To say that this WNBA season has been tough for Caitlin Clark would be an understatement.
She’s popped up on the injury report ahead of most games, was on the wrong end of a controversial foul by Alyssa Thomas and has been tangled up in trade rumors.
If that wasn’t enough, she only got the 11th-most player votes among guards for the WNBA All-Star Game, so she may not be the most popular among her peers in the league.
However, that may not be her biggest problem now. Following another subpar shooting effort in a loss to the Golden State Valkyries, Clark seemed to blame the lack of playing time for her recent struggles.
Caitlin Clark wants to play more minutes
“I got some good looks, obviously. It’s hard. I think I played like, what, 10 minutes in the first half. I was just struggling a little bit to find a flow,” Clark said. “And they’re in my grill. They’re probably the best defensive team in the league. They’re really good at that. They do what they do. And I had some good looks that didn’t go down. And then, I shot some tougher looks too, but I thought I finally kind of played with a little bit more pace and a little bit more burst, especially down the stretch in the fourth. But hopefully I don’t have to keep playing 25 minutes.”
While she may have a valid point, complaining about the lack of playing time might feel like throwing the coach or the organization under the bus.
The 26 minutes were the most she played in the past three games. She played just 24 minutes in the win over the Las Vegas Aces and 16 in a loss to the Los Angeles Sparks.
Clark’s shooting woes have hurt the team. She’s shooting just 35.1 percent from the floor since returning from a back injury, and only 15.8 percent from beyond the arc in July.
Of course, not being on the court as often will take a toll on her rhythm, but the team is doing the right thing by preventing further injury.
This is a frustrating stretch. Still, given how much the media have feasted on every single one of her quotes, perhaps she should’ve known better and kept her frustrations in-house for now.