SFCALBear72 said:

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Well, Clark came to San Francisco and experienced two losses.

Giants lost.
Valkyries beat her Fever, 90-88.

She scored 16 points, had 6 assists, 4 rebounds, 3 steals and 5 turnovers (nearly half of team total: 11).

Go Valkyries!!

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I very much agree with you, but am tired of hearing about "Clark's Fever." (And, yeah, I know how famous she is, how good for the WNBA, etc.)

If the Fever are anyone's team, they're Kelsey Mitchell's.

Oh, CC is getting raked lately....

While acknowledging that she's certainly talented, folks are growing weary of the endless histrionics and noting her less than stellar defense. There are so many talented players throughout the W and I think that's actually being recognized of late.

Meanwhile, here's a sampling of some good articles regarding CC (and some Valkyries stuff) if you're interested in more....

Ballhalla Becoming the Soul of the Bay
Caitlin Clark can be electric and exhausting sometimes in the same quarter
Angela Perry's observations...
Cari Champion speaks out on a podcast
Valkyries Insider: "Everyone is a rival," after dramatic win over Indiana

CC is a very talented basketball player to be sure. She's a great passer and obviously has a killer shot from 3. I thnk her defense is lacking when compared to a number of others in the W but the same can be said of Kelsey Plum, etc.

Clearly she has attracted new eyeballs to the W and as such, has been under a great deal of scrutiny, for better or worse. However, with regard to the Bay Area I don't think Ballhalla would be any less crowded each game were she not in the league. i think the W, after 30 years, has come into its own and there are any number of great players worth watching.

Clark does have a tendency to be histrionic, and flops a fair amount, not that she's the only one. The fact is that it's really not surprising that good coaching staffs have figured out how to guard her and the Valkyries did an excellent job with that on Thursday (and last year when before she was out with injury). I don't think she's subject to any greater physical play than other offensive threats playing in the W. I've been watching lots of game and that's just pro basketball.

Reffing has been altered this season after complaints form coaches across the board about inconsistency and overtly physical play last season....Reeves, Nakase, Hammon....they all complained and the WNBA made adjustments to deal with it. Games are a few minutes longer this season as a result and some are griping as foul calls increased, but it should smooth out as players adjust.

Quote:

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The biggest change is an emphasis on player freedom of movement. Applied broadly on the perimeter and in the paint, on both offense and defense, on the ball and off the ballit was meant to cut down on physicality and get the game flowing more freely. The change led to an uptick in foul calls as games were called more tightly.

Source

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Clark is really struggling. Some of it is health, apparently, but her defensive weaknesses are being exploited and defenses are adjusting to her.

She's a very good shooter, a brilliant passer (though with turnovers), an awful defender, and a big-time whiner.

It would be good for everyone if she gets to 100% and can become the player everyone loves to hate.