WNBA Legend Sue Bird Reveals Only Way To Stop Caitlin Clark

WNBA legend Sue Bird recently spoke on her "A Touch More" podcast with Megan Rapinoe, diving into the current state of the league, most notably Caitlin Clark and the Indiana Fever.

Bird believes the Fever are beginning to be one of the most dangerous teams in the WNBA, mentioning that Indiana isn't a team anybody should want to see in the playoffs.

The former star point guard shared some insight on Caitlin Clark's progression throughout the WNBA season while alluding to some of the Fever's biggest improvements.

She explained that teams made it their mission to guard Clark full court and deny her of the ball before she could get into an open set on the offensive end early in the season.

While that seemed to be working against the Fever guard in May and June, when Clark led the league in turnovers by a wide margin, Bird believes teams have simply gotten fatigued throughout the year.

Bird thinks guarding a player like Clark is going to take that kind of responsibility, though. She thinks if teams want to be successful and stop the moving train in Indiana, they're going to have to pick up Clark full court to slow down the Fever's offense.

“At the start of the season, everybody had their panties in a twist over Caitlin getting picked up full court." Bird said. "What I’m not surprised by is naturally, during a WNBA season, teams and players, you start to get a little tired… it’s hard to keep that discipline to guard a player like that. I’m not surprised it dropped off, but oh, what do you know, she’s no longer getting picked up full court."

Bird explained that teams will definitely start amplifying their defensive sets later on when the stakes get higher.

It disrupted Clark from being an elite playmaker a couple of months ago, and while the rookie is already accustomed to the league, they have no other choice but to play a man or zone press come playoff time.

"What you’re seeing now is Caitlin now is able to push the ball up the floor," Bird said. "She’s able to hit those get-ahead passes. I won’t be surprised if as the season gets later into like playoff runs if you start to see teams do more, and you’re definitely going to see it in the playoffs.”

Caitlin Clark and the Indiana Fever currently rank No. 7 in the WNBA rankings, which puts them in playoff position since the top eight teams in the league make it to the postseason.

They hold a 13-15 record and are riding a two-game win streak, with victories against the Phoenix Mercury and Seattle Storm, two teams above .500.

Throughout her rookie season, Clark has averaged 17.8 points and 8.3 assists per game. The rookie is leading the league in average assists, and with her versatility on the offensive end that helps open up the Fever's offense, they may be taking a trip to the postseason for the first time since the 2016 season.

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