Basketball
Related: About this forumCheryl Miller, Caitlin Clark WNBA All-Star Practice Footage Sparks Severe Christie Sides Criticism
Indiana Fever rookie Caitlin Clark took part in the Team WNBA's first (and only) true practice before their All-Star Game against Team USA takes place Saturday night.
Clark's head coach for the weekend is WNBA legend Cheryl Miller, who is one of the most respected minds in the entire sport of women's basketball.
Multiple different videos of Miller coaching Clark, fellow rookie Angel Reese, and the other Team WNBA players have surfaced on social media. And the plays Miller is drawing up for her rookie sharpshooter is prompting people on social media to start roasting Fever head coach Christie Sides once again.
X user @fettyfilm posted on X Friday saying, "Ive watched tons of Fever practices and the plays Cheryl Miller has Caitlin running today, Christie Sides wouldnt even try to do them in game let alone practice." The post already has amassed over 60,000 views on X in less than 12 hours.
https://starlocalmedia.com/sports/national/cheryl-miller-caitlin-clark-wnba-all-star-practice-footage-sparks-severe-christie-sides-criticism/article_f34fc43a-1fb2-50a2-9c00-9870d01a68c9.html
moniss
(6,149 posts)Caitlin will at some point have a game with assists in the 20's. I think her grind of a schedule has affected her long distance accuracy and once she gets this month long break she'll be back with a higher percentage. I really respect that she hustles so much for a guard for rebounds and blocks. I also have always respected the women's game for their concentration on hitting their free throws. The Fever forwards and AB are doing a much better job at hitting their layups and shots in the paint etc. off the Caitlin passes. I think they are more fired up because they now are more in sync with her and they know she will get them the ball.
The top teams/players are even amazed at her passing. They really do seem like they like to run a fast paced game and if they can get Sides to leave it alone more they'll be fine. I think they do have issues defensively as we saw with the Wings and some other games. They let a good defender go and in the W the refs are so inconsistent about contact that you don't know when you might pick up quick fouls early so trying to pressure or be physical can backfire. Sometimes when those refs see a double team the whistle is not far behind even if there was no real contact. It is frustrating.
Having said that I do notice that when they are having the most problems defensively is when they are letting who they're guarding get too much of a gap before they receive the pass. That means you as the defender have opened up space for shots and moves to the basket. So then they come in to defend, they're late and get called for fouls. The other thing is also about the schedule/fatigue to a degree. It is tougher later in the game, especially when you don't have a bench to let you get a break, to have the energy to move your feet while playing defense. That's why you see a lot of players will just raise their arms or reach in excessively to make up for an offensive player making a move on them or having the excessive gap like I mentioned and then they're putting up a shot and you are trying to move forward toward them with your arms up and then comes the contact foul. But it gets hard when you're worn down and a half a step can be too much or too little.
jimfields33
(19,312 posts)Shes been conducting herself perfectly in all this.
ProfessorGAC
(70,597 posts)Best thing she can do is nothing.
Her behavior & attitude during this mealstrom have been exemplary.