INDIANAPOLIS – The Indiana Fever could never really find a rhythm against the Dallas Wings on Tuesday night.
It was a physical game with inconsistent officiating — something Fever coach Stephanie White called out postgame.
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On top of that, too, the Fever’s disorganized play mostly stemmed from their lack of an established point guard, leading to an 81-80 loss.
“I think the physicality level was a little bit different on both sides of the ball, but for us, really, I think it’s got to be our focus to make sure that we’re connected on that end,” Fever center Aliyah Boston said. “Making sure that we’re in the right places for passes, and just being more conscious of us having that ball.”
Indiana came out of its Aug. 7 game against Phoenix with no healthy point guards. Caitlin Clark has been out since July 15 with a right groin injury with no timetable for return, and both Sydney Colson and Aari McDonald, the Fever’s backup point guards, left that game with season-ending injuries. Colson tore her left ACL and McDonald broke a bone in her foot, leaving the Fever suddenly without any point guards with a game less than a day away.
“Obviously the two (injuries) at once, and knowing that your second and third point guard in that situation that are out, it was more of a ‘you got to be kidding me’ kind of thing,” White said pregame.
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Indiana managed against Chicago on Aug. 9, using Kelsey Mitchell as an emergency point guard. She played well in that role, scoring 26 points and a season-high eight assists in a 22-point win.
But playing a physical team like Dallas exposed new challenges for Indiana on Tuesday night. Challenges that stem from not having a point guard that can effectively run the offense.
Of course, that’s not the Fever’s fault; they can’t plan for two season-ending injuries to their two healthy point guards in the same game. Indiana signed a player on hardship as soon as possible, bringing in point guard Odyssey Sims on Sunday — the Fever couldn’t sign her earlier, as McDonald and Colson needed to miss a game before Indiana became eligible for hardship.
But that also meant Sims had just one day to get acclimated with the Fever’s playbooks and rotations. She learned a simplified version of Indiana’s playbook, emphasizing their most-run and effective plays for her first minutes in a Fever uniform on Tuesday night.
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“We’re working Odyssey into what we do, but still, it’s tough,” White said. “Because point guards are the ones who get you organized.”
Sims ended up playing 13 minutes, going 0-of-4 from the floor with two assists, as White opted to play Mitchell and Sophie Cunningham, who have advanced knowledge of the playbook, as emergency point guards again.
But Dallas’ defense was different from Chicago’s. The Wings were able to poke holes in that disorganized offense, forcing 17 Fever turnovers and scoring 27 points off those miscues.
“There were times where we were organized, there were times where we were over-dribbling, got away from our off ball actions, and went straight to trying to go 1-on-1, and that’s when we’re not successful, or as successful as we can be,” White said. “We got a little tunnel vision there, and that’s where I say that we did some uncharacteristic things.”
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It was a winnable game for the Fever, even with their injury woes; they had already beaten the Wings three times this season. More importantly, it was a game that was crucial for the upcoming push to the playoffs. Indiana had a relatively easy schedule over the next week, playing Dallas on Tuesday, Washington on Friday and Connecticut on Sunday — all teams currently out of the playoff picture.
Even with the shuffling because of injuries, this is the week the Fever need to create any kind of crucial separation in the standings. After this week, Indiana has a tougher schedule to end the season with three games against the league-leading Minnesota Lynx and another three-game West Coast road trip.
This loss pushed Indiana down to sixth, breaking a tie with the Las Vegas Aces for fifth place. If the Fever want to finish the season with a favorable spot in the standings, they need to start with winning those winnable games.
Chloe Peterson is the Indiana Fever beat reporter for IndyStar. Reach her at capeterson@gannett.com or follow her on X at @chloepeterson67. Get IndyStar’s Indiana Fever and Caitlin Clark coverage sent directly to your inbox with our Caitlin Clark Fever newsletter.
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Without an established point guard, disconnected Fever fall to Wings
