Good morning, I’m Dan Gartland. I’m leaving today for a reporting trip and won’t be writing SI:AM for the next few days, but the newsletter will keep chugging in my absence.
In today’s SI:AM:
🐅 Joe Burrow on the cover
🥵 SEC football hot seat
⛳ British Open’s hardest hole
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Clark’s injury-plagued season
It’s been a rough season for Fever megastar Caitlin Clark—and it just got worse.
A variety of injuries have limited Clark to playing in just 13 of Indiana’s 23 games this season, and a fresh injury could keep her out of this weekend’s All-Star Game festivities in Indianapolis. Clark exited Tuesday night’s game against the Sun in the final minute and was seen on the bench looking visibly upset.
The team later announced that Clark had suffered a right groin injury, which comes after a left groin injury caused her to miss four games in late June and early July. She previously missed time earlier in the season with a quad injury. Clark has never dealt with serious injuries at any point in her career. She never missed a game in college and played all 40 games of her rookie season last year.
Fever coach Stephanie White said Wednesday before the team’s game against the Liberty in New York that the groin injury doesn’t appear to be serious.
“I consider it good news, just because, for me, if it’s anything that we’re talking about day-to-day, it’s always good news for me,” White said.
But the timing of the injury is especially disappointing. The Fever are set to host the WNBA All-Star Game this weekend, an event that was supposed to have Clark at the forefront. She was selected as an All-Star as a rookie last season, but declined to participate in the three-point contest. She also turned down an opportunity to take part in a shooting competition at the NBA’s All-Star weekend, saying that she wanted her first three-point contest to be the one in Indianapolis on Friday night.
Clark was officially added to the three-point contest field on Tuesday, but her injury now casts doubt on her ability to compete. The ultimate decision as to whether Clark will take part in the All-Star festivities, and to what degree, will be made by Clark and her representatives, White said.
“Caitlin and her team will make decisions when it comes to All-Star,” White said. “You know, for me, it’s a big deal for us to have All-Star in Indianapolis. And of course, with Caitlin being a focal point of all of that. As the coach of the Indiana Fever, it’s not a bigger deal than our long term season, but it’s also part of the fun. So those are conversations that Caitlin will have with her group. I probably won’t be a part of those, but we’re gonna support her no matter what.”
The injuries haven’t just limited Clark’s availability this season; they’ve also affected her play when she has been on the court. She’s still averaging a very impressive 16.5 points, 8.8 assists and 5.0 rebounds per game, but her shooting hasn’t been up to her usual high standards. Her field-goal percentage has dipped from 41.7% last season to 36.7% this year. Her 27.9 three-point percentage ranks dead last among the 37 WNBA players who have taken at least 70 threes this season.
If there’s a silver lining to this, it’s that the Fever have managed to at least tread water in the games that Clark has missed. They’re currently 12–11, good for sixth in the league. They’re 8–5 with Clark in the lineup and 4–6 without her. They won the Commissioner’s Cup, even when Clark missed the championship game against the league-leading Lynx. But Indiana entered the season with higher expectations after snapping a seven-year playoff drought last year and adding veterans Natasha Howard, Sydney Colson and DeWanna Bonner (who was later waived and signed by the Mercury) to join young stars Clark and Aliyah Boston. The team is currently in playoff position but only has a 1.5-game lead over the ninth-place Valkyries. (The top eight teams make the playoffs.) Unless Clark can stay healthy and start shooting like her usual self, the Fever’s postseason hopes might be slim.
Around the W
This week on Around the W, host Maria Clifton sits down with All-Star starter Allisha Gray to talk fashion, video games and the Atlanta Dream's championship hopes—plus Rhyne Howard joins them for a surprise taste test. Gray and Howard dive into All-Star buzz, TikTok trends and their off-court friendship in a fun, snack-filled segment.
The best of Sports Illustrated
- Joe Burrow is on the cover of the Sports & Style issue of Sports Illustrated, with a story by Nick Remsen on how the Bengals quarterback is part of a movement of athletes as style icons.
- Pat Forde believes these eight SEC football coaches are on the hot seat this season.
- As the first round of the British Open begins today in Northern Ireland, Bob Harig explains why the weather could be a major factor.
- The hole that could decide the tournament is the par-3 16th, known as “Calamity Corner.” Max Schreiber has more on what makes the hole so tough, and so controversial.
- Conor Orr narrows down the field to a dozen teams that he could envision lifting the Lombardi Trophy after Super Bowl LX.
- The AFC has some of the best rivalries in the NFL, and Matt Verderame picks the most intense for each franchise.
- The stock of many USMNT stars continues to rise. Here we explain why Atlético Madrid should be excited after signing Johnny Cardoso.
- Barcelona's 18-year-old wunderkind, Lamine Yamal, has cemented his superstar status by being given the iconic No. 10 jersey, famously worn by a certain Inter Miami forward.
The top five…
… shots at the British Open so far this morning:
5. Shane Lowry’s 22-foot putt to save par.
4. Jacob Skov Olesen’s long putt for eagle.
3. Phil Mickelson’s hole-out from the sand.
2. Daniel Brown’s chip-in that went past the hole and backed in.
1. A beautiful chip-in from the deep rough by 2011 Open champion Darren Clarke.
This article was originally published on www.si.com as SI:AM | Caitlin Clark’s All-Star Availability Uncertain After Latest Injury.