Shock stop Fever, 79-74

WNBA Fever Recap With Quotes, Box Score, Etc

Swish Appeal's Recap (Shock View)

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As I said in my preview, "What a world, what a world!"

Instead of making their move up the Eastern Conference bracket, the Indiana Fever slid back from 2-2 respectability to 2-3, losing 79-74 to the Tulsa Shock in Oklahoma.

Neither team's rotations appear to have settled quite yet, as Fever Coach Lin Dunn gave her smaller lineup at try, starting Shay Murphy instead of Ebony Hoffman. Shay Murphy continues to deliver the rebounds, collecting 9 total including 4 offensive. Meanwhile Shock Coach Nolan Richardson had several bench players in the game during crunch time.

Three bench players lead scoring for the Shock. Amber Holt's 4 of 6 from the arc on the way to 16 points in this game was a big factor. Lacy added 15 points on 7 of 11 shooting and another bench player, Plenette Pierson put in 12.

For the Fever, we talked about three things. Katie Douglas' shooting (and the other starters by extension), the emergent role of Shay Murphy and the addition of Shavonte Zellous.


On Offensive Ugliness

However, before we review those factors, turnovers continue to be a huge factor in Fever games, as the Fever committed 19 to the Shock's 18. The Phoenix Mercury lead the league in turnovers at 20 per game, but adjusting for pace, the Indiana Fever's 19.8 turnovers per game is the ugliest in the WNBA. For comparison, The Seattle Storm with WNBA best point guard Sue Bird at the helm, check in at 12.2 turnovers per game. As bad as the Fever's turnover rate is, the one positive is that they can improve this aspect of their game as the season goes on.

On monkey-wrench in that evolution is Briann January's injury. The offense was really depending on January's contributions in the first four games and the team noticeably stalled in the fifth game.

The team started the game shooting less than 30% in the first quarter. As they kept shooting their shots improved, particularly Katie Douglas who struggled early but did make 3 of 7 3-pointers. Hopefully she and the rest of the starters will continue getting their mojo back. Jene Morris came back to earth with a mediocre game (expected and okay). Shavonte Zellous didn't play badly in her 5 minutes on the court, but also didn't make much of an impact.

Summary
The Shock continue to be a thorn in the Fever's side. The best news about the Shock's move from Detroit to Tulsa is that now they are in the Western Conference. Nolan Richardon can sic his "40 minutes of Hell" on the Phoenix Mercury and the Seattle Storm in the post season. How delightful!

Read more...

Indiana Fever @ Tulsa Shock Preview, 8pm EST

WNBA Preview - WNBA Live Access at 8pm EST

The Wicked Witches of the WNBA

What a difference an offseason makes.

For years, the Detriot Shock were the Indiana Fever's unconquerable nemesis. Until last year, long time Fever players like Tamika Catchings and Ebony Hoffman simply could not get past Detriot.

"There's not really a key to what it is," Catchings said of the Fever's dominance over Chicago. "I believe our rivalry for them [the Sky] is probably like our rivalry with [the Shock]."

The Wicked Witches of the East's reign of terror, anchored by Bad Boy Bill Laimbeer's brutal will, lasted from 2003 to 2008, when they went to the finals four times and won three titles. Last year of course, the House of Fever dropped like an anvil out of the sky and squashed the Wicked Witches of the East, partially diminished under Rick Mahorn's rule. The Fever put enough pieces in place to finally triumph in the Eastern Conference Finals against the Shock. It wasn't a moment too soon, because the Detroit Shock, like the witch doused with water, evaporated after the loss and will never be seen again.

The Tulsa Shock in the West, perhaps the lesser sister of the Detroit Shock of the East, carries on, but the team (now 1-3) is little like its predecessor. The team in Tulsa has received a warm early welcome from fans, but players have evacuated since Detriot orphaned the franchise. Says Kevin Messenger,

No longer are Bill Laimbeer and Rick Mahorn leading the cast of veterans led by Katie Smith, Deanna Nolan and Cheryl Ford. Smith has gone to Washington, Nolan is taking a year off and Ford remains sidelined with bad knees. That leaves Plenette Pierson, Kara Braxton and Shavonte Zellous as top guns from last year’s squad which fell to Indiana in the Eastern Conference Finals.

