Cup last week and kept their heads above water when Clark was out, winning three of the five games. However, it’s obvious that for Indiana to become the title contender it has the potential to be, Clark needs to find herself, starting on Wednesday.
