How is CC's rookie year going to go?

[rmontro]

Her defense is better than advertised, from what I can see. Pretty good on the ball, is 8th in the league in steals,

That's why I thought it was odd that Sides took her out of the end of the game against the Mystics (I think?) when they needed a steal. She's #1 on the team in steals.

[tmorgan]

My prediction: starts off as more of a playmaker. 17 and 10.

I’m just sayin, folks… 16.8 and 7.8 and trending WAY up in assists… on a team that really needs more talent.

[___Rand___]

Caitlin just set a new WNBA record for assists in a game at 19. Mark this day.

[jc23]

That record wont last the season. had things gone more the Fevers way she could have ended up with 25 dimes tonight.

[Jay 20]

That record wont last the season. had things gone more the Fevers way she could have ended up with 25 dimes tonight.

A 30 point 20 assist night for Caitlin is very possible.

[Ice Man]

Clark with assists is like Steph with 3 pointers -- somebody who will change what the league regards as possible. If she stays healthy, she will break the WNBA single-season record for assists this season. (She needs 6.9 per her remaining games to do that.) She will of course then break that record again next year, assuming good health.

[Ghetto Gospel]

caitlin clark 3rd best odds for MVP on fanduel now, she's not gonna win but they're expecting her to finish well in the MVP race

[Ghetto Gospel]

That record wont last the season. had things gone more the Fevers way she could have ended up with 25 dimes tonight.

i wish she wouldn't. i thought she pressed a little too much to get those assists to the detriment of the team at the end of the game. the goal should always be winning.

for what it's worth, i thought angel reese chasing those double doubles was also to the detriment of the sky. she really shouldn't be trying to score in the 4th as much as she was to get to those 10 points

[Ice Man]

i wish she wouldn't. i thought she pressed a little too much to get those assists to the detriment of the team at the end of the game. the goal should always be winning.

She overpasses when she's inside the 3-point line, because she's hesitant to take 2-point midrange shots. She admitted in the presser last night that she needs to break that habit. I doubt it's stat padding, partly because players don't usually stat pad by turning down shots, partly because she never talks about her stats, and mostly because you can see that she doesn't like to take midrange shots.

On a side note, Clark not only set the single-game record for assists last night, but she also set the record for be involved with the most points in a game, as she scored or assisted on 66 points. Tauresi had the previous record, which was 65.

[Ghetto Gospel]

i wish she wouldn't. i thought she pressed a little too much to get those assists to the detriment of the team at the end of the game. the goal should always be winning.

She overpasses when she's inside the 3-point line, because she's hesitant to take 2-point midrange shots. She admitted in the presser last night that she needs to break that habit. I doubt it's stat padding, partly because players don't usually stat pad by turning down shots, partly because she never talks about her stats, and mostly because you can see that she doesn't like to take midrange shots.

On a side note, Clark not only set the single-game record for assists last night, but she also set the record for be involved with the most points in a game, as she scored or assisted on 66 points. Tauresi had the previous record, which was 65.

i thought she was clearly assist hunting though by the time she got to like 13. once she got to that point, i think her only shot attempt was a 3, not a single layup attempt since then. i think her teammates were definitely aware of the record too and just started taking shots when they got the ball. the offense wasn't "bad" but it definitely took them out of what they normally do.

she definitely had a great night though

[Ice Man]

[i thought she was clearly assist hunting though by the time she got to like 13. once she got to that point, i think her only shot attempt was a 3, not a single layup attempt since then.

If I saw it that way, I would have been heartily rooting for the Fever to lose. There's absolutely no place for that in a competitive game. But again, I didn't see it that way. The Fever offense was cooking when Clark was making those passes. The team scored 23 points in the 4th quarter, despite going cold the final 2 minutes. Indiana lost not because of its offense, but because once again, it couldn't stop a church league team.

[ellobo]

My prediction: starts off as more of a playmaker. 17 and 10.

I’m just sayin, folks… 16.8 and 7.8 and trending WAY up in assists… on a team that really needs more talent.

Her current averages through last night's game are 17.1 and 8.19.

[ellobo]

Clark with assists is like Steph with 3 pointers -- somebody who will change what the league regards as possible. If she stays healthy, she will break the WNBA single-season record for assists this season. (She needs 6.9 per her remaining games to do that.) She will of course then break that record again next year, assuming good health.

WNBA season total records are a little misleading because the season just expanded to 40 games last year. 6 of the 12 highest season assist totals, including the top 2, were set last year, which was the only 40 game season, and then 2 other of the top 12 totals were from 2022, which was the first 36 game season (up from 34). For the same reason (more games in the season), 4 of the 5 highest season point totals were set last year, including all of the top 3.

If you go by per game average, if Clark maintains her current average (8.19), it would be the 5th best in league history. Courtney Vandersloot has all four of the higher averages (9.95, 9.09, 8.60, 8.59), but those were set in seasons where she played between 22 and 33 games, so she topped out at a season total of 300, less than her total last year (314) when her per game average was lower (8.1), but she played more games (39). Alyssa Thomas set the total record last year (316), by averaging 7.9 over 40 games.

[Ice Man]

WNBA season total records are a little misleading because the season just expanded to 40 games last year. 6 of the 12 highest season assist totals, including the top 2, were set last year, which was the only 40 game season, and then 2 other of the top 12 totals were from 2022, which was the first 36 game season (up from 34). For the same reason (more games in the season), 4 of the 5 highest season point totals were set last year, including all of the top 3.

