It turns out the absence of Caitlin Clark didn't put a damper on WNBA All-Star Weekend at all. The 3-Point Contest and Skills Challenge on Friday night delivered record ratings and a signature moment, with Sabrina Ionescu regaining her title and sharing her winnings. The All-Star Game itself was a blowout but featured Napheesa Collier breaking the individual scoring record — the third time that record has been broken in the past four years. And then there were the Studbudz, the breakout stars of the weekend.
Fever fans, however, would still probably have rather had Clark in uniform and competing, rather than just on the sidelines resting her injured groin. She had re-aggravated it just before the break, missing a game against the Liberty and all of the All-Star festivities. Now, as the regular season resumes, it appears she will need a bit more time.
Caitlin Clark is out for the July 22 matchup with the Liberty
Clark has already been ruled out for tonight's game against the Liberty. This will be the second regular season game she's missed with this injury, and the 11th game she's missed overall this year. Her injury history was unbelievably clean before this — three separate injuries knocking her out of the lineup after she'd never missed a game during four years at Iowa or across her rookie season with the Fever.
Projected Fever lineup without Caitlin Clark
The Fever have used three different starting lineups in the game Clark has missed this season, and it's not clear which one Stephanie White will use tonight against the Liberty. However, it seems probably she may go with the same group she used in their last matchup with New York right before the break:
POSITION | PLAYER |
|---|---|
PG | Aari McDonald |
SG | Kelsey Mitchell |
SF | Sophie Cunningham |
PF | Natasha Howard |
C | Aliyah Boston |
The offense will likely run through Boston and Mitchell, as it has in most of the games Clark has missed this season. Putting Cunningham in the starting lineup over Lexi Hull or Sydney Colson gives the Fever a bit more interior force to matchup with the Liberty.
How the Fever have played without Caitlin Clark this season
Unsurprisingly, the Fever have struggled without Clark this season. They're 4-6 in the 10 games she's missed, although they've actually outscored opponents by an average of 1.0 points per 100 possessions in all minutes Clark hasn't been on the floor.
This will be the Fever's fourth and final meeting of the regular season against the defending champion Liberty. They split the two previous games in which Clark was able to play — a two-point loss and a 14-point win that ended New York's nine-game winning streak to begin the season. In the last game before the All-Star Break, the Liberty pounded the Fever 98-77 with Clark unable to play.