With Caitlin Clark injured, Fever need more from Kelsey Mitchell to avoid falling into deeper hole

With 5.8 seconds remaining Friday night, the Indiana Fever, who trailed by as many as 15 in the fourth quarter, were down by two to the Connecticut Sun, but had the ball with a chance to tie or win the game. They never even got a shot to the rim. 

Kelsey Mitchell rolled to the corner off an Aliyah Boston screen, but mishandled a pass from Lexie Hull. As the last few seconds ticked away, Mitchell hurried to regather control and launched a desperate attempt from the baseline that never had a chance. 

The Sun held on for an 85-83 win — their first of the season — while the Fever lost their third game in a row, and second without Caitlin Clark in the lineup. 

“As far as the last play, it wasn’t clean,” Fever coach Stephanie White said. “We didn’t get it in cleanly. The way it was developing, it looked like were gonna have a good look, but it just wasn’t clean.”

Mitchell’s miscue summed up another disappointing night for the two-time All-Star, who finished with 13 points and five assists on 4 of 15 from the field. Just two nights prior, Mitchell put up 14 points and four assists on 4 of 16 shooting in the Fever’s loss to the Washington Mystics. 

In two games without Caitlin Clark, who is sidelined with a quad injury through at least June 7, Mitchell has scored 27 points on 8 of 31 from the field, including 2 of 11 from 3-point range. The Fever have lost those contests by a combined eight points. 

Caitlin Clark injury: Fever coach explains how WNBA star can use absence as ‘opportunity for growth’

Jack Maloney

Mitchell had the best season of her career in 2024 playing alongside Clark, and together they formed one of the most dynamic backcourts in the league. The Fever were so eager to keep the veteran lefty in town that they used the core designation to gain exclusive negotiating rights, then signed her to a one-year, supermax contract that made her the highest-paid player in the league. 

Through six games, Mitchell is not holding up her end of the deal. She’s averaging 16.3 points — her fewest since 2019 — and three assists on 38.7% shooting. 

There was plenty of concern in Indianapolis when Clark went down, but the general consensus was that they should be able to weather the storm due to their improved depth and a relatively weak schedule. Instead, due in large part to Mitchell’s poor play, they’ve looked terrible. 

Mitchell does not have Clark’s playmaking skills — no one does, to be fair — but she was one of the best perimeter scorers in the league last season thanks to her quickness and outside shooting ability. That has not been the case through the first two weeks of this campaign. 

Without Clark, Mitchell has been forced to create more by herself, against defenses that are geared toward stopping her, and the results have not been pretty, particularly outside of the restricted area. 

It’s worth noting Mitchell is dealing with a fractured middle finger on her shooting hand. The injury occurred while she was playing in China during the offseason, and Mitchell said during training camp “no one fixed it” while she was overseas. 

“Probably healing on its own now,” Mitchell continued. “Nothing I can really do about it… Obviously, the trainers here have taken care of me to get done with I need to get done. But there’s only so much you can do with a semi-fractured finger. It’s part of life, part of basketball at that point. Normal stuff athletes go through.”

It’s hard to quantify exactly how much of an effect Mitchell’s finger is having on her rough shooting as of late, but it’s certainly not helping. 

Even so, Mitchell simply hasn’t been good enough since Clark went down. The Fever need her to step up before they dig themselves an even bigger hole.