The Indiana Fever lost to Connecticut again last night. While there is nothing new in that, the words Fever head coach Christie Sides spoke in the postgame press conference have not resonated with Caitlin Clark’s fans nicely. Nor did her decision to bench the first overall pick despite the Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville chanting “We want Caitlin Clark.” Here is what happened last night.

It was a slow night for Caitlin Clark and Co. Not only did their offense fail them, but their defense too was not a good match with one of the top defensive and physical teams in the league. According to Sides, it all came down to the motivation and efforts of the starters. Chloe Peterson of the Indy Star Sports took it to her X account to share coaches’ words.

She captioned her tweet, “Christie Sides on what went wrong in the first half and why she mostly played the second-team in the second: you can’t coach effort.” Sides told the reporters, “I’m going to start with you can’t, at this level, coach effort. I felt like we were just trying to ask them to keep playing hard. Play hard. You can’t start there. You can’t play in this league if you have to coach effort. It’s just too hard.”

Tonight, Caitlin Clark only played a season-low 22 minutes. In those, she contributed 10 points, going 2 of 5 from beyond the arc and 3 of 8 from the field. She also bagged 2 of 2 of her free throws. The rest of the starters too played limited minutes, except for Aliyah Boston who bagged a double-double with 14 points and 12 rebounds. Consequently, Indiana fans are not satisfied with Sides’ game-time decisions.

Caitlin Clark and Co. get support from the fans as they unite in thrashing Christie Sides

Attacks on Fever’s head coach are not something new. Previously against the Sparks, Christie Sides benched Clark for foul troubles. Last night as well, the decision was made after the rookie grabbed four personal fouls. However, her only being on the floor for about half the game was causing an itch for the fans. Sides’ words only added fuel to the fire. Hence, one fan took to the X account to show their frustration, adding a hint for the coach’s future in the franchise.

“She won’t make it to end of season”

A WNBA follower also quickly came into the comment section to suggest that along with Sides, Lin Dunn, the GM of the Fever, should also be fired. According to them, Caitlin Clark’s coach was doing nothing but yelling at the team. They also accused the coach of not having anything to add to the team.

“Fire @ChristieSides. Useless Coach with nothing to contribute to this team. Standing the whole game trying to bark non-sense is no way to coach nor is it a sign that you know what you’re doing! Fire Dunn! FIRE SIDES! Please.”

Talking about “useless,” one X user pointed out more things that Sides is not doing for Indiana. Adding to the coach’s list of not teaching efforts to the players, they noted defense, toughness, composure, and resilience. The Fever’s defense is a major issue in the team. They have also been one of the worst teams to tackle the league’s physicality.

“Other things that Coach Sides is unable to coach…. 1. Defense 2. Toughness 3. Composure 4. Resiliency We are the softest team in the WNBA and this affects every area of play.”

One fan had a rather gloomy take on the situation. They suggested that Christie Sides is apparently demoralizing the team. They also said that the franchise is waiting for Caitlin Clark and the team to break down to the point where they will need psychological rehabilitation. While this may be going too far, looks like the fans are quite certain that the root cause of Fever’s losses and state of mind is Christie Sides.

“The Fever organization is waiting until these women require psychological rehabilitation after a season of Christie Sides’s demoralizing coaching. They’re a patient bunch🥱”

An X user and Caitlin Clark fan brought up the elephant in the room, the Olympics snub. One of the reasons for not bringing the rookie into the Team USA roster is that she has no experience and bonding with the rest of the players. Targeting that, the fan blamed Sides for being the reason for it all. They said that Indiana not having a plan in their games is making the 2x National Player of the Year look bad.

“The smoke y’all have for Clark not making the Olympic Roster is the smoke you need to have for Christie Sides. Sides’ coaching is making it appear as if Clark would have no cohesion with the Olympic team (outside of her not going to the training camps). They aren’t taking chances.”

Whether that is the reason or not, we don’t know. But seems like many are adamant about putting Sides to the test. It will be interesting to see how the Fever come back around as they face Atlanta. Stay tuned for more such updates. To follow what Shaq’s ex-agent, Leonard Armato, has to say about the Reese-Clark rivalry and more, watch this video.