Indiana Fever coach Christie Sides shared the constructive feedback she had for star rookie Caitlin Clark.
Caitlin Clark has been sensational for the Indiana Fever in her rookie season. In fact, Clark just won WNBA Eastern Conference Player of the Week for putting up 25 points, 5 rebounds, and 9 assists since play resumed following the Olympics break.
Yet, there is one thing both many of her fans and now her coach have asked her to do more of. Shoot. Especially in the fourth quarter. Clark only took two shots in the final frame in the team’s win over the Atlanta Dream, and one sequence where she passed up an open midrange was widely shared on social media.
Sides addressed the seeming lack of aggression from her star point guard before the squad’s game against the Connecticut Sun and offered some constructive criticism.
Sides stated, “I love the fact that she is a playmaker first…I love that. We’ve had a of conversations in the last 24 hours about a lot of shots that she needs to take that she wasn’t taking. Especially in the fourth quarter of that Atlanta game. She agreed…with her ankle a little bit, just didn’t feel comfortable at times. But those are shots that she needs to take for us.”
It would make sense if Caitlin was thrown off by her ankle injury, even if she did call herself soft for how she reacted to it. Still, there has been a bit of pattern at times of Clark backing off the gas pedal late or passing up shots in the in between range.
It’s hard to find anything to take issue with when it comes to how Clark has played, but the Fever will need her at her absolute best come playoff time. As is, she’s already playing about as well as anyone in the league.
