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Sophie Cunningham is ready to take over as the point guard for the Indiana Fever amid Caitlin Clark's absence. The reigning Rookie of the Year suffered an early injury blow after picking up a left quad strain following Friday's 90-88 loss to the New York Liberty and is out for two weeks.
Indiana needs someone to fill her shoes in the point guard spot, and the likely candidates to take on the role are Cunningham and Sydney Colson. Cunningham confirmed the plans on Tuesday after an interaction with reporters, saying:
"You'll see Syd Colson here on the ball a lot more and playing a lot more, which I think is awesome, what a great opportunity. And then when I'm out there, I'm sure I'll be handling the ball with her, too."
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Cunningham gave insights into her style as an on-ball player, adding:
"I keep it simple. I'm not not real flashy or fancy with it. I just do my job. But like I said, when we play really good defense and rebound the ball and we're in transition, that's the best offense we can possibly play. So, if I'm handling the ball, that's the kind of offense I want to play in ... that's not always the case, I'm confident, I work on it."
Sophie Cunningham returned two games ago after missing the season opener and the following contest with an ankle injury. She's been uber-impactful in her minutes, especially as a secondary ball-handler to help reduce Caitlin Clark's in-game workload with opposing players face-guarding the Fever superstar.
Cunningham averaged 2.0 assists in 2023 and 2024 with the Phoenix Mercury when she played next to another dominant ball-handler, Diana Taurasi. With a chance to lead the offense, it'll be interesting to see how much more potential she has as a lead point guard.
Sophie Cunningham considers it a "great opportunity" for Fever to play without Caitlin Clark
The Indiana Fever have run into an adversity they may not have recovered from during the 2024 season. With Caitlin Clark set to miss two weeks, Indiana in 2025 seems to be in a much better spot to play without its best player than last year.
After acquiring a bunch of veterans like Sophie Cunningham, DeWanna Bonner, Natasha Howard and Sydney Colson, the Fever have the depth to tackle such a situation. Cunningham considers it a "great opportunity" for the Fever and Clark.
While discussing things the Fever must focus on, Sophie Cunningham said the team can learn more about its actions and get more aggressive defensively to attack in transition with Clark out.
The Fever have been in the top three offensive and defensive ratings in the first four games. If they can withstand Caitlin Clark's absence and maintain or get better, their prospects of winning it all this season look impressive.
