Caitlin Clark is back, and despite a season-opening loss to the Wings, the Fever have something to build on

The Fever’s defense let them down against a Wings squad that showed itself every bit the most improved roster they were dubbed by the masses. Despite Dallas leaving every door in the house open with missed late free throws, neither the Fever nor Clark could find the final basket.

Trailing by 3 with 13.2 seconds left, Clark appeared shocked when she was left alone again when her defender bit too hard. She collected herself, stepped back and bounced it off the rim from 31 feet out near the same spot as her elation a quarter earlier. She set the screen for a last-ditch 32-foot attempt by Mitchell that also nearly landed.

Fever head coach Stephanie White liked the looks. The issue was the team’s overall sluggishness despite a breakneck first quarter that was epitomized by Clark and Mitchell reenacting post-game how out of breath they were when trying to lead the team.

“It was for them, too,” Clark said. “[Wings head coach] Jose [Fernandez] was yelling at them to keep running. I’m like, Jose, I don’t know if either of us can keep running.”

Back, too, is a lighter air from Clark. She leaned into a photography hobby in the offseason and insisted on taking the media’s picture during training camp. In pre-game availability on Saturday morning, she said hello to every media member with a question and spoke of the emotion she felt putting on the Fever jersey to play again.

“As excited as [fans] are, I'm probably way more excited,” Clark said of her return. “That's how much I love this game, how much I missed it.”

At some point in her grueling stop-and-go rehab, she recalled being told that everything she was going through, every ‘why is this happening?’ she asked herself, would help prepare her for future challenges and mental battles, in the game and out. She’s focused on keeping her mind right in the middle.

Even if the microscope is never put away into the drawer for good. Fans want her out there as much as she does, but with that comes constant conjecture and concern — especially after a lack of concrete information through last year’s rehab.

After she went down the tunnel twice in the second half, the broadcast reported that trainers were working on her hip flexor/groin area.

“We wouldn’t have played her 30 minutes if she wasn’t OK,” White,

A Fever spokesperson said the team did not issue any official update or information, and anything else would be speculation. Clark said she went back to get her back adjusted as it “gets out of line pretty quickly.”

White said it was part of maintaining the body and does not apply only to Clark. She compared it to the NFL’s blue tent, where players go for minor in-game assessments and even simple changes.

“When we’re all really young, we don’t learn proper mechanics, and then it doesn’t get exposed until something happens, and trying to get her body mechanically the way that it needs to go,” White said. “This is going to be an ongoing thing, not just for her.”

Clark said she started off slowly, likely with the anxiety of working through the first game, but she felt fast. She picked her spots to drive, at times hesitating as if she didn’t want to take it, but finding open shooters as the Wings collapsed. She said she made it a priority to regain her burst and step after being out so long and get her feet into the paint.

“Especially if they call it the way they're going to call it this year, I think I honestly could have probably got a couple more calls on a few of them, but that's OK,” she said.

She found center Aliyah Boston, who scored 23, on pick-and-pops and helped feed the speedster Mitchell to a tune of 30 points. None of their 3-pointers fell at a high rate (7 of 24) while their defensive miscues allowed the Wings open looks over chasing Fever players. Dallas was 12 of 23 from the 2-point line, and 39 of 66 overall (59.1%).

“Our offense is obviously not the issue,” said Clark, who cracked 1,000 career WNBA points in the opener. “We're perfectly fine on offense, offense, and there's still so many things you can do better on that end of the floor.”

The locker room was positive despite the loss. There are 43 more games, and a lot to be proud of moving forward. They’ll work on rotations and personnel, understanding they can’t ride shootouts to a championship. Now that Clark is back, back, it’s time for the Fever to get going.