"Natalie Nakase acting like she figured out Caitlin": Fever fans troll Valkyries HC for saying Caitlin Clark doesn't like 'physicality' 

Caitlin Clark had one of her worst games this season during the Indiana Fever's 88-77 loss to the Golden State Valkyries on Friday. Clark recorded only 11 points and committed six turnovers. She shot a measly 3-for-14, including 0-for-7 from 3-point range. The Fever gave up a 13-point lead and ultimately lost another game they controlled for most of the night.

Golden State had the kind of guard depth to deal with Clark's quickness and ability to get free. After the game, Valkyries' coach Natalie Nakase revealed that it was the plan all along for Clark, claiming she knew that the Fever star "didn't like" physicality.

"We were being disruptive, we know she doesn’t like physicality. And we know she wants to get back to that left stepback... I watched her in Iowa. She loves that left [stepback]."

Fever fans weren't happy with Nakase's comments. They felt Clark's shortcomings were some of her own faults rather than the Valkyries' game planning. It was true to an extent, considering no team in the WNBA is taking an alternate approach at guarding Clark other than face-guarding her all game.

Here are some of the reactions to the Valkyries coach's statement:

C

@C038254

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Did she something additional to the post game? Have they already give her a Slam cover & COTM for it?

correlation

@nosyone4

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lmfaooo natalie nakase acting like she figured out caitlin when really she just played like ass. it happens. same shit as “caitlin rules” after the first liberty game. we all see how that second game went

FaRKaSCaST

@farkascast

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Bulletin Board material might fire CC up for their next battle with the Valkyries

Ebyj80

@ebyj80

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Kate Martin better warn them about the pissed-off version of CC!😂

Simon

@Simon6989930305

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lol if CC didn’t have an off shooting night she would of had 20/9/7 instead of 11/9/7

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Caitlin Clark gets blunt on her off night vs. Valkyries

While Fever fans took issue with what happened to Caitlin Clark on Friday against the Valkyries, the reigning Rookie of the Year didn't seem bothered much about her no-show. Clark was accepting that she won't have a perfect game in every outing this season. It's something she wasn't willing to accept in her rookie season, but Clark is open to giving herself more grace.

"It's a 44-game season, I'm not going to play perfect for 44 games," Clark said on Saturday.

"I think that's where I really kind of sturggled last year at times. ... I didn’t play very well at Golden State, and to me, like, I wasn’t defeated after the game. Was I upset of the way my team performed? Absolutely. But, you know, that doesn’t define our season by any means."

Clark's struggles against the Valkyries can be chalked up to an off-shooting night in the Fever's first outing on a three-game road trip. Prior to this game, she produced monster efforts against the Liberty and Sun in consecutive outings, when she dropped 32 and 20 points, respectively, on efficient shooting splits.

Caitlin Clark will hope to bounce back against the struggling Aces on Sunday in her first matchup against MVP rival A'ja Wilson.