“They ain’t shootin’ no wild a– threes from halfcourt” – Jeff Teague claims that the Fever are a better team without Caitlin Clark originally appeared on Basketball Network.
Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark has changed the fortunes of the franchise. Indiana snapped a seven-year playoff drought during CC’s rookie season in 2024 and posted its first .500 win season since 2016.
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Despite that, former Atlanta Hawks All-Star point guard Jeff Teague isn’t buying the Caitlin Fever. According to Teague, Clark is a good basketball player, but she isn’t as good as she is portrayed by her supporters. In fact, Teague agrees that the Fever are a better team without her.
“She good, but she not that good,” said Teague. When his brother Marquis said that the Fever are actually a better team without Clark, Teague responded:
“Cuz, they ain’t shootin’ no wild a– threes from halfcourt.”
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Clark’s shooting struggles are hurting the team
Since her college days, CC has been known for her 3-pointers, including her knack for taking logo 3’s. But while she was a career 37.7 percent 3-point shooter at Iowa, that number is down to 32.9 percent in the WNBA. This season, Clark has mightily struggled from deep, shooting just 27.9 percent from 3-point distance, logo or not.
With 53.1 percent of her total shot attempts this season coming from 3-point territory, Caitlin’s field goal percentage is just 36.7 percent, and considering she takes the second most shots per game for her team at 17.5 field goal attempts per game, her shooting woes are hurting the team.
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ESPN analyst Carolyn Peck agrees with Teague that the Fever are more dangerous without Clark. But she did not talk about her shooting woes, but instead pointed to her 31.6 percent usage rate.
“Look, I think Indiana is even more dangerous when Caitlin Clark doesn’t play because she’s a ball-dominant guard. 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 and Kelsey Mitchell is playing out of her mind,” said Peck.
Caitlin is a difference-maker for the Fever
Despite her shooting struggles this season, Clark is scoring 16.5 points per game while averaging 8.8 assists per game, which is second in the league behind Alyssa Thomas’ 9.4 dimes per contest. CC also contributes 5.0 rebounds and 1.6 steals per game.
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And then there are the intangibles.
The game flows differently when Caitlin plays, as she pushes the tempo and likes to play a fast-paced game. With elite playmaking, the Fever get a lot of easy transition buckets because of Clark. Also, with her ability to knock down the long ball, defenses pay special attention to her, making her teammates tougher to defend by simply being there. These don’t show up on the stats sheet.
For the record, the Fever are 8-5 in the games that she’s played in and just 6-7 when she isn’t available. Now, while the two records are separated by only two games, they still prove that Indiana is better off with Caitlin than without.
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And even if Teague and Peck are correct that the Fever are a dangerous team even without Clark, then they are going to be much better with her on the court.
This story was originally reported by Basketball Network on Jul 31, 2025, where it first appeared.