WNBA Fans Identify Clear Area Where Caitlin Clark Must Improve
Indiana Fever rookie Caitlin Clark's sensational first season in professional basketball came to an end on Wednesday, as the Fever were eliminated from the WNBA playoffs by the Connecticut Sun.
Per usual, Clark was fantastic on offense. She rebounded from a lackluster scoring effort during Game 1 on Sunday to score 25 points on 10-23 shooting from the field while adding 9 assists and 6 rebounds on Wednesday.
Clark re-finding her form on offense isn't a surprise, given how elite of a playmaker and shooter she is. Yet, one play during Wednesday's game has many fans believing that offense should not be Clark's biggest concern.
Connecticut's "dagger" on Wednesday came when guard Marina Mabrey hit a clutch three-pointer with 45 seconds left in the game to put Indiana up four points. Clark was supposed to be guarding her but appeared to fall victim to "ball watching", which freed Mabrey up to hit the shot.
Clark caught a lot of criticism on social media for what appeared to be a defensive lapse in pivotal possession.
"Lmaoooooo throwing your hands up when that was your man should be a crime 😂😭😂😭😂," X user @keepitplay8 wrote in a response to a video of Mabrey's shot.
Lmaoooooo throwing your hands up when that was your man should be a crime 😂😭😂😭😂 https://t.co/OqUvNdsHOC
— Kia 🅱️ (@keepitplay8) September 26, 2024
X user @CallingsonMaka added, "The fact that their season ended on her typical bad defen[s]e is so poetic. Like you literally can’t make this s*** up".
"On the first watch, I thought that she got caught going under a screen, but after watching again, she was just ball watching, lol. Wasn't glued on her man whatsoever...," added a third.
On the first watch, I thought that she got caught going under a screen, but after watching again, she was just ball watching, lol. Wasn't glued on her man whatsoever...
— KK (@kevondsmith) September 26, 2024
Earlier on in the game, ESPN commentator Rebecca Lobo also called Clark out for not hustling back on defense during a Sun transition opportunity, which cost her team an easy basket.
It will be interesting to see how much Clark improves on defense during her second WNBA season.
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.