The Indiana Fever was truly a side that seemed threatening in the playoffs, with the potential to win the Championship even without Caitlin Clark. If only a couple of minutes had been in their favor in the semifinal game 5 against the eventual champions, the Fever would have been a serious contender against the ‘weak’ Phoenix. But moving on from the ifs and buts, Indiana did win some silverware this season: Its first Commissioners Cup. And who better than Kelsey Mitchell to talk on that matter?

Mitchell explained that it was an underrated hero who gave them the push to be here. “The social media world and the narrative is that certain people doing certain things to win Commissioner Cup is the way we won it. And I think it didn’t happen that way for us. The way we won the Commissioner Cup was Natasha Howard led us for one. Natasha Howard, who she was, she led us. She was who she was. And so the vet and she started bringing us along,” Mitchell said on “Bird’s Eye View with Sue Bird.”

As the MVP for that game, finishing with 16 points and 12 rebounds, this answer was expected. She had a modest 4 assists and 2 steals along the way, but it was her impact beyond the box score that really mattered. Yes, her defense. She locked herself up against All-WNBA player Napheesa Collier, and that practically won that game. It wasn’t always Howard’s matchup, but she and the Fever battled hard as Collier finished with only 12 points on 6-for-18 shooting in her 34 minutes.

Fever went down 20-12 in the first quarter, but that defense led by Howard brought them back in the second, restricting Minnesota to just 7 points while Fever scored 20. “I think our ability to kind of keep going and keep grinding and keep staying in it. And watching Tash kind of like keeps pulling us. And then when Sid came on the floor, when Ari came on the floor, we kept up with a pace, and so we start to compliment each other, it’s such a pivotal time.” Mitchell said further.

It was that first glimpse of that resilience and tenacity that powered them through the playoffs. Howard’s contributions have been under the scanner, but she was the rock of this team. She averaged 11.4 points and 6.6 rebounds in the regular season and 9.3 points and 6.3 rebounds in the postseason, which is again more than her career numbers but not what we saw from her in Dallas. But it was a massive change in playing style and role at the Fever. 

Howard might have fared even better if Caitlin Clark were pulling the strings from the point guard. That would have been true for almost everyone on the squad. However, they still made the best of what they had with multiple players at point guard over the course of the season. But how did they do it? Kelsey Mitchell explains the differentiating factor in their in-season signings that powered them to the playoffs. 

Kelsey Mitchell gushes on multiple point guards replacing Caitlin Clark 

The point guard position at the Indiana Fever was cursed. First, it was Caitlin Clark going in and out with soft tissue injuries before that groin shut her down for the season. Replacing her came Aari McDonald, who needed some time getting comfortable. Just as the team was getting some flow going with McDonald running things, Fever received a double blow. Both McDonald and her backup in Sydney Colson, injured themselves in the same game against Phoenix. 

After sustaining without point guards for a while, Odyssey Sims and Shey Peddy were signed to give them some respite. Both turned out to be key pieces in the process of getting to the playoffs and their success there. Kelsey Mitchell hailed praise for their in-season signings, who made their memorable season possible. 

“The one thing that I appreciated about Ariel, O (Odyssey Sims), and Shey was that whatever program that we, you know, that they saw that we had, they didn’t interrupt it. You know, they kind of just complimented it.” Mitchell said. 

All three point guards are very different players from Caitlin Clark. CC is a ball-heavy creator who scores out of her mind while also giving you a killer outside shot. No one can singularly replicate that. However, the philosophy of the team remained similar, but the responsibilities were shared to try and replicate Clark’s impact. Kelsey Mitchell upped her outside game, along with Lexie Hull and Sophie Cunningham. Aliyah Boston improved her creativity while McDonald, Sims, and Peddy brought their own flavor to this team. 

“Ariel’s ability to have energy in a room and kind of in practice was like it was a small game changer for us. And then ability to be another creator and being able to like you know draw and being able to like kind of be a great guard and compliment myself, and then Shey being able to shoot the ball and kind of see the floor as a older PG but from a mental standpoint was like small game changes and it was dope because it could have not been that way.” Mitchell concluded.

The talent ID of the Fever front office was on point this season. Almost every signing turned out to be a success. Their initial picture of what this team could be never panned out because of these continuous changes. They succeeded regardless.

But now, there is no guarantee that any of the signings will find their way back to the Indiana Fever. Still, with this performance, they have sent a message across the league regarding their talent. With the league expanding in teams and probably in rosters (CBA situation is still murky), Odyssey Sims, Shey Peddy, and Aari McDonald should find a place on a WNBA roster.