CC really coming on

Zstatman

Zstatman

Well-Known Member
I jsut finaished watching the Fever beat the Sky by 20 or so points.

Caitlin had 31 points and 12 assists, she really put on a clinic, shot and passed well.

I saw a tweet a week or so ago where it was suggested the Fever offense is starting to look like the Hawkeye offense of last year.

Tonight the Fever were getting the breakaway fast breaks, passing the ball well, hitting the open shooter behind the arc, it was fun to watch.

I found mysel wondering if Fever coach Christie Field has talked with Lisa Blunder and/or Jan Jensen.
 
Its been interesting to see her adjust to the pro game, and grow and grow. I won't be surprised if we see several more 25 plus point games by years' end.
 
Zstatman said:
I jsut finaished watching the Fever beat the Sky by 20 or so points.

Caitlin had 31 points and 12 assists, she really put on a clinic, shot and passed well.

I saw a tweet a week or so ago where it was suggested the Fever offense is starting to look like the Hawkeye offense of last year.

Tonight the Fever were getting the breakaway fast breaks, passing the ball well, hitting the open shooter behind the arc, it was fun to watch.

I found mysel wondering if Fever coach Christie Field has talked with Lisa Blunder and/or Jan Jensen.
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Lisa Bluder and her husband were sitting in the first row with David Letterman at the Fever home game the other night
 
I was thinking the same thing.
The Fever are starting to look like Iowa.

Everybody was saying Caitlin Clark had to adapt to the WNBA. But just as important is her teammates had to adapt to Caitlin Clark and embrace the things that helped Clark make Iowa a great team.

Indiana has picked up the pace and is now playing the players that can actually catch and shoot quickly and can actually make those shots. Lexi Hall has been playing great both on offense and defense and her minutes keep going up. Kelsey Mitchell is one the best shooters I ever seen, and she is now pushing that uptempo pace too. Clark and Mitchell make a great 1-2 scoring combo.
 
The Fever have finally accepted that they will do better if they build their game around Caitlin's strengths. In the meantime Caitlin keeps working to get better. The WNBA has been a ghetto sport and they are finding that if they want a bigger audience they will have to change that. I think it is too rough at the moment but should get better. They are entertainment and the general public wants a different game. Successful entertainers give the public what it wants. Those who say they will do their own thing and if the public likes it all the better will never be as successful.
 
Will C said:
The Fever have finally accepted that they will do better if they build their game around Caitlin's strengths. In the meantime Caitlin keeps working to get better. The WNBA has been a ghetto sport and they are finding that if they want a bigger audience they will have to change that. I think it is too rough at the moment but should get better. They are entertainment and the general public wants a different game. Successful entertainers give the public what it wants. Those who say they will do their own thing and if the public likes it all the better will never be as successful.
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Watching the Olympics gave me a theory as to why the WNBA is so rough. Almost all of these players play internationally, and that physicality is just part and parcel of the international game. It makes sense that it carries over to the WNBA. The NBA made a concerted effort to enforce that physicality out a few decades ago (very successfully), but the WNBA really never had a strong incentive to do so. The players wanted to play that way, and there were not enough eyeballs/fans clamoring for something different to make a difference.

I think now that more people are paying attention, and noticing that the game isn't as fast and fluid as they would like, the WNBA will adjust. The league has been dominated by posts due to the physicality (only 1 guard has won MVP in the last 25 years, Taurasi in '09), but between Clark and the soon to be incoming Bueckers and Watkins, the league is going to want their superstars to shine.
 
I've said this before that the W wasn't ready for CC and I still believe that.

Another thing, the W could use a more than 2-week pre-season. It seemed at the beginning that CC's teammates were looking at her like, 'who is this Caitlin Clark, who she think she is, coming in here acting like she's the best thing that ever happened to the W'.

Now they believe, sometimes it seems like they can all pass like CC. CC has turned Mitchell into a top guard. Together they are becoming something special.
 
guffus said:
I was thinking the same thing.
The Fever are starting to look like Iowa.

Everybody was saying Caitlin Clark had to adapt to the WNBA. But just as important is her teammates had to adapt to Caitlin Clark and embrace the things that helped Clark make Iowa a great team.

Indiana has picked up the pace and is now playing the players that can actually catch and shoot quickly and can actually make those shots. Lexi Hall has been playing great both on offense and defense and her minutes keep going up. Kelsey Mitchell is one the best shooters I ever seen, and she is now pushing that uptempo pace too. Clark and Mitchell make a great 1-2 scoring combo.
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Agree with every word of this. Yeah Clark had some adjusting to do being all new teammates and coaches. But CC plays a style that's unique to herself and you can tell that the other players have started to adjust. They have a better feel of where their spots are. KM is playing way better now then she did at the start of the yr her and Boston both. I attribute much of the teams improvement to what you said.

You can't microwave team chemistry. Iowa last yr had 3 starters who'd played together 3 plus yrs. These gals had a handful of practices before getting thrown out there to play games. Clark being the PG and primary ball handler makes the adjustment hinge on everyone else getting on the same page with her as much as the other way around.

