After the Indiana Fever’s 102-85 blowout loss to the Las Vegas Aces in their WNBA playoff opener, Caitlin Clark and head coach Stephanie White had a lot to say about what went wrong for the team.
Clark criticized the team’s “sloppy” actions and took issue with the plays they ran, noting that they were not great. White, for her part, shared that the team’s turnover problem was a major factor in the loss. The Fever committed 16 turnovers, allowing the Aces to score 28 points off those mistakes.
One sports reporter and media personality, however, took notice of a decision by White and the Fever that could have contributed to the loss: their lineup rotations.
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect via Reuters Connect
Rachel DeMita, who played college basketball before turning to sports media, shared on her “Courtside Club” podcast how shocked she was to see “multiple lineups” that Indiana had not used much before. After all, in her view, a three-game series in the WNBA playoffs was not the time to “experiment.”
“There was a lineup out there today of Caitlin Clark, Raven Johnson, Lexie Hull, Sophie Cunningham and Aliyah Boston. Actually, I don’t even think it was Aliyah Boston. I think it was K.K. Timpson. That was one of the lineups that we saw. There were multiple lineups today,” DeMita stated.
“Mercedes Russell was the first player off the bench today. When in this season has Mercedes Russell been the first sub off of the bench? And that’s something that I just don’t understand with this team. How are you still experimenting on things in a three-game series in the first game of the playoffs?”
DeMita also mentioned the use of the rookie Johnson. The 23-year-old guard played nearly 22 minutes off the bench and finished with 14 points and two steals. However, prior to that, she averaged just 7.9 minutes in the Fever’s final 20 games of the regular season and played more than 20 minutes just four times during that span.
DeMita admitted that it “bothered” her to see White put Johnson in such a situation.
Stephanie White Backlash Intensifies
DeMita’s comments drew plenty of reactions, with many agreeing with her take and criticizing White for her decision.
“Bad coaching. Bad calls. Bad calls that the coach never yelled at the refs for. Team didn’t seem ready. Bad coaching (so bad I am mentioning it twice),” a commenter wrote.
Another critic said, “Great point. There’s no sense in what these rotations are. These decisions are very poor. The coach needs to be replaced!”
“It’s like she is throwing the game,” a poster added.
“Coach needs to go. Poor decision making,” a fourth social media user stated.
A viewer said in disbelief, “Yesss! What was going on with those rotations!?”
It remains to be seen what kinds of adjustments White will make for Game 2. Sure enough, there will be plenty of eyes on her rotations, especially as Indiana looks to avoid playoff elimination and extend the series.
More WNBA Essentials
- Highest WNBA Team Payrolls
- Top 25 Highest-Paid WNBA Players
- Every WNBA Finals Matchup, Results, and MVP Since 1997
- Net Worths: Caitlin Clark | Angel Reese | Sophie Cunningham
