Known for her defensive prowess, there could not be a better coach than Stephanie White to fix the defensive woes in Indiana. With Caitlin Clark running at the front, offense has rarely been a problem for the Fever, but defensively, Indiana was the second-worst WNBA team last season. So, when White, who coached the best defensive team last year, took over, she was straightforward with her mission to turn around the Fever’s defense. Interestingly, it was White’s Connecticut Sun that beat the Fever in the first round of the playoffs.

“The first emphasis is defense, really, and making sure that we understand the expectation on that end of the floor,” White said before the regular season kicked off. “How we want to play, the physicality with which we want to play, the mindset, how we want to be on the defensive end of the floor.”

Well, coming into the 2025 season, the Fever seemed to have dealt with their defensive woes, bringing in veterans like DeWanna Bonner and Natasha Howard. Plus, they have an improved Aliyah Boston to further reinforce their defense. The new coach, White, almost ticked all the boxes to get rid of Indiana’s defensive concerns. But some things you can’t avoid, as one former basketball player turned national analyst has pointed out the exact fatal flaw, putting the Fever’s WNBA fate in danger.

Rachel A. DeMita said on her YouTube Channel, “I even tweeted a few days ago after the Indiana Fever went up against the Atlanta Dream in that first game and I saw how Britney Griner was playing. I tweeted and I said, Jonquel Jones is going to have a field day with the Indiana Fever if they don’t make defensive adjustments.”

Jones certainly enjoyed her time on the court against the Indiana Fever, scoring a team-high 26 points along with 12 rebounds and 3 assists. Her physicality proved to be a major problem for Fever, who were outmatched. Jones powered the Liberty to a fourth-quarter comeback, scoring 14  in the final 10 minutes. But why was Jones able to dominate so much?

De Mita further said, “I think overall they did well defending her but she did exactly what I thought she was going to do with the Fever being undersized.”

Earlier, it was Brittney Griner dominating the post play, and now it was Jones, who is one of the best centers in the league. She was effortlessly receiving those lobs near the rim and fully utilizing her physical superiority to swat away Indiana defenders. At 6’6, she is taller than every Fever player, with the only player touching 6’5 being Aliyah Boston, who did her best to keep Jones at bay, but she found her way. The size problem is something White will have to get around with her tactics. 

With Caitlin Clark sidelined for two weeks, more cracks are starting to show in the Fever’s armor. Her absence not only strips Indiana of its top perimeter threat but also takes a major creative engine off the floor. Clark’s ability to stretch defenses, create off the dribble, and draw attention far beyond the arc is a key part of what opens up the floor for Aliyah Boston and the rest of the offense. Without her, the spacing tightens, shot creation becomes more laborious, and defenses will be far more comfortable collapsing in the paint. So, Aliyah Boston will have to take more responsibility on both ends of the court. 

Indiana Fever let their control go against the Liberty 

It was not only the physical dominance of Jonquel Jones that lost the Fever the game, but also their tendency to switch off for moments. At one point, Fever were leading by 12 early in the fourth quarter, and it seemed they would take the game further away,y but the opposite happened. 

Clark and Co. let the liberty come back in the game. Rallying that comeback was, of course, Jonquel Jones again but they let a championship-winning team dictate play when they were trailing and that was criticized by De Mita as well. 

She said, “You can’t let the New York Liberty go on big runs. This is a championship team; they know how to play from behind, and they know how to win games, like you can’t play around with that.”

It’s not only Liberty that could take advantage of such blank periods. Going forward, the Fever need to be on their game for the entire period. That tendency to let go a bit when you are leading will prove fatal if they don’t fix it soon. Their mental state will certainly be affected with Clark out so they will need to be extra careful and put in 200% effort into every game, as they don’t have the individual brilliance of Clark for the next couple of weeks. De Mita further mentioned that Fever should have closed out this game. 

She said, “There was no reason, with the kind of lead that the Indiana Fever had with only a few minutes left in the game that they should have lost this game.”

Next up for the Indiana Fever: the Connecticut Sun — and on paper, it looks like a winnable matchup. Coming off a hard-fought, high-level battle against the defending champions, the Fever have proven they can hang with elite competition. That experience should give them confidence heading into this next test, even without Caitlin Clark.

With Clark sidelined, Sophie Cunningham is expected to slide into the starting lineup, likely taking on lead guard duties to stabilize the offense early. While she’s more of a natural off-ball player, her toughness and shooting could help maintain floor spacing. Sydney Colson is also set to see increased minutes off the bench, bringing energy, speed, and veteran savvy as the game progresses.