WNBA analyst on ESPN: Fever harder to defend without Caitlin Clark

Wendell Cruz-USA TODAY Sports

The Indiana Fever are gearing up for the return of star player Caitlin Clark on Saturday in the 2026 season opener, after Clark missed all but 13 games a year ago due to nagging lower-body injuries throughout the season.

Ahead of Saturday’s tip-off against the Dallas Wings, fans and analysts are speculating on how far a healthy Clark can take the Fever after an injury-ridden Indiana pushed the Las Vegas Aces to a Game 7 in the WNBA semifinals last year.

Surprisingly, one WNBA analyst and former college basketball player, Lawrencia Moten, appeared on ESPN on Thursday and revealed that she thinks Clark’s presence actually makes the team easier to defend.

“This is my hot take,” Moten said, “Honestly, the Indiana Fever played some of their best team basketball without Caitlin Clark, and that’s because she’s like the sun that that offense kind of orbits around. The ball is constantly in her hands, which just made their offense extremely easy to guard.

“Now, without her in the lineup, (head coach) Stephanie White had to decide who else was going to get in the mix, and their offense became so much more diverse. We saw Kelsey Mitchell have a tremendous season. Lexie Hull got in the fold. Aliyah Boston had another dominant season. All because they had to do it without Cailin Clark, and that made their offense extremely hard to guard.”

It sounds crazy, but there may be some credence to Moten’s take. At least White may believe so. Ahead of the season, the Fever head coach has made it clear that the plan is to take Clark off the ball more than she has been in her first two seasons as a professional.