Yet another double-double for the golden rookie, only to fall hard in the eyes of the fans. Seems like nothing that Caitlin Clark does is going to be enough for the WNBA spectators if the Indiana Fever does not win. After the game, Skip Bayless provided some positive criticism to the rookie. However, the basketball fans only see one fault in the team– their head coach Christie Sides.

After Caitlin Clark and the squad lost to the 2x WNBA champions, the Sports Columnist expressed his emotions on his official X account. He wrote, “I’m sorry, but Caitlin Clark sold out another road arena, in Vegas – and once again disappeared in another 4th quarter. No offensive urgency or energy. Won’t shoot. So many careless turnovers. Something’s not right here.”

However, his scrutinizing gaze on the rookie did not end just there. During the game, Bayless also wrote, “It amazes me how little Caitlin Clark, greatest college scorer ever, hunts/creates her own shot, how quickly she defers, how unselfish to a fault she is. She just went 1-7 in the 1st half bc in part she wasn’t sure when she shot. Yes: 6 assts, 6 rebs. BUT NEED HER TO SCORE.”

Certainly, the columnist is not happy that the team lost the winning chance. Indiana did keep a close margin in the first three-quarters of the game, leading in one of them. But he could not resist pointing out the fact that Christie Sides had mentioned. In their previous loss, Sides said that she needed Caitlin Clark to take more shots for them. Still, the rookie focused on passing the ball. Tonight, she went for just 4 of 12 from the field, accounting for 1 of 7 from beyond the arc. She logged 13 points, 6 rebounds, and 11 assists. Still, fans pointed the blame on the head coach.

Caitlin Clark fans divide the blame for Sides and the rookie

The Indiana Fever were doing fine until the last quarter when everyone seemed to have given up. Hence, the huge record-breaking crowd of 20,366 fans went straight to the internet to express their thoughts on the game. One fan showed their disappointment in Bayless with a sarcastic laugh. They mentioned how the point guard’s duty is not to make defensive plays but to facilitate the game and shoot. The follower suggested that the fault is in the team’s staff and management who cannot do a better job despite having Caitlin Clark, the generational talent at the helm.

“CC isn’t there for defense. 😂😂 Indiana can’t defend anything bc of the coach and GM and you should talk about that. They’re awful, especially for having the first draft pick and a generational talent.”

Another one went against Bayless to mention how the coach Sides is the problem. They said that the Fever is not setting screens for the rookie to take shots. Moreover, the fan suggested Sides devise plays that include Caitlin Clark also making shots and not just passing the ball.

“They need to ser screens. Coach needs to run plays for her”

A basketball follower joined the conversation to say that the rookie is over-hyped. In fact, they claimed that CC is not who everyone thinks she is. Apparently, many believed that the 2x Naismith Player of the Year would save the dying Indiana Fever. While they are already running on a much better win-loss record than their previous few years, looks like Caitlin Clark will need to push the team much further. Although according to her, they are more focused on making it into the playoffs.

“CC ain who they say she is… still a great player jus overhyped”

Christie Sides has been on the receiving end of heated comments by the fans a lot of times. From the opening week to date, the Indiana fans have expected a lot from the entire team. Hence, one more fan came up with the theory that it is not on Caitlin Clark that the team is losing. The fan said that the team is not correctly coached to utilize the true potential of the 22-year-old guard.


“The fever are just poorly coached”

Among the many haters was one fan who still saw the light at the end of the tunnel. They reminded everyone that it was okay if they had a bad night since everyone has one of them every now and then. They brought up Caitlin Clark’s immaculate performance against Diana Taurasi’s Mercury as a reminder of how she can indeed achieve great heights.

“She went off through other night. Chalk it up to a bad night. Everybody has bad nights.”

Defeats are always sad. However, should that mark the identity of a team? Surely, the entire team has done quite a job winning over a playoff contention team like the Mercury on Sunday, but the Aces are at yet another level. Whether it is the fault of Caitlin Clark or her head coach, the team is indeed growing and who knows what they do in their next game as they host the New York Liberty.