Indiana Fever head coach Christie Sides has faced significant criticism this WNBA season, and Tuesday night’s game against the Las Vegas Aces only added fuel to the fire.
Sides received harsh backlash from fans for her decision to bench veteran guard Lexie Hull during the loss to the Aces. Hull, a former first-round pick from Stanford, is averaging 3.2 points and 1.3 rebounds per game this season. While her stats may not be eye-catching, she’s hitting 35 percent of her 3-point attempts.
Fever fans argued that Hull deserved playing time over Erica Wheeler and Kristy Wallace, who combined for just four points on seven shot attempts.
“It’s almost as if there are some exceptionally talented players that are hiding the incompetence of Christie Sides,” one fan wrote. “Players such as Wallace and Wheeler should only play garbage time.”
Another fan stated, “Christie Sides has to get fired!”
“Coaching malpractice,” commented a third fan.
Hull had seen extended minutes on June 27 against the Seattle Storm but played only five minutes against the Phoenix Mercury on June 30.
Sides may be making minor adjustments to her rotation in an effort to improve the offense. However, Indiana fans are not accepting this as a valid excuse.
The Fever return to the court on Saturday against the New York Liberty, and fans will be watching closely to see if Sides’ decisions change.