What a world, what a world!

As we look to the game tonight, we have the incomparable freelantz in full effect, on site for the game and will be posting the game thread and recaps, complete with courtside and lockerroom coverage.

As for the Fever, the come to Oklahoma with a few ongoing stories of their own, which provide some keys to this game.

[1] KT KANT SHOOT?

Justin Albers singled out Katie Douglas' poor shooting since last year's Finals and into the season as a serious issue. She went from the Fever's leading scorer at 17.6 ppg on 41% shooting to just 7.8 ppg on 34% shooting.

Seriously? Is this the same player we were arguing should be an Olympian just last year?...

But maybe, just maybe, she has lost something. Maybe she has played too much basketball. Maybe her legs aren't what they used to be.

As disastrous as that is, it's not like other returned starters Ebony Hoffman and Tammy Sutton-Brown are lighting things up.

I'd like to ask the coaching staff, but haven't had a chance yet, as to what they've seen. Perhaps she's missing open shots or shots she normally makes.

But having actually watched the games, it may be the lackluster offense that is hurting Katie Douglas' shot. First, Katie shot just fine in Turkey. I know the barometric pressure of the sea-side city of Istanbul may have been different, but the latitude is about the same as here. Second, I see her forcing up shots when the offense stagnates. As a primary offensive option, it's her job to force those shots up and her shooting percentage has suffered. Douglas' shooting percentage may be an effect of the offensive health of the team, rather than a cause

What hasn't suffered, however, is her stifling defense.

Still, as I discuss below, four games in the WNBA is an eternity and "what have you done for me lately, Katie" will rear its head soon. The team has had its second full week of fallow time to get the offense in working order. How Douglas shoots this game, and how starters Hoffman and Sutton-Brown also shoot, is something to watch this game.

[2] Shay 4 Sixth

The hot press this week in Indianapolis has been the emergent play of Shay Murphy, "the Fever Energizer." Ok, that's a really awful nick, and I promise never to use it again, but I needed to plop in the official link.

"I think the thing that we know for sure now is, Shay wants to be our sixth man, and she's looking good at that sixth-man spot," Fever coach Lin Dunn said. "I think she's in a situation where she not only can be the first perimeter player off the bench, but she may start some games when we go small."

Arguably, her perimeter rebounding has always been a part of her game, but now with large minutes she's able to put up wow-numbers. Last week, she carried the Fever in two wins against the Sky with a Lebronesque stat line of 20 points, 10 rebounds and 6 assists. Yowza!

"One of the things we talked about coming into this year was losing Tamecka Dixon and having somebody else come in and step up and fill those shoes, and I think by far, she's come in and played over and beyond expectations," Fever star Tamika Catchings said. "We need her to keep it up."

Sometimes she was the beneficiary of the luck of the anointed, like when she was the recipient of two uncontested layups because she failed to run back on defense after throwing the ball away. She can also miss shots in a hurry. On the other hand, she played really well with Jene Morris also on the floor.

Now is the time whether she can wrest that sixth woman spot that has eluded her. She'll be given the playing time to make her case for the spot. That's something to watch for this game, although I'll be looking for more evidence that it's the Murphy-Morris tandem that makes it all work.

[3] Fever Assassin Shavonte Zellous' Last Chance?

With so few roster spots and such fierce competition, four lackluster games is enough to go from a top rookie, an established rotation player dropping 11 ppg to traded for a second round pick and the precarious 11th roster spot. That's like sitting in the kitchen trash, just waiting to get thrown out.

Former Tulsa Shock player Zellous will be in a Fever uniform today following a trade yesterday.

For the Fever, the choice was an easy one.

Despite tiny gunner Allie Quigley's surprising triumph in securing the last roster spot over long range shooting bigs, incumbent Christina Wirth and favorite Joy Cheek, Quigley's fate was sealed last weekend when she went 0-2 in 8 minutes and then rookie Jene Morris came in and just killed the Sky with drives, 3-pointers and a few assists, all the while showing off some sick cross-overs.

