Carolyn Peck on "SportsCenter" with anchor Michael Eaves. Photo Credit: ‘SportsCenter’

A lot of sports media members still don’t know how to talk about Caitlin Clark.

That’s not a knock on Carolyn Peck, at least, not intentionally. But the former Purdue head coach drew some ire this week when she suggested the Indiana Fever might actually be better without Clark. Or at least, that’s how plenty of people heard it. And that’s because Peck said during a SportsCenter spot with Michael Eaves that the Fever were “more dangerous” without Clark.

The Fever improved to 4-4 without the Iowa Hawkeyes product, following an 81-54 drubbing of the Las Vegas Aces in the Commissioner’s Cup Final. Clark has missed the past five games with a groin injury, including Saturday’s matchup against the Los Angeles Sparks.

“Look, I think Indiana is even more dangerous when Caitlin Clark doesn’t play, because she’s a ball-dominant guard,” Peck said earlier this week. “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. Aliyah Boston, I talked to [Fever head coach] Stephanie White before the game. She said in Year 1, Aliyah Boston was back to the basket. Year 2, two-man game. Year 3, they’re using her as a decision maker.

“And so, when you have a point guard like Kelsey Mitchell and Aari McDonald, making plays on the post and the perimeter, like Aliyah Boston, I’m gonna tell you, Indiana, they’re a threat. And specifically on the defensive end. Stephanie is so pleased with the intensity they’re bringing defensively with their length, their switches. I mean, they wreaked havoc on their last two opponents.”

In saying the Fever were “more dangerous” without Clark, Perck was trying to make a point about how Indiana can utilize its depth and versatility with a ball-dominant guard off the court. Naturally, it was taken by many as another slight at Clark herself. So, like most people who venture into Caitlin Clark discourse these days, she was forced to clarify what she actually meant.

Peck clarified that she wasn’t downplaying Clark’s value, but wanted to make sure to highlight the strength and depth of the Fever’s supporting cast. Around Clark, they’ve suddenly become a team that’s quietly grown more balanced, more versatile, and more difficult to gameplan for. As Peck put it, scouting the Fever, whether with or without Clark, requires different strategies. One isn’t easier than the other. They’re just different.

That’s not to say they’re “more dangerous” without one of the faces of the league, but it is a sign of real growth. The Fever are starting to look like a team that can adapt, defend, and win in different ways, and maybe that’s exactly what Clark needs around her.

About Sam Neumann

Since the beginning of 2023, Sam has been a staff writer for Awful Announcing and The Comeback. A 2021 graduate of Temple University, Sam is a Charlotte native, who currently calls Greenville, South Carolina his home. He also has a love/hate relationship with the New York Mets and Jets.