Indiana Fever coach Christie Sides told reporters on May 3 that Caitlin Clark was so “gassed” early in her WNBA preseason debut that she almost had to grab her, speaking in a series of candid comments in her postgame interview.
Sides said she almost thought she was going to have to “grab” Clark to help her because Clark was so exhausted during the end of the first quarter in the Fever’s preseason game against the Dallas Wings.
As for the moment Clark asked for a sub, Sides said, “I think she got to the point where she was just completely gassed. When she looked over at me, I was going to have to grab her and help her get to the sideline. Right there at the end of the first. We have to do better. We can’t let her get to that point. She just won’t be able to last the way people are guarding her.”
Despite that moment, Clark’s debut was widely praised. She scored 21 points, hitting 5-of-13 three-pointers.
Here’s what you need to know:
Christie Sides Revealed That Caitlin Clark ‘Asked for a Sub,’ Declaring, ‘That Was Awesome for Her to Do’
GettyThis photo from Caitlin Clark’s first WNBA game with the Indiana Fever is going viral.
As for Clark, Sides said she is still “learning her,” noting, “It got to the point early in the first quarter that she was gassed, and she asked for a sub. That was awesome for her to do; a lot of players will try to play through that.”
Sides admitted she’s “got to recognize that sooner before she gets to that point. I keep letting her get to that point, she’s going to lose her legs. So it’s just a learning process. Finding out who is playing well in which rotation.”
She said: “I think that’s kind of where we’ve had those conversations with her.” She said the team is able “to put some really good players around her. That she doesn’t have to work as hard. Once you realize that you become a good screener, you’re going to have some really, really good open shots.”
Sides noted that there is a “new point guard with Caitlin.” She said Clark “does expect a lot out of herself and that’s awesome, but she also needs to know that we have her back.”
The coach discussed how Clark was being guarded. “They’re being real physical with her. That’s what it’s going to be for her, and we have to make sure we’re doing what we can to protect her so she’s able to go in the fourth the same level she is in the first,” she said, adding, “She’s a player that has ice in her veins. That’s who she is, right? She’s someone who is confident she’s going to make those shots.”
She noted, “We started running some elbow actions.” She said there are things Clark “hasn’t done before.”
Indiana Fever Coach Christie Sides Discussed How the Team Needs to Improve
Sides outlined how she felt the team needed to improve after its loss. She said the players were “pretty down after the loss.”
Speaking during the post-game interview, Sides added, “This is when you fix things. You play these games so you can fix some of the things.”
She said the team has “got to work on that” and added that she thought the Fever’s “transition defense” was okay. “We gave up some buckets late. That really hurt us,” she said.
Sides noted that the team had “only 14 assists. That can’t happen. We lost some easy buckets.”
As for Clark’s performance, Sides said, “I thought Caitlin came out. I am glad she got some shots up. She was able to hit some big shots. They’re still learning each other. She doesn’t have to work as hard for it anymore.”
She noted that the team’s goal “was to play everybody tonight. Our goal was to make sure people got a look. There were some lineups that weren’t great for us. That was what our game plan was. We wanted to play everybody tonight.”
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Indiana Coach Makes Surprising Comments About Caitlin Clark’s Condition