Portnoy gives verdict on Fever during Caitlin | Sports News

Dave Portnoy expressed hope that the Indiana Fever could “grow” within the absence of injured star Caitlin Clark.

Last month, Clark suffered a left quadriceps pressure that may keep her sidelined for a minimal of two weeks. The Fever unsurprisingly struggled in her absence, falling to the Mystics and Connecticut Sun earlier than securing a much-needed win over Washington on Tuesday.

Portnoy — an avid Fever fan who has repeatedly positioned huge bets on Clark and received lots of of hundreds of {dollars} — counseled Indiana for the victory on social media. “Big win for the Fever. Maybe they will grow without CC,” he wrote on X.

In latest weeks, Portnoy has not shied away from voicing his true emotions concerning the Fever’s struggles this 12 months. On the heels of their 83-77 loss to the Mystics on May 28, the Barstool Sports founder blasted Indiana for placing up a season-low in factors.

“The Caitlin Clarkless Fever put up season low in points (20 pts below season average) and get smushed by average Washington team,” he wrote. “It was to be expected but the Fever look like a totally different team without Caitlin running the show and occupying all the defensive attention. Not to mention the CC/AB 2 man came is the best in the league.”

Then after the Fever’s 85-83 defeat to the lowly Sun, Portnoy argued that Clark ought to be awarded the WNBA Most Valuable Player award as a result of of her immense impression whereas sitting on the bench. “Caitlin Clark may win the MVP by not playing,” he stated. “The Fever now 0-2 without her and absolutely suck. Lost as 12.5 favorites at home.”

Yet the Fever appeared to have turned a nook of their newest win over the Mystics, as guard Kelsey Mitchell turned in a single of her best performances of the season with 24 factors, three assists and two rebounds on 7-of-14 capturing from the sphere.

Though Washington made it fascinating within the fourth quarter by staging a late rally, Indiana efficiently tightened up on protection down the stretch en path to a 85-76 victory. “Yeah, it felt really good,” Stephanie White informed reporters during a postgame press convention.

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“I think the way we did it too, we had to show resilience in that fourth quarter. We had to find ways to come together and dig in and get stops and make plays. You know, it was probably outside of game one, the most consistent we’ve played throughout the course of 40 minutes. So I’m proud of this group. I’m sticking with it. It wasn’t perfect, but we found a way to get it done.”

Fever star Lexie Hull expressed a related sentiment, including: “I’m just proud of our group for staying with it. Obviously we can’t control injuries. We can’t control any of that. But I think we had two really good practices this week and to be able to come out and get a win after that, I’m just proud of us for fighting.”