Meanwhile, it's always smart to pick up a player like Zellous, who has a knack for playing well against your team. Even if you park her on your bench, that's just good security so another team doesn't use that weapon against you. However, when players play well against your team, it's often a sign that they are a good fit with your play style. No one knows why Zellous has played so poorly to start the season. She had the chance to be a big part of the Shock, but lost playing time quickly.

The Fever are hopeful that Zellous can regain her mojo from her rookie season, but she may have to do it with short minutes. If Zellous can succeed anywhere, her best chance should be with the Fever, who have seen her at her best. If not, the Fever didn't give up much for Zellous and may find someone else for that last spot. There is no security when you're 11th on the roster. Ask AQ. One bad game and you may be out of the WNBA. Perhaps forever.

[4] Rebounding

Nolan Richardson's big reason for freeing up Zellous' roster spot, as Dishin n' Swishin reveals, is to get better rebounding in the lineup. Since that's a concern for the coach, that should be something to watch in this game.

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Fever get Zellous, Quigley Waived

News Release

The Indiana Fever has acquired second-year guard Shavonte Zellous from the Tulsa Shock, in exchange for a 2011 second-round draft pick, it has been announced by Chief Operating Officer and General Manager Kelly Krauskopf. To accommodate the move on the Fever roster, Indiana has waived Allie Quigley.

Zellous was a first-team selection on the WNBA's adidas All-Rookie Team last season while playing for the Shock in Detroit. She ranked second among rookies with 11.9 points per game. She finished second in the WNBA behind the Fever's Tamika Catchings with 155 free throws made and she averaged 1.8 assists per game. She was instrumental in leading the Shock to the Eastern Conference Finals against the Fever, averaging 15.6 points, 2.8 assists and 1.2 steals per game in five playoff appearances.

Her scoring high was 25 points at Atlanta (6/26/09) when she hit 17-of-19 free throws. Her playoff scoring high was 23 points in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals against Indiana.

A 5-10 guard from the University of Pittsburgh, Zellous averaged 4.0 points and 16.8 minutes per game in four appearances with Tulsa this season. She will don a Fever uniform Saturday when Indiana plays at Tulsa.

Following its first visit to the WNBA Finals and three consecutive sellout crowds during the 2009 WNBA Playoffs, the Indiana Fever is eager to pursue a sixth straight playoffs appearance and a return trip to the Finals in 2010. The Fever plays host to the San Antonio Silver Stars on Thursday, June 3 (7:00 p.m.), and entertains the New York Liberty on Saturday, June 5 (7:00 p.m.). Season tickets are available at FeverBasketball.com or by calling (317) 917-2500.

The Fever jumped at the chance to grab the high-scoring perimeter player that gave them fits in the Eastern Conference Finals. For the final roster spot in preseason, the Fever had selected Allie Quigley over incumbent Christina Wirth and favorite Joy Cheek. Both Wirth and Cheek were big and had range to shoot the three. The Fever went with 5'10" 140lb Quigley as a high scoring option instead.

Zellous, despite putting up lackluster stats this year, is a clear upgrade over Quigley. Zellous' numbers are way down in the first four games of the season, so I'm not quite sure if that's injuries, a lack of early season focus or what. Hopefully we'll hear more about that soon.

Kevin Messenger's view

Will the Fever get the Zellous that fans saw in last year's conference finals? Or will the Fever receive the 4.0 ppg and 16 percent shooting Zellous that Nolan Richardson and Tulsa fans have seen this month?

Dishin n Swishin's view (including audio interviews with Tulsa Shock commentator Crystal Robinson and with Coach Nolan Richardson)

• Shock's guard position is crowded, and the team needs better rebounding, ex-Seattle Storm PF Ashley Walker is a front-runner for the open roster spot.
  
• Zellous' judgment in the open offense (to shoot "Kobe shots") was a problem.
  

More links

Zellous will be in uniform for the Fever-Shock game tomorrow

Shavonte Zellous: Success story and emotional leader

Zellous hard to defend

Zellous is the player the Shock look to when teams double Nolan, or is the focal point of the offense when Nolan is getting a rest, which, granted, is rare.

