{"id":129186,"date":"2025-09-03T07:38:09","date_gmt":"2025-09-03T07:38:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/129186\/"},"modified":"2025-09-03T07:38:09","modified_gmt":"2025-09-03T07:38:09","slug":"jason-whitlock-softens-angel-reese-stance-after-giving-new-twist-to-caitlin-clark-injury","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/129186\/","title":{"rendered":"Jason Whitlock Softens Angel Reese Stance After Giving New Twist to Caitlin Clark Injury"},"content":{"rendered":"

The WNBA has its own Titan Atlas in Angel Reese. After literally \u201ccarrying the Sky\u201d like the Titan, her back gave way. Reese missed around 20 days due to injury, but Jason Whitlock didn\u2019t buy the franchise reports or coach Tyler Marsh. He accused Reese of giving up on the Sky amid a rerun of their 2024 season in 2025. \u201cI think she\u2019s quit on this season. I think this is a worse version than Kawhi Leonard. I think she\u2019s using her back as an excuse to sit out because she doesn\u2019t really care about basketball.\u201d Whitlock had claimed.<\/p>\n

Watch What\u2019s Trending Now!<\/p>\n

Reese responded, not with words but by just doing what she does. She put up 19 points, seven rebounds, and four assists on 9 of 13 from the field against the Seattle Storm in her first game back. Reese has been on her game since, averaging 15.4 points and 13.6 rebounds in the last five games. \u201cAngel Reese is the most unskilled basketball player in the history of basketball,\u201d Whitlock has claimed in the past. However, Reese\u2019s recent run has Whitlock reconsidering his judgment of Reese.<\/p>\n

Whitlock said on \u201cFearless with Jason Whitlock\u201d,\u00a0 \u201cAngel Reese is having an impact on me in terms of she\u2019s a competitor. She figures out a way to be effective. It\u2019s not pretty. It\u2019s not. But she figures out a way. She is a competitor. I know that she disappeared for no reason. I think, took a mental health break in my view.\u201d\u00a0Well, this takes us to how Whitlock also compared Clark\u2019s injury situation to former President Joe Biden\u2019s. Now, he probably would have thought the same had Reese missed any more games.<\/p>\n

ADVERTISEMENT<\/p>\n

Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n

\u201cThey\u2019ve turned Caitlin Clark into Joe Biden. No press conferences for 2 months. The cover-up is always worse than the crime. Her injury has been the weirdest thing I\u2019ve seen in sports,\u201d Whitlock tweeted recently. He believes the same cover-up surrounding Reese applies to Clark<\/a>. On his podcast, he went further, connecting Clark\u2019s injury struggles and impending return to Reese\u2019s situation, while still praising Reese\u2019s contributions. \u201cI think part of what\u2019s going on with Caitlin Clark is a mental health break in my opinion. But my respect for Angel Reese just as a competitor, as someone figuring out a way to survive and be effective in the WNBA, I can\u2019t do nothing but salute. I didn\u2019t see it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Both Clark and Reese have one thing in common. The franchises are very private<\/a> when it comes to their fitness issues. As opposed to Reese, Clark has yet to return, and the lack of information is killing the fans. In the latest update, she was doing 5-0 drills with Fever\u2019s second team, but there is \u201cstill no schedule.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

ADVERTISEMENT<\/p>\n

Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n

\"article-image\"\/<\/p>\n

via Imago<\/p>\n

A mental health break might explain some of Clark\u2019s absence, but her long list of injuries tells a clearer story. Multiple soft tissue injuries and a lingering bone bruise have slowed her down, and the Fever aren\u2019t willing to risk the \u201clong-term health\u201d of the cornerstone of their franchise. Coach Stephanie White \u201chopes\u201d Clark can return by the postseason, but nothing is certain yet. ESPN has listed her EST. return date as Sept.7. The Fever will be playing against the Mystics that day, a winnable game, but one they can\u2019t afford to lose if they want to avoid the 8-seed fate.<\/p>\n

But will they even reach the postseason? Angel Reese will have something to say about that.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Whitlock Says Angel Reese Will Ruin Caitlin\u2019s Title Hopes<\/p>\n

Caitlin Clark has not started contact practice yet. Her health is improving steadily, and her \u201cchampionship\u201d hopes from before the season will likely be on her mind as she pushes for a return this season itself. The Fever has a rather light schedule in their journey to the playoffs. Out of 4 games, they have 2 considered winnable, while the other two are against the Minnesota Lynx and the Phoenix Mercury. The two winnable games are Angel Reese\u2019s Sky and Sonia Citron\u2019s Washington Mystics. However, according to Whitlock, Reese will botch Fever\u2019s plans.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Whitlock said, \u201cIf Angel Reese is healthy, Cardoso is healthy, and Ariel Atkins is healthy, and no Caitlin Clark. I believe the Chicago Sky are going to beat us in this final Chicago Sky-Fever game of the season. I really do. I think Angel Reese will try to have. I think she\u2019ll go for 30 and 20. And I say that sincerely, and they will knock us off.\u201d<\/p>\n

ADVERTISEMENT<\/p>\n

Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n

The Chicago Sky are 0-4 against the Fever; they have been slapped around in multiple situations. When both had Reese and Clark, Fever won 58-93 with Clark\u2019s triple-double. When both teams had their stars on the sidelines, Indiana won 93-78. Fever flattened the Sky when Reese was on the court despite being without Clark. Reese put up just 4 points and 12 rebounds as they were routed 79-52. <\/p>\n

Here\u2019s the thing, though. The forward was in a dry spell then, and it\u2019s not the case now. She has an opportunity to be the villain in Caitlin Clark\u2019s story.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The WNBA has its own Titan Atlas in Angel Reese. After literally \u201ccarrying the Sky\u201d like the Titan,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":129187,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[73],"tags":[99,434],"class_list":["post-129186","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-wnba","tag-sports","tag-wnba"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/129186","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=129186"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/129186\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/129187"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=129186"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=129186"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=129186"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}