Caitlin Clark, as usual, is the talk of the WNBA. However, concern is creeping into the conversation.
The Indiana Fever had a rough weekend on the West Coast, losing to the Golden State Valkyries and Portland Fire. Clark averaged 11 points in those games, making 4 of 19 shots from field, 2 of 8 on 3-pointers.
More worrying are Clark’s defensive challenges, as opponents try to isolate her to either get her in foul trouble or get easy baskets.
The tensions boiled over during a timeout in Portland as Fever coach Stephanie White lit into the team, Clark responded animatedly, and White pulled Clark from the game.
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Women’s basketball legends Cheryl Miller and Sue Bird discussed the situation on Sunday, attributing it to frustration with an uneven start (4-4) and imploring Clark to rectify the situation.
“Right now, it’s frustration. And unfortunately, it’s boiling over, and it’s being seen,” Miller said. “It’s one thing to have it behind closed doors, but (it’s another thing) when it spills over, and when the coach has to basically say ‘you know what Caitlin, enough is enough, this is too disruptive, in and out, take a seat.'”
“I think it’s frustration. I’m not the best lip reader, but I feel like Stephanie White did say, ‘defense’ a couple times,” Bird said, noting the Clark was in foul trouble against Portland. “It’s not that crazy. It’s not the first time we’ve seen this. It doesn’t have some deeper meaning to it. I had moments like that with coaches. I think it speaks to player-coach relationships.”
Bird mentioned having similar interactions with one of her coaches, Brian Adler, when they won a league championship in Seattle. She also noted the player should know which coaches are willing to have that kind of give-and-take.
Miller said a single instance shouldn’t warrant concern, but “when it becomes disruptive to the entire team, that’s when somebody has to step in.”
Bird and Miller agreed that the Fever must learn how to deal with the setbacks that can derail championship expectations.
“All the fingers are being pointed at Caitlin Clark. … Everyone this season is coming straight at her, because they want to see if she’s physically able to keep up. She is, but now people are turning the corner, ‘We can get past her. We can score on her,'” Miller said. “So now, if I’m Caitlin Clark, I’m going to take this personally, and do something about it.”
Bird has a suggestion: “I learned every single tendency of every single player I’m going to guard. Everybody has one thing they don’t want to do, and you’ve got to make them do that.”
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This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Frustration ‘boiling over’ for Caitlin Clark, Stephanie White. Cheryl Miller, Sue Bird share fixes
Reporting by Scott Horner, Indianapolis Star / Indianapolis Star
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
