Skip Bayless has been playing close attention to the New York Knicks and Indiana Pacers throughout their Eastern Conference Finals battle. He shared his surprise regarding the seemingly one-sided officiating in favor of Indiana despite New York being down 2-0. This prompted him to segue into a discussion between two other teams from the same city who battled it out on the same court last weekend.
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Unlike the Pacers, who Skip believes were getting most of the 50/50 calls throughout their Game 3 loss, the Fever – especially Caitlin Clark – haven’t had the same success with officials. Bayless recalled that the Fever’s Saturday loss to the New York Liberty came down to three very late calls, all of which went against Indiana.
Bayless couldn’t comprehend why the league is not siding with Clark. Her success and impact on the league have led to the WNBA bullying her, Skip believes.
“The Pacers got those calls, not the Fever,” Skip said, confused. The longtime sports personality couldn’t believe the officiating decisions that were made near the end of the Fever-Liberty game.
“So help me out here. Caitlin Clark makes a sensational bounce pass through heavy traffic. Just a wizard pass to DeWanna Bonner, who appeared to get tackled as she shot. Not blocked shot, just tackled. Just rammed. No call. What?” Bayless continued, exasperated.
The officials weren’t allowing the Fever to play with that same level of physicality, though, which Skip pointed out. “Then on the other end, Lexie Hull of the Fever did a very nice job just staying right with Sabrina [Ionescu] as she drove to her left. Did not appear to make any significant contact at all with Sabrina, with body or hand. ‘Foul on Lexi Hull with 2.2 seconds.’ What?”
Then, on the last play of the game, with the Fever now down two, Clark appeared to have gotten fouled on the body as she attempted to hoist up a last-second prayer. But once again, there was no call. Skip doesn’t believe this will be a one-time offense for a Fever team that has seemingly gotten an unfair whistle throughout this young season.
“The Indiana Fever in the loudest, most intimidating arena in the league got screwed three times, not two, three times in the final 12 seconds of a very close game and obviously got robbed at home,” Bayless claimed.
Skip noted that Fever coach Stephanie White addressed the no-call and the phantom foul against Lexie Hull, lambasting officials for both. But neither she nor Clark addressed the last-second no-call against the Fever superstar. “Probably because they’ve learned not to fan the flames of resentment against Caitlin Clark any more than they rage already.”
Clark and a talented Fever supporting cast are still expected to be one of the W’s top teams this season. But if they continue to see the same whistle they faced against the Liberty, it could be more difficult to build on their postseason return than expected.
That being said, it is hard to imagine the league has it against Caitlin like Bayless suggests. It is more an example of bad officiating than a conspiracy.
