Christie Sides throws her players under the bus again after big Indiana Fever loss

There is only so much a head coach can do from the sidelines. Your job is to guide the group and put them in a position to succeed. However, as we often hear, you can lead a horse to water -- but you can't make it drink.

Indiana Fever head coach Christie Sides basically told reporters that following Monday night's 89-72 Commissioner's Cup loss to the Connecticut Sun on Monday. In the process, she threw her players under the bus, citing a lack of energy on the defensive end of the floor from her team.

"... You can't at this level coach effort. I felt like we were just trying to ask them to keep playing hard ... You can't play in this league if you have to coach effort," Sides said during her postgame press conference.

Fever HC Christie Sides throws her team under the bus again after another big loss

After being defeated handily, those are the last comments you want to hear from your head coach. Nonetheless, Sides has a point. The Fever were not actively engaged defensively, evidenced by the box score.

The Sun converted 46.2 percent of their field goal, shooting 8-of-17 from beyond the arc. They also corralled 12 offensive rebounds, highlighting how Indiana failed to match their intensity, specifically on the glass.

It was a night to forget for the Fever, led by rookie phenom Caitlin Clark. Regardless, that doesn't excuse them from playing with a notable lack of assertiveness and ferocity.

Speaking of Clark, she had arguably the worst performance of her young WNBA career. The former Iowa Hawkeye scored 10 points (3-of-8 shooting), recording only two assists and failing two produce a rebound. Her -30 plus/minus was the worst rating for either team in the lopsided affair.

Currently boasting the youngest roster in the league, we expect growing pains from the Fever. Their inexperience already puts them at a disadvantage. They cannot afford to be getting outhustled and outworked by their opponents. As much as it pains them to hear it, Sides is trying to get her squad to buy in and take accountability for their actions.