The Indiana Fever will go to the WNBA playoffs for the first time since 2016 and for the first time in the Caitlin Clark era. The 22-year-old rookie has rewritten parts of the league’s record books over the past month while making the Fever one of the hottest teams in the WNBA. Indiana currently holds a top six playoff seed. Clark reserves Aliyah Boston, Nalyssa Smith and Kelsey Mitchell are also playing some of the best basketball of their careers.
However, a former NBA All-Star says the team is still incomplete and missing a vital piece.
Many of the new fans Clark has brought to the WNBA have been highly critical of some of the flagrant fouls and other questionable shots that have been committed against her this year. In just four games against the rival Chicago Sky, Clark was hit by three different players in three flagrant fouls that sparked an incredible reaction from fans on social media.
Clark avoided serious injuries and didn’t let the hits stop him from playing like an MVP candidate. But according to former NBA All-Star Joakim Noah, the team should still try to solve the problem this offseason by signing a player who can fight against more physical opponents with Clark. “If I had Indiana Fever, I would have a real workhorse to protect him,” Noah told Fox News Digital during an interview on “NBA Night” at the Emirates Suite at the US Open in New York on Wednesday.< br >Noah admits that Clark could get hit by opposing players because they are aware of the talent she brings as a difference maker on the court.”Sometimes I feel like she gets hit because he’s a very talented person,” he said. At the end of the day, our job is to win games, so if I’m the owner [of the Indiana Fever], I’m going to have a real workhorse.”
Many WNBA fans, young and old, have been highly critical of opponents attacking Clark. Sky rookie Angel Reese, who hit Clark in the head with his arm while trying to block a pass during a June 16 game, spoke about fan attacks on Clark dating back to his college career during the Thursday podcast. Fellow Sky Diamond DeShields committed a Level 1 flagrant foul against Clark, knocking the rookie to the ground, during a game on Aug. 30, then posted the hateful comments he received on Instagram.
However, Noah believes that the physical treatment that Clark received was very beneficial for the WNBA.
“I think it’s great,” Noah said when asked specifically about the fouls against Chicago. “I think it’s fun. ESPN anchor Holly Rowe expressed a similar sentiment to Noah in an interview with Fox News Digital last month.
“I think it’s good for the game,” Rowe said. “I like it because it has to be salty, that’s why it’s competitive, that’s why it’s a sport. »
But even with the entertainment value that comes with the moves, Noah insists the Fever need to fix the problem of getting an enforcer-type player as soon as possible. It’s a role he knows very well.
When Noah was a second-year player for the Chicago Bulls in 2008, the team used the first overall pick on star Derrick Rose. Like Clark, Rose was a rookie who dazzled the league with his talent and was often mistreated by opposing veterans. He was brought to the floor dozens of times, especially on trips to the basket. Noah, as one of Rose’s old teammates on the Bulls and when the pair joined the Knicks in 2016, often came to his partner’s defense.
But Noah was also on the other side of the physical game against the transcendent talent.
But even with the entertainment value that comes with the moves, Noah insists the Fever need to fix the problem of getting an enforcer-type player as soon as possible. It’s a role he knows very well.
When Noah was a second-year player for the Chicago Bulls in 2008, the team used the first overall pick on star Derrick Rose. Like Clark, Rose was a rookie who dazzled the league with his talent and was often mistreated by opposing veterans. He was brought to the floor dozens of times, especially on trips to the basket. Noah, as one of Rose’s old teammates on the Bulls and when the pair joined the Knicks in 2016, often came to his partner’s defense.
But Noah was also on the other side of the physical game against the transcendent talent.
