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Amid Caitlin Clark’s extended injury absence from the Indiana Fever, at least one media pundit has suggested the team is better without the superstar.
ESPN’s Carolyn Peck said on the network on Thursday that Indiana is a “more dangerous” team without Clark on the floor.
“I think that Indiana is even more dangerous when Caitlin Clark doesn’t play, because she’s a ball-dominant guard,” she said. “The ball’s in her hands a lot, so you know what you need to try to take away. But when you look at Indiana now, they’ve got so many weapons.”
Peck gave specific praise to Fever players Kelsey Mitchell, Aari McDonald and Aliyah Boston. Peck did not appear to give praise to Fever stars Sophie Cunningham or Lexie Hull.
“When you have a point guard like Kelsey Mitchell, and Aari McDonald making plays on the perimeter, and a post like Aliyah Boston, I’m gonna tell you: Indiana, they are a threat. And it’s specifically on the defensive end,” Peck said.
Peck’s comments went viral on social media, inciting the wrath of Clark’s loyal supporters.
Barstool founder Dave Portnoy reposted the clip of Peck’s comments on X, writing, “I knew this was gonna happen.”
The popular sports commentary X account “BricksCenter” also shared the clip, writing, “Their hatred toward CC needs to be studied.”
Hundreds of smaller accounts made their criticisms of Peck’s analysis known.
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“ESPN would be a lot more ‘dangerous’ without Carolyn Peck,” one user wrote.
Another user wrote, “All of Peck’s takes on CC last year ended being wrong and I don’t expect anything different from this season.”
One user even went so far as to say, “ESPN analyst Carolyn Peck is a hater and a fool.”
Peck was the women’s basketball head coach at Purdue when current Fever head coach Stephanie White was a player there. Together, they won the NCAA title in 1999.
Clark has missed the team’s last four games with a groin injury and will miss a fifth on Saturday against the LA Sparks. She previously missed five games with a quad injury.
With Clark, Indiana is 5–4, averaging an 85.0 offensive rating.
Without Clark, the team is 5–4 with an average 80.2 offensive rating.
In games she has played, Clark is averaging 18.2 points, 8.9 assists and 5.9 turnovers.
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