Audio By Carbonatix
Caitlin Clark played the worst game of her second season in the WNBA against the Atlanta Dream even though the Indiana Fever won by five. Her former head coach, Lisa Bluder, joined the television broadcast and revealed how to slow down the reigning Rookie of the Year by exploiting her biggest weakness.
She struggles on the backdoor cut.
Bluder coached Caitlin Clark at Iowa throughout her entire four-year career. The 64-year-old ultimately chose to retire with the departure of the greatest scorer in college basketball history and often shows up at Gainbridge Fieldhouse to watch the former Hawkeyes star on the professional level.
That leads us to Thursday night. Clark dropped a triple-double and a double-double during the first two regular season games of the 2025 campaign. She was held to 11 points, six rebounds and four assists during the Fever’s road win against the Dream, shot only 4-of-11 from the field, missed all five attempts from beyond the arc and accrued four fouls. It was not the best night for the league’s biggest star but the team stepped up around her so it could’ve been worse!
Lisa Bluder joined the Indiana Fever broadcast during the third quarter to speak on a variety of different topics. One of them, of course, was her former guard. She was equally as baffled by Clark’s lackluster stat line as everybody else watching in real-time. What gives?
This is where Bluder really surprised me. I did not expect her to be so candid.
The three-time Big Ten Coach of the Year and 2019 Naismith College Coach of the Year revealed how to stop Caitlin Clark defensively as someone with first-hand experience. In doing so, she exposed her biggest weakness.
Lisa Bluder joins the broadcast and talks about how Caitlin can improve and the team can deal with the face guarding pic.twitter.com/8E1uS2bEmi
— correlation (@nosyone4) May 23, 2025
Lisa Bluder does not see the path to success through frustration like other teams in the WNBA might think.
They think they can just be physical with her and try to frustrate her. I’m so proud of her for not falling into that trap because it’s really easy to. I think if any human being was out there and they’re getting all the hands on them all the time and getting talked to all the time, they would get upset and maybe do something they regretted. I’m so proud of her for keeping her composure with the defensive attention that she gets.
— Lisa Bluder
Opposing defenses rarely do not face guard Caitlin Clark. They throw all kinds of different defenders her way in terms of length, speed and size. Not often does it matter. She usually finds a way to score anyway.
Bluder thinks the quickest way for Clark to find even more success is through the backdoor cut. It is an area in which she needs to improve. It is her biggest weakness.
Caitlin’s never been good at the backdoor cut. I think it’s something she could really improve on in the future, is really trying to beat people off that backdoor cut. Because if they’re going to face guard her, that’s what you’ve gotta do. Or you’ve gotta become a screener, as well.
— Lisa Bluder
Diana Taurasi reecently shared similar thoughts. The G.O.A.T. said Clark’s next big leap will come when she “learns how to move like a scorer even without touching the ball.”
Once that happens, it is over.
The good news for the Indiana Fever is this— when the defenses are so focused on Caitlin Clark, it opens up the floor for her teammates. We saw that against the Dream. Natasha Howard finished with a team-high 26 points. Kelsey Mitchell had 17. Even Lexie Hull reached double digits.
There is no stopping Clark if she figures out the backdoor cut. In the meantime, the Fever built its roster with a strong supporting cast for off-nights like Thursday.