Indiana Fever put their five-game winning streak to the test against Minnesota Lynx’s nine-game winning streak and fell short. While the Lynx are leading the league, winning five more games (25) than second-placed Las Vegas and having the fewest losses this season, analyst Ben Daniel thought the Fever had every chance to win the game if head coach Stephanie White came up with a better strategy.
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“The disparity in coaching today reared its ugly head… Too much Aliyah Boston facilitating,” Daniel said on his podcast, criticizing how White used Boston on the court during the 108-100 loss.
“Stephanie White, we don’t need her being a hub and stopping right next to CC instead of setting CC a screen… Please set her a screen. This was a game of Stephie White going to AB as the hub, as our offense for a large portion, and it coming back and hurting us.”
“Was this Stephanie White’s worst-coached game? No. We’ve seen a lot more p— poor performances from Stephanie White as a head coach than today’s game, but this was just the highlights of how she doesn’t measure up to the league’s best.”
Daniel believes despite having the talent to beat the Lynx, the Fever had the wrong approach and made some mistakes. During the post-game press conference with head coach Stephanie White, Caitlin Clark, who scored an impressive double-double with 19 points and 10 assists, Clark admitted the Fever were one step behind.
“I mean, I think [we were] just a step late a lot of the times. And then obviously, the offensive rebounding that we gave up tonight really hurt us. And that starts with me. I think my player got at least four [offensive rebounds] tonight. So, I gotta be better in that area, and I can, for sure,” Clark said.
Caitlin Clark was right about the offensive rebounds as the Lynx grabbed 11 offensive rebounds versus the Fever’s five. Overall, the Indiana Fever, who have been solid offensively, conceded 12 turnovers, compared to 6 from the Minnesota Lynx.
In the end, neither Kelsey Mitchell’s 37-point scoring effort nor Aliyah Boston’s 15 points and 7 rebounds could stop the Lynx from winning. However, on the flipside, the Fever did perform better defensively, and that’s what Stephanie White took away from the game.
“I mean, we can take a lot from it. You know, as C mentioned, our defensive energy and effort was better. That allows us to do what we want to do on the offensive end and play with pace,” White said during the same post-game press conference.
Although they didn’t quite match the Lynx defensively, they put up competitive numbers with four steals and two blocks compared to the Lynx’s six steals and three blocks.
However, with the momentum of their historic five-game win streak gone, Stephanie White’s Indiana Fever will have to find a way to regroup. Their next game is against No. 2 Las Vegas Aces, and although they beat the Aces 109-75 last time they met, you can’t count the defending champions out.