Caitlin Clark's teammate NaLyssa Smith makes criticism of Christie Sides known on social media

All eyes were on the Indiana Fever coming into this WNBA season, thanks to the arrival of phenom Caitlin Clark, and so far it's been an ugly start. The Fever are 1-8, one of just two teams who haven't won at least two games, and getting outscored by a league-worst 15.9 points per 100 possessions.

It's not just that they're losing and it's not even just that they're losing big (five of their losses have been by 15 or more). It's that they look so disjointed and uncomfortable together.

Clark is adjusting to a new spotlight, new teammates and a new level of coverage and expectation. But her teammates are also working to adjust to her game and her ball-dominant style. Aliyah Boston has had to change her offensive role and patterns completely and her shooting percentages have plummeted. NaLyssa Smith, who averaged 15.5 points and 9.2 rebounds per game last season, has also seen a big drop-off — averaging just 10.8 points and 6.8 rebounds through the first nine games.

Like Boston, Smith is adapting to a different role but her case is different because she's been extremely effective, shooting career-highs — 50.7 percent from the field and 41.7 percent from beyond the arc. However, she's been removed from the starting lineup twice and is playing just 23.3 minutes per game, down from 28.5 last season and 30.7 as a rookie. A 1-8 record would have anyone frustrated but you could understand if Smith was feeling it a little more, playing as well as she ever has but getting far fewer shots and minutes than she's used to. And she may have let that frustration show on social media earlier this week, liking a Tweet that called out Fever coach Christie Sides for how she's handled her.

Cracks are showing in the Fever locker room between Christie Sides and her players

Sides is in her second year as head coach of the Fever and has taken a lot of heat for the team's rough start and strained vibes. She also hasn't been shy about redirecting toward specific failings on the part of her players. After Tuesday's loss to the Sparks, she said (h/t Indy Star):

“You don't give yourself a chance … You can't do something right for two and a half quarters and then just stop doing it. We were going under some of the screens that were supposed to be going over. We were gambling and getting out of position … Instead of us stepping over and stopping them (and) having our teammates’ back, we're reaching. That’s just a lack of discipline.”

To be clear that's Sides putting the loss squarely on a lack of execution. She's not wrong but it certainly isn't going to help build bridges with players working to figure out a new system and approach at both ends of the floor. To her credit, Sides had also called out her team for spending too much time arguing with the referees and told them to let her get the technicals — which she did in Thursday's game against the Storm, standing up for Clark after a no-call on some serious contact.

For her part, Smith responded with a massive effort against the Storm — 23 points, 10 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal and 2 blocks on 8-of-14 from the field.

But, as has been the pattern, it came in a 15-point loss for her team.