Indiana Fever coach Christie Sides criticized her team in a big way after its 89-72 loss to the Connecticut Sun on Monday night.
When asked about her team’s biggest defensive problem against Connecticut during press availability, Sides openly questioned her team’s effort in the game and said the coaching staff had to prompt the team to “keep playing hard” during the defeat.
The 3-10 Sun are a young team, and growing pans are to be expected, particularly with developing superstars like Caitlin Clark and Aliyah Boston.
However, openly grappling with your team’s perceived lack of effort after a difficult loss feels like it could backfire.
“You can’t at this level coach effort,” Sides told reporters, per ClutchPoints’ Matthew Byrne. “You can’t play in this league… if you have to coach effort. It’s just too hard.”
Christie Sides on the biggest problem defensively tonight: “I’m gonna start with—you can’t at this level coach effort. I felt like we were just asking them to keep playing hard… you can’t play in this league if you have to coach effort.” pic.twitter.com/qZXn7BD8cr
— Matthew Byrne (@MatthewByrne1) June 11, 2024
This is a pretty pointed critique for Sides to make about her team, and we’re sure that the message will be received by the Fever players. It just depends on how the criticism will go over in the Indiana locker room.