“I think that I needed to help out a lot since Katie was a big part of the offense with Deanna,” said Zellous after Wednesday’s win. “So I have to come out on the floor, off the bench, and give us some energy and help with some of the scoring.”

And, in an odd way, replacing Smith with Zellous may have made Detroit a more difficult team to defend. She’s faster, more athletic, just as capable of finding an open teammate...

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WNBA Watchword: Chemistry

One of the sharp realities of women's professional basketball is the competing WNBA and international schedules coupled with heightened player mobility within the WNBA.

Both factors mean that teams come into the season with little experience playing together and must adapt on the fly early in the season. What looked good on paper does not always work out on the court. This poses a considerable challenge to WNBA coaches as well as players.

Q McCall at SwishAppeal.com does a fantastic job of addressing the issue of Chemistry in the WNBA context. Check it out.

However, the other team that is quietly an excellent example of complementary player styles is the Indiana Fever. Depending on how you want to break down the player styles, there are approximately 13 fairly distinct ones in the WNBA (including a range of point guard styles and excluding a few superstar outliers). The Fever has a league-high 7 of them, not including Jene Morris who as a rookie obviously didn't play in 2009 but figures to add an 8th style if she continues on the path to becoming a scoring perimeter player.

More importantly is that as much as people talk about the Fever's scoring struggles, part of what makes this team dangerous is that they have 7 players who are very efficient given their playing styles. In terms of individual contributions to the key four factors stats - effective field goal percentage, free throw rate, offensive rebounding percentage, and turnover percentage - they had four players in 2009 who were above average contributors in at least 3 of 4 of those categories relative to their playing style. What all of this means is that the Fever are not necessarily a team that's going to blow people's socks off offensively but they have a pretty good balance up and down the roster, which gives head coach Lin Dunn a number of different combinations to play with while not necessarily having a huge drop off in performance (this is what the Chicago Sky discovered this past weekend).

Definitely, the whole post is worth a read for Q McCall's insightful analysis of Achieving chemistry in the WNBA.

Read more...

Sky/Fever Aftermath In the Press

I like to give the games at least a day to sink in and let the collective internet response bubble up.

Is Katie Douglas' poor shooting a serious concern? Can we expect more scintillating play from Shay Murphy? Can Coach Steven Key get more out of Shameka Christon? Should WNBA referees be calling more fouls on physical play inside the paint?

All this and more in the Sky/Fever Aftermath addition of "In the Press".

Game 2 Coverage

Chicago Sky vs. Indiana Fever - Recap - May 23, 2010 - ESPN

Shay Murphy had 16 points and nine rebounds, and Jene Morris and Briann January each scored 12 for the Fever, who improved to 13-4 all-time against the Sky, including 8-1 at Conseco Fieldhouse.

"There's not really a key to what it is," Catchings said of the Fever's dominance over Chicago. "I believe our rivalry for them is probably like our rivalry with [the Shock]."

Fever's bench players turn tide | IndyStar.com | The Indianapolis Star

But what the Fever got from their bench Sunday night might have exceeded their wildest expectations. Shay Murphy tallied game highs of 16 points and nine rebounds, and rookie Jene Morris added 12 points to lead Indiana to a 69-61 win over the Chicago Sky.

Murphy’s emergence as the sixth woman of the Indiana Fever - Justin Whitaker

But her performance was not a surprise against the Sky as Murphy’s best games in the WNBA have come against Chicago. Her previous career-high came against the Sky last season when she scored 15 points. It seems to be the Sky brings out the best in Shay Murphy.

“Everyone makes jokes about it all the time,” Murphy said. “ ‘You know if every game was against the Sky you would be the leading scorer in the league‘ but I don’t really think about it. It is just a funny coincidence.”

Daily Herald | Murphy's 16 points leads Fever past Sky 69-61

The Fever stretched a five-point lead to 61-50 after Murphy's five straight points early in the fourth quarter.

