close
close

first Drop

Com TW NOw News 2024

    • Why Caitin Clark Underperformed in Game 1 of the WNBA Playoffs
    news

    Why Caitin Clark Underperformed in Game 1 of the WNBA Playoffs

    Vaseline Posted on

    UNCASVILLE, Conn. — It certainly didn’t help, but Caitlin Clark didn’t think a black eye was the cause of her shooting woes Sunday afternoon in Game 1 of the WNBA playoffs.

    The star Fever rookie began developing bruising in her right eye after Sun guard DiJonai Carrington poked her during an Indiana possession. Clark initially fell to the ground in pain, but was able to get up after Indiana called a timeout.

    She did not check out of the game; after a brief time on the bench during the timeout, Clark returned to play. After the jab, Clark made just one shot the rest of the half, going 1 of 9 from the field and 0 of 6 from 3-point range in the first 20 minutes.

    Fever score: Caitlin Clark struggles with shooting, Fever loses Game 1 of playoffs to Sun, 93-69

    The second half was better for her, as she made three more shots, including two 3-pointers, but she ultimately finished the game 4 of 17 for 11 points in a 93-69 loss.

    Clark was in the post-game press conference with his eye visibly bruised and swollen. Normally that can affect vision and depth perception, leading to miscalculations on shots. But, she said, Sunday was just a case of bad shooting.

    “Obviously, she hit me pretty hard,” Clark said. “I don’t think it affected me. I made good shots, they didn’t go down. It’s a tough time for that to happen. Had two pretty open 3s in the first half that I normally make, so that’s tough. But I fought and did my best. I handled the ball better than I normally do … overall it didn’t bother me, but obviously it didn’t feel good when it happened.”

    Still, she was able to take some positives from her first professional playoff game: she lost the ball just twice, her lowest total of the season, and the Fever kept the game pretty close through the first three quarters.

    There were also many factors that could have contributed to Clark’s poor shooting night. There was a lot of tension surrounding the game: it was the Fever’s first in eight years, and none of the starters had playoff experience. Sometimes, especially in situations like this, it can just be a bad night.

    It really did look like a bad night for several Fever players. The Fever shot just 27-of-67 (40.3%) from the field, including a 6-of-28 (21.4%) clip from 3-point range. Both marks were below Indiana’s average: the Fever normally shoot 35% from 3-point range and 45% from the field.

    The Sun made forward DeWanna Bonner Clark’s primary defender throughout the game, which created a significant height difference: Bonner is 6-foot-4, compared to Clark’s 6-foot. Carrington primarily defended the Fever’s other leading 3-point shooter, Kelsey Mitchell.

    Bonner and Carrington held Mitchell and Clark to a combined 4-of-23 from 3-point range. Damiris Dantas made two more 3-point shots, giving the Fever an overall clip of 6-of-28. It was unusual for the Fever to shoot so poorly from beyond the arc, but it was also something the Sun focused on in their preparation for the Fever. Connecticut knew that in order to feel comfortable coming into the game, it had to take away Indiana’s perimeter shooting.

    “We’ve got to defend the 3-point line,” Sun coach Stephanie White said before the game. “We’re not a team that beats people from the 3-point line, and they do a great job of spacing the floor and getting open shots. We’ve got to keep them, I think, under 10, definitely, from the 3-point line. That’s got to be one of our priorities, one of our focuses.”

    The Fever will have two days off to rest and regroup before playing Game 2 at Connecticut on Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. With Connecticut up 1-0, the Sun could potentially win the series on Wednesday without having to travel to Indianapolis.

    Ultimately, there’s no substitute for playoff experience. Connecticut had 222 combined playoff games between its 12 players prior to the series, while Indiana had 19. The Fever are still learning the style of play that comes with the playoffs — there’s a lot more to lose, and teams are more aggressive.

    “This is playoff basketball, and we’ve got to be able to deal with chaotic situations,” head coach Christie Sides said. “We’ve got to be able to deal with situations where things don’t go our way … we’ve got another chance to come back and take this home.”

    Vaseline
    View all posts

    You Might Also Like