INDIANAPOLIS – Stephanie White didn’t have any plan to rest her players in the final game of the regular season.
The Indiana Fever clinched a playoff on Sunday with a win over the Washington Mystics and didn’t have much to play for in the last game before the playoffs against the Lynx on Tuesday. Sure, the 83-72 win over Minnesota kept the door open for Indiana to potentially move up to the No. 6 seed, but that would only happen if Golden State loses both of its final two games of the season. Essentially, it is out of the Fever’s hands.
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White could have opted to rest some of her players, like how Minnesota coach Cheryl Reeve decided to rest star Napheesa Collier on Tuesday night.
But the Fever still had some things to figure out before the playoffs.
“We’re still trying to get our unit cohesive,” White said pregame. “We’ve had enough challenges in terms of getting groups together. I think that we started to find a little bit of a rhythm in our substitution pattern, and want to continue to fine-tune that.”
Indiana had to go through massive roster changes over the past month because of various injuries to some crucial players. Reigning Rookie of the Year and first-team All-WNBA honoree Caitlin Clark was limited to 13 games this season because of various muscle injuries and a bone bruise in her left ankle, and she hasn’t played since July 15.
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Sydney Colson tore her ACL and Aari McDonald broke a bone in her right foot in the Aug. 7 game against Phoenix, and both were subsequently ruled out for the season. Sophie Cunningham then tore her MCL against Connecticut on Aug. 17, and Chloe Bibby suffered a left knee injury on Aug. 22, putting both out for the season.
Since then, the Fever have had four additions via hardship waivers. Odyssey Sims, who is now the Fever’s starting point guard, joined the team on Aug. 10. Shey Peddy and Aerial Powers, who have joined the rotations in heavy minutes, were added in the two weeks after Sims’ arrival. Bree Hall joined the team on Sept. 4, just five days before the end of the regular season.
All of those injuries, and subsequent additions to account for those injuries, forced the Fever to shift their schemes. Through all of that, they still managed to get at least the No. 7 seed in the playoffs, clinching a spot in the postseason with a game to spare. Still, they needed every minute of live action necessary to get ready for the playoffs.
“The challenge, and it’s not always seamless, and it doesn’t always happen instantaneously, is how we put the best combinations of players together, given the roster that we have at this moment,” White said pregame. “And we’ve had (to do that) four or five different times. What does it look like at this moment that we get new pieces?”
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This final regular-season game, too, felt like a step in the right direction.
Indiana came out strong, starting the game on a 10-0 run and doubling up the Lynx, 28-14, by the end of the first quarter. The Fever kept that lead strong for most of the game, faltering a bit when the Lynx started the third on a 9-0 run, slashing Indiana’s lead down to four.
The Fever built that lead back up to 15, however, by the end of the third quarter. That, in of itself, was an aspect of growth for this Fever team. Instead of crumbling to the Lynx’s run, they recovered the lead back to what it was.
“I think it was more about discipline,” veteran Fever guard Kelsey Mitchell said. “… in order for us to be who we need to be for a playoff run, the rebounding, knowing who we’re guarding, not having live-ball turnovers, was kind of pivotal in that third quarter. So we got gut checked, because it could have easily flipped out of the way. But I think you see our growth.”
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But what irked White at the end of the game was how her players took the foot off the gas at the end of the game.
It was a game that was firmly in the Fever’s hands, but a late run by the Lynx moved a 20-point lead by the Fever to just 10 points. In this game, where neither team had much of anything to play for, it didn’t matter as much. But in a playoff situation, those final minutes of the fourth quarter could be life or death in the postseason.
“We can improve by not giving up a 15-4 run to end the game,” White said. “The reality is that you want to feel good about a win like this, and you do, but that leaves a bad taste in your mouth … we need everybody to do what they do best, and nobody needs to play, you know, outside of themselves. And I was happy with our balance, our balance, not just in our scoring, but in our field goal attempts as well. So a lot of things to be pleased about.”
The Fever will have a few days of prep ahead of them before heading on the road for their playoff opener on Sunday. Neither Indiana’s seeding position or opponent are officially set; the opponent will likely not be finalized until late on Thursday night.
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This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: New-look Indiana Fever roster looking to fine tune ahead of WNBA playoffs
