WNBA legend Sheryl Swoopes wouldn't be surprised if Caitlin Clark and the Indiana Fever beat the Connecticut Sun in the playoffs. The Fever earned the No. 6 seed after a compelling second half of the season, while the Sun will likely finish third.
Speaking as a guest on the "Gil's Arena" podcast, the crew of Gilbert Arenas, Rashad McCants and Josiah Johnson discussed the upcoming WNBA playoffs. They talked about the Fever and if they could upset the Sun, but Swoopes surprisingly picked Indiana to win.
"The Fever could pull it out. I guess, you could call it an upset just because of the standings. ... That matchup to me is very very interesting," Swoopes said. [1:01:10 onward]
The Hall of Famer, who is known to fans as Caitlin Clark's biggest hater, mentioned the Fever star's name and how she will be a big factor for her team in the postseason. Swoopes added:
"For the Fever, offensively, they can score with the best of them. You got Caitlyn handling the rock. I think the best part of her game right now is her passing ability to just pick the defense apart and get the ball where she needs to. Defensively, besides Aliyah Boston, besides Lexie Hull. ... I worry about the defense."
While Caitlin Clark and the Indiana Fever have secured the No. 6 spot in the playoffs, the Connecticut Sun could still go down the fourth seed. The Las Vegas Aces could take over the No. 3 spot if they win their final two games against the Seattle Storm and the Dallas Wings.
The Sun will also need to lose in their final game of the season versus the Chicago Sky. They are the favorites to win that game given that the Sky are missing Angel Reese due to injury and have been one of the worst teams in the league in the second half of the season.
Sheryl Swoopes thinks Caitlin Clark hasn't dominated as a rookie
Caitlin Clark will likely finish her first year in the WNBA as the Rookie of the Year. She also leads the league in assists per game and broken plenty of records like the most assists in a season and most points scored by a rookie in a season.
While some might call it dominating, it's not in the eyes of Sheryl Swoopes. The four-time WNBA champion wasn't ready to call Clark a dominant player but acknowledged that the Iowa product has been a much better player after the Olympic break.
"I still don't think she’s dominating, but she's a different player than she was in the first half of the season," Swoopes said.
For context, Clark is averaging 19.5 points, 5.7 rebounds and 8.4 assists per game as a rookie. Swoopes averaged 19.3 points, 4.9 rebounds and 3.9 assists in her MVP seasons in 2000, 2002 and 2005.