Sky can't find the cure to chill the Fever - Max Rottenstein

Indiana guard Shay Murphy continued to be the bane of the Sky's existence by leading the Fever with 16 points, including making 80% of her free-throws from 18 inches behind the line. “I want to have a positive impact, no matter whether I’m scoring, rebounding or defending," said Shay of her approach this season. "I had a great year in Spain. I became more aggressive and attacked the basket.”

Good news and bad comes from Fever wins - Justin Albers

Then we get to the first four games of this season, where the struggles have gotten worse. Douglas is hitting only 34 percent of her shots and, get this, scoring only 7.8 ppg.

Seriously? Is this the same player we were arguing should be an Olympian just last year?

Justin Albers is concerned about Katie Douglas' bad shooting this season. I'm not. Watching the games, some of her shots were forced, possibly forced as a result of an out-of-sync offense. Once the kinks are worked out, she'll be more effective in getting higher percentage shots off. KT's defense is still savage, causing havoc and deflections everywhere. The last thing I'm worried about is Katie Douglas' shot.

FEVER: Chris Denari's Blog

The big difference-maker on the weekend was Shay Murphy. We saw glimpses of this last season, but her two performances against the Sky were just what this team needed heading forward.

As I argue in my recap. Shay Murphy's ability to rebound from the perimeter is something she's always had. Whether she can produce on other dimensions as well as she has against the Sky is something we'll have to see.

The Sports Network - Game 2 Review

Game 1 Coverage

Indiana Fever vs. Chicago Sky - Recap - May 22, 2010 - ESPN

Catchings scored eight of her team's first 10 points in the extra session, including the go-ahead layup with 13.5 seconds left that gave the Fever an 88-86 lead.

Game 1 - Bad habits catch up with the Sky in home opener - Max Rottenstein

Sky head coach Steven Key was both seen and heard arguing with referees on both ends of the court especially when, under her own post and amid a swarm of Indiana defense, Sylvia Fowles was taken to the hardwood and the entire crowd heard Key shout, “There’s got to be something there!” as the referees’ whistle did not signal a personal foul against the Fever.

Shameka Christon enjoying freedom with Chicago Sky - ESPN Chicago

Sky coach Steven Key's basketball mentality is still different from that of any coach Christon has encountered. Key wants his players to experiment on the court without worrying about boundaries and consequences. When they do eventually make a mistake, Key will explain what went wrong.

Catchings makes herself right at home, sinks Sky :: CHICAGO SUN-TIMES :: Sky

''We know defensively that we're very capable; we just can't give up easy layups,'' Key said.

''There is no defense for a turnover that leads to a layup.''

That's exactly what proved to be the dagger for the Sky.

FEVER: Straight From The Messenger

Last night's game was a very big win for the Fever. And I'm not making that statement merely because the returning starters looked crisp together or because Indiana got it's first win of 2010. It was a big win because of the way it happened...

Tonight, however, should be a vastly different contest than I witnessed two weeks ago when both teams ended the preseason. Indiana was led that night by Shay Murphy in the scoring column...

SURPRISE! SHAY MURPHY!!

Chicago Sky Hoops

why is Cathrine Kraayeveld trying to defend Tamika Catchings 1-on-1 the ENTIRE game?

A good question. In Game 2, a number of Sky players all took turns covering Catchings.

The Sports Network - Game 1 Review

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Indiana Fever Sweep Chicago Sky 69-61 in weekend home-and-home series

The Sky are falling

The Sky / Fever Winless Rivarly Weekend ends with a clear winner, and unfortuntely, a very clear loser. With the back-to-back wins, the Fever inch up to 2-2 respectability, the Chicago Sky are at an awful 0-4, with hard road schedule going forward, facing the Seattle Storm, the Minnesota Lynx and the Atlanta Dream.

The Sky have some good pieces put around Olympian Sylvia Fowles. Dominique Canty showed off a few powerful drives and was able to finish. It's unclear why Shameka Christon played so little (12:38 minutes), she did a reasonable job containing Tameka Catchings when assigned to her and also contributed a few 3s that helped the Sky's best run of game. During that stretch, the Sky were 13-0 in 4 minutes against the Fever's best players.

