Rookies have been a point of interest during the opening week of the 2024 WNBA season, but, rather than shining as stars, they’ve faced the harsh realities of the league.
This is to be expected. The WNBA is leaps and bounds better than women’s college basketball. But fans of Caitlin Clark are adjusting to that truth. It’s not just Clark and the Indiana Fever who have struggled; the Los Angeles Sparks’ Cameron Brink played well but lost the opening game versus the Atlanta Dream, and Angel Reese of the Chicago Sky lost in her debut against the Dallas Wings as well.
On Saturday, May 18, the Sparks and Fever will be on national television. They will have an opportunity to earn their first wins and confirm that this draft class is worth the hype.
The New York Liberty will host the Indiana Fever at 1 p.m. ET on ABC, followed by the Las Vegas Aces taking on the Los Angeles Sparks at 3 p.m. ET.
Another reality check for Indy in rematch against New York?
Attention comes at a cost many aren’t ready to pay.
If you want heightened focus on your work, well, this is what it looks like for the Fever. WNBA teams have thrown a bucket of cold water on the notion that anyone could waltz into this league and dominate. For the diehard fans, this was expected, but for those who thought Clark and her accolades could just be copied and pasted from Iowa to Indiana, it’s been a bit of a shock.
That’s not a condemnation of Clark or the Fever, but even a generational rookie is a rookie, and the Fever won 13 games last year, a far cry from even decent. It’s going to take time—years realistically—before the Fever even whiff title contention. In the meantime, there will continue to be many losses and some bad nights where you take the other team’s best punch, and your jaw just isn’t ready for it.
The Fever just lost to the Liberty 102-66, so they have plenty of work to do to turn that result into a win on Saturday. Aliyah Boston has to be better at handling the physicality of Jonquel Jones and the Liberty bigs, and Clark can’t score nine points and expect a victory.
What do the Liberty have to do to win? Just be the Liberty. Breanna Stewart was in MVP form, dropping 31 and the team looked as sharp as a Ginsu on both sides of the ball. Beating the same team two times in a row is tough, but the Liberty are a veteran team that should have a victory in hand if they stay focused.
Expect Vegas to assert greatness against LA
Speaking of a veteran team…
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