Throughout the week, Indiana Fever superstar Caitlin Clark received a lot of criticism after her defensive struggles and her heated exchange with head coach Stephanie White, which resulted in a brief benching. Things did not get better on Saturday night.
Clark obviously would have hoped for a bit of a bounce-back performance during Saturday night’s game against the New York Liberty, considering the recent struggles and the negative media attention she has received in recent weeks. Unfortunately, however, Clark struggled yet again on both sides of the ball, and the Fever suffered yet another loss.
Another Bad Game
A week after posting one of the worst games of her entire career in a blowout loss to the Portland Fire, Clark had yet another disappointing performance on both sides of the ball. Once again, Clark struggled to make shots consistently and got herself into foul trouble that made her a liability late in the game.
Clark finished the game with just 10 points, going just 4-for-14 from the field, which works out to a paltry 28.5%. On the defensive side of the ball, Clark once again got herself into foul trouble, finishing the game with five fouls. She also had trouble defending Liberty rookie guard Pauline Astier at times, especially late in the game when she was trying to avoid picking up another foul.
It was a disappointing performance for Clark after she looked much better and more confident during Thursday night’s win over the Atlanta Dream, especially on the defensive side of the ball. But in Saturday’s loss, she showed many of the same struggles and limitations that plagued her last week.
Criticism Mounts For Clark
With Clark struggling yet again in a Fever loss, she once again faced some heavy criticism on social media as fans called out her shortcomings.
“Caitlin Clark just isn’t that good actually has had no positive impact just getting bodied on defense and being passive on offense,” one fan wrote in a post on X.
“Caitlin Clark is Trae Young. Harsh truth. She needs to improve. Love her regardless tho,” someone else wrote, comparing her to the NBA star.
“Caitlin Clark is getting cooked by a rookie. She is the WNBA Luka on the defensive side. lol. Fever needs to start hiding her on defense,” another fan wrote.
“Caitlin Clark is not impressive at all, she’s costing her team this game,” someone else added.
“Teams are just going to hunt Caitlin Clark late game to get an automatic bucket,” another fan wrote, criticizing her defense.
With the loss, the Fever fall to 1-1 in the Commissioner’s Cup. Clark and the Fever will have a chance to bounce back with a showdown against the Washington Mystics on Monday night.
About Dave Kelsey
Contributing author to The Comeback.