It's been a rough first three games for Caitlin Clark and the Indiana Fever. But as some will tell you, things seem to be improving.
Actually, it's only been three games (through the weekend) — and the Fever are 0-3. The first two games, they looked bad. The third, not horrible, but still lost 91-80 to the New York Liberty. But that was better than their previous loss to the Liberty.
The WNBA has actually done the young Fever no favors. They play the Liberty or Connecticut Sun twice each in the first four games. Each opponent is considered a championship contender. Indiana hasn't been to the playoffs in eight years — the league's longest drought.
Anyway, Clark has been up and down in three games, but mostly up when comparing her to rookie greats of the past. Along with Sue Bird and Candace Parker, she is one of just three rookies to have totaled at least 50 points and 15 assists in her first three games, as relayed by ESPN.
Can't go wrong with being mentioned in the same sentence as Bird and Parker, two of the best basketball players in world history.
Anyway, Clark scored 22 points in her latest game on Saturday, though turnovers remain an issue. She recorded 10 in her first game and eight in her third.
"Like all rookies, Clark is learning every minute on the court," wrote Michael Voepel of ESPN. "She got off to a good start Saturday, scoring 10 points in the first quarter."
Voepel added "keep in mind she played a team-high 34 minutes and handled the ball much of the time. It was a clear upgrade from her 9 points, 7 rebounds and 6 assists Thursday. She scored or assisted on 41 of the Fever's points (51.3%), and shot 9 of 17 (52.9%) from the field overall (4 of 10 from 3-point range.)"
So yeah, a rough start for the Fever, but based on early returns, Clark is well on her way to greatness, as expected.
