The Fever is in a good place right now. They are in a position to have a winning record this season, and–if they can get the right matchup–the team even has a shot at winning a playoff series. Who would have figured that just a month or so ago?
After a 3-10 start, they were in for a long season. With everything going wrong, you wondered if head coach Christie Sides would make it through the season. Then, the Fever figured everything out, winning 12 of 18, capped off by an 84-80 victory over the Connecticut Sun on Wednesday night at Gainbridge Fieldhouse. The team is now 15-16 for the season and will likely make the playoffs starting next month.
Forget the record. Forget how many wins they have. The eye test told you everything you need to know about the growth of the Fever in their latest win. A few months ago, they wouldn’t have won Wednesday’s game.
— ””The Fever were more composed and smart to end their 11-game losing streak against the Sun. They made plays defensively, and they made timely shots. Most importantly, they did not give in when the Sun tied the game and took the lead several times in the fourth quarter. The type of win makes you think the Fever can play with any WNBA contender.
We can discuss Caitlin Clark’s impact on the Fever, such as her 19-point performance against the Sun. She also set a WNBA rookie record for 3-pointers with 88, breaking Rhyne Howard’s 85 3s in 2022. Clark was recently named the WNBA Player of the Week. The rookie averaged 18 points per game and dished out eight assists in 30 games this season.
But if we dote on her, even if it’s deserved, we would be doing her teammates an injustice. This Fever team is more than Clark—much more. Kelsey Mitchell, NaLyssa Smith, Lexi Hull, and Boston played a role in this team’s improvement, especially after the Olympic break.
— ””Clark will get the headlines for breaking an 80-80 tie with 1:27 to go, giving the Fever the lead for good, but it was Mitchell who earlier provided an answer when the Sun tied the game and took the lead. When the Sun tied it at 73 on DiJonai Carrington’s shot, Mitchell hit the jumper to give the Fever the lead again. When Alyssa Thomas hit two free throws on a shooting foul by Smith, giving the visitors a 77-75 lead, Mitchell answered right back with a 3-pointer to give the home team a 78-77 lead.
Let’s not forget Mitchell’s defense, especially her board work. This is Mitchell’s fifth straight 20+ point game (23 points). If anything, she has provided more of a scoring punch than Clark, who has decided to do the right thing in being a facilitator and putting her teammates in a position to do well rather than get hers.
Boston has made improvements. She is finally scoring from the post, and her shooting has been better. She has also dished the ball well to her teammates. Clark and Boston are just clicking by finding their spots, which puts them in a position to succeed when it comes to scoring. Her defense continues to be an attribute based on her getting loose balls and rebounds in that fourth quarter.
— ””It will be a matter of time until Boston and Clark break Tamika Catchings’ team record for Player of the Week at 22. Here’s my question: How many apiece will both have for Player of the Week when all is said and done? Clark already won once, and Boston won twice.
Smith has been known to make timely shots when she has to. That night, she was doing grunt work on defense to set up the offense.
How about Hull? She has taken advantage of the opportunity to start with Katie Lou Samuelson. She showed why she earned it with her shooting. She netted four 3-pointers and scored 17 points. She has earned Clark and Sides’ trust regarding the offense. It was only fitting she iced the game by hitting two free throws to give the Fever the win. Her offense is so good right now that we forget she did a yeoman work of rebounding the ball and extending possessions. At this point, it’s hard to see her lose her starting job with how she is playing. In other words, Samuelson has been Wally Pipped by Hull.
Looking at the box score in their win against the Sun, four Fever starters earned plusses for their work on the court. This tells you all you need to know about the improved chemistry and communication with Clark and her teammates. The offense has flowed based on unselfish ball movement with the starting five.
— ””Maybe we should have known better. It was going to take time for chemistry to form with the team. Clark had to know her teammates’ strengths and weaknesses just like they had to learn about her. It doesn’t click instantly like food coming out of a microwave. One would think we would have learned a long time ago when it took an entire season before LeBron James, Chris Bosh, and Dwyane Wade could jell as Miami Heat teammates.
We also should have been patient with Sides here. I don’t know if she is a great coach, but she deserved more than 10 or 20 games before we decided on her. She does deserve credit for getting her team to play together and, most importantly, not quitting on her when the opportunity presented itself.
It seems that patience is no longer a virtue for everyone. We want everything now, especially in this social media age. We are quick to condemn athletes in a hot-take era. Now, we can laugh about it. The Fever is in a good place right now.
They are in a position to have a winning record this season, and after what we saw Wednesday night, who wouldn’t want to see a first-round playoff series between the Sun and Fever?
