INDIANAPOLIS — The Indiana Fever have won four of their last five games, including an ongoing three-game winning streak. A team meeting earlier this month helped the group notch their best win of the season — a comfortable 12-point victory over the Atlanta Dream — just 12 days ago. Things seem to be heading in the right direction for the Fever.
In most ways, they are. The team is not where it wants to be right now but is, to use head coach Stephanie White‘s term, stacking days to get there. Yet even within their four-wins-in-five-games stretch, some concerning trends keep showing up that the Fever are looking to address.
Of that, three stand out in particular, with one rearing its ugly head in the team’s most recent win. On paper, Indiana walked out of Connecticut for the final time with a 10-point win over the Sun. The game will be remembered for its 85-75 final score. But it wasn’t easy for the Fever, who led by just two points with 2:07 on the clock in the fourth quarter. Sophie Cunningham slammed the door with 11 points in just over 100 seconds to seal the win, but that shouldn’t have been needed.
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The Fever keep blowing big leads
Just before halftime of that game between the Indiana Fever and Connecticut Sun, the Fever led by 11. Their lead was nine at halftime. They were on pace to win by about 20, a reasonable result for a contender against a two-win team.
Instead, with 8:20 on the clock in the fourth quarter, Connecticut led 65-64. The Fever held on to win, and one game like that would not cause concern. But it continued a trend. It was the fourth game in a row in which the Fever blew a double-digit lead.
“At times, we let one mistake balloon into two,” star guard Caitlin Clark said. “That’s probably the area we need to grow in the most.”
Indiana’s previous game was against the Chicago Sky. They led by 19 at 35-16 during the second quarter. That game went to overtime, and Chicago’s lead reached six points in the second half. The Fever did win, but they had a long stretch of poor play.
Before that? More of the same. The Fever were in Washington to take on the Mystics, and they held a 17-point advantage in the third quarter. Their edge was 12 with 13 minutes to go. And yet, in the final minute, the Mystics took the lead twice.
Clark drilled a three just before the final buzzer and all was forgotten for a moment. The Fever did win. But all of their most recent games have been the same: Build a big lead, lose it late, then summon another gear to win. That inconsistency needs to be fixed, and it won’t fly against better opponents.
The Fever found that out four games ago when they were in New York battling the Liberty. With 2:30 to go the third quarter, the scoreboard showed Fever 57, Liberty 45. A 12-point edge for the visitors with the game nearing its end.
After 12 minutes of game action, New York was up 11 at 81-70. It was a 36-13 run in total, and that time the Fever lost. They weren’t able to heroically come back after blowing a big lead, more evidene that they need to figure out their issues when it comes to in-game consistency and playing from ahead.
“It’s been the same thing. A little bit of a dip in intensity. A little bit of a dip in execution,” White said of the blown leads. “It’s urgency. Maintaining a sense of urgency in what we do… we can’t relax.”
That quote came after the aforementioned win against the Sky, a telling game for no-good trend number two the Fever are facing. White actually touched on it postgame.
“We are at our best when we play with pace. We can’t play with pace if we’re constantly taking the ball out of the net and if we’re fouling. We gave them 38 free throw attempts,” she said.
The Fever can’t stop fouling
The Indiana Fever are currently comitting 23.9 fouls per game, the highest number in the league. Naturally, with two overtime games under their belt, per-game numbers are imperfect. Their league-leading pace means more possessions, and more chances to foul, in a game. But their fouls per minute number still ranks above all other teams, just barely higher than the likes of the Sun and Portland Fire.
In 12 of the Fever’s 13 games, they’ve fouled more than 20 times. When they’ve been whistled for fewer than 24 in a game, they’re 4-0. It’s an issue for the team and one they know that they have to clean up.
“We be fouling. We have to learn how to defend without fouling. I think that’s just the biggest thing,” veteran forward Myisha Hines-Allen said before a practice last week. Then, her answered faded away and her mind reacted to the question. “Dang, we lead the league in fouls? That’s bad. That’s bad,” she said.
Hines-Allen said her own foul numbers are because of her physical play style. The whole team is working on improving on that end of the floor and cutting down on the hacking. “That’s something we want to be known for is defense and being a great defensive team. And I think that we have the pieces to do so,” Hines-Allen added.
Of note, the Fever are fifth in shooting fouls committed per game and third in loose ball fouls per contest. They’re second in non-charge offensive fouls and tied for second in charges, both on a per-game basis (all numbers per pbpstats). That’s all to say that a big reason their foul numbers rank above their competition is because of hustle, bang-bang plays more than defensive errors. Some corrections can be made, but if the Fever want to play fast and tough, whistles are going to come.
Still, getting this number down is a focus, especially with the team ranking 14th in turnovers per game. They’re beating themselves in those ways.
The Fever are still getting their stars to perfectly gel
In the aforementioned Indiana Fever win over Connecticut, they crushed the Sun with all of their stars on the floor. When Clark, Kelsey Mitchell, and Aliyah Boston were all on the court together, the Fever were +18. They were -8 when they had two or fewer of those players in the game.
That was a good sign for the Fever, because one stat that does not match the eye test pertains to those three players. They are all suprememly talented. The team’s best lineups feature all three of them. Across 2024 and 2025, Indiana carried a +2.71 net rating with the trio on the court together, per pbpstats. In 2025, that figure was better than +11.
Clark’s 2025 injury is of note here. It blurs these numbers to some extent as the team played 29 of their 44 games without her that season. But the 2025 team also had success in lineups featuring just Mitchell and Boston — they were +6.35 points per 100 possessions with that duo on the court and Clark sidelined. The Fever had to change their play style to play off of those two stars after Clark went down, and it worked (But, of course, it didn’t work as well as when they had all three players available and sharing the hardwood).
This year, though, the Fever have shifted back to having all three on the floor. And that hasn’t been seamless. “Our big three are learning to play together again with Caitlin missing as much time as she did a year ago,” White said before the Fever palyed the Mystics this month. “And finding a flow does take time. Especially when Kelsey and Aliyah had the ball in their hands so much a year ago.”
After their win over the Sun, the Fever’s net rating with all of their big three on the floor is in the positive, per pbpstats (the minutes column on that data is clearly broken, but the net rating numbers match other sources including databallr). Still, that net rating number is just +0.95 with all three on the court.
When it’s been just Mitchell and Clark, the Fever have outscored opponents by 18.6 points per 100 possessions this season. Mitchell and Boston together is at +14.1. All three players are so talented that these combinations should work incredibly well. But the trio altogehter is still finding their way.
“I think just sometimes making on-time, on-target passes. But I feel like for the most part, we have it,” Boston said of the big three getting used to playing all together again. They’ve shared the court for just over 200 minutes this season — both Clark and Boston missed one game. “It’s just about making sure that each possession, we figure out what we want to do in that situation based on how (the opponent is) guarding. But I feel like we’re finding our groove.”
White said that those three players gelling again will happen organically. She also pointed to being on time with passes, actions, and reads as being key to their success. Rhythm is a big part of that, and it comes with reps.
“I think when you see us find continuity, you’ll see what seems to be easier shot opportunities and better shot quality,” White said to finish her earlier thought before Fever vs Mystics.
And so, to this point, the Indiana Fever have had some high quality wins (Dream and Valkyries), some forgettable losses (Mystics and Fire), and many games in between. They’re still searching for consistency. Once their stars gel, things will look much better.
In the meantime, keeping fouls down and playing just a bit better with big lead would go a long way as the Fever chase their big goals.
