Her legs were dead with a little over 4 minutes left.
***Official Caitlin/Fever/Kate/Meg Games Mega Thread***
- Thread starter Tenacious E
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Her legs were dead with a little over 4 minutes left.
They really need to dump a few players and pick up some others. I'd like to see Smith and Samuelson gone. Mitchell is a darn good player but she needs to pass the ball more. She is a ball hog. About the only time she passed tonight was a great play getting it back to cc for 3
IMO the extra days of rest helped Minnesota as does being a more veteran, experienced team.
Indiana likely will face Minnesota in the 1st round of the playoffs so this game was a good way to gauge where the 2 teams stand and what Indiana needs to correct.
Looks like the Sky will end their seven game losing streak with a home win against the last place Sparks team.
Nalyssa Smith still too inconsistent, imo.
The Fever are second worst in the league in three per-game defensive categories - opponent's points, opponent's 3s and opponent's free throws.
a couple examples of CC's expanded game:
Lexi Hull played really well. 8 points, 1 block, 2 steals,3 assists, 3-5 from the field, 2-2 from three, and 9 rebounds. Almost a double-double. Well done.
The Indy Star write up on tonight's game was not too kind to CC and her teammates stating that they lost their composure in the 3rd quarter basically costing them the game. They referenced Boston's technical and CC's complaining to the refs.
Yeah the one thing about Caitlin getting too comfortable on the court is she complains way too demonstrably about the refs.
I watched the post-game presser, and CC pointed that out. She's a rookie and holds her self to a higher standard of play and conduct, as well as accountability. The presser was very entertaining from the coach's perspective. Striking that her players hold themselves accountable, but... well, you know where I'm going with this.
That pass to AB is just what I was talking about. Crazy good pass that even with CC throwing it has a slim chance. She made that one and its a highlight reel play. Boston gets bumped or mishandles, and its a turnover and people are talking about her high risk style turnovers at key moments. "You live by the sword, you die by the sword". CC's "sword" has been really sharp, but there are two players involved not to mention some really good defenders who have seen this for a whole year now. Just have to realize as fans that some of that isn't going to go her way.....
Just what we'll see with this team With Hull starting, they have no punch from the bench.
Honestly this is about what the Fever are good for at their peak:
Clark 20-28
Mitchell 18-26
Boston 14-22
Then.....
Smith 2-16
Hull 3-12
Dantas 3-6
Samuelson 0-6
Wheeler 0-8
52 to 76 pts from their big 3
8 pts (or worse) to 48 (or worse)
If the Fever could find a way to hit towards the high end of those totals most nights, they would be unstoppable in the current WNBA makeup.
Unfortunately, it's much more "hit AND miss" than just hit. The big 3 have been pulling their weight most nights, especially since the break, but others will go quiet for multiple games. And then when someone like Hull or Smith goes off, Boston will only have 10 or Caitlin will have an off shooting night or will defer to her teammates to pick up the slack while she deals with double teams and blitz looks.
Once they're able to consistently put together max offensive outputs game to game, then they're certainly capable of being a championship contender.
For now though, they'll have to take their lumps due to shoddy defense and inconsistent offensive efforts night to night. And it's also worth mentioning that this roster is probably gonna look a bit different next year.
Smith needs to go for sure, and they'll probably be dumping 2 or 3 other bench players as well.
Agreed, but the refs really do suck. They lost the game because for a stretch no one could make an open jump shot. Caitlin should have at at least a few more assists.
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For those more familiar with the W, for the playoffs, is there a select group of refs who are good, or are the clowns we typically see all we get?
I like the expected points range idea. It really shows the holes in the roster. There are three guaranteed starters. After that you’ve got, in order of importance.
Lexi is growing into her role as a starter. Still inconsistent but brings enough defensively that I’m fine with it. They’ll need to work on re-signing her for after 2025 as she’s a quality backup if she isn’t a starter.
Temi is likable and works hard when in the court. But is fragile and has shown with her shooting and finishing issues why she was out of the league for a long period. She isn’t starter material for next year. But I’d bring her back in a similar contract.
We know Wheeler is a bad contract that is at least coming off the books. I would consider re-signing her on a veteran minimum-esque contract as she shows good leadership and has been showing an ability to play better in the new offense lately and you only need her as a reserve for 5-10 minutes per game.
