“It’s not a story,” Stephanie White said about a viral moment between her and Caitlin Clark during a 100-84 loss to the Portland Fire. She’s right—kind of. The argument itself shouldn’t be a story. Clark, who struggled immensely on both ends of the floor, was understandably frustrated, and so was White, who couldn’t get her team to play up to her standards. Things like that just sometimes happen between a star player and a coach.
Clark also shut down narratives of a rift between her and Coach White.
“Two people being really competitive,” Clark said during a practice media availability on Monday. “Two people that really want to win. And I think a lot of those things happen all the time, and I know there’s a camera on me, and that’s how it’s going to be, but there’s a lot of people out there in the media or on TV that think they know a lot of things, and they’re just blatantly wrong about a lot of things. I ride for Steph. I ride for these girls. Steph has my back more than anybody.”
That’s all fair. But there is more to the moment than just the relationship between Clark and White. It’s about the underlying issues that led to the argument. When a team that’s supposed to compete for a championship is down 26 points to an expansion team and its best player is hurting the team by not being able to take care of her one-on-one matchup on defense for the second consecutive game, that’s a problem.
The Portland Fire are very good—they are widely exceeding expectations and could very much be in the running for a playoff spot if they keep winning like this—but they don’t have the same kind of talent the Fever have with Clark, Kelsey Mitchell, and Aliyah Boston. After a game like that, the Fever cannot escape a daunting question: How are they supposed to beat teams like the Las Vegas Aces or Atlanta Dream in the playoffs if they cannot slow down 21-year-old Carla Leite and Megan Gustafson?
How are they supposed to compete for a title when things just don’t seem to be clicking on either end of the floor, and they look like a middle-of-the-pack team in most games? Much like Portland is exceeding expectations, Indiana isn’t living up to them right now.
The Fever still have a lot to figure out
The WNBA landscape is very different from what it was at this point last season. Last year, the Lynx and Liberty were running away early with undefeated records and separated themselves as the top title contenders. This year, the standings are a lot closer and no team has really set itself apart from the rest of the pack yet. So, obviously, Indiana isn’t the only team with a lot to figure out, and that’s okay eight games into the season.
But there are still some concerning trends that currently make the Fever a middling team and will keep them there if they continue. The Fever’s roster features a ton of offensive firepower, but they are still only seventh in offensive rating. They also rank eighth in defensive rating, allowing opponents to score 87.4 points per game. They give up a ton of fastbreak points and points in the paint.
The Valkyries and Fire found great success by targeting Clark in isolations in two consecutive games. Teams will just continue to attack her, and the biggest thing the Fever must figure out is how to mitigate that strategy.
A week or two from now, the Fever might have already cleaned up those issues. But until they do, fans are allowed to have serious concerns about this team.
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