Amid the team's franchise best home game attendance yet, you'd like them to get home and get some wins in front of their fans. Welcome to the brutality of the WNBA schedule matched with very competitive opponents.

Post-game Audio, Interviews and Links to be posted shortly.

The Fever Introduce: The Shay and Jene Show!

The big story in the two games with the Chicago Sky has not been the lackadaiscal cross-court passing nor the pressure defense the frustrated the Sky's offensive sets, but rather the emergent play of Eshaya Murphy and Jene Morris.

The continued foggy play of the late-returned starters has really opened up continued opportunities for the Fever bench to come in, play well and potentially save games. And such was the case today.

First, it was Jene Morris, who played in the second quarter after getting no playing time the night before. Jene Morris came into a 14-14 tie game with 3 minutes left in the first quarter. Murphy just checked in a minute earlier. For the next nine minutes, it was all Jene Morris and Shay Murphy. Morris nailed a 3 from the corner. Murphy rebounded a miss by the Sky's Tamera Young. Morris hits a 15-footer. Jene Morris and Tamera Young trade steals to end the first quarter. In more than a few cases, Jene Morris made scores out of stagnant possessions.

Looking at the stat-sheet, it's just all Murphy-Morris everywhere. In the second quarter, Murphy grabs a few more rebounds and makes a shot off a Morris assist. Morris is scoring as well from the corner, once on a driving layup and once more with another 3 pointer. Morris gets in another assist and a rebound before the pair are substituted out with 4 minutes to go in a the second quarter and the Fever are up 33-27.

With the Fever starters back in, the Sky went on a 13-0 tear that best models what they need to perfect. Shameka Christon made her 3 pointers, Sylvia Fowles got the ball inside for layups and fouls, Cathrine Kraayeveld did all her damage in this stretch as well with a 3, a layup and hitting 2 from the charity stripe. The half ended with the Sky up 39-33.

In the third quarter, Coach Dunn started Murphy to get the Fever back into the game. Offensively, Murphy was rather ineffective, but still active in getting rebounds. The team went on another push once Jene Morris substituted in with 5 to go in the quarter.

What's the outlook for the Murphy-Morris lineup?

First, the game was a great one for Jene Morris. Her play on both ends of the court means that she may wrest playing time from turnover-prone Allie Quigley.

For Shay Murphy, this weekend back-to-back has been a great one. 36 minutes, 20 points, 10 rebounds and 6 assists on Saturday followed by 25 minutes, 16 points, 9 rebounds and 3 assists on Saturday. Her field goal percentage could be better, but her rebounding from the perimeter is huge.

Now, to be sure, there's nothing necessarily surprising with Shay Murphy's uncanny rebounding, she's averaged 10 rebounds per 40 minutes her entire career, but now Shay Murphy has shown she can sustain her short-minute rebounding productivity over the longer stretches.

Overall the Murphy-Morris combination just killed this game. Both players are earning more playing time. We know the Fever starters will continue to get back into Fever form, but Shay Murphy and Jene Morris represent new weapons for this ballclub. Fans can only hope for an encore.

Line-up Laboratory

At the end of the game, we saw another small backcourt for the Fever. Coach Lin Dunn closed the game Tully Bevilaqua and Briann January on the court for their defense, to lock in the win. Overall, Coach Dunn seems pleased with her perimeter player options and may continue to mix-and-match to see what different combinations can deliver.

Pressure Defense

While both teams had considerable trouble passing the ball in their halfcourt offenses, the impact of the Fever's pressure defense had a greater impact on the Sky's plans. Turnovers remained high on both sides, but the inability of the Sky to get the ball into the Sylvia Folwes made their best player shockingly ineffective.

Indiana's pressure defense was in full effect in this game. The Fever's pressure and anticipation was outstanding. The box score fails to show the number of deflections nor the number of times Fever players got their hands on balls. The Fever's pressure defense also required the Chicago Sky's offense to give up considerable ground in the halfcourt. Besides denying Sylvia Fowles, a pass around the perimeter would require a player at the foul line to run back to the arc to receive the pass, or if at the arc, to run almost all the way back to the half court line to receive the pass or risk a deflection, turnover and a fast-break uncontested lay-up at the other end.

