What’s happening with Caitlin Clark? The Indiana Fever star seems to have lost her legendary accuracy and has gone from being the WNBA’s best long-range shooter to one of the worst. Amid the criticisms and theories flying left and right, star Kelsey Plum stepped up to solve the mystery.
If anything has distinguished Clark since arriving in the WNBA last season, it’s been her accuracy from beyond the three-point arc. In her rookie year, the Fever guard was shooting 34.4% from three-point range, but this year, that number has dropped precipitously to just 29.5%.
But Clark isn’t alone. In the last three games, Sabrina Ionescu has shot 3 of 19 from three-point range, and Marina Mabrey is 2 of 17. In her last four games, Plum herself is just 4 of 22 from the arc, while in her last five, rookie Paige Bueckers has shot 2 of 17. The reason, according to Plum, is the WNBA’s schedule.
Plum defends Clark and sharpshooters
In a recent Instagram post, analyst Trysta Krick noted the slump the WNBA’s best long-range shooters are going through. “Weird that the last couple of weeks everyone seems to be in a big shooting slump,” Krick wrote, accompanying a list of the shooting percentages of some of the “W” stars.
Kelsey Plum was quick to respond with a very simple explanation, one that resonated with fans and players alike. “Cause we’re tired,” the Los Angeles Sparks star stated, followed by a crying-with-laughter emoji. While Plum seems to have taken it with some humor, she’s not the only player complaining about the WNBA’s busy schedule.
Is the WNBA to blame for the slump?
In early June, New York Liberty’s Natasha Cloud criticized WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert for increasing the number of games without extending the season. “Cathy [Engelbert] needs to extend the season… if you want the best product on the floor, we need proper time to rest and recover.”
Phoenix Mercury star Satou Sabally agreed with Cloud, saying, “We put our bodies on the line every single time. We had nine games in 18 days. It’s not really responsible for a commissioner.”
Clark is temporarily out with a groin injury, bolstering her colleagues’ argument. When she returns, however, fans and media alike will be putting her under the microscope to see if the break helped her shooting. If it did, Cathy Engelbert is in for a storm of criticism.
Read the full article here
