This is the first time I’ve taken the time to write about WNBA, and I had to start with the one that caught my attention this spring. However, this article will be the first in a series of articles on the WNBA. In just a few days, I discovered a world with unique tactics and personalities. Among them, for example, the future rival of Caitlin Clark, Dijonai Carrington. The player of Connecticut Sun also gave Caitlin Clark some difficult times when she entered the deep end.
Caitlin Clark, the big dive
After weeks of waiting, here we are. The former Iowa star has finally started her WNBA career. After literally breaking all the scoring records in the NCAA, the child from Iowa arrives in Indiana to do battle with the biggest stars of professional basketball. Following the excitement around Iowa’s March Madness, which went all the way to the final against South Carolina, I decided to go into detail about Caitlin Clark’s first steps in the big league.
To begin, let’s review what brought him to light and made him known throughout the world: his attack. Offensively, it is first and foremost her three-point volume, as well as her ability to take them from afar, that makes her unique.
In her last season in the NCAA, she took 20 three-pointers per 100 possessions! That’s more than Stephen Curry (17.5 three-pointers per 100 possessions in 2023-2024). His scoring volume during his final year is gargantuan, with more than 40% usage. His passing volume is also enormous. But, rather than dwelling on the past, let’s dive into the analysis of Caitlin Clark’s first WNBA games, and start with the scoring.
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The three points yes, but what else?
As you would expect, Caitlin Clark has tremendous three-point volume. To get into the numbers, his 3PAr (% of his shot attempts that are three-pointers) is 0.686. This is a score similar to that of Buddy Hield in the NBA! For a ball carrier, that’s a huge volume. We can also note that the origin of his shots is varied. 50% of his made three points were assisted. Unlike Buddy Hield for example, Caitlin Clark has the ability to generate her own shot.
But in terms of scoring, what does she do next to her three-point shots? Well, for now it’s quite limited. Its shooting regime is very modern. No shots taken from mid-range, mainly attempts at the rim and three-pointers. We can also clearly notice that his three-point attempts come from the left side. His attempts at the circle, on the other hand, are quite diverse.
When she attacks without the ball, the defenses face her, “Top-Lock”, to prevent her from recovering the ball. She can also use her quickness to take the speed defense and cut towards the rim. It’s off-ball that she seems most threatening to me. With the ball in hand, she is more likely to drive from the right, unlike her pull-ups which come more from the left of the field. If the defense goes too high on her, via “Blitz”, she sometimes manages to escape with a drive, rather than a pass, or a loss of ball.
Caitlin Clark face au Blitz
But what is this Blitz?! – Well the Blitz, dear readers, is a defensive tactic. It is particularly used against Pick&Roll when the ball carrier is a threat to scoring and passing. Blitz consists of the player on the ball carrier and the pick defender limiting the threat by exerting defensive pressure on the ball carrier.
Essentially, the moment the ball carrier passes the screen, the defender of the pick, as well as the one on her, climbs on her to put pressure on her and force her to make the following decision:
- I go backwards and waste time,
- I pass but I take a risk,
- I try to drive but I take a risk.
The main advantage of blitz defense is therefore that it can disrupt the flow of the attack. The goal is to force the ball carrier to take a risk or be forced to release the ball harmlessly. In the images below, these are examples of Blitz on Caitlin Clark which resulted in ball losses.
Ball losses are clearly the downside of Caitlin Clark’s start to the season. With 6.5 turnovers for 5.5 assists, the ratio is clearly not optimal. Of course, her numbers are inflated by the enormous volume the young player is already taking on. Practice makes perfect, and Clark will also have to go through this in the face of the Blitz. One of the solutions comes from the height and quality of her teammates’ screens.
What solutions to the Blitz ?
There are multiple solutions, and Indiana is already starting to exploit them. First there are solutions with the ball in hands for Clark. To do this, we must diversify the height of the screens, but also the speed at which they arrive. Also, Indiana can vary the players who come to set the screens, as well as the angles of its screens.
Since Caitlin Clark is a threat from the three-point line, teams can be punished if they get ahead of themselves. In the action below for example, Indiana starts with a Horns Set. That is to say, two players are at the head of the racket, ready to set a screen for Caitlin. It is then more difficult for the defense to anticipate the Blitz, because she doesn’t know where the screen is going to come from for Caitlin. In the action below, the player defending the screen arrives too late to Blitzand Caitlin Clark can then take an open 3pt.
In addition to these situations where Indiana rushes the defense, the height of the screen can be the catalyst that will explode the defensive shells of WNBA teams. With Caitlin Clark’s shooting threat, combined with her passing skills, setting the screen as high as possible then forces the defense to take risks if they come to defend Blitz. Indeed, the Blitz works best in small spaces as it aims to suck up space in which the player can operate.
So when the screen comes to logo level, or at least far behind the three-point line, defenses can get punished on Blitz. For example, as below, the screen is high enough to trap the Blitz. We also find the element of speed mentioned earlier. With screens coming quickly, and away from the circle, Caitlin can then better navigate the spaces that the defense is forced to concede to her.
Horns Set Fever ?
In four matches, it is already obvious that the Horns Set opens up a lot for Indiana’s offense with Caitlin Clark. This diagram allows us to have two potential screen installers, who can have different profiles. As it is difficult to anticipate the movements of Indiana’s attack, Caitlin Clark can use her talent for reading the game. If her drive threat further increases as the matches progress, Indiana could even use systems which start on the diagram at Horns to find other open three-point shooters. Example below with a first screen for Caitlin Clark which allows us to offer an open three points to Kelsey Mitchell with a Flare Screen after she put up a screen in the first place.
But in all of this, I wonder about the point of making him carry the ball so much. Indeed, like other snipers, she could take advantage of her shooting threat to break down defenses on the ball. With only 22% of her two-point baskets assisted, and 50% for her three-pointers, it is obvious that she almost never goes by the others for her scoring. This is where there is still a lot of work to do on the Indiana side.
It was by playing with and without the ball that Caitlin Clark allowed the Iowa team to perform when it was in the NCAA. With systems that can recall those of the Warriors, in Motion or with Elevator Screens, Indiana could pierce the shells of any WNBA defense. In any case, it is on its use without a ball that my attention will be focused in the coming weeks.
I’ll leave you with this video which shows how, on throw-ins, Iowa managed to make its attack revolve around Caitlin Clark without her always having the ball in her hands.
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2024-05-23 09:37:59
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