Caitlin Clark continues to accomplish new milestones. She also has plenty of work to do on the one aspect of her game that was supposed to be her calling card; the three-point shot.
Fresh off her 15-point, 12-assists and nine-rebound performance in the Fever’s comeback road win over the Phoenix Mercury last Sunday, Clark helped the league reach an attendance milestone in a road game at Las Vegas on Tuesday.
Not done, Clark helped the Fever get their biggest win of the season, an 83-78 win over the league-leading New York Liberty who entered Saturday’s contest 17-3, which included three early season blowout wins over the Fever.
After coming close on so many occasions, including last Sunday’s win over the Mercury, Clark finally messed around and got a triple-double, becoming the first rookie in league history to do so.
The former Iowa Hawkeyes star finished with 19 points, 13 rebounds and 12 assists. In the game Clark shot 7 of 17 overall, but once again struggled from three, going 3 of 12 from distance. Despite the long-range shooting being a trademark of who she is, Clark has struggled from deep this season shooting 33.1 percent.
Clark Talks Triple-Double
In wake of grabbing her 10th rebound, Clark was baffled as to why the Gainbridge Fieldhouse crowd gave her a standing ovation to which at the time she didn’t know why.
“I honestly wasn’t too aware,” Clark said of the final rebound. “But I think everybody was a little confused as to why fans were going so nuts over a rebound. I mean, they can do that every time, I guess.”
Why Has Clark Struggled From Deep?
Despite making history, Clark’s three-point shooting hasn’t reached the level that was projected for her so far. Clark takes the fourth most threes per game (8.2) and has a green light that no other rookie in the league and few players have.
She’s shooting 33.1 percent and while she’s currently tied for fifth in the league in makes at (2.7) per game with the league’s all-time leader in makes, 41-year-old, Diana Taurasi, her overall percentage is just 34th in the WNBA.
Stephanie Dolson (49.5 percent), Alanna Smith (45.6 percent) and Kayla McBride (43.8 percent) are the top three sharp shooters in the W.
Clark’s struggles stem from a variety of things, from the type of offensive sets being run to get her high-quality looks to the fact that she’s the team’s best playmaker.
That means Christie Sides, who’s in her first season as a head coach, isn’t diagramming plays to get her sharpshooter some good looks. It also means the Fever don’t have a bevy of consistent playmakers outside of Kelsey Mitchell, capable of creating good looks for Clark.
At Iowa Clark was able to dance and create her own looks from three, but thus far with the Fever that hasn’t often been the case. At some point Clark is going to have a stretch where she catches fire from deep. She’s too good a shooter not to.
Did Clark Upstage Angel Reese?
One night after Reese recorded her WNBA single-season record 12th consecutive double-double, going for 27 points and 10 rebounds, Clark’s three-point shooting failed her, but every other aspect of her game was brilliant as she led the Indiana Fever to another win with the first triple-double by a rookie in WNBA history.
The performance also keeps Clark firmly in the lead for WNBA Rookie of the Year, a race that’s heating up and is likely to go down to the wire.