If you go by per game average, if Clark maintains her current average (8.19), it would be the 5th best in league history. Courtney Vandersloot has all four of the higher averages (9.95, 9.09, 8.60, 8.59), but those were set in seasons where she played between 22 and 33 games, so she topped out at a season total of 300, less than her total last year (314) when her per game average was lower (8.1), but she played more games (39). Alyssa Thomas set the total record last year (316), by averaging 7.9 over 40 games.

Thanks, those are good points. I knew that the WNBA seasons used to be shorter, but I hadn't realized that the change to 40 games occurred so recently.

[Ghetto Gospel]

[i thought she was clearly assist hunting though by the time she got to like 13. once she got to that point, i think her only shot attempt was a 3, not a single layup attempt since then.

If I saw it that way, I would have been heartily rooting for the Fever to lose. There's absolutely no place for that in a competitive game. But again, I didn't see it that way. The Fever offense was cooking when Clark was making those passes. The team scored 23 points in the 4th quarter, despite going cold the final 2 minutes. Indiana lost not because of its offense, but because once again, it couldn't stop a church league team.

i have a few thoughts on their offense and it's a little unorganized and it might sound kind of rambley but here it is.

in the 4th, they essentially gave caitlin the ball and let her cook everytime down the court and i think this is the best way to use her. there was a bit of a push to move her more off-ball with mitchell to run screens for each other the way steph and klay do but as a team, they were generating way too many turnovers giving KLS/nalyssa/boston the ball in the high post/3-pt line and asking them to make the right reads and passes like draymond does. imo, this is why the fever did so well in the 4th and generally this game overall.

i just rewatched the final 2 minutes when the game was tied 93-93 (see below) and i think on further review you're right. at the time, i thought she was getting a little unselfish to a fault and could have taken more shots but really it's just the last possession and using that as confirmation that she was just looking for assists

Watch on YouTube

first fever possession: 0:35, she makes the right read to 6'4 nalyssa smith who cant keep the ball high and gets stripped by 5'8 odyssey sims for what should have been a layup

second fever possession: 1:55, she runs pnr with boston, i think boston could have attacked the mismatch here on natasha howard, but she kicks it back out to KLS, who gets it back to caitlin to run pnr with her into an open 3 to KLS that misses. i think there was a universe there where she pulls it back, lets sims recover to KLS then attacks teaira mccowan there but she did generate a good look for a player that is supposed to be a sharpshooter on the team.

third fever possession: 4:40, runs down the court with 3 girls on her, not sure why she kept the ball the whole time, turnover

fourth fever possession: 7:00, kls open in the corner, misses

fifth fever possession: 9:00, passes to nalyssa smith that looks like it was tipped. i get the game was 99% over at this point but yeah i think she should have shot the ball rather than went for two. i think this was what frustrated me

[Ghetto Gospel]

the defense was also kind of fine the last 2 minutes in retrospect.

dallas got free throws after the nalyssa smith turnover (4 point swing lol) in transition, arike made a crazy shot over great defense and the game was over.

[Ice Man]

in the 4th, they essentially gave caitlin the ball and let her cook everytime down the court and i think this is the best way to use her. there was a bit of a push to move her more off-ball with mitchell to run screens for each other the way steph and klay do but as a team, they were generating way too many turnovers giving KLS/nalyssa/boston the ball in the high post/3-pt line and asking them to make the right reads and passes like draymond does. imo, this is why the fever did so well in the 4th and generally this game overall.

Spot on. The Fever don't have the personnel to run a varied offense. Everybody except Kelsey is a butcher if you give them the ball and ask them to make decisions. You either want Clark shooting or Clark passing to them for a shot. Nothing else.

Mitchell is different. While she's not much for creating shots for others, she also doesn't throw the ball away, because she's always working on getting her own shot, and she is good at that.

i just rewatched the final 2 minutes when the game was tied 93-93 (see below) and i think on further review you're right. at the time, i thought she was getting a little unselfish to a fault and could have taken more shots but really it's just the last possession and using that as confirmation that she was just looking for assists

Yeah, that final plan was bad. I can sorta defend Clark for that pass because Smith was asking for the ball, but ... just don't. When the game is over and you are running out the clock, run out the clock.

[rmontro]

Clark declined the offer to participate in the All Star skills competition. I'm sure she's plenty busy, but I'm curious as to her reasoning. Maybe she feels she has nothing to gain from participating, especially since her three point shooting has not been as sharp since she's been focusing on her passing so much.

[jumpman28]

Clark declined the offer to participate in the All Star skills competition. I'm sure she's plenty busy, but I'm curious as to her reasoning. Maybe she feels she has nothing to gain from participating, especially since her three point shooting has not been as sharp since she's been focusing on her passing so much.

She probably honestly just wants to take it easy and rest, she really hasn't had a break in over a year and a half. It's clear from watching Fever games that lot of her 3 point shots are short lately and I think it's mostly fatigue related. I mean I guess she is still playing in the All-Star game. But the girl needs to get a little R&R over the next month too.

[jc23]

Clark declined the offer to participate in the All Star skills competition. I'm sure she's plenty busy, but I'm curious as to her reasoning. Maybe she feels she has nothing to gain from participating, especially since her three point shooting has not been as sharp since she's been focusing on her passing so much.

She probably honestly just wants to take it easy and rest, she really hasn't had a break in over a year and a half. It's clear from watching Fever games that lot of her 3 point shots are short lately and I think it's mostly fatigue related. I mean I guess she is still playing in the All-Star game. But the girl needs to get a little R&R over the next month too.

Yeah, supposedly this first half of the season has been more condensed then usual because of the Olympics. Going straight from the tournament into this season was a tough way to come into the league. I expect her shooting to improve when she gets her legs back.