In her WNBA debut against the Connecticut Sun, it was visible that Caitlin Clark needs to go through a learning curve. The topmost defensive team last season being their first road opponent, didn’t help. For Clark, though, the biggest competition was the defensive guard DiJonai Carrington, who hounded the rookie throughout the game. So much so that Clark couldn’t make a single shot in the first ten minutes. 

Her first league points came midway through the second quarter when she stole the ball around the foul line and drove the length for a layup. It was clear, the rookie wouldn’t get anything easily. She scored 20 points on 5 of 15 shooting. Her touted three-pointers dropped to just 4 of 11. She left the Mohegan Sun Arena with a record of 10 turnovers on only 3 assists. She still claimed, “Can’t beat yourself up too much about one game.” But one game turned into multiple. Finally came the point where she questioned her own saying, “It is what it is.”

Entering July, everyone knew Clark was not considered for the Paris Olympics. One of many reasons, then, was her inconsistency against a defensive team. While no one wondered if Clark would pull off a deep logo, her general offense remained a question mark. When the former Indiana HC Christie Sides approached her on the team bus enroute a game, she smiled and said, “Hey coach, they woke up a monster.” That was the time that Indiana’s future was rewritten. Fast forward to now, Clark is remembering how she came to the realization that something needed to change.

On the latest episode of the Bird’s Eye View podcast with WNBA legend Sue Bird, Clark peeled back the curtain on her first year, particularly exposing the evolution of her shooting confidence and introducing new shots, specifically floater, a shot she rarely pulled. “I feel like there’s definitely times where I’m like, in there, and it’s like, ‘Argh!’, I can go back and watch the film and be like ‘I’ve worked on that so much, why don’t I just shoot it?’ But it’s not natural. It’s not natural to you yet.

“I think the only way to make it natural is you just got to do it in the game. Whether you want to or not, the best way for it to come and just be a thing is you just got to shoot it in the game. You can do as many reps as you want outside of practice. But once you get in actual flow in the competition, that’s when it’s really gonna become a thing. Like if you’re willing to actually do it. And I think I’ve gotten decent at the ‘Okay, I drive right.’ I think it was a learning thing for me.

“Early in my WNBA career, I would drive right and I would have a step on the big, but I would go for the layup and I would just get blocked and blocked and blocked. Like A’ja (Wilson) and Ezi (Magbegor) or like those really long, athletic five players. You think you have a step on them and you do, but they’re just longer and more athletic.

“Like they’re just going to get there. There are not those players in college. I think I’ve gotten good at stopping just enough for a floater at the right side, just becoming comfortable everywhere else. But also, at the same time, you have to remember, you can still get to whatever you want if you’re that good at it.”

As a point guard celebrated for her exceptional deep-range shooting and fearless shot selection, Clark admitted that even her rookie year tested her in ways she hadn’t anticipated. Her risk-assessment on passes and her ability to only shoot from beyond the arc or make a layup were amongst the things she needed to work on. For someone who left Iowa as the NCAA’s all-time leading scorer with 3,951 career points, the adjustment was jarring.

The defenses were longer, faster, and more relentless than anything she’d faced before. Though her 32.9% three-point shooting in the first 20 WNBA games reflected that learning curve, each possession left Clark questioning her offensive instincts. While practice could sharpen playmaking, Clark knew that rhythm and trusting her shots could only be forged during game nights.

Still, presence like Wilson on the floor, who even became the only basketball player to be inducted into the University of South Carolina’s Hall of Fame for her relentless paint work, could be fearful. No wonder, the Fever lost by an average of 13.25 points per game to the Aces who swept their regular season series. Although they did manage one 92-75 win in the last matchup against the Seattle Storm, the team took the series 3-1, winning by 9.6 ppg.

The Aces center and the Seattle forward are one of the very few defensive athletes whose tactics helped Clark sharpen her offense. Over the offseason, she improved her floater and was the first WNBA players that the league notified us was already on the hardwood. However, all that work now awaits for her groin injury to be nursed. Seemingly, her sophomore season is not as easy either.

But as the Fever athlete sits out so far in her sophomore season, the Indiana Fever locker room is trying to adjust to her absence. Thanks to head coach Stephanie White, the roster’s new strategies have not only improved the team’s league standing but also empowered them to use their strengths collectively. Leading the locker room is the team’s veteran shooting guard Kelsey Mitchell.

Kelsey Mitchell takes on leadership role in Caitlin Clark’s absence

As a natural scorer for the franchise,

Kelsey Mitchell stepped up to fill the leadership shoes. While the Indiana Fever athlete has been topping the scoreboard in superstar Caitlin Clark’s absence for a while now, the veteran confessed to her increased importance after the latest 92-70 win against the Chicago Sky.

After Sydney Colson and Aari McDonald’s season-ending injuries, Mitchell emerged as a leader for the roster.

“I don’t know, it brings out the vulnerable side of me, the leadership in which I need to keep getting better at and keep growing at,” Mitchell confessed after the game. “I think being this PG position kind of helps with that. I think they made me look good tonight.”

The situational primary playmaker rallied the team towards another victory against the Sky. While she emerged with a season-best performance with 26 points and 8 assists, Mitchell hinted at the team’s undying unity while juggling heartbreaking injuries.

“

We got to laugh to keep from crying. Losing Syd was big. Losing Aari McDonald was big. And not having CC is even bigger,” Mitchell pointed out. “Those three not being here, we gotta take every joy that we can. No one’s gonna hand us anything. So, we might as well look at it for what it is and keep showing up.”

From a team that heavily relied on

Caitlin Clark to a team riddled with injuries, Mitchell admitted that the roster needs to lean on each other if they wish to navigate easily through the season. But with Clark, McDonald, and Colson out already, can Mitchell push the Indiana Fever towards the aspirational playoffs? That remains to be seen.