Things are not looking pretty for the Indiana Fever coach Christie Sides because of her recent decisions lately. But the last straw was drawn in yesterday’s game when she drew up a play where Caitlin Clark wouldn’t touch the ball, with only 16 seconds left in the game. The Indiana Fever met the Washington Mystics for the third time this season and took an 89-84 defeat.

Remarkable as always, Caitlin Clark put out a stat line with a double-double at 29 points, 5 rebounds, and 13 assists against the Mystics. When Christie Sides was asked her thoughts on the lineup change for the second time, she gave a stern response and said, “I don’t think it impacted the whole game, that was a coach’s decision, I’m just going to leave it to that.” 

Further, when asked why she made that decision, Sides again resorted and said, “It was a coach’s decision and that’s where we are going to leave it.” As a result, fans are going furious. “Just a horrible basketball coach,” one of the fans let out. It was the sixth different lineup for the Indiana Fever in the last 23 games this season.

Just last week, the Fever handed an 83-78 defeat to the Eastern Conference’s #1 team the New York Liberty, when Caitlin Clark and Co. pushed it through and made a comeback in the fourth quarter. Fast forward to yesterday, Coach Christie Sides placed Lexie Hull in the starting lineup for the very first time. On the other hand, NaLyssa Smith came off the bench and scored 11 points and 2 rebounds. Similarly, Katie Lou Samuelson started as the power forward for the first time this season.

But these changes didn’t pay off well for Indiana as Lexie Hull couldn’t get a single point throughout the first half of the game, more so, the Fever was trailing the Mystics having a 14-point lead. Then in the second half, the Fever tried to make a comeback, however fell short on their end and had to taste this defeat.

But what did Clark have to say about the change?

Caitlin Clark speaking from a different standpoint

Amidst all the chaos attracted by Sides, Fever rookie Caitlin Clark went into self analyzation and pointed out what went wrong with the game. “We definitely started slow and that’s kind of what killed us. Our fourth quarter was great but you can’t play one-quarter basketball and expect to win in this league. So, got to find a way to come out and have more energy,” she said on the team’s out-of-shape performance in the game.

She also shared her thoughts on this lineup change, placing her trust in Coach Sides’ decision, and said, “Yeah, I just go with whatever coach puts in there.” While she exemplified the team spirit in the collective said, “I trust my teammates and I think no matter who’s on the court, you got to compete as hard as you can every single second and I think we all do that. I just think collectively we could have worked a little bit better together.”

Changing the starting lineup has a direct impact on the team’s gameplay as it changes the dynamics of the team’s scoring magnitude. However, these changes indicate that the Indiana coaches might be experimenting with something. Well, that gives enough food for thought! What do you say?

Stay tuned for more such updates, and to follow what Shaq’s ex-agent , Leonard Armato, has to say about the infamous Shaq-Kobe feud, Caitlin Clark’s Olympic snub, and more, watch this video: