INDIANAPOLIS — Heading into the final week of the regular season, the Indiana Fever were hoping for a strong finish. They hoped to address defensive slippage and round into form entering the playoffs.
Instead, with the postseason just a day away, the Fever’s final four games left more questions about their current level than answers. They were crushed twice, lost players to injury, searched for rotational options and found few, and showed almost no consistency on the defensive end of the floor despite mixing in some highs throughout the week.
The Fever went 2-2 during the week, and both of their wins were by nearly 20 points. Those results alone would seem to suggest a fine close to Indiana’s season. It didn’t feel that way. The second win, a 19-point drubbing of the top-seeded Minnesota Lynx, was impressive. Minnesota head coach Cheryl Reeve benched her starters in the second quarter after quickly realizing a win was out of reach.
Two days later, the Lynx beat the Fever by 20 and were up 30 at halftime. The other win for the Fever came against the struggling Toronto Tempo, and while Indiana cruised late, they were trailing with 13 minutes to go. It was not a particularly inspiring win despite the final margin being large.
The loss in Minnesota was demoralizing. And their other defeat came at the hands of the Washington Mystics, who imposed their style and held the Fever to their fourth-lowest scoring total of the season at 77 points.
“I thought we were sloppy in everything we were trying to execute. Our defense was just pitiful. It was frustrating,” star guard Caitlin Clark said after the Fever’s loss to the Mystics. “It’s never as bad as it seems, and it’s never as good as it seems.”
While Clark’s general sentiment is accurate, the lowest points for the Fever were considerably lower this week. They fell behind by over 20 points in the first half of two different games. As they prepare for the postseason, their recent level of play does not inspire as much confidence as it has at other points in the season.
The Fever scored 100 or more points 20 times this season, nearly half of their games. They averaged 85 points per game in their final four outings. Their defense in those games was inconsistent, just as it has been all year. They found little rhythm to carry into the high-stakes action.
Listen now to The IX Sports Podcast and Women’s Sports Daily
We are excited to announce the launch of TWO new podcasts for all the women’s sports fans out there looking for a daily dose of women’s sports news and analysis. Stream on Spotify, Apple Podcasts or anywhere you listen to podcasts, and make sure to subscribe!
They also dealt with two injuries, though one appears more serious than the other. In the second quarter of the game in Minnesota on Thursday, star center Aliyah Boston went to the locker room and did not return due to a right lower leg injury. That designation has followed Boston all year. Head coach Stephanie White did not bring Boston back into the game with the result all but decided, calling the injury a flare-up postgame. She kept the All-Star on the bench out of an abundance of caution.
In the third quarter of that same game, veteran guard Tyasha Harris drove in for a layup and landed awkwardly. Her left ankle twisted, and she couldn’t stand up. Harris was surrounded by her teammates, who signaled for the medical staff and circled the veteran with towels before she was carried off the hardwood.
“No update on Ty yet. She’s still being evaluated,” White said later that night, calling the moment an awkward fall.
It didn’t look good, though the Fever have not provided an update on her status yet, so far just calling it a left ankle injury. Missing Harris for any amount of time would be a big loss for Indiana, who will likely turn to rookie Raven Johnson as their third guard going forward.
“Came out and got punched in the mouth. … This was a pretty crappy night overall,” Clark said of the loss in Minnesota.
Two losses. Two injuries. Zero confidence built. Yet now the Fever need two wins to advance in the playoffs for the second-straight year. It will take a group effort to find rhythm and momentum.
“I think we just have to be real intentional,” White said of the days leading up to the playoffs.
Clark reminded everyone that the eight remaining teams effectively have a 0-0 record now. That’s true, and the Fever need to take that mindset to heart after a tough week. Because while they might be 0-0 ahead of a best-of-three set to open the playoffs, they’re not in as much of a group as some other playoff squads.
And some of the Fever’s pre-playoff focuses deserve closer inspection after the week ended on a low note.
“Becoming Caitlin Clark” is out now!
Howard Megdal’s newest book is here! “Becoming Caitlin Clark: The Unknown Origin Story of a Modern Basketball Superstar” captures both the historic nature of Clark’s rise and the critical context over the previous century that helped make it possible, including interviews with Clark, Lisa Bluder (who also wrote the foreword), C. Vivian Stringer, Jan Jensen, Molly Kazmer and many others.
