“You can’t coach effort” – Fever coach Christie Sides fires direct message at Caitlin Clark, sheds light on reason behind benching star player.

Indiana Fever v Connecticut Sun

Caitlin Clark playing just 22 minutes in Indiana Fever’s blowout 89-72 loss made headlines, and head coach Christie Sides minced no words when she held the rookie and the rest of the starting unit accountable. The side tumbled to their 10th loss of the season in 13 games, as their play on both ends of the floor was mediocre at best. Barring Clark (10 points), Aliyah Boston (14 points), and Lexie Hull (10 points), none of the Indiana players hit double-digits against an impressive Connecticut outfit.

Addressing the media in the aftermath of the loss, Sides called out her the starting five:

“At this level, you can’t coach effort. I feel we were just asking them to keep playing. You can’t start there, you can’t keep playing in this league where we have to coach effort.”

Caitlin Clarke had a forgettable evening as she shot 3-for-8 from the field and 2-for-5 from the 3-point line. An airball attempt to land a floater has already seen criticism come her way. As for the rest of the starters, it was far from having a field day. The Sun were led by Dijonai Carrington’s 22-point outing. Alyssa Thomas had a monster 18-rebound night, while DeWanna Bonner chipped in with 17 points.

Christie Sides explains decision to pull her starters in second half vs Sun

The second half saw Indiana’s second unit take the floor, and the impact was seen as they managed to outscore the Sun in the fourth quarter. Indiana had 21 and 16 points in the last two stretches, respectively, compared to Connecticut’s 25 and nine. The third-quarter rally gave some inkling that the Fever could catch up, but their poor first half cost them in the end.

Sides explained that she wanted to put in players who would make an impact on the defensive end:

“We were down 28 and I wanted to put a group in that would get out and play some defense. Really proud of that group,” she said.

Caitlin Clark and the Fever’s 3-10 record puts them in a rather torrid position of being the team with the second-worst record in the league after the 0-10 Washington Mystics. They host a three-game homestand up next as they face the Atlanta Dream on Thursday, Angel Reese and the Chicago Sky on Sunday, and the Washington Mystics on Wednesday.

The focus will once again turn to the Caitlin Clark versus Angel Reese skirmish, and only time will tell if the former can get the better of her archrival this time around.