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Caitlin Clark 'is doing a phenomenal job' and has shown 'remarkable improvement' says ESPN's Andraya Carter as the WNBA rookie still seeks her first win
Despite an 0-5 start to her WNBA career, Caitlin Clark has been showing promise and improvement from her days in college.
That's the message from ESPN's Andraya Carter, who has been monitoring Clark's career for years now.
Speaking to the New York Post in a phone interview, Carter praised Clark's transition into the pro ranks just five games into it.
'I think Caitlin is doing a phenomenal job. She came into the league with so much pressure — like, literal pressure from the defense, which are dedicated to stopping her — and eyes on her,' Carter began.
'In all games but her first one, she's had at least five assists, so I've been really impressed by her ability to find her teammates.
Still in search of her first professional win, Caitlin Clark has shown growth in her game
One person noticing is Andraya Carter of ESPN, who's monitored and covered Clark's career
'Her ability to read the defense and put the ball where it needs to be is only going to get better.'
Clark struggled in her first two games - a 92-71 blowout to the Connecticut Sun and a 102-66 beatdown by the New York Liberty - but has seemed to grow into her own player in the games since then.
'Obviously the turnovers are alarming at first when you look at the numbers, but the improvement that she made from the first time against the Connecticut Sun to the rematch was remarkable,' Carter said.
'She faced one of the top defenses — if not the top defense — in the WNBA in two of her first four games. It's a really hard sample size to judge off of because four of her first five games were against the Sun and Liberty, two of the best franchises in the league.'
So far, just five games into her career Clark is averaging 17.8 points, 5.8 assists and 4.6 rebounds per game. She's top-15 in scoring (15th) and top-10 in assists (8th).
Carter said she's 'hanging my hat' on Clark's 'improvement, her connection to teammates, her ability to get back up when she gets knocked down and her ability to literally get back on the court when she was injured and rolled her ankle against the Sun.'
'Her resilience, her fight and her competitive spirit — she's out there and she wants to win,' Carter said.
'She could easily be out there with the attitude that ''No one expects us to win, we're not top-to-bottom as talented a team, we're building for the future,'' but it looks like she wants to win right now.
Carter says she's 'hanging her hat' on Clark's ability to improve over the coming months
Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark questions a call in the first half against the Connecticut Sun
'She's frustrated that it's not happening and that's OK. That competitive spirit is what's going to lead to success for this team.'
Clark has shown some signs of frustration, like when she drew a technical foul in Monday's loss to the sun for screaming at the officials.
Carter's not concerned: 'That happens to a lot of players. Players get technical fouls in the heat of the moment. I wouldn't even say that's a rookie mistake. That's a mistake veterans make,' the analyst said.
'For me, I think her resilience, and her improvement when she sees a team a second time, her fight and the way her teammates rally around her — Caitlin will continue to build on all those things.'
But one thing that Clark has struggled with is adjusting to defenses - including many times where she's been plowed through on screens.
Carter doesn't believe that Clark is being targeted, per se: 'I think that's just the WNBA, to be honest.
'There's physicality all the time in this league. People check each other and people hit each other. That Sparks-Aces game was extremely physical. Checking on screens, hitting on screens.
'You have to think about it: There's only 12 teams in the league, so there comes a time where these teams are very competitive with each other. It's just how it is when you see teams over and over.
But there's plenty of room for adjustment, like on defense where she's struggled with screens
Carter had plenty of praise for Clark's 'resilience, her fight and her competitive spirit'
'There are a lot of eyes on it when it happens with Caitlin because there's a lot more eyes on her in general, but the screen Breanna Stewart hit on her — she didn't lean or shift into her or throw her arms out.
'It was literally just a screen. The speed at which you run into a screen is also going to determine its impact. If she has no idea a screen is coming, because her teammates didn't call it out and her head wasn't on a swivel, she's going to run into it really hard.'
Carter believes that this is an area Clark would improve upon the longer she plays in the WNBA.
'When you're in the league longer, you learn to avoid screens. And when you play with your team longer, the chemistry comes where the communication is at a high level where you can avoid screens and no they're coming,' Carter said.
'To me [backlash to Stewart's screen on Clark] was people making something out of nothing. I don't think that someone's gone out of their way to hit Caitlin.
'Do I think that people put their best effort into defending Caitlin? Yes. But the idea that they're being more physical on her than they would be on someone else, I think this league's just physical.'