Jason Whitlock reacts to Caitlin Clark's disappointing playoff debut: "This is what Diana Taurasi was talking about"

Caitlin Clark had a rough playoff debut on Sunday as the Indiana Fever got clobbered 93-69 by the Connecticut Sun in Game 1 of their first-round matchup. Sports columnist Jason Whitlock reacted to Clark's disappointing performance by bringing up Diana Taurasi.

In a post on X, formerly known as Twitter, Whitlock pointed out what Taurasi had said about Clark before the season started. Things would be physical and tough, which seemingly overwhelmed the rookie and the Fever team. He predicted a bounce-back game for the Rookie of the Year but isn't sure if it would result in a Fever win.

"This is what Diana Taurasi was talking about. This playoff intensity and physicality overwhelmed Caitlin today. She got punched in the eye early, never recovered. I expect a bounce back on Wednesday. Not sure if they can win, but I expect better," Whitlock tweeted.

Jason Whitlock was alluding to Diana Taurasi's comments before the season started about Caitlin Clark possibly having difficulty adjusting to the pros. Taurasi didn't mention the postseason, but she was kind of right at the start, as Clark struggled at the beginning of her WNBA career.

The 22-year-old eventually found her rhythm and developed chemistry with her teammates. She went on to win the Rookie of the Year award and finished fourth in the WNBA MVP voting.

The "punched in the eye" comment was from DiJonai Carrington's rough play early in the game, wherein she poked Clark in the eye. No foul was called, and some fans thought that Carrington's play was intentional.

Here's the video of the controversial play:

The hit resulted in Caitlin Clark getting a black eye, which may or may not have affected her game. Clark ended the game with 11 points, four rebounds, eight assists and three steals but shot an abysmal 4-for-17 from the field as the Connecticut Sun took a 1-0 series lead.

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Caitlin Clark doesn't blame black eye for bad game

Caitlin Clark doesn't blame black eye for poor game. (Photo: IMAGN)

Despite what happened to her eye in Game 1, Caitlin Clark didn't want to blame it for her poor shooting night.

Clark thought that she took some good shots and that they weren't going in. It was a rough postseason debut, not just for Clark, but for most of the Indiana Fever players.

"Obviously, got me pretty good in the eye," Clark said after the game) as per Fox News). "I don’t think it affected me, honestly. I felt like I got good shots, they just didn’t go down.

"Obviously, a tough time for that to happen, but I got some pretty good looks. I had three pretty wide-open 3s in the first half that you usually make, so I felt like battled and tried my best."

Game 2 of the first-round series between the Fever and the Sun is on Wednesday at the Mohegan Sun Arena. If the Fever even the series, Game 3 will be at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis.