Rookies Caitlin Clark of the Fever and Cameron Brink of the Sparks will be looking to put a W in the win column this weekend, as Indiana travels to New York and LA heads to Las Vegas.
Rookies have been a point of interest during the opening week of the 2024 WNBA season, but, rather than shining as stars, they’ve faced the harsh realities of the league.
This is to be expected. The WNBA is leaps and bounds better than women’s college basketball. But fans of Caitlin Clark are adjusting to that truth. It’s not just Clark and the Indiana Fever who have struggled; the Los Angeles Sparks’ Cameron Brink played well but lost the opening game versus the Atlanta Dream, and Angel Reese of the Chicago Sky lost in her debut against the Dallas Wings as well.
On Saturday, May 18, the Sparks and Fever will be on national television. They will have an opportunity to earn their first wins and confirm that this draft class is worth the hype.
The New York Liberty will host the Indiana Fever at 1 p.m. ET on ABC, followed by the Las Vegas Aces taking on the Los Angeles Sparks at 3 p.m. ET.
Another reality check for Indy in rematch against New York?
Attention comes at a cost many aren’t ready to pay.
If you want heightened focus on your work, well, this is what it looks like for the Fever. WNBA teams have thrown a bucket of cold water on the notion that anyone could waltz into this league and dominate. For the diehard fans, this was expected, but for those who thought Clark and her accolades could just be copied and pasted from Iowa to Indiana, it’s been a bit of a shock.
That’s not a condemnation of Clark or the Fever, but even a generational rookie is a rookie, and the Fever won 13 games last year, a far cry from even decent. It’s going to take time—years realistically—before the Fever even whiff title contention. In the meantime, there will continue to be many losses and some bad nights where you take the other team’s best punch, and your jaw just isn’t ready for it.
Caitlin Clark will be fine, despite early struggles, but @SheKnowsSports tried to tell y’all! ⛹️♀️ #WNBA #WelcometotheW pic.twitter.com/XAt6baroB7
— Brother From Another on Peacock TV (@HolleyandSmith) May 17, 2024
The Fever just lost to the Liberty 102-66, so they have plenty of work to do to turn that result into a win on Saturday. Aliyah Boston has to be better at handling the physicality of Jonquel Jones and the Liberty bigs, and Clark can’t score nine points and expect a victory.
What do the Liberty have to do to win? Just be the Liberty. Breanna Stewart was in MVP form, dropping 31 and the team looked as sharp as a Ginsu on both sides of the ball. Beating the same team two times in a row is tough, but the Liberty are a veteran team that should have a victory in hand if they stay focused.
Expect Vegas to assert greatness against LA
Speaking of a veteran team that’s fully focused, the Aces are aiming to three-peat. They started that campaign with a rocky game against the Mercury, but pulled out the win, 89-80. The lackluster win, however, does not suggest that the rebuilding Sparks are likely to topple the two-time defending champs, who are looking to establish themselves as the greatest team ever assembled.
BREAKING: The City of Las Vegas will sponsor each member of the Aces with $100,000 per player!
WOW!
Investing in women.
Investing in community.
Huge!!
— Women’s Hoops Network (@WomensHoops_USA) May 17, 2024
Brink will have her hands full attempting to protect the rim against A’ja Wilson. She often struggled with drawing too many fouls in college, and in her WNBA debut, she registered five personal fouls. The Sparks starters had a relatively good performance against the Dream, but only rookie Rickea Jackson did anything from the bench, scoring seven of the team’s eight bench points. They’ll need more from their reserves if they want to upset the Aces in Las Vegas.
Game information
New York Liberty (2-0) vs. Indiana Fever (0-2)
When: Saturday, May 18 at 1 p.m. ET
Where: Barclays Center in Brooklyn, NY
How to watch: ABC
Liberty injury report: none
Fever injury report: Damiris Dantas (out; knee)
Las Vegas Aces (1-0) vs. Los Angeles Sparks (0-1)
When: Saturday, May 18 at 3 p.m. ET
Where: Michelob ULTRA Arena in Las Vegas, NV
How to watch: ABC
Aces injury report: Chelsea Gray (out; lower left leg)
Sparks injury report: Azurá Stevens (out; left arm), Rae Burrell (out; non-Covid illness)
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