Fever never found rhythm in choppy game, loss to Las Vegas Aces
The Fever are 19-18 heading into their final game of the season against Las Vegas. "We got to be intentional with everything we do going into Friday and we can’t play around it."
The Indiana Fever were back at it Wednesday for their fourth game of a six-game homestand that will allow for them to be in their own beds for 16 days. And they’re playing back-to-back games against the champs.
The Las Vegas Aces are visiting for their only time this season.
The Fever were handled by the Aces (23-13) in their first two meetings, but both were a long time ago. You have to go back to the first couple weeks of the season and then to early July. Both meetings were before the Olympic break, and the Fever are a much different (and better) team.
They have a better understanding of each other, better chemistry, and most of all, most of them are playing more confidently. The Aces are also healthier even though forward A’ja Wilson was questionable leading up until game time.
Both organizations have clinched playoff spots, but seeding is still unsettled. Best of all, it’s a two-game mini series so the Fever are approaching it like the playoffs — something most of the team has never experienced.
The Fever jumped ahead 7-0, which prompted Aces head coach Becky Hammon to use a timeout less than one minute into the game. Then, after starting 0-7 from the field, they got going on the back of Wilson, who drained four straight 18-footers from straight on. That was an adjustment the Fever were slow to make.
The Fever (19-18) trailed by two after 1 and then by nine points at halftime. They kept it close throughout — which, by some, would be a victory considering where this franchise was previously — but ultimately, they didn’t play well enough offensively in a 86-75 loss.
“I thought the game felt very choppy,” said Caitlin Clark. “It didn't feel like there was any moments where the crowd could get into it, where we could really get into a flow.
“Especially with the type of defense they’re going to play, they’re going to be physical and they’re going to be in your space so we have to set new screens better.”
They shot below 27% from distance and Clark was kept to 16 points, her lowest output since July 2nd — when these teams last played. She was 6 of 22 from the field and 1 of 10 from the 3-point arc. (Those 22 field goal attempts are a career high.)
“If you go back and look at (Clark’s shots), they all hit the front of the rim, and I think that overtime game the other night, there were times they looked really tired,” said head coach Christie Sides. “When your shots are falling short like that, that’s just a huge indication of that.”
Everything was difficult, everything was challenged, and the Aces never let up on the pressure applied.
“Obviously a tough night shooting the ball,” Clark said afterward. “It's gonna happen. It's basketball. One of those nights, overall, I didn't feel like I played bad. As a group, we really struggled to make shots that we had been making really since the start of the second half, and sometimes that's basketball.
“They’re a great defensive team. You know they're gonna be physical with me. They're strong so that can kind of wear you down through the process of game.”
Clark and the Fever just never found an offensive rhythm.
“I felt like we kept the ball on one side of the floor a lot more than we needed to,” Sides said after the game, before being able to watch the video. “A lot of times, if they were in a pick-and-roll, they read it and she got it to AB (Aliyah Boston) or that post, and we were looking to go right back to the same side and not get the ball to the opposite side.
“That’s going to be Kelsey probably. So we just need to do a better job of getting to that second and third side, making them work a little bit harder.”
The Aces have had the best gameplay to guard Clark. But they also have a lot of talent, that’s number one. They were throwing different bodies at her throughout the game, starting with gold medalist and former Indiana Miss Basketball Jackie Young. They were being very physical and that bothered her, especially with the way the game was officiated.
When Clark would retaliate and be physical back, she was called for a couple offensive fouls. She did not draw a technical, but it’s something she has to be mindful of with five techs this season with three games remaining. The Aces did the best job of defending Clark that we've seen all season.
Added Clark: “They're all really good defenders, they’re physical and strong. The offensive fouls are definitely surprising at times. I feel like I do get held and get quite a bit of contact throughout the games and then you get hit with some of those (fouls) when you take contact and give contact back. It is what it is. I don't know, apparently they see something different…
“It worked, but that's what I should expect at this point. That's kind of what every team does. I think I can use my quickness a little bit better.”
Impressively, the game drew another sellout crowd of 17,274 despite it being Wednesday night. And now on a school night, the place was filled from top to bottom. But they didn’t see a a great performance from the Fever, not like we have seen here in recent weeks.
“It's not all bad,” said veteran guard Kelsey Mitchell, who led the Fever with 24 points. “I think that, considering when we used to play the Vegas Aces, especially this year alone … hats off to our group because we’ve come along in a lot of different ways on both ends of the floor. And if we could have gotten an extra possession here and there offensively, of course I think we would have had a better position and you guys would get what you usually see.”
The Aces have so much experience and talent, plus they’re back-to-back champions. And they’re led by likely three-time WNBA MVP A’ja Wilson who finished with 27 points and 12 rebounds. She’s a nearly impossible cover — and she asserted her dominance very early.
The Fever are not practicing on Thursday — it’s a rest day for most — but they will review the film and get individual work in before Friday’s rematch.
Fatigue is very real with the starters considering the minutes they’re being asked to play. Clark would have played all 40 if not for taking herself out of the game around the four-minute mark of the opening period.
The Fever are also getting a first-hand look at how there’s levels to this, and they still have a ways to go to reach contender status. This is Year 2 of the Fever’s rebuild.
“I think the one thing I saw from (the Aces) down to stretch was a dog mentality to get the next stop,” said Mitchell. “We had made a really good run down the stretch of the game and I think they turned it on during that timeout. And I think that great teams turn into a different person, a different beast, a different group, when you come out of ATOs (after timeout plays) and when you do certain things. They came out of that timeout and went on another run.”
The Fever continue to need more from their bench, something that will be addressed in the offseason. Two Aces players outscored the entire Fever bench (11 points). They need more from Erica Wheeler and Katie Lou Samuelson. And Kristy Wallace, who started in 15 games, played for the first time in a few weeks due to foul trouble to Lexie Hull.
“We got to be intentional with everything we do going into Friday and we can’t play around it,” Mitchell continued. “I think that we all lapsed and we took whatever they gave us, and we didn’t have to. … We can’t take anything, we have to punch first and when they do punch back, we got to be able to stand up and get back to it.”
More from Clark: “I still feel like we haven't really given them the best that we have so I think Friday is a great opportunity for us to do that.”
There’s just two more home games before Indiana concludes the regular season in one week in Washington DC. And the Fever know they still have a lot more room to grow.
Other Notes
In the stands: Tyrese Haliburton, Myles Turner, Jarace Walker, Tamika Cathcings, Erin Phillips, Iowa women’s basketball coaching staff, former Iowa coach Lisa Bluder, Darius Rucker, Chuck Pagano.
Clark and Mitchell became the first teammates in WNBA history to each record 100 made 3-point field goals in the same season.
The Fever have set a new home attendance record with more than 300,000 fans — and there’s still two games to go. Almost every game has been a sellout.
With Seattle’s win on Wednesday, the Fever are tracking to be the No. 6 seed (like the Pacers were) and play either Minnesota or Connecticut. Remember, their first two games of the best-of-three series will be on the road.
Aces guard Jackie Young — from Princeton, Ind. — had dozens of fans in the crowd and she spent time with them afterward.
Unfortunately, games like last night will happen. It will be a good learning experience. The game also highlighted the inconsistencies with the officiating. Both the WNBA and the NBA need to get the offensive initiated contact under control.