WNBA Analyst Makes Smart Point About Caitlin Clark Amid Star’s Third Straight Absence

Clark is set to miss Thursday's game against the Las Vegas Aces due to a nagging groin injury.
Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark reacts during the during the first half of a game against the Las Vegas Aces at T-Mobile Arena.
Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark reacts during the during the first half of a game against the Las Vegas Aces at T-Mobile Arena. / Lucas Peltier-Imagn Images

Indiana Fever star Caitlin Clark looks to be headed for another lengthy stay on the bench after being ruled out of Thursday's home game against the Las Vegas Aces.

And that's a good thing, according to WNBA Countdown's Carolyn Peck.

Peck spoke about Clark's ongoing injury rehab prior to the Fever's road loss to the New York Liberty on Tuesday night, but her comments arguably feel more relevant now that Clark will miss her third straight game.

As Peck explained on the WNBA pregame show:

"I think that in the month of July, you've got four games—I'd say she sits those four because when you start August and you look at Indiana's schedule: four games on the road. I can't tell you how important it is to be at home and to be able to rehab at your facility so that you can be strong enough to finish the second half of August. Because I think that if you give her time, and you let her rest, then you give an opportunity to continue to make that run as Indiana gets going."

Clark continues to nurse a right groin injury that she picked up on a meaningless play against the Connecticut Sun a week ago. Prior to her latest setback, the second-year guard missed five games due to a left groin injury, and five games due to a left quad strain.

Given that soft-tissue injures are notoriously fickle, it may be in the Fever's best interest to sit Clark for the rest of the month and hope she'll be ready to go come August, even if that means Indiana (12-12) will drop a few games. The Fever will close out July playing the Aces (12-11), Chicago Sky (7-16) and Phoenix Mercury (15-7).


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Kristen Wong
KRISTEN WONG

Kristen Wong is a staff writer on the Breaking and Trending News team at Sports Illustrated. She has been a sports journalist since 2020. Before joining SI in November 2023, Wong covered four NFL teams as an associate editor with the FanSided NFL Network and worked as a staff writer for the brand’s flagship site. Outside of work, she has dreams of running her own sporty dive bar.