“She’s here and she’s ready to take care of business!” There are a million words that can be used to describe Caitlin Clark’s game, but a hack isn’t one of them! The Indiana Fever star made her highly anticipated pre-season debut against Brazil, and carried that momentum against the Dream on the 11th. As expected, she continued on with business as usual, hitting thirty-footers with ease. However, things weren’t all fine and dandy with the sharpshooting point guard.

In a highly controversial play against rookie Ta-Hina Paopao, Caitlin Clark was alleged to have pushed off against the five-foot-nine Atlanta guard. And considering how polarizing CC really is, people jumped on the hating bandwagon really quick! Even the replays show the alleged offense, however, according to national analyst Rachel DeMita, the complete story has quite a few more nuances than just a simple push-off.

On the Courtside Club, DeMita pointed out the sequence of events, and the circumstances that led to them. “She was kind of grabbing her with two hands. The argument on the internet has been ‘Was it a foul before the three-pointer, or did Caitlin push off?” She said about the infamous play. And as for a clear cut answer? Well, it was as simple as possible.

Paopao not only hand-checked the Indiana star, but she held her with both hands as she initiated that sequence. Even though it was a controversial play, it’s something we have seen before quite a few times. “There’s a lot of time that guards are working the defenders off of them. Especially if the defender has a hand on their side, on their jersey, on their arm, anything. You are allowed to swipe and get the defenders off of you.” DeMita explained, justifying Clark’s on-field actions during the play.

DeMita’s justifications were a harsh but necessary response to those that were discrediting Caitlin Clark as a basketball player because of this play. Considering her success, it’s obvious that people would find ways to pull her down. But this is not an opportunity, and they will need to keep on trying!

However, this was not the only controversial call in the game involving Caitlin Clark. There was also the Indiana Fever star’s run-in with the referees late in the first half of the game. But what exactly happened? And what role did Clark’s newest teammate Sophie Cunningham have to play in it? Let’s find out!

Cunningham keeps Clark’s temper in check during pre-season disagreement

We’ve all seen our fair share of arguments in sports, right? Both at a player-level, and at an officiating-level. After all, the NBA deals with officiating troubles almost daily. Normally, it’s heat of the moment with a perfectly valid reason behind it. However, the WNBA’s biggest star had a run-in with an official during her last pre-season game, and we just couldn’t understand why.

Caitlin Clark, late in the second quarter, had a heated exchange with one of the referees. This earned her a technical foul, but moreover, it garnered the attention of fans. What exactly happened? Well, the exact details aren’t clear. But Clark looked frustrated while interacting with the ref for sure!

The real highlight of this situation was Sophie Cunningham, who dove in to try to rescue her teammate from the wrath and ire of the officials. She physically pulled Clark away, but wasn’t able to reach there quick enough. As before being taken from the area, the Indiana Fever star was caught saying “No one cares. No one cares”. 

Clark is not one to fight with officials unnecessarily, but she’s also a very competitive person. You have to be, if you want to be successful in sports. It is said that Michael Jordan would make up stories to motivate himself before important games, but CC doesn’t need any stories in the W. The narratives shift against her at the drop of a hat, as we saw during the push-off incident vs Atlanta.

Regardless, it will be interesting to see how this locker room chemistry pans out through the season. Cunningham’s intervention was a definite positive cue for this team, but was this sort of chemistry and bond the only thing standing between Indiana and a championship? Only time will tell!