Caitlin Clark and the Indiana Fever suffered their seventh loss of the season on May 28, with the LA Sparks securing a hard-fought 88-82 victory on the road. Clark had a career-best scoring performance with 30 points in front of the expectant home crowd, but it was not enough, as the Sparks rolled to their second win of the season.
Following the Fever's loss, WNBA fans directed their ire at Indiana's head coach Christie Sides for making bizarre rotation decisions.
One fan questioned Sides' decision to rest Clark in the third quarter. The LA Sparks went on a momentum-changing 11-0 run in the third, coinciding with Clark's time on the bench. The fan called Sides "the worst basketball coach" he's seen and voiced his anger at the Fever coach's incompetence.
"Christie Sides is the worst basketball coach I’ve ever seen. It’s just utter incompetence night after night. Caitlin has 18. Leads the @IndianaFever to the lead. Sits with 4:44 in the 3rd. When she returns to the game 4 minutes later the Fever are down 4," the fan said.
Another fan agreed, saying that Fever lost the game because of Sides' decision to bench Clark for a lengthy duration.
"Christie Sides deserves to lose this game. Caitlin getting everyone involved , fever get a lead, take her out for five minutes. Are you kidding me?" wrote another fan.
One fan noted that Caitlin Clark's career-high 30 points was 'sabotaged' by Sides' coaching.
Meanwhile, a trio of fans believe that Christie Sides' coaching is so bad that she needs to be fired from her job.
"Christie Sides sucks dude... Indiana Fever gotta get rid of her or Caitlin Clark... this marriage needs a divorce fast," wrote a fan of X.
"She does this every game - they go on a run and she subs out the players responsible for the run. First couple games she did it to Fagbenle and has done it to CC 2-3 times. She has got to go," another fan opined.
"Honestly, if coach Christie sides doesn’t get fired soon we will most likely lose a lot of the fans because of her coaching decisions. It’s so hard to watch the games because of her atrocious coaching, it’s literally worse than highschool basketball coaching," one fan said.
Caitlin Clark's historic night goes in vain
Caitlin Clark enjoyed a career night during the game against the LA Sparks. The Fever rookie registered a career-high in points, scoring 30 against the Sparks.
Clark also had six assists, five rebounds, three steals, and three blocks in 34 minutes of playing time on May 28. She became only the fourth player ever, and the first rookie in WNBA history, to achieve this sensational stat line.
Despite Clark's brilliance, the Indiana Fever slipped to a 1-7 record for the season after playing eight matches. Clark and the Fever will look to return to winning ways when they face the Seattle Storm on May 30.