Stephen A Smith & Chiney Ogwumike debate the level of Caitlin Clark's impact on the WNBA
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***Official Caitlin/Fever/Kate/Meg Games Mega Thread***
- Thread starter Tenacious E
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I don't think Mitchell is a great fit with Clark for the backcourt as she is limited defensively because of her size and we all know this is not Clark's strong suit either. I also think she likes the ball in her hands and it seemed to me the ball stopped moving well when it got to her. Clark's real strength is passing to a cutter or a well positioned post player. Neither are an asset with Mitchell. She can get out and run and certainly can score. I just don't think they pair well together for each other's strengths if you are trying to build a team.
That's really good stuff. Need to clean it up, especially the hand checking. When an offensive player gets you on their hip, you can't start grabbing them to slow up their drive. You see it way too much without any sort of call.
I think she fit better and better throughout the season. I almost got the feeling that at the end of the game, they let KM do her thing given her tenure with the team. It was a disaster and she knows it. That could have been the final gasp from her in terms of letting go of team control. If she plays complementary basketball with Clark they are an incredible duo, and hopefully that continues to get better next year and beyond.
Seems a CC22 fan, but not clear if that goes back to Iowa. I just think Clark's introduction to the league has magnified the issues.
I’ll agree on a few points but she is an absolute dynamic scorer. And good luck getting a like for like player. They’ve had 1 season together and got better and better as the season went on. Look at the top 4 teams. They basically dominated the Olympic team. If you can get a better player than Mitchell in some kind of like for like trade than great. I’m not sure that’s out there. They need wings, wings, and more athletic wings.
Viewership numbers from last Sunday's first round playoff games: Fever vs Sun - 1.8 million; Aces vs Storm - 461 thouand; other two games - around 450 thousand. ABC telecast of Fever vs Sun game showed an increase of 330% from their viewership of last year's first round game.
Considering the salary cap is likely to go up after 2025, we are likely going to see FAs looking for one year contracts. Looking at the list of unrestricted free agents, there aren't many SGs to go after. https://www.spotrac.com/wnba/free-agents/_/year/2025/type/ufa/sort/contract_value I doubt a 30 year old Plum will come to play next to CC, plus her defense is almost as bad as KM's.
If there's nobody that's a high-end 2-way player at SG willing to come in, I could see KM signing for a 1 year max contract in hopes she can get a bigger one the next year. That helps bridge the gap to the 2026 season that the Fever are really going to be shooting for going big when the bad contracts mostly come off the books, per my post above.
This is also when a hopeful SG draft pick would be able to be a 1 year backup before stepping into a starter role if KM decides to walk following 2025, assuming a 1 year contract.
Agree with this. I’d actually take Mitchell over Plum right now. Plum is a nice player but I’d take Mitchell.
The announced attendance (total tickets distributed) last night was 8,910. Mohegan Sun Arena's capacity is 10,000 and the Sun couldn't even fill that.
Listen to the crowd's reaction when CC nails a 3 and the Fever take the 4th quarter lead.
This sounds like a Fever home game. The WNBA is a joke. I look forward to seeing the crazy bad viewership numbers moving forward.
Listen to the Fever fans:
Listen to the crowd's reaction when CC nails a 3 and the Fever take the 4th quarter lead.
This sounds like a Fever home game. The WNBA is a joke. I look forward to seeing the crazy bad viewership numbers moving forward.
Listen to the Fever fans:
Biggest downside of the Clark / Mitchell pairing is on the defensive side due to issues you mention.
Completely disagree with you on the Offensive side, as Mitchell/Clark became one of the best offensive back courts in the league the last hald of the season. Mitchell is able to play in transition, a great 3 pt shooter and became a pretty good cutter off the ball. She's a bit of a ball stopper but I don't know who you're going to realistically get that is better than her.
100% agree on this. The ball stopper thing is also getting old. She's a 2 guard, not a point guard. Her job is to score, not necessarily get 8 assists a game. That's what CC is for. Every once in awhile they can still run the offense through her but she's not a great passer. So what?
There's that new 3x3 league this winter, correct?
Well, good luck with that with no Caitlin Clark.
Well, good luck with that with no Caitlin Clark.
I think their most glaring hole is an athletic 4 who can also shoot and not play like a complete dumbass. Sabally seems perfect. We also need a wing, but I think we got killed the worst throughout the season by the better teams at the 4 position.
42 games.
37.95 points/game (19.17 scored; 18.78 assisted on)
37.95 points/game (19.17 scored; 18.78 assisted on)
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There were definitely more (at least louder) Fever/Clark fans there than Sun fans.
What's crazy is that if the team was playing as well in the beginning of the season as at the end of the season (including Clark), and her teammates didn't miss so damn many bunnies and layups, she could be pushing 2,000 points generated.
remember watching Iowa WBB players missing layups just a short 6 months ago and many thought "well, at least that won't happen in the WNBA...."
LOL
39 games at Iowa were followed by 42 games with the Fever.
2,854 min played/81 games = 35.2 min/game (of 40 possible)
2,854 min played/81 games = 35.2 min/game (of 40 possible)
Absolutely agree that the Fever’s #1 need is at Forward. Go get Gustafson - a player who, unlike Smith, will give 100 % effort on defense (and she can score).
Would be great if they could rebound.
Drove me nuts how we would have 2 or 3 girls down under the rim and the opposing team's ONE girl would get the board.
That is not the answer. Not even close. 10 minutes a game off the bench? Yes.
For those wanting better defense I think it's pretty tough to play defense when you get called for touch fouls while getting hammered on the other end. The league is complete trash. KM, Boston, and CC are not the perfect starting point for a championship run, but they are sufficient with enough extra pieces. I'm not sure it will ever be possible though if the officials keep their hardons for Boston, Hull, and CC. Fever run away with the game last night with a fair whistle. A fair whistle and the Suns have starters on the bench by the end of the first period.
My post assumed Smith will be gone. That handwriting is already on the wall.
Excellent post. We all wanted the matchup with the Sun instead of the Lynx, but that really bit us in the Ass when Smith went awol. I can't EVER remember a team in the pros or college who was forced to sit a starter (she played like 3 or 4 minutes) because it became obvious that they couldn't trust her to give a winning effort vs "her girl's team". Craziest thing I've seen in a pro game. I mean I totally agree with not playing her, and said as much after Sundays game, but that along with KLS providing NOTHING the last month, (Hull having to start) has destroyed what little bench the Fever had. There were several times that CC22 looked absolutely worn out, and playing her and Mitchell so many minutes the last month certainly had an impact on the last two games.
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We all love Gustfason, but she isn't a starter at the 4 in the WNBA. She's changed her game a lot, but her physical limitations will hold her back through her career. Backup on a sub 100k contract, yes. However the Aces have her signed for another year so that isn't happening unless they're willing to make a trade. Only way we bring her on is if Temi doesn't re-sign and we can get them to swing a trade for Smith. But a team ran as well as theirs isn't going to take on that drama.
I don't disagree that Clark CAN improve on defense, but I still believe that she has the same type of issues that Luka had. The fact that she can create offense at such a high level, (she's almost peerless even in the W) I think has people overlooking her issues as an athlete. She just doesn't have the kind of quickness or lateral movement that many of the leagues guards have. Luka improved his somewhat by losing 35lbs when he went pro to gain a bit of quickness and mobility. Clark probably needs to add another 10lbs of muscle. (Which I'm sure she will). I think eventually CC can play decent defense in a team concept, IF the team gets the players, coaching and attitude to do it.
Lolol. again why would the Sun make that trade? Just to make Carrington happy?