Trying some new rotations
One night, center Mercedes Russell played almost 16 minutes. Two games later, she’s not playing at all. Another night, Johnson gets more than 26 minutes of playing time. Others, she gets less than seven minutes of burn.
The Fever changed their rotation often this week. Lexie Hull and Sophie Cunningham each sat on the bench for over two full quarters in the Fever’s loss to the Mystics. The bench frontcourt changed often. Minutes moved around.
“Typically, this time of year, [a rotation] shortens. But we also have to find out what it’s going to look like for us in the playoffs,” White said of her rotations earlier this week.
She rattled off a few situations — a defensive stop being needed, more spacing, long runs of play before subbing someone back into the game — in which the Fever were trying to figure out exactly what they’re going to look like for the postseason. Some of the rotational tinkering was a challenge.
“Those decisions, we’re trying to figure out different lineups that we’ll be using in the playoffs and testing things out,” Hull said. “I think for us, it’s continuing to do what we do.”
While few of the rotational changes felt meaningful, getting Johnson some extra court time this week could prove to be important if she assumes more responsibility without Harris.
Getting Aliyah Boston going
Even beyond Boston’s injury, her week back after winning a gold medal in the World Cup with Team USA was strange.
Boston averaged over six made shots per game this season yet made three or fewer in three of the Fever’s four games in their final week. Her shot attempts were down quite a bit, and Boston wasn’t reaching her rebounding average. She deserves credit for some strong assist games, and her defensive playmaking numbers remained impressive, but the eye test showed that something wasn’t the same for Boston. White acknowledged as much before the Fever’s game against the Mystics.
“I’m concerned; we’ve got to get [Boston] going,” she said. “We’ve got to find a way to get her some touches. She’s got to be a focal point of everything that we do.”
That night, Boston bounced back with a 7-for-9 shooting performance. She had 17 points and seven rebounds in a big win — and it’s no surprise that Boston’s best outing since the World Cup break was also the Fever’s best as a team. She is a playoff X-Factor that the team is trying to get going for the playoffs.
“I think for me, just running in transition. Trying to get early seals,” Boston said of her improved play that night. “Finishing around the rim and just taking what the defense is giving me.”
‘Rare Gems’ is out now!
Howard Megdal, founder and editor of The IX Basketball and The IX Sports, wrote this deeply reported book. “Rare Gems” follows four connected generations of women’s basketball pioneers, from Elvera “Peps” Neuman to Cheryl Reeve and from Lindsay Whalen to Sylvia Fowles and Paige Bueckers.
If you enjoy Megdal’s coverage of women’s basketball every Wednesday at The IX Sports, you will love “Rare Gems: How Four Generations of Women Paved the Way for the WNBA.”
Some concerns, some optimism
Beyond Boston, White also mentioned getting more from the bench as something that needs to happen. Between their rotational changes and general inconsistency, the Fever’s depth has come and gone this year. In the playoffs, they’ll need focused and gritty play from the likes of Johnson, Cunningham, Monique Billings, and Myisha Hines-Allen.
White also hopes to see her team get to the middle of the pack in terms of defensive efficiency. That may not sound like a noble goal, but Indiana was below average on defense this season and finished closer to 12th than seventh in defensive rating. How well they can play on the less glamorous end of the court may define their playoff ceiling.
Their ceiling also might be defined by their No. 1 offense, one that no team has been able to consistently slow down. When the Fever play with pace, Clark and Kelsey Mitchell become a near-impossible duo to stop, and that makes life easier for the rest of the roster. Those two have to be sharp come playoff time.
The Fever beat every team in the league during the regular season and proved they have an identity: up-tempo, high-scoring basketball. Leaning into their strengths in the postseason will be a must. Yet to close the season, the Fever struggled to look like … well, the Fever, and they suffered two injuries along the way. Their flow is not perfect entering the playoffs.
For the third straight season, they are the sixth overall seed. And yet, that’s the seed they were last season when they were one overtime period away from reaching the WNBA Finals. And that run happened with many hardship players heavily featured.
The Fever have experience responding to late-season injuries. Their offense is as good as it gets in the WNBA. How much their struggles from this week bleed into the playoffs will determine how much those strengths and experiences matter. It all begins on Sunday in Las Vegas against the Aces.
