Has Caitlin Clark Adjusted to the WNBA?

Source: Andy Lyons / Getty

You can’t visit any major sports outlet right now without seeing a Caitlin Clark headline. Most of the headlines surrounding Clark this season have not been because of things she has said or done, but things that people have done to her and said about her.

Through thirteen games, the Indiana Fever rookie guard is 15th in the WNBA in points per game, 5th in threes, 4th in assists per game, but leads the WNBA in turnovers. Any rookie in the WNBA, or the NBA, would love to be in those rankings in points and assists. It’s very easy to say now that the expectations for Clark as a rookie were set astronomically high, but she’s had the up and down season you should expect from a rookie.

Clark has had six games with at least 20 points and four games with 10 points or fewer. In the NFL, Peyton Manning turned into a Hall of Fame quarterback despite setting the rookie record for interceptions. It will take time for the 2024 first overall pick to adjust to the life as a professional basketball player.

“The speed in which the traps, the blitzes, the speed in which things come at her has been an adjustment, but I think she’s already made the adjustment. Now she’s just got to get physically stronger, her IQ is there, her body is not there yet, but it will be.” Indiana Fever TV analyst Debbie Anonelli on Query on Company Thursday afternoon.

Let’s not forget that Caitlin Clark has been playing basketball since the start of her senior season at Iowa on November 6th, 2023. Her season with the Hawkeyes ended April 4th, and then the first Fever preseason game on March 3rd. Clark will have a month off in the middle of July so players in the WNBA can represent their countries in the Olympics.

What will also help the 22-year-old going forward is that the team no longer has any back-to-backs and be able to practice more frequently. It seems, at times, the chemistry between Clark and her teammates hasn’t fully been there yet just because of the lack of practice time they have together.

Those improvements have started to show a little bit in the recent games for the Fever. They have played the top two teams in the league seven times out of their thirteen games. Against the Connecticut Sun and New York Liberty, the Fever are 0-6. Against the Washington Mystics, Chicago Sky, Seattle Storm, and Los Angeles Sparks, Indiana is 3-4.

I understand the sample size is small and you expect a team to hopefully steal one against one of the top teams in the league, but the fact that they have been in every game that doesn’t feature two Olympians on the other roster, they have competitive.

Other topics the the Indiana Fever TV analyst discussed on the show were:

How the pairing of Aliyah Boston and Caitlin Clark can improve
Admits how proud she is on how Caitlin Clark has handled herself since she was 18-years-old
Shares the story of her son going through the ClemsonLIFE

To listen to Jake Query and Jimmy Cook’s conversation with Debbie Antonelli, download the podcast containing the conversation below! You can always listen to the Query & Company from 12pm-3pm on 93.5/107.5 The Fan. You can also watch and interact with the show by going to the 107.5 The Fan YouTube Channel.

Has Caitlin Clark Adjusted to the WNBA? was originally published on 1075thefan.com