It’s one thing to have a bad day at the office. It’s another when that office is the WNBA playoffs and your shot looks like it’s allergic to the basket. Just ask Kelsey Mitchell and Caitlin Clark, the Indiana Fever duo who turned up to Game 1 of their first-round playoff series with high hopes, only to watch those hopes spiral down faster than a broken elevator. The Fever? More like a chill, because Indiana was ice cold in their 93-69 drubbing at the hands of the Connecticut Sun.
After a regular season where Mitchell and Clark seemed to share a brain on the court, Game 1 was more like watching two people try to complete a puzzle without seeing the picture on the box. The once-in-sync dynamic duo was so out of rhythm that even the halftime show had more coordinated moves. When asked about the supposed “disconnect” between her and rookie sensation Clark, Mitchell responded with a verbal shrug: “Oh man, I don’t think there was a disconnect.”
Now, if that sounds like the classic “everything’s fine” line someone gives while the kitchen’s on fire, you’re not wrong.
Welcome to the Playoffs, Where Dreams Go to Die (If You’re Not Ready)
For all the magic Indiana conjured up in the regular season, the playoffs are an entirely different beast. Just ask Kelsey Mitchell. “We were learning what it was like to play in a playoff game,” she said, possibly while staring off into the distance, wondering how Connecticut’s defense knew her moves before she did. The Sun were relentless, turning the Fever’s dynamic backcourt into a pair of frustrated sharpshooters who couldn’t hit water if they fell out of a boat.
Caitlin Clark, whose confidence typically radiates from deep beyond the arc, saw her shots clang off the rim like someone forgot to adjust the hoop height. She went an icy 2-of-13 from 3-point land, while Mitchell’s 2-of-10 effort wasn’t much better. Combined, their shooting display had the elegance of a bricklayer’s convention.
Kelsey Mitchell: Proud, Despite the Meltdown
For her part, Mitchell remained optimistic—at least as optimistic as you can be after getting shellacked by 24 points. “I’ve never been here, [Caitlin] has never been here, most of us have never been here,” she said, highlighting the team’s collective postseason inexperience. “And you got to see a disconnection throughout the course of our organization.”
Translation: We’re learning, and yeah, we got clobbered, but at least we’re on the same page about the clobbering. Growth, am I right?
Mitchell added that she and “C-square” (that’s Clark for those not in the know) are laser-focused on improving for Game 2. You know, the small matter of a must-win elimination game. No pressure, just their entire season hanging in the balance. But hey, what better way to gain experience than to be thrown straight into the fire?
Can They Flip the Script?
The Fever’s playoff debut may have been a train wreck, but the veteran-rookie duo isn’t ready to fold just yet. According to Mitchell, the silver lining in their collapse was that it provided a learning opportunity, a chance to improve before Wednesday’s do-or-die Game 2. “The good thing is that you can look at Wednesday and say, hey, see how much you can learn and take… so I’m proud of that improvement.”
Proud of an improvement? Girl, Wednesday better be a whole makeover, because if the Fever doesn’t turn things around, Game 2 will be their playoff funeral.
There’s no sugar-coating it. If Mitchell and Clark don’t find their rhythm again, the only thing they’ll be forcing is an early trip to Cancun. But hey, at least the beaches are nice this time of year.
The Road Ahead: Can They Pull Off a Miracle?
It’s hard to picture the Fever making it to Game 3 after what we saw in Game 1, but then again, stranger things have happened. The talent is there, and when Mitchell and Clark are clicking, they’re as dangerous as any backcourt in the league. But if they don’t find their groove and start sinking those 3-pointers like it’s a free-throw contest, they’ll be checking out of the playoffs faster than you can say “brick.”
Indiana fans can only hope that their dynamic duo can rise from the ashes in Game 2 and bring some real fire to the court. The season depends on it, after all.
Final Thought: The Bounce Back or the Bounce Out?
So, will Kelsey Mitchell and Caitlin Clark rise to the challenge, or will they continue to fumble their way through the postseason? Only time will tell. But if they can’t figure out how to turn things around, they might want to start practicing their vacation packing routine instead of their jump shots.
In the words of Kelsey Mitchell, “Oh man!”