Dantas is fine considering her contract. Need her to fill in backup minutes and hit open shots which she mostly does. But she is not big minute material. I doubt she is re-signed after 2025 though.
Smith is wildly inconsistent and doesn’t really fit well with the team. Plus has drama issues from her family. With a year left on her contract it’d be best to move her, but her trade value is limited so you’re probably stuck with her. She isn’t delivering starter value, but who else do you play right now.
KLS is showing to be a really bad contract considering she’s the 3rd highest paid on the team. She looks worse now than she did at the start of the season. She has zero trade value currently so you’re stuck with her. Unless she shows serious progression next year the team needs to move on from her as soon as they can as she isn’t showing that she’s deserving of any minutes right now. Having the kid when she did may have killed her career a bit early.
Wallace, Berger, and Saxton could all vanish tomorrow and I’m not sure anyone would notice. They’re all on contract through the end of next year or the year after though. And nobody is trading for them. I don’t know enough about WNBA contract rules to know if any can be waived to clear cap space. Ideally at least one of the players down here is someone that could play crunch time minutes and be trusted.
So unless you can replace some of the bottom three, what you’re left with if KM and EW re-sign for next year is only three guards you can trust in their roles. A SF without a good backup that you can trust. And a single big that you can trust for big minutes from game to game, with a backup you can trust also.
Says to me this team won’t contend for a title until 2026 at the earliest because of bad front office moves over the previous few years.
It looks like we are stuck the contracts, even if waived. To sign free agents with any cap space, the best we can do is not resign wheeler, and then maybe trade smith for a throwaway second rounder we won’t sign. I guess also not resign temi but I want her resigned.
WNBA CBA & Salary Cap FAQ
Explains the details of the WNBA CBA and Salary Cap rules in clear language - from Her Hoop Stats
Fever salaries
Indiana has ~$590k for 2025 w EW, KM & TF as free agents.
Hopefully Mitchell takes max of $240k to stay.
Fagbenli made 76k. Resigning is probably $100k?
That leaves one roster spot at Max with a draft pick still.
Going to need atleast 1 trade or cut and eat dead money.
The Fever have shot fewer free throws than their opponents in 28 out of 35 games this year (I guess I must be missing those “special” whistles that Clark gets)…..they’re not going to win many playoff games getting half as many free throws as their opponent.
Great analysis. Mitchell and CC have been not just good but spectacular this past month. Boston has had a few ups and downs but she’s an All Star and going to be a 10 year player with CC. But for them to beat these top teams they all have to be great. That’s really hard to do. Smith of course disappeared again last night. She’s the softest Power Forward in the league. I hate her game. Lexi gives all she has but she’s a 18-20 minute player on a really good team. Temi solid as a 12-15 bench player. They’re going to be a great watch over the next few years but need a big free agent get over the Summer and need to get rid of Smith. She’s a cancer.
They mostly have bad defenders, and bad defenders do a lot of reaching and fouling. So I wouldn’t worry about them getting more fouls called against them. The problem is not the disparity in numbers, but rather the disparity in how they are called. Mugging allowed on one end, touch fouls on the other. Boston gets beat up from game to game and can’t get a call but ends up in foul trouble on the other end. Clark has had her “pocket picked” a bunch by players just reaching through her with contact to steal the ball and no call. That’s the problem that will kill them.
Is there a team stupid enough to give the Fever something (of value) for Nalyssa?
Could love bring DiJonia to Indianapolis? Are these two stable enough for the Fever to attempt this stunt? [They both seem to be flakes if you ask me]
Dana Evans? Natasha Hiedeman? Kia Nurse? Sophie Cunningham. [can't go wrong with any one of them - I prefer Hiedeman]
Watched after game interviews, thought all acknowledged issues—including not enough team ball in 3rd Quarter. (And CC’s bad turnover after her block—never got over hump after). Tho CC was scoring, I thought she also didn’t distribute as much. But lynx defense probably an impact as well.
I thought Caitlin distributed very well but people missed a lot of open shots.
There is a point when things aren't going well where you can see Caitlin's eyes "glaze over" and she starts forcing/pressing and very inefficient. The competitor in her takes over and good decision making takes a back seat. This also happens when her tank is empty. The kid plays so hard, but they really can't afford to not have her on the floor.