It's been fun to see how fast they've gotten it going. To know that Clark is not only good enough (lots of haters wanted her to not be) but is straight up one of the best players in the league is amazing to watch. Has me hooked like many others that's for sure
 
I haven't seen this stat mentioned but if it has been already, sorry.

There has been only 1 W player to ever score 28 points and have 12 assists in a game. CCC, of course. She has now done it 3 times and the last 2 times, back-to-back. Pretty impressive.
 
Zstatman said:
I haven't seen this stat mentioned but if it has been already, sorry.

There has been only 1 W player to ever score 28 points and have 12 assists in a game. CCC, of course. She has now done it 3 times and the last 2 times, back-to-back. Pretty impressive.
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The WNBA record for 25 pt, 10 asst games is 5 (Ionescu). Clark has 4 so far this year.
 
CP87 said:
The WNBA record for 25 pt, 10 asst games is 5 (Ionescu). Clark has 4 so far this year.
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How stupid of a stat is that? Geesh.. Clarks going to just obliterate records in this league. She already is. I really hope she gets the single season one I think she needs to get to 316 and has 276 of em with 7 games to go... She outta smash it. I think she needs less then 6 a game if my math is right to do it. A couple 10 assist games here and it'll be a cakewalk.

They just clinched a playoff spot. Which is insanely wild to think about considering how bad this team has been like the last 10 yrs almost. Then you factor in the start to this season being 1-8 and not looking good at all. You just don't really see in season flips like this very often especially when there hasn't been any injury related issues or player acquisitions. Just benching Wallace for Hull/KLS is about the main thing they've tweaked.

I don't have any delusions of grandeur here but pie in the sky what if Clark does the unthinkable and has this team win it all? They've beaten the top teams pretty much at least once except Vegas and they have another crack at them yet. So what if they pull it off and Clark is playing out of her mind going for 25/11/5 plus? I'd just love to see the haters reactions to that.
 
Hawkfnntn said:
How stupid of a stat is that? Geesh.. Clarks going to just obliterate records in this league. She already is. I really hope she gets the single season one I think she needs to get to 316 and has 276 of em with 7 games to go... She outta smash it. I think she needs less then 6 a game if my math is right to do it. A couple 10 assist games here and it'll be a cakewalk.

They just clinched a playoff spot. Which is insanely wild to think about considering how bad this team has been like the last 10 yrs almost. Then you factor in the start to this season being 1-8 and not looking good at all. You just don't really see in season flips like this very often especially when there hasn't been any injury related issues or player acquisitions. Just benching Wallace for Hull/KLS is about the main thing they've tweaked.

I don't have any delusions of grandeur here but pie in the sky what if Clark does the unthinkable and has this team win it all? They've beaten the top teams pretty much at least once except Vegas and they have another crack at them yet. So what if they pull it off and Clark is playing out of her mind going for 25/11/5 plus? I'd just love to see the haters reactions to that.
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They really aren't much worse than the top teams anymore. Early in the year when they played them they got rolled. Now those games look like pretty even matchups. Having shorter series than the NBA helps the underdog too.
 
It took a little time for CC and her team to get it together. Now she has teammates who can shoot and that is what she needed at Iowa. So far I have to laud the Fever's coach for making this come together. If the Fever can get one more good draft pick they can be a champion for some time.
 
Will C said:
It took a little time for CC and her team to get it together. Now she has teammates who can shoot and that is what she needed at Iowa. So far I have to laud the Fever's coach for making this come together. If the Fever can get one more good draft pick they can be a champion for some time.
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Yeah when I look at the roster I'd say an upgrade at the 4 spot and then the bench. A backup pg for Clark would sure be nice. Cause when she's out they are a totally different team obviously... Wheeler who's been there awhile now can be ok once in awhile but if there's an upgrade to be made I'd sure look at it. That's probably easier said then done.
 
I think my wish list would be...

A floor-spacing 4 or 5 (I like Smith as an offensive outlet when everything else gets bogged down, but she kind of exists outside of the offense more so than within; Boston can play 4 or 5, and she brings so much from a defensive/passing/leadership standpoint that she is probably close to untouchable)

A rangy, 3-and-D wing that could unlock some small ball lineups by playing the 4 and offset their small backcourt (Mitchell and Hull are both undersized, and Clark can only expend so much on D)

A backup PG, I guess, but Wheeler has been great from a leadership and mentorship standpoint. She has taken it upon herself to prevent any more CC technicals this season, and it is hilarious watching her shadow CC and try to calm her down during games.
 
If you would have said CC would end the year with 15 ppg, 5 apg & 3 rpg, I would have signed up for that. Her current avg line - 18.7ppg, 8.4 apg & 5.7 rpg. Crazy successful!! Imagine if they didn't front load their schedule when they had next to no practices in the 1st 1/3 of the season. She may have averaged a double-double.
 
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