Indiana Fever coach Stephanie White has had to make polarizing decisions on Caitlin Clark’s playing style since taking over the job for the Eastern Conference franchise. White had Clark bulk up in one of her first moves so that she could fend off defensive pressure that limited her offense during her rookie season.
That backfired as Clark dealt with multiple muscle injuries and was limited to 13 games. Another major move saw White move Clark off the ball more often. That decision didn’t sit well with the player’s fan base and some of the team’s fans, too. They believed Clark was best used on the ball and changing her role for the first time in her career hindered her impact when she was healthy.
Despite the criticism, White intends to use Clark in that role in their second season together as the two-time All-Star prepares for her comeback. While addressing the media on Monday, White defended her decision, saying:
“The way that people and teams play Caitlin is different than (how) they play everyone else. It’s the nature of her skillset, what she brings to the table, and it’s really the ultimate compliment. And so, in order to alleviate how hard she has to work on every single possession, it’s important to get her off the ball sometimes. When you think about what are the ways that you can rest when on the floor, that’s one way.”
White continued:
“I know people are freaking out about this thing, it’s not all the time thing either. It’s a way to help her load management. It’s a way to help alleviate some of the extra stuff that’s put on her shoulders throughout the course of the game.”
Caitlin Clark arguably faces the most physically intense defense 94 feet from the basket, citing her shooting ability. Every team gives its point-of-attack defender the leeway to hound Clark with freedom, due to which, the Fever are forced to have others bring the ball up at times so that the star guard can preserve her energy over 40 minutes.
Indiana has Kelsey Mitchell, Sophie Cunningham and Raven Johnson, who can carry the ball-handling duties when Caitlin Clark is on the floor. Aliyah Boston also shouldered some of that burden when the Fever played Nigeria in their preseason finale. Stephanie White used Clark as a screener, yielding great results.
Caitlin Clark looked comfortable in preseason
Despite all the noise surrounding Caitlin Clark’s role under Stephanie White, the star guard looked comfortable in preseason. Clark, who is coming off multiple injuries from last year, looked healthy, which was the first positive sign. She was able to play through physicality while moving around on and off the ball.
Clark shot well, which was another great sign. She made 45.0% of her field goals, including 45.5% from deep. Clark nearly scored a point per minute, averaging 13.3 ppg in 15.3 minutes of action. She did that with a usage rate of 28.3%. White used Clark in a multitude of ways on and off the ball, which was key to the Fever’s offense generating high-efficiency looks.
However, preseason rarely indicates the larger picture, so it will be interesting to see how the team performs in the first few games of the regular season to get a better idea of where Caitlin Clark is at with her health and role.
