The Guru’s WNBA Roundup: Clark Sidelined A Minimum Two Weeks; New York and Minnesota Look to Stay Unbeaten While Connecticut and Chicago Meet Seeking First Win

By Mel Greenberg @womhoopsguru

On a Memorial Day that WNBA arenas were dark with no games scheduled, Indiana’s Caitlin Clark still was the dominant story, the Fever announcing Monday the reigning rookie of the year has been sidelined for at least two weeks and four games with a left quad strain suffered in Saturday’s two-point loss to the defending champion New York Liberty, missing at least four games.

The injury is not to the same leg that kept her out of the Fever’s first preseason game before playing for Indiana later that weekend in a homecoming visit to Iowa, where she  never missed a game as a collegian and went on to play all 40 regular season games and a pair of of playoff games, besides the current four to date, after taken as the overall No. 1 pick in the 2024 draft.

New Indiana coach Stephanie White, according to reports out of Monday’s practice, said Clark self-reported the injury, saying “something’s going on with the leg,” and an MRI confirmed the setback.

“Obviously, she wants to play and, obviously, everyone wants to see her play,” White said in wanting to nip the situation in the bud. “But for me, it’s about maintaining perspective. It’s making sure that we address this that doesn’t affect the long term, that we take care of it and don’t overpush, don’t overexert.”

The upside is that Indiana can learn how to perform when Clark isn’t spending the greater part of a game on the floor, while the Iowa native can get a feel from a coach’s viewpoint as the game plays out.

With the news coming at mid-afternoon, social media immediately jumped over the breaking announcement with analysis of potential Indiana lineups and the like.

ESPN also provided how the betting market on WNBA players and teams are being affected.

The Fever, off to a 2-2 start after placed in the preseason mix as a title contender, are visiting Washington Wednesday and then continuing the span hosting Connecticut Friday, hosting the Mystics Tuesday in the second day of the two-week Commisioner’s Cup series and then heading to Chicago a day before Clark will undergo her first evaluation.

Offseason acquisitions with veteran and postseason experience provide capability to survive until Clark returns to action, though the wait has the potential to be extended.

However, it will be interesting to see the effect of Clark’s absence in other areas.

When Indiana travels, teams with smaller arenas have moved their games to larger venues.

Washington, which plays the bulk of the Mystics games across the Potomac after moving from the larger NBA affiliate several years, could not play downtown Wednesday because the Wizards’ and NHL Capitals’ venue is undergoing renovation.

Thus, Wednesday’s game is set not too far up the road for the 14,000-seat CFG Bank Arena in Baltimore at 7:30 p.m.

The game in Chicago on June 7 when the next episode of the Clark/Angel Reese rivalry was anticipated, was moved by the Sky out of the shared 10,387-seat Wintrust Arena that is home to the DePaul collegiate men and women over to the massive United Center that houses the NBA-Chicago Bulls with a capacity set at 20,000, though it can house 23,000 for concerts.

Furthermore, all but three of Indiana games of the league’s expanded 44-game schedule are on national platforms and the June 7 contest that Saturday night is set for CBS, the potential before the injury in the wake of all the other TV ratings data WNBA data points bulldozed when Clark plays to be the most watched league game in history.

It’s WNBA-Palooza Tuesday Night

It may have been quiet Monday in terms of no games on the slate but Tuesday in week two, five contests are on the slate, all on the WNBA’s League Pass streaming platform.

In games involving the two remaining unbeaten squads, who met each other in a complete five-game finals, defending champion New York (3-0) with Saint Joseph’s  grad Natasha Cloud, hosts Golden State (2-1) at 7 p.m. at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn and will again greet the expansion Valkyries Thursday at 7 p.m., while Minnesota (4-0) hosts Seattle at the Target Center in Minneapolis at 8 p.m.

If one wants to get a piece of evidence how the eruption of interest in the women’s collegiate and pro game has occurred, the San Francisco Chronicle is sending its Valkyries beat writer across the country on the trip.

One recalls when papers started downsizing early the last decade the day after Connecticut knocked out Stanford in the national semifinals of the NCAA Women’s Final Four the seating area for the West Coast press contingent covering the losing Cardinal looked like Dunkirk in the wake of home offices pulling their reporters back ahead of the title game.

Meanwhile, someone will break out of the 0-4 winless label when Dallas visits Connecticut at 7 p.m. at the Mohegan Sun Arena featuring overall No. 1 draft pick Paige Bueckers out of UConn making her first return near her alma mater that she led to its extended record 12th NCAA title last month in Tampa, Fla.

In the remaining two games, both West at 10 p.m., Los Angeles hosts Atlanta at the Crypto.com Arena, formerly called the Staples Center, while Phoenix hosts Chicago at the PHX Arena.

If Dallas loses Tuesday, a second winless bowl will occur in Thursday’s other game with Chicago hosting the Wings at Wintrust Arena at 8 p.m. on Amazon Prime Video.

For those here in the city hoping Philadelphia, back by a bid from the NBA 76ers and Comcast, lands the last expansion slot in the current cycle, there’s local opportunity to cheer for some former greats here at area colleges playing nearby.

Cloud is an easy trip to New York to see with the Liberty on Tuesday or Thursday if the Barclays Center in Brooklyn isn’t sold out or a Friday trip to Washington at 7:30 p.m. will offer Cloud, new to the defending champs through a trade, against Mystics rookie Lucy Olsen, the former Villanova and Iowa star, though seats may now be more available in Baltimore for Washington, though if planning to go by car getting there early will help deal with rush hour traffic plus a nearby Major League Baseball Orioles game.

It should be noted when South Carolina coaching great Dawn Staley was here Friday night promoting her first book, Uncommon Favor, she noted she isn’t interested in coaching in the WNBA, but ownership is another matter.

There have been whispers in the underbelly that Staley will be approached to have a stake in the current bid and curiously in signing the latest deal with the Gamecocks that made her the the highest paid NCAA women’s coach at $4 million gives her an opt-out for a WNBA or NBA deal.

Furthermore, while her collegiate agreement ends about the time the new arena in South Philly will be ready, another opportunity exists should the Mohegan Tribe, owners of the Connecticut Sun, currently exploring a potential sale ands relocation, hear the right offer, perhaps the 76ers might persuade the Sun group to accept a bid topping a prior pid being pursued by a group in Boston that began before the current news of the Sun actions.

Certainly, Temple’s Liacouras Center, The Palestra, Villanova, or a reconfigured current 76ers/Flyers home arena for WNBA games could work until the new venue is ready.