Appreciation for Tammy Sutton-Brown's Defense

Tammy Sutton-Brown received little post-game interest from the media corps. As another struggling starter with an odious stat-line of 1 point on 0-1 shooting and 5 turnovers, what was easily forgotten was her defense against Sylvia Fowles, one of the best bigs in the game.

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Fever 1, Sky 0 - Game 2 today

Tamika Catchings outmuscles Cathrine Kraayeveld in OT for the win on Saturday (courtesy of WNBA.com).

WMBA BOX SCORE & RECAP

Daily Herald RECAP

Times-News Online Recap

Read Audrey's tears here at Chicago Sky Hoops.

The Indiana Fever defeated the Chicago Sky 92-86 in overtime at Chicago. After finishing up around 11pm last night, the two teams meet again in Indianapolis at 6pm tonight. The Fever are now 1-2 on the season, looking to get to 2-2 respectability, and the Sky 0-3, looking for their first win of the season.

Today's game should be a good one, as the two teams have a chance to make small adjustments based on yesterday's play. However, the players will have barely enough time to rest up, after a 3.5 hour bus ride from Chicago to Indy, giving them about 15 hours between games.

After the starters sand-bagged my expectations last Thursday, they put it together just enough to steal the Sky's season home-opener on their new floor. The new location must suit the fans, since Audrey reports a record crowd.

When I got home, I saw that the official attendance number was 6,477. Our first-ever game at the UIC Pavillion drew 5,112 and our highest attendance ever at UIC was 6,304 (vs. LA Sparks in ’08). We by-passed both of those numbers tonight. Great crowd!

I was going to soak in all the details by replaying the game on WNBA Live this morning, but WNBA Live must be saving that game for the HoF.

The game featured 37 turnovers. The Fever leads the league early in turnovers committed, but also in turnovers by their opposition. Those 17 turnovers by the Fever were simply understandable miscommunication as the team continues to get their rhythm back. The 20 turnovers by the Sky? Clearly, that was just great defense by the Fever.

In the OT, the Sky used an unorthodox defensive strategy. They decided to leave Tamika Catchings open on both ends of the floor. Tamika scored 8 of her 28 points in overtime, sometimes on uncontested layups under the basket. Audrey says Cathrine Kraayeveld was guarding Catch, but watching the overtime, I would not have known it, if not for the 3, (yes, three, THREE!!) turnovers in overtime that Catch forced Kraayeveld into. There's no question that Catch willed that win on both ends of the floor and unfortunately for Kraayeveld, she was the primary victim of Catch's great play.

Will Cathrine Kraayeveld come back stronger this game? Will Coach Steven Key try something else?

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Chicago Sky vs. Indiana Fever

May	Opponent	Time	Local TV	National TV
Sat 22	@ Chicago	8:00pm		Live Access
Sun 23	vs Chicago	6:00pm	FSI	Live Access

HOME OPENER TOMORROW! Fever Week(end) begins!

Game 1 WNBA Preview - Game 2 WNBA Preview

Slam Online - Briann January Fan Interview

Q: Was there a particular part of your game that you were assigned to “work on” while playing overseas?

A: I had a sheet that Lin filled out for me. One of the main focuses she wanted me to work on while I was overseas was becoming a more consistent 3-point shooter to increase my percentage. Hitting those punishment shots, people driving, kicking and hitting those open shots for our team because that’s key for us. Also, becoming a better floor general, managing the clock and being an extension of my coach on the floor.

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Indiana Fever Players talk about this week, 0-2 and facing the Chicago Sky

I talked with Katie Douglas, Ebony Hoffman and Tammy Sutton-Brown about the Fever's 0-2 start, the quick transition from international play to WNBA Fever Basketball and about what to look for going into the weekend's back-to-back with the Chicago Sky.

Here is some audio from the interviews with bullet point summaries.



Katie Douglas in 90 seconds or less.



- Starters needed some time this week to take care of personal stuff, sleep and personal arrangements after being out of the country for six or seven months.

- getting timing, rhythm, bodies, minds and more polish.


