The Indiana Fever’s debut didn’t go down as expected.

 

Caitlin Clark has been burdened with huge expectations on her shoulders after one of the biggest WNBA draft picks in the sport’s history, and it’s safe to say her debut didn’t go down as expected on Tuesday.

Many expected the 22-year-old to carry her form from the NCAA – where she became the all-time leader in points scored for Iowa Hawkeyes – into the WNBA and become an instant star.

However, some wiser heads such as former Phoenix Mercury guard Diana Taurasi knew that wasn’t going to be the case. As one of the WNBA’s finest players, people should have listened to her experience.

Clark’s highly-anticipated WNBA regular season debut came against the Connecticut Sun on Tuesday and, while it was widely expected she would top the scoring charts for her own team, she flattered to deceive.

Clark was just 5-15 from the field, and had an astounding 10 turnovers as the Fever were dominated by the Sun, losing 92-71. The fact Clark finished with 20 points and 3 assists on her debut isn’t bad, as it was still the highest total of any Fever player, but it’s a far cry from her totals with Iowa.

Taurasi’s warning bears fruit

Taurasi predicted back in April that Clark would initially struggle with the huge jump in competitiveness from NCAA action to the WNBA – and that prediction might prove to be true in the coming weeks.

 

“Reality is coming, there’s levels to this thing… You look superhuman playing against some 18 years olds but you’re going to come play with some grown women that have been playing professional basketball for a long time,” Taurasi said.

“Not saying that it’s not going to translate, when you’re great at you do you’re just going to get better, but there is going to be a transition period when you have to give some grace as a rookie, it make take a little bit longer for some people.”

Clark will look to redeem herself in their sellout clash against the New York Liberty on Thursday, knowing the pressure is on her to deliver.

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Caitlin Clark is still without a win in her WNBA career. 

The Indiana Fever are now 0-3 during the 2024 WNBA regular season, after losing to the New York Liberty 91-80 on Saturday. Despite the Fever suffering their third straight loss to start the season, they looked much better against the Liberty than they did just two days ago, on May 18.  While Clark only scored 9 points in that initial game, she responded to the criticism she received with 22 points, 8 assists, and 6 rebound against the Liberty. She also drained a few three point shots that reminded fans of her iconic Iowa tenure. Fever head coach Christie Sides spoke with media after Saturday’s loss. While doing so, she made sure to praise her most famous player. “Kelsey [Mitchell] and Caitlin are a problem,” Sides said. “You know, their speed is unbelievable… and it’s just going to be really hard for defenses to stay with them.” Sides is surely hoping that the Connecticut Sun’s defense have a hard time staying with Clark when the teams rematch on Monday night.

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Caitlin Clark’s betting impact continues: ‘Expect records to be broken on a weekly basis’

It took pretty much no time at all for Caitlin Clark to make a huge impact on WNBA betting. Tuesday’s regular-season opener between the Indiana Fever — who made Clark the No. 1 overall pick — and Connecticut Sun did relatively monster numbers for Caesars Sports.

The matchup drew more bets than any game in the entire 2023 WNBA season. Further, there were six times more bets on the Fever-Sun game than on the previous high-water mark for WNBA betting: last season’s Game 4 of the WNBA Finals, when the Las Vegas Aces clinched a second straight title by beating the New York Liberty.

“We expect records to be broken on a weekly basis, and even more so when the NBA Finals are over and the women’s game gets additional prime-time TV spots,” Caesars Sports vice president of trading Craig Mucklow said.  Mucklow and Caesars lead pro basketball trader David Lieberman serve up some intriguing numbers already in, with odds on Caitlin Clark offerings hugely popular, and teams across the WNBA getting more betting attention, as well. Preseason Primes the Pump The WNBA had a 10-game preseason schedule. Clark and the Fever played in only two of those games, yet the league-wide preseason betting numbers at Caesars Sports were substantially larger than in 2023. The total number of bets was up a whopping 385%, and the total amount of money wagered was up 140%. For games that didn’t even count. “It’s already been on an upward trend year-to-year, and Clark Mania should only add to the interest,” Lieberman said. Feverish on Clark Caitlin Clark odds in individual markets such as WNBA MVP are already wildly popular. So far at Caesars, Clark has taken 63% of MVP bets and 46% of MVP money.  Aces star A’ja Wilson, the 2020 and 2022 league MVP, is the even-money favorite (+100) in WNBA MVP odds this season. New York Liberty standout Breanna Stewart is the +550 second choice. Stewart is also a two-time winner, taking the award last year and in 2018. Then comes Clark as the +850 third choice, in her rookie season after a record-smashing college career at Iowa. “So far, we’ve seen more interest on the Indiana Fever/Caitlin Clark-related futures like MVP, Rookie of the Year and the Fever to win the championship,” Lieberman said. Indiana lost the aforementioned season opener to Connecticut 92-71. Still, the Fever are drawing 23% of all WNBA championship bets at Caesars, second only to the two-time defending champion Aces. That said, even with Clark, Indiana has a hill to climb. In the 12-team league, the Fever are the +2000 fifth choice in Caesars’ odds to win the WNBA title. Las Vegas is the even-money favorite (+100), followed by New York (+240), Seattle (+850) and Connecticut (+1300). Rising Rookie Tide Lifts All Boats Mucklow pointed out that, while Clark is the main driver, a solid rookie class is contributing to the upswing of interest in WNBA odds. Former LSU star Angel Reese is now with the Chicago Sky. Stanford’s Cameron Brink was right behind Clark in the WNBA Draft at No. 2 overall, going to the Los Angeles Sparks. “With the huge influx of talent in this year’s WNBA Draft adding to an already loaded wealth of veteran players, this year’s WNBA handle will eclipse anything we have seen before,” Mucklow said. Clark, Brink and Reese are 1-2-3, respectively, in Caesars’ WNBA Rookie of the Year odds, though Clark is a strong early favorite at -700. That means it would take a $700 bet to profit $100, for an $800 total payout if Clark wins the award. If you want a bigger bang for your buck, you might consider Brink at +900. A $100 bet would profit $900, for a $1,000 total payout. Or take Reese at +2500, with a $100 wager profiting $2,500, for a $2,600 total payout. Patrick Everson is a sports betting analyst for FOX Sports and senior reporter for VegasInsider.com. He is a distinguished journalist in the national sports betting space. He’s based in Las Vegas, where he enjoys golfing in 110-degree heat. Follow him on Twitter: @PatrickE_Vegas.