Last season, the Indiana Fever were knocking on the WNBA Finals door even without Caitlin Clark for most of the season and the entire playoffs. It was perhaps a peek into their depth and head coach Stephanie White’s elite coaching. This season, the Fever have a better team, and Clark is healthy to play in the playoffs, unless a tragedy strikes them. However, there are still areas where Indiana needs to take a deeper look, according to WNBA analyst Erica L. Ayala.
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“I think you really have to look at what this team is doing as far as defense and overall taking care of the ball,” Ayala said on the latest episode of the ‘We Need to Talk’ podcast.
“When it comes to turnovers, they are in the top three, which is not where you want to be for turnovers per game. And so, it’s about making sure they’re making crisp passes, making the right decisions at the right time in the game.”
According to StatMuse, the Fever are ranked sixth in the league in total turnovers, averaging 13.4 turnovers per game. Among the playoff teams, they have the third-highest total, behind the Washington Mystics and the New York Liberty. Ball protection and defense take a significantly higher position when it comes to the playoffs.
Playoffs need experience and the presence of a veteran guard who can take care of the ball when teams increase ball pressure. The Fever don’t have many options in the area. Lexie Hull plays that role from time to time. According to Ayala, the pressure will eventually fall on head coach Stephanie White.
“I’m also lumping in game knowing the game situation and having the level head to be able to execute. And so, some of that’s going to really fall heavily on Stephanie White as the coach. So, that’s what I want to see them be able to improve upon.”
Clark leads the Fever’s ball handling. As elite as she is on offense in scoring and creating easy shots for her teammates, she continues to deal with turnover issues. She has by far committed the most turnovers (161) this season, averaging 4.6 per game.
Moreover, the Fever have yet another concern. Indiana is 11th in the league in defensive rating this season. They are not among the top five teams in any of the major defensive stats. They are 13th overall in steals, ninth in rebounds, and 10th in blocks. So besides having the third-highest turnover rate among the playoff teams, their defensive rating is also the worst among this year’s WNBA title contenders. Last season, they had a better defensive rating (102.7) than this season (109.3).
And this is not a new problem, as Caitlin Clark herself acknowledged the shortcoming all the way back in May of this year.
“Our biggest room for improvement is when things aren’t going well, we still need to be able to defend and get stops,” she said following a clash with the Washington Mystics.
Analyst Rachel DeMita had also criticized the Fever’s defense back then.
“(The defense) wasn’t setting good screens, including Aliyah Boston. Like, there was a time Caitlin Clark was coming off of a high double stagger screen. Neither one of those players set a good screen. Did nothing for the defense. Like, the defense got straight through them.”
Yet months down the line and with the regular season nearing its end, Indiana is yet to properly address their defensive shortcomings.
Thankfully, the Fever are leading the league offensively with 96.6 points per game with is more than the league leaders, the Minnesota Lynx. Moreover, they lead the league in most of the scoring categories, including field goal percentage (48.9) and 3-point shooting (39.5).
Indiana is also led by two of the league’s best scorers. Kelsey Mitchell (24.8 points) and Clark (22.1 points) are second and third in the league in scoring. Clark also leads the league in assists (8.3).
Overall, the Fever’s elite offense has been their strongest shield throughout the season. However, the biggest question is: will it sustain in the playoffs when games slow down and teams execute more physical defense?