Caitlin Clark played an impressive game today against the New York Liberty, finishing with 22 points, 8 assists, and 6 rebounds. This marks her best performance in her young professional career. The Liberty, with Clark’s contributions, made history, achieving the largest paid gate of any WNBA game since 1997. Although the Liberty won 91-80, the Fever and Clark made critical adjustments that allowed them to find success throughout the game.
Uptempo Transition
This game marked the first time I saw the Fever push the pace and truly run down the court to maximize fast break opportunities. This strategy allowed Caitlin Clark to find space and attack downhill to create her own shots, while also enabling guards like Kelsey Mitchell to use their speed in transition to get easy buckets. Clark was able to excel in what she does best – passing. With her teammates running up the court, she pushed the ball ahead with her full court passes.
Off-Ball Movement
There was significantly more off-ball movement. In their first two games, the Fever were caught between running set plays and a stagnant high pick and roll, which did not yield much success. Caitlin Clark was seen coming off staggers, flares, and other off-ball screens that freed her up. She was not forced to come off ball screens or work excessively hard to create her shot. Boston also benefited from this, getting more 1-on-1 opportunities and cuts off the post.
Notes on Caitlin Clark
Caitlin Clark looked more comfortable in today’s matchup against the New York Liberty. Despite her having the defensive specialist Betnijah Laney-Hamilton on her, she was able to score an efficient 22 points and connect with her teammates racking up 8 assists. As the Fever improve their on-court chemistry and offensive tempo, Clark will find more opportunities.
The Fever are now 0-3 and face the Connecticut Sun next on Monday. Despite the rocky start, the Fever showed much promise and fundamentals that can be built upon. Let’s see how Clark and the Fever respond.
Damn she is really good!