Indiana Fever grateful for mental reset, practice time after brutal schedule to start WNBA season
The Fever had two days off this week after playing a league-high 11 games in 20 days. Then, they got back to work for their first full speed practices since training camp. Watch for yourself.
Like a kid on the final day of school, the Indiana Fever couldn’t wait to get home and do very little for several days.
They had to wait a month — following camp practices, two preseason games and then 11 games in 20 days — but they returned to town after their loss Sunday in New York … and then it was on.
“I don't know if I've experienced anything like it ever in my 12 years of coaching in this league,” head coach Christie Sides said. “Just that grind of a schedule. And two back-to-backs against the two best teams in the league at the end, it’s just tough.”
The team had Monday and Tuesday off, free to spend how they liked. Kelsey Mitchell went to see family. Erica Wheeler quit answering her phone, even for family, and relaxed. Caitlin Clark focused on recovery. It was a reset for everyone.
“Just getting away from basketball a little bit and getting some sleep, getting some rest, taking care of my body, and then getting back in the gym, working on my shot,” Clark said.
The Fever are better than their 2-9 record. They’ve already played the top teams at least twice, and the New York Liberty three times. Because the WNBA and its partners wanted to maximize TV ratings and interest, they showcased Clark and the Fever at every time possible. They’ve already had two games moved from NBA TV to ESPN.
Because no matter the Fever’s record, millions are watching. Nine of their first 11 games were sellouts. Several teams have already set new franchise records for single-game attendance. And the Fever have surpassed last year’s total attendance number in less than a month.
And beyond the tough schedule, they’ve been in the spotlight and at the center of basketball discourse. Clark is the most talked about player in the WNBA; she’s a needle-mover.
“I feel like we haven't had a chance to take a deep breath yet,” said Wheeler, a nine-year vet. “And I think this week has kinda let us take a full deep breath and just put everything in perspective. And also I think what's important is that we have grace.
“I think it's more mentally draining than physically, honestly. Because at the end of the day, you're competitive. And your mindset, when you don't see wins calculating, it kinda messes your brain a little bit. We have a job to do and have to flip the page very quickly.”
Players focused on their own needs the first few days. Some still came to the gym to get work in, others enjoyed the downtime and staying off their feet.
“Honestly, it hasn’t even been about basketball,” Wheeler continued. “It's just really about like take a break, take a breather, rest. Stay off social media, don't be in the gym. Like really take the break so you can really feel refreshed when it's time to get back in the gym.”
Practice resumed on Wednesday, the first of two days in a row at full speed and able to focus on things that they hadn’t been able to — a combination of reviewing and experimenting.
“You get to fix all the things that you can't get right,” Sides said. “You can't get right just watching video. You can’t just walk through things and get better. So just being able to do things live changes the game.”
Up until now, they had only had morning shootarounds and walk-throughs.
“Transition defense is one that we can really work on right now because we have some time,” Sides explained. “Also, we did a lot of breakdowns as a place to keep the ball in front of us, dribble penetrations. We're putting our posts in some tough situations having to help so much so we've got to do a much better job of keeping the ball in front.”
The good news is that they got out of that torturous schedule with just one injury — to forward Temi Fagbenle. Clark is better, though her hearing is not 100% back after taking a hit in New York. And center Aliyah Boston came through all right after finishing the game in the locker room due to a left ankle sprain.
“We've done some small-group stuff, too, working on, some breakdown things that we need to get better at, “Clark detailed, “whether it's ball-screen stuff, whether it's defensively. So it's been nice to be able to go hard in those areas…
“To be able to go up and down and to actually play live and see how things are working and try new things, try new plays, go over plays that maybe have worked or maybe haven't worked and get better defensively has been huge for us.”
Clark already noticed an improvement in team chemistry from their few days together, and said it’ll continue to grow — leading to a stronger and more reliable connection on the court. Like they’re AT&T or something.
After practice on Wednesday, Sides’ message to the team was “That was a hell of a practice.”
On Thursday, it was a reset of expectations. The focus is on the playoffs, even just 27% of the way into their season. And despite their 2-9 start, they’re just two wins out of a playoff spot. Sides didn’t want her team to forget that as they begin this new stretch of games — starting Friday against winless Washington (0-10).
“I think we really came to work these past two days,” Samuelson added. “We really tried to get better, build on some things, actually wrap a lot of stuff that's happening to us in the game. So it was nice to be able to break it down and just see the correct spots and like build on it rather than just, okay, we'll announce the next play in the game.”
Mitchell added: “I think everything will slow itself down if we mentally just take a breath. And I think for my team, I try to be the person that's going to be, ‘Hey, take some time for yourself. Get what you need. And then when the team needs you, you can answer the bill.’
“So the mindset is for us to be clear here to go and compete on the floor.”
The game Friday in Washington was moved to Capital One Arena to accommodate ticket demands because of Clark, just like what happened in Los Angeles and Las Vegas previously.
Clark, like most of the team, was running on fumes in Sunday's blowout loss. She scored three points and was 1 of 10 from the floor. She’s a competitor so it was right back to the gym to shoot around. But she’s also having to adapt quickly — to her new team, the physicality, and getting the most attention each game from opponents.
“They’re in my space all the time, they're not going to help off of me and (all) just really great defenders,” added Clark, the WNBA's Rookie of the Month for May. “ So I'm still trying to learn and navigate that — setting up cuts, using cuts, using screens better, making better reads out of ball screens. I think it's just all those little things that will come with time. I'm trying to learn on the fly, too, so I’m giving myself a little grace.
“But also, I feel like I've already learned a bunch through the first 11 games, and I feel like you can see that, and it's only going to continue to improve.”
