Sage Steele: WNBA mismanages generational talent Caitlin Clark
“The Sage Steele Show” host Sage Steele says the WNBA is mishandling generational talent Caitlin Clark. Steele criticizes the league’s poor officiating, which has led to numerous unintentional fouls against Clark and other players this season. She points out that this continued neglect risks losing the WNBA’s growing fan base.
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Believe it or not, we’re only two months away from the WNBA playoffs. There’s still a lot to come in the season, but when your season is only 44 games long, it tends to go by pretty quickly. This has been an interesting campaign. With two new teams in the league, a big turnaround from the Wings, and a slight decline from the Aces and Liberty, there could be some new excitement in the playoffs. Before we get to that, let’s talk about the Sun and the most popular team in the league, the Fever.
The Connecticut Sun are 7-19 for the season and have only won three road games. I think this will be the Sun’s last season in Connecticut, and it will be the one everyone forgets. The Sun started the year with just two wins in 15 games, but have gone 5-4 over the last nine games, so at least the Sun are showing some progress. This team’s biggest problem seems to be that they can’t find anyone to get a bucket if absolutely necessary.
Phoenix Mercury forward Natasha Mack fights for a rebound with Connecticut Sun center Brittney Griner at the Mortgage Matchup Center in Phoenix on July 19, 2026. (Joe Rondone/The Republic/USA T)
The team is led by Brittney Griner, but she only scores 14.1 points in 25.8 minutes. This is his second lowest point production since his rookie season. Last year was his worst, scoring just 9.8 points per game. Maybe it’s because she’s 35 and slowing down, but she’s not the force she once was. The biggest problem for the team is that it’s just a mix of players: some are castoffs from other teams, others are free agents who have been replenished. However, the pieces really don’t fit together well.
CAITLIN CLARK STICKED IN THE FACE BY WNBA LEGEND AFTER GETTING A FOUL THAT COULD TRIGGER A FINE IN BIG VICTORY
The Indiana Fever has a better record than the Sun, but it’s not much of a challenge. I think one of the things to remember about the Fever is that they get the best effort out of every team they play, every night. WNBA players don’t really like Caitlin Clark (or so it seems), and the effort level is clearly different in games where she’s involved. The Fever are 10-5 at home this year and have won seven of their last ten games overall. Another thing to remember about the Fever is that the start of this season was a major adjustment.
Caitlin Clark attacks the rim as the Indiana Fever takes on the Las Vegas Aces in a WNBA showpiece game. (David Becker/NBAE via Getty Images)
Clark was out almost all of last season, and her return to the fold, even after a very successful playoff run last year without her, meant the team had to learn new roles. She dominates the ball and is an excellent passer, so the team had to change their attack a bit. The Fever appear to be returning to their best last season, when they were looking to get buckets from Kelsey Mitchell. She has led them in scoring in eight of the last nine games. Maybe it’s a balance between last year’s success and this year’s adjustments.
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The Sun aren’t a team you’d expect to score a ton of points – averaging only around 80 points per game. However, the Fever aren’t a very good defensive team, and once again you get a strong effort from the opposition every time. I feel like the total could go either way, I don’t know if the Sun can stop the Fever, but I also don’t think the Fever has much point playing defense.
Indiana Fever players Lexie Hull (10), Caitlin Clark (22) and Damiris Dantas (12) celebrate after the game against the Phoenix Mercury at PHX Arena in Phoenix, Arizona on July 9, 2026. (Kate Frese/NBAE via Getty Images)
CAITLIN CLARK THROWS 32-POINT DOUBLE-DOUBLE IN TAYLOR SWIFT NIKES AS FEVER SURVIVES MAGNIFICENT RETURN TO THE SKY IN OT
The Fever have a rest advantage in this game; they’ve been home for a while, but have met before that. However, they have been absent for a few days. Being in the same gym for multiple days improves sight lines for shooters and allows them to be more comfortable. The Sun will have a long rest period after this game, but will still be on the road. I like the fever at the start of this one because I’m not sure it will blow out the sun late. Connecticut has kept games close on the road lately. Give me 1st trimester Fever at -2.5. I think this is where they will have the biggest advantage of being familiar with shooting.
