Caitlin Clark Humbled, Brazil Disappoints in Notes From July 2
Netherlands/Turkey Fill out Euro Quarters, More MLB Offense
I’m enough of a smart aleck to want to put “Caitlin Clank” in a headline. Afraid of the backlash that would cause. But, when the treys aren’t falling, that sounds about right for the highly-publicized rookie. Just 1 of 7 Tuesday night on treys in a 88-69 loss at Las Vegas. Now 21 of 60 on treys her last eight games.
Media is spending way too much time looking for random staff stuff to gush about in the talent-rich WNBA. Whether it’s “almost” a triple-double the other night when Clark also had six turnovers and 10 missed shots (and only a +3 plus/minus in a game the Fever won by six) or Angel Reese getting double-doubles every game WHEN THE POINT OF BASKETBALL ISN’T TOO ACCUMULATE TRIVIAL INDIVIDUAL STAT TOTALS.
*Clark tonight: 8 missed shots, 1/7 on treys, 6 TOs
*Clark prior game: 10 missed shots, 2/10 on treys, 6 TOs
Plus, most rookies are defensive liabilities at this level. Clark HUSTLES in a way that makes everyone proud. But, you know…it’s okay to point out the negatives as she rises up the learning curve. High usage leads to a bunch of offensive negatives even when scoring totals are artificially high. Still in over her head Tuesday against league favorites Las Vegas.
For now, still seems best to think of her as a Russell Westbrook-type. Very active, but raw counting stats are being used by the media in a way that misleads. Clark still has plenty of time to swing the math in her favor. Seems very likely to do so with more experience against elite defenses. Westbrook never really did learn from his mistakes in the way that was hoped. Clark will likely grow to become as good as the media is pretending she is now.
TUESDAY AT THE EURO’S
*Netherlands (-1.2 goals) beat Romania 3-0, winning possession 65-35%, shots on goal 6-1 (on 23-5 total shots), and corner kicks 13-4. Wow, what a rout! This is a bit of an outlier, but what to expect in a big game when a power is facing a pretender. That’s 19-5 in SOG+CK, close to the 17-6 that Portugal stuck on Georgia even though nobody could score until penalty kicks. Superior teams should dominate game flow like that. Sticks out when somebody like England doesn’t do that.
*Turkey (+0.5 goals) upset Austria 2-1, losing possession time 60-40%, shots on goal 5-3 (on 12-6 total shots), and corner kicks 10-4. Austria won stats handily partly because it was the superior team playing from behind with desperation much of the game. Still, has to seem like a lucky win for Turkey given game flow. Wild, up-and-down affair, with Turkey able to connect twice within the frenzy. So, credit for doing THAT, but…still…stats line up with market expectations. Can see why so many handicappers shy away from soccer. Lines are “close to perfect” based on what is known about team talent…then the actual results is shaded by who caught breaks (good or bad) on scoring chances.