Matchups between Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese have routinely moved the needle whether in college or so far in the WNBA. Sunday’s meeting appears to be no different with takes once again coming from nationwide, including that of Skip Bayless.
Bayless shared a tweet a few hours after Reese and the Chicago Sky won 88-87 over Clark and the Indiana Fever. In doing so, he hinted that Reese is the better player while also questioning the clutch gene for Clark. However, the rest of those thoughts will be shared tomorrow on ‘Undisputed’ on FS1.
“Saving my Angel>>>>>Caitlin thoughts for tomorrow’s Undisputed, 9:30 E,” Bayless wrote on Twitter. “Yes, it’s still very early, but is it already time to start wondering about Caitlin’s clutchness? Or is she just unselfish to a fault?”
These thoughts posed by Bayless are a two-parter.
As far as Reese versus Clark, one could make the case that the former is having a better rookie season. Clark is averaging 16.3 points and 6.6 assists per game in her own right after her 17-point, season-high 13-assist, and four-steal outing against Chicago. However, Reese is now up to 13.2 points and 11.1 rebounds. That’s after she posted a season-best of 25 points along 16 rebounds versus the Fever.
As for Clark’s clutch gene, though, it depends on what you expect from a star player. On one hand, some of Indiana’s best offense obviously comes from Clark, which is why many, including Christie Sides, would have probably preferred her to take the final shots in what was a close game and eventual one-point loss. On the other hand, Clark’s passing is just as much of an asset. That’s why, in her mind, dishing it off to her teammates, namely Kristy Wallace in the last seconds, was the right play to make.
With neither girl more than 20 games into their careers in the WNBA, any overarching thoughts about them, whether together or separately, are just way to premature. Still, Bayless has these perceptions after today with more likely to come on his show on Monday morning.
Analysts urge Caitlin Clark to be ‘a lot more selfish’
The final moments of an intense contest between the Indiana Fever and the Chicago Sky have come under heavy scrutiny for how they unfolded.
Trailing the Sky by a point with fewer than 12 seconds, the Fever scrambled to get into position to score. Caitlin Clark secured a defensive rebound and worked a pass into Kristy Wallace, who missed a layup from close range. The Fever were able to get the ball back for another attempt, backing it up out toward the three-point line. Clark played a one-two game with Aliyah Boston but she ended up with the ball with seemingly a look at a deep, albeit contested, shot. She passed it up to hand off to Boston, who then took a 22-footer. She missed and the game was essentially over.
Critics came out quickly to bemoan Clark’s passive approach.
“Caitlin Clark should have taken the last shot,” Robert Griffin III wrote on Twitter. “That’s why you have her. For moments like that. Period.”
“Caitlin Clark has to start being a lot more selfish,” Emmanuel Acho wrote in a tweet as well. “Clark has to realize that her shooting a contested shot is more productive than her teammate shooting an uncontested shot. The ‘right basketball play’ on paper, ain’t always the right one in real life.”
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