Fever Face WNBA Playoff and Caitlin Clark Return Questions After Loss to Valkyries

All in all, it was a loss that opened up more questions than answers in what has already been a chaotic season for Indiana.

Will the Fever Make the Playoffs?

Fortunately, for those wondering whether the loss to the Valkyries put the Fever's chances to make the WNBA playoffs in peril, the team is still highly likely to make the postseason.

Friday's win over the Los Angeles Sparks went a long way toward cementing a playoff spot and LA remains two full games back with only a few remaining.

According to Indiana's play-by-play voice Pat Boylan, the Fever's magic number was 3 heading into the contest vs Golden State, which means the team only needs a combination of that many wins or Sparks losses in order to lock up a spot.

Therefore, it's hard to imagine circumstances getting dire enough for the Fever to exit the playoff picture, especially when looking at each team's remaining schedules. However, there is also the matter of seeding.

Indiana fell from 6th to 8th on Sunday. Of course, remaining in the eighth spot would set up a first round date with the league's best team in the Minnesota Lynx. So, the Fever picking up some wins down the stretch remains important to set up a more favorable postseason run.

Will Caitlin Clark Be Back?

The Fever have never set an actual timetable for Caitlin Clark's potential return, which has inevitably led to lots of speculation. Especially given the regular season runway remaining is running out quickly.

Coach Stephanie White has previously stated what she wants to see before clearing Clark for action—a return to practice.

"I want to see her continue to work to not just build endurance, but to be able to handle contact, 94 feet, as it's going to be in-game. And to be able to do that and sustain from an endurance standpoint. And that's going to take multiple practices to make sure that there's no regression. And as most of us know, as we get fatigued, we look different. And see how she plays through fatigue," White stated last week.

But since then, despite Clark participating in the team's most recent shootarounds, there is still no definitive word on whether she has begun ramping up in the way White mentioned and she has somehow not been asked about it in her most recent media availabilities.

Without any clarity there, it's hard to know if and when Clark can make it back, and what the team will look like when the playoffs do indeed start.

Clark's fellow All-Stars have been able to shoulder the load in her absence. But there is a limit to just what Aliyah Boston, Kelsey Mitchell and company will be able to do amid the hardships the team has faced, something that was put on display as the pair struggled vs Golden State.

The bright side is they remain in the race. However, until there are firm answers on where the Fever will land in the standings and where Clark's return status stands, it's difficult to predict anything but more of the same for Indiana—which means the wild ride of a season continues.