Indiana Fever 2025

[jc23]

as is i dont see them beating the top teams. Need to see more growth on both ends of the court. INdy had a hot hand tonight but giving up that many free throws and offensive rebounds usually will get you an L vs the better teams.

[Ice Man]

as is i dont see them beating the top teams.

If Indy could make layups at the same rate that they concede them, they might join the top echelon. But I' doubt that it's a fluke that they miss bunny after bunny when under pressure, and then have to foul when defending because they can't stop bunnies. I think it's just that their players aren't very good near the rim; they get bullied.

On the bright side, they sure are fun to watch when the offense is clicking. And their offense is well suited to go at the Liberty, which likes to double and trap. Boston got nothing easy, Howard got nothing easy, Clark got nothing easy ... but because the Liberty were so focused on them, Colson, Hull, Cunningham, and Mitchell had a whole bunch of wide-open looks at 3s. The LIberty guards didn't get looks like that.

[MrDollarBills]

Just wanted to tip my cap to CC. That was an incredible performance

[Ice Man]

The Fever's record of 5-5 in unimpressive -- far below what fans hoped/expected. On the other hand, when Caitlin Clark has played the Fever are -

1) A record of 1-1 against a Liberty team that is otherwise 9-0.
2) A record of 1-1 against a Dream team that is otherwise 7-2.
3) A record of 1-0 against a Sky team that is otherwise 3-6.

That's excellent. Yeah I know only 5 games, but I think the early message is 1) this team can't win without Clark and 2) her injury plus the difficulty of schedule in the games that she has played has somewhat obscured the fact that actually, the Fever 's potential does look to be pretty high.

[ellobo]

The Fever's record of 5-5 in unimpressive -- far below what fans hoped/expected. On the other hand, when Caitlin Clark has played the Fever are -

1) A record of 1-1 against a Liberty team that is otherwise 9-0.
2) A record of 1-1 against a Dream team that is otherwise 7-2.
3) A record of 1-0 against a Sky team that is otherwise 3-6.

That's excellent. Yeah I know only 5 games, but I think the early message is 1) this team can't win without Clark and 2) her injury plus the difficulty of schedule in the games that she has played has somewhat obscured the fact that actually, the Fever 's potential does look to be pretty high.

I think some of the Fever skepticism (in terms of being real contenders) is not just the won-loss record, but that their roster acquisitions haven't looked great so far. Howard and Bonner have been underwhelming, Cunningham has been injured, and Colson seems like a downgrade from Erica Wheeler (given how Wheeler finished last year and is playing for Seattle this year), although Colson did come up big in the last game against the Liberty.

[hermes]

edit: nevermind, social media is dumb

[MrDollarBills]

Read on Twitter

Holy f*ck

[Ice Man]

Read on Twitter

That's a fake account, not the actual Indiana Fever account. A fake number, too.,

[rmontro]

It wouldn't surprise me if the Fever/Liberty game was the most watched WNBA game ever, but that number does seem pretty high.

[hermes]

Read on Twitter

That's a fake account, not the actual Indiana Fever account. A fake number, too.,

oh it is? dang social media

[jc23]

yeah, move the decimal over one to the left and you will have a more accurate number.

[hermes]

oh it even says parody account on it

good thing i'm not actually on social media, i'd fall for everything

[Ice Man]

yeah, move the decimal over one to the left and you will have a more accurate number.

Don't fuss too much. Yahoo! Sports, among other media outlets, wrote articles based on that post. Which tells all that one needs to know about the usefuless of 2nd and 3rd tier Internet "news" sites.

[OriAr]

I know I shouldn't say this, but watching that Cunningham foul felt satisfying AF.

[rmontro]

Wow, that was a crazy game, lots of fighting. Refs need to get a handle on this stuff.

I'm curious how the Commissioner's Cup Final works. Do the two teams play an extra game, or do they just use the next time they play in the regular schedule, and call that the Final?

[jc23]

Somebody taught Cunnigham how to Muay Thai Plum.

[OriAr]

Wow, that was a crazy game, lots of fighting. Refs need to get a handle on this stuff.

I'm curious how the Commissioner's Cup Final works. Do the two teams play an extra game, or do they just use the next time they play in the regular schedule, and call that the Final?

Extra game like the NBA cup final.

[tmorgan]

As both coaches said in the post-game, it was shoddy officiating that let all that stuff happen. You can’t lose control of a game like that. Men, women, doesn’t matter. They’re all competitive and when you let stuff go, they go even further.

That said, I don’t blame Clark for being pissed. Someone poking you in the eye sucks, but those things happen. Getting up in her face after the poke was completely unnecessary.

[Ice Man]

The Cailtin Clark Effect is real. I mean, the effect on game results, not just TV ratings. The Fever have played 3 teams this season with and without Clark -

Sun
With +17
Without -2

Difference +19

Sky
With +35
Without _27

Difference +9

Dream
With +2 (2-game aveage)
Without -19

Difference +21

Plus, with Clark (she has been there for both games), the Fever have the two best performances against the Liberty this season, giving NYC its only loss and pushing the LIberty to its narrowest victory (2 points).

Truth is, Clark doesn't even have to play well for the effect to occur, because her mere presence disrupts the opponent's defensive shape. She was 4-11 in the second Dream game and and 6-18 with 10 TOs in the first Liberty game. But her team still scored 81 and 88 points, respectively, thanks to the space afforded to her teammates.

[jc23]

ugf, game is at 9pm tonight for me.