Fever go all-in for first home playoff game since 2016 — and it’s a must-win
For the first time since Tamika Catchings’ farewell in 2016, the Fever host a playoff game — and must beat the Atlanta Dream to extend their season.
There’s a playoff Fever in downtown Indianapolis.
The organization is going all-in for Game 2 on Tuesday at Gainbridge Fieldhouse
There will be a pre-game party held outside the arena at Morris Bicentennial Plaza starting at 5 p.m.
Red t-shirts that read “Now You Know” are on every seat.
The team will wear their black Stranger Things alternate uniforms.
Wynonna Judd will sing the National Anthem.
DJ Kool will perform at halftime.
The game tips at 7:30 p.m. ET and will air on ESPN.
and Damiris Dantas (concussion protocol) will miss her second straight game.
Why are they making the extra effort, taking it to another level?
The short answer: it’s been a while. Let’s get into it…
Fever Back Home Again
The game night special was a Tamika Catchings shooting shirt.
The announced attendance was 6,282.
And Brittney Griner was on the Phoenix Mercury.
That was back on Sept. 21, 2016 — the last time the Indiana Fever hosted a playoff game.
Tuesday night will be a special one for basketball fans in Indiana as the Fever host their first playoff game since 2016, which was a one-off game against the Mercury.
They lost, so you have to go back one year earlier — now one decade ago — for the last time the franchise won a playoff game. That 2015 team reached the WNBA Finals with first-year head coach Stephanie White, who is back at the helm of the program this season.
One year ago, White coached the Connecticut Sun and they swept the Fever in two games — both played at Mohegan Sun Arena. Despite having the best attendance in the league and selling out nearly every game (17,000 strong), the Fever reached the playoffs but did not get a home game.
“We’re all disappointed,” Lin Dunn said after a 2-0 sweep by the Connecticut Sun. She was the team’s GM then, now remains around often as a team consultant.
“Our players deserve a chance to play at home. And so that's something the league has got to address. When you earn a berth in the playoffs, you at least have earned one home game. So I'm gonna be campaigning to make sure this doesn't happen again. We deserve to have home games, our fans did.”
The 2024 Fever season ended on Sept. 25 last year and two weeks later, the WNBA announced that the Board of Governors had approved a 1-1-1 setup for the first around, along with a best-of-seven for the finals.
They acted swiftly after consultation with league presidents, GMs, head coaches, and the competition committee.
“Our fans are gonna always be behind us no matter what,” said Natasha Howard. “They've been there since day one. Even through our ups and downs, our wins, our losses, everything. And we're excited to have a game at home and our fans behind us cheering us on.”
That 2016 home game was memorable, too, when considering just how much has changed. Starting with it being the final game for Hall of Famer Tamika Catchings.
Also, look around at the crowd. That was normal. A curtain hung around the balcony to block it off. There couldn’t have been more than 5,000 fans.
You see Griner, now with the Dream, on the far left.
You see Briann January, now a Fever assistant coach, on the far right.
And Maj Forsberg, who officiated Game 1 in Atlanta, was part of the three-person crew.
During a Fever season that has featured unprecedented injuries to the point where their backup big, Damiris Dantas, suffered a concussion days before the playoff series, really hammers home the point.
She was one of six Fever players not in uniform but there in Atlanta to support the team and contribute in any way possible — from saying something in a huddle, pointing something out to a teammate, or getting on the officials.
Now Stephanie White has a decade of head-coaching experience. She’s helped the Fever navigate choppy waters.
“It's gonna be huge,” White said of getting a home game. “I think our fans deserve an opportunity to see a playoff game. Secondly, it's something that we've been talking about in the league for a long time — certain balance and equity and being able to give everybody a home game in the playoffs. So I think it's exciting. I think it's exciting for our players. I know it's exciting for our fans.”
Expectations for the season had to be altered a month into the season after DeWanna Bonner, who played in that 2016 game, wanted out and the team was already managing injuries to multiple players.
Caitlin Clark, Sophie Cunningham, Dantas.
No matter how Tuesday goes, their resilience and mental fortitude will be remembered.
Let’s Not Forget…
There is a game to be played.
This team didn’t roll over and look ahead to whatever was next when the hits kept coming during the regular season, so there’s no reason to expect that now.
No, now they’re going to rally around one another to extend this season.
“And one of the things I always like to talk about with the teams as well is, you're only guaranteed now a limited time with this group,” White said before the series. “This group is never gonna be the same. Most of the time in professional sports it's not. And so enjoying this moment, enjoying one another, this is a really connected group. And being able to put yourself in a position to play together for as long as you can.
Added guard Lexie Hull, who is fully expected to return next season: “I think we believe in each other 100%. We believe that we can surprise some people. And regardless of who we're playing, we're gonna be prepared and we're gonna put our best foot forward. And I can guarantee you we're all gonna have 100% effort. That's all we can focus on is controlling what we can control. And that's supporting each other, being there for each other, and putting our best foot forward.”
The Fever are down 1-0 in the best-of-three series so Tuesday is a must-win to extend their season.
“It's gonna be a gut-check win if we wanna win,” said Kelsey Mitchell. “You're gonna check your gut every possession. I think it's just about, it sounds crazy, but who got it more? Who's gonna dig deeper? Who's gonna take the extra punch, the extra step? The extra 50/50, the extra everything is important going into Tuesday.”
The Dream will lean on their size, length, and interior play. The Fever need to shoot it better — and surely won’t miss 13 of 15 3-point attempts again. Regardless, it’s going to be a physical matchup, just as it was during the regular season. So how will they respond?
“I think there's things that we're able to watch and film on how to handle that better — not letting the refs determine how that physically is impacting us, but just continuing to play through that,” Hull said. “It's definitely something we're gonna have to work on and watch film and get better at, but that's part of playoffs.”
The Fever need to string together stops and get quickly to the other end. They want to play fast, score in fast break, and make it more of a track meet rather than play from the inside. That’s how they had success early in Game 1.
How the game is officiated — what is allowed and what’s not — will also play a big factor. The Fever are more finesse than pound away at it in the post.
They are at home and will have 17,000+ fans behind them, but that won’t be enough. Now they must respond, hit all the right notes, and do it for 40 minutes because their margin for error simply isn’t there.
“We surprise people, we won games that we weren't expected to win,” added Hull. “And at the end of the day, in our locker room, we believe we can beat anybody. So we're just excited about the opportunity.”
Watch my postgame recap of Game 1 from College Park: