It seems like the Indiana Fever can’t keep their name off the books for long. But this time, they would have wanted to avoid it.

The Fever have now tied the record for the most losses in a season when scoring 100+ points. The record is 3 losses for the season. And we are only 15 games into the season. With the latest loss against the Atlanta Dream, Indiana is now 9-6 for the season.

The Fever dominated the game in almost all the offensive categories. They had a better FG%(55.6 vs 53.6), better 3P% (47.1 vs 38.9), and shot better from the free-throw line (79.3% vs 77.1%). However, they lost the closely contested match because of poor rebounding (25 vs 30 for the Dream) and giving away more turnovers (17 vs 12 for the Dream)

It’s quite comical how quickly things can change in this league. Just before this Atlanta Dream match, Caitlin Clark and Co. were very upbeat about their team. Clark even made a comment before the Atlanta game.

“I think there’s sometimes an overreaction,” Clark said as per ESPN… “And as players and as coaches, you can overreact, too, because you want to be perfect and you feel the pressure of the talent we do have on this team.”

“Maybe to a lot of people in the outside world, it [felt] like we’re really struggling and things are bad, but that’s not the reality of how we feel here,” she added.

So this loss will surely lead to some introspection within the Indiana camp.

The Fever team is the only team in the WNBA to have all of its 44 games broadcast. While there are obvious advantages to this, it focuses a very intense spotlight on them. In recent weeks, there have been a lot of rumours regarding their team chemistry. Coach White and Caitlin Clark were even seen in a heated exchange on the court.

Much has already been said about Indiana’s defensive woes this season. And one of the first things that is said is about the ‘Caitlin effect’. It implies that while Clark does add the offensive edge, she is a liability for the team while defending.

And teams are looking to exploit this too. For example, Clark has already faced 42 defensive isolation possessions till the end of May, the most by any player, as per Clutchpoints. The teams are increasingly looking to target Clark during the transitional play. But Clark is aware of this.

“This is a little bit more denial defense and pressure defense,” Clark said as per ESPN. “You have to be able to guard your yard to do well in this system,” referring to the style that Coach White prefers for this Indiana team.

Why Indiana’s Defensive Troubles Are More Than a One-Player Issue

It’s simply not right to blame Caitlin Clark for all of Indiana’s defensive woes. While a 9-6 record does not really spell disaster on first appearance, things are fragile behind the door.

Their defense is heavily dependent on Aliyah Boston. It seems that she is doing all the defensive heavy lifting. She leads this Indiana team in rebounds, steals, and blocks. This is way too much dependence on any one player.

They are also allowing their opponents to score freely against them. Their opponents’ average score per game is 86.7, which is the sixth worst in the league. They lost to Washington — a team that finished 2024 as the worst in the league — by blowing a game in overtime while giving up 102 points.

So it’s easy to say that Clark does not defend very well. But for a team that has championship aspirations, Indiana needs to improve much more collectively. They can’t just score freely and concede freely. They need to plug these gaps.