Caitlin Clark's Fever teammate NaLyssa Smith quickly defended her after 'just' 12 points in preseason game

Caitlin Clark wasn’t superhuman on Thursday, and that’s perfectly OK.

Sure, she scored through four defenders in her Indiana Fever preseason debut, but she scored 12 points on 4-of-12 shooting and made two of her nine three-point attempts, perhaps proving right some warnings from WNBA pros about the transition from college to the league.

But that’s not the case. First, it’s preseason, and second … it’s her second game! Give her time!

The third point comes from teammate NaLyssa Smith, who pointed out multiple times how Clark was effective getting the Fever open and finding them with passes while spreading the floor. Which is exactly correct and what we should focus on as she starts her rookie season:

The Fever vets seem intent on protecting Caitlin Clark’s peace. NaLyssa Smith was constantly hyping her up tonight pic.twitter.com/LKIbR1Qi5T

— Allie (@Allie874) May 10, 2024

Caitlin Clark starts: “I didn’t think I was that effective tonight.”

Nalyssa Smith rebuttals: “She was effective. Everybody is so focused on her, she’s giving the rest of us opportunity.”

Smith finished with a game high 21 points. pic.twitter.com/X6C8jv1Rr4

— Pat Boylan (@PatBoylanPacers) May 10, 2024