ESPN: Fever’s Coach Blames Caitlin Clark After Fever’s 12th Defeat….Details.

28 June (UPI) — After the Indiana Fever dropped their opening 19 games of the 2024 season for the 12th time in 19 games, head coach Christie Sides asked rookie guard Caitlin Clark to try more shots per game.

“Caitlin Clark needs to shoot a minimum of 15 shots a game for us,” Sides stated to reporters following Thursday’s 89-77 loss to the Seattle Storm.

“She’s gotta get shots. We’ve gotta do a better job of setting her up and setting some really good screens to get her open.”

Clark is averaging a rookie-best 16.2 points per game this season. She scored 15 in Thursday’ loss, while making 4 of 9 shot attempts, including 3 of 7 3-pointers. She also totaled seven assists, six rebounds and six turnovers.

Jewell Lloyd, a five-time All-Star, led the Storm with 34 points in the win. Forward Nneka Ogwumike and center Ezi Magbegor contributed 15 and 18 points, respectively.

Eric Wheeler, a seasoned guard for the Fever, equaled Clark’s scoring total of 15 points. 45.7% to 44.6%, in favor of the Storm. They also had advantages in assists (27–21) and steals (14–4). The Fever had twenty turnovers in total, while the Storm only had eight.

After her first 19 professional games, Clark has the 22nd-highest shot average in the WNBA (12.2 per game). Of those, 40.1% were made by her, with 35.5% coming from three-point range. In six of her nineteen outings, she attempted a minimum of fifteen shots. Nine times, she was limited to fewer than twelve tries.

Last season at Iowa, Clark attempted the most shots in collegiate basketball—both men’s and women’s—with a total of 886.

The Fever star claimed that because she was being double teamed on Thursday, she frequently passed the ball up to her teammates.

“I could definitely be a little bit more aggressive to the basket, but I think I’m going to try to take what the defense gives me and try to set my teammates up for success, too,” Clark stated.

After going on a winning streak of four games in a row last week, the Fever (7-12) have now played back-to-back games and are ranked ninth in the WNBA rankings. Playoffs will be reached by the top 8 clubs at the conclusion of the regular season.

Clark declared, “We want to win more than anybody.” “This is what we do. It is our responsibility to compete daily. Nobody takes pleasure in defeat. Losing is not enjoyable.

“We are not yet halfway through the season, and we have already dropped 12 games. We want to be able to win every single night, therefore we’re trying our hardest. We anticipate victory.”

On Monday at 3 p.m. EDT, the Fever will take on the No. 6 Phoenix Mercury (8-8) in Phoenix. At 9 p.m. on Saturday in Seattle, the No. 4 Storm (11-6) will take on the No. 10 Dallas Wings (4-13).