Caitlin Clark Explains Why Lynx May Be Fever's Kryptonite
The Indiana Fever are 7-2 since the WNBA's Paris Olympics break ended. Each of the two losses came against the Minnesota Lynx.
There's no question that the Lynx are one of the WNBA's most elite teams. They currently have a 25-9 record, hold the No. 2 seed in the WNBA standings, boast one of league's best two-way players in Napheesa Collier, and feature a deep, talented supporting cast around her.
All of which is to say that the Lynx pose problems for everybody. And after Indiana's most recent loss to the Lynx on Friday night, Fever guard Caitlin Clark diagnosed exactly what those problems are.
"Honestly, I think they're the hardest team in the league to guard probably," Clark said when asked what Indiana has learned about Minnesota to this point, per the Indiana Fever's YouTube account. "I think their movement is incredible, the way they play is incredible. It's how basketball should be played.
"I think our matchup is... just great for basketball too," Clark continued, "If you want to watch two teams that play basketball the right way, it's this. Playoff tempo, you share the ball, it's not sets all the time, they run great action, they run great ball-screen stuff, they space the floor, all five of them can shoot at all times. It's hard to guard, especially when they're running clear side pick-and-roll with [Collier]."
She later added, "So I think for us, you've got to play a step ahead. You know what they're gonna do, you've got to be over there earlier... so we've got to either make them shoot more three's, we've got to guard the paint a little bit better.
"We have to beat them in points in the paint, and we can't tie with them," she concluded.
caitlin on the matchup with the lynx: “their movement is incredible, the way they play is incredible...if you wanna watch 2 teams that play basketball the right way it’s this. play up tempo, share the ball, it’s not sets all the time, they run great action, great ball screens...” pic.twitter.com/cBLEqZsukD
— cc akgae (@clrkszn) September 7, 2024
The Fever are currently the No. 6 seed in the WNBA standings. It's reasonable to believe they could either fall to the No. 7 seed or the Lynx could fall to No. 3 by the time the regular season ends.
Both of these scenarios would likely result in Minnesota and Indiana squaring off in the first round. And surely neither team wants that matchup so early in the postseason.
GRANT YOUNG
Grant Young covers Women’s Basketball, the New York Yankees, and the New York Mets for Sports Illustrated’s ‘On SI’ sites. He holds an MFA degree in creative writing from the University of San Francisco (USF), where he also graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in Marketing and played on USF’s Division I baseball team for five years. However, he now prefers Angel Reese to Angels in the Outfield.