The Indiana Fever Fever allowed the Connecticut Sun Sun to score at will in another calamitous defensive showing Monday, falling 89-72 before head coach Christie Sides questioned the intensity of her players.
Sides took a drastic step against the Sun to address her league-worst defense – Indiana allows eight more points per 100 possessions than any other WNBA team – limiting star rookie Caitlin Clark to a season-low 21 total minutes because of the lopsided score and decrying her squad’s poor effort.
“I’m gonna start with—you can’t at this level coach effort,” Sides said about the team’s defense. “I felt like we were just asking them to keep playing hard… you can’t play in this league if you have to coach effort.” Sides also explained her decision to lean on the second unit late in the game: “I wanted to put a group in there that would get out there and play some defense, I’m really proud of that group that went out there and cut the lead and played hard.”
The consensus on social media, however, was skeptical toward Sides’ explanation, as the Fever currently maintain the second-worst defense in WNBA history ( Indiana’s 2020 squad holds the unfortunate record). On Monday, the Fever gave up a 71 percent first-half effective field goal percentage.
“She signed her own walking papers with that comment,” one commenter on X, formerly Twitter, wrote. “2 overall number 1 picks, in back-to-back years, and you can’t find a win. The problem starts with her.”
Sides’ complaints about effort were one of several other grievances among fans about the 3-10 Fever. “Other things that Coach Sides is unable to coach,” began another user. “1. Defense, 2. Toughness, 3. Composure, 4. Resiliency We are the softest team in the WNBA and this affects every area of play.”
Sides has a 13-36 record with the Fever
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The 47-year-old coach’s appointment as the next Fever coach puzzled some to begin the 2023 season, with Sides never previously holding a head coaching position at either the college or professional level. The Baton Rouge, Louisiana native has certainly paid her dues in the coaching world, however, holding assistant positions with the Fever and Atlanta Dream Dream, along with collegiate stints at Northwestern and Louisiana-Lafayette and work overseas for Spartak Moscow.
Beyond the defensive turmoil, concerns about Sides’ coaching job have arisen after jarring fundamental lapses and low-effort plays. The second-year coach was forced to call a timeout early in the third quarter after an inbound pass went straight to the other team. Separately, Clark was scrutinized after refusing to run back on defense, a play that resulted in a buzzer-beating layup, and opponents have consistently found acres of space operating in transition.
The Fever now enjoy some relative rest after taking on the WNBA’s most congested early schedule, looking to right the ship Thursday against the Dream in Indianapolis.