Tammy Sutton-Brown in 60 seconds or less



- only 1 practice in thus far.
- timing off in first few games, turnovers


Ebony Hoffman on this week - 90 seconds



- Basics, refreshing playbook
- Spacing, roles
- focus is on perfecting Fever basketball rather than on other teams' strengths and weaknesses.
- look for more agression this weekend


Ebony Hoffman on Turkish League Play - 55 seconds



- Travels called, moving screens okay, physical play, long season


Ebony Hoffman on Turkey (Fun Stuff) - 135 seconds



- On being Fever teammates over in Turkey
- Favorite Foods in Turkey
- A few restaurant recommendations for Mediterranean food in Indianapolis

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The Sky/Fever Winless Rivalry Weekend Preview

It's on!

Ok, if you ask players on either side of the Chicago-Indianapolis rivalry, you might just get a laugh.

The two teams met twice in the preseason, primarily out of convenience, and meet twice this weekend in a back-to-back away-and-home series ending Sunday night at Conseco Fieldhouse.

Briann January writes in her blog -

I’m excited to head back to Chicago. Again, for like the tenth time this month we play them.

The two teams split the preseason, but that was without four Fever starters. You would think with a week downtime since losing their first two games, the Eastern Conference Championship Fever should be in gear to take out vicious Kobe-esque revenge on the Chicago Sky.


What's going on with the 0-2 Indiana Fever?

For a lot of reasons, I don't expect to see a "SWEEEEEEEEEEEEEP!!!!!" this weekend. In particular, I think it will take more time for the Fever to get back into gear. If it were just jet-lag, the week of downtime might have been enough, especially for a conference championship team that brought back 9 of 11 players.

Jet-lag grossly understates the intensity of the past five month grind on the players, playing overseas in a very physical and prolonged title run in Turkey. As a result, the team just hasn't had enough time to take care of all the personal things they might need to, coming back from such a long haul, nor had enough time to refresh themselves on the Indy Fever playbook, get used to each other again and get used to WNBA rules (travels good! moving screens, bad!).

Also giving the veteran nature of the team with the starters all north of 30, Catchings' past injuries, the important thing at this early stage in the season is that they play efficiently irrespective of wins and losses. The most important thing for this team is to allow it's veterans the chance to decompress some and ease into the season. It would be disastrous to expect them to maintain that playoff intensity of the past month and hold it through to the playoffs.

Instead, as this team often receives comparisons to the San Antonio Spurs, the team should continue to work on its efficiency, get it's stars some rest and be healthy and ready in August to reclaim their conference championship from whichever seed they gets in as.

As such, the Fever have concentrated on their fundamentals this week and on getting back to Fever basketball. Compared to the opener games last week, the Fever expect to be more aggressive, less tentative and to reduce their turnovers as they get used to playing WNBA together again.



What's going on with the 0-2 Chicago Sky?

To help me with this preview, I asked longtime blogger Audrey of Chicago Sky Hoops a few questions.

[1] Michelle Voepel has you guys in the cellar.

6. Chicago: The Sky had the best record of their four seasons in the WNBA last year at 16-18. This summer, the Sky move to Allstate Arena in Rosemont, Ill., and leading scorer Candice Dupree is no longer with the team; she was traded to Phoenix, and the deal brought New York's Shameka Christon to the Sky. Key questions are whether Sylvia Fowles, who has battled injuries, can stay relatively healthy for a whole season, and whether rookie Epiphanny Prince can be an immediately effective scorer.

Do you expect the Sky to play better this year than last year? What's your early read on Shameka Christon and Epiphanny Prince? How's Sylvia's health?

[1] The eastern conference is so unpredictable, I have no idea where to put us. Everyone has the Fever winning the east, but after that...who knows! With that said, I definitely expect the Sky to be better this year than last year. Our roster is much more balanced. Instead of having two dominant posts and a relatively weak perimeter as we've had in years past, now we have a solid post rotation as well as a solid guard rotation. As long as the pieces can gel, we should be a really strong team. But, even though we'll likely be a better team, that doesn't necessarily mean we'll finish with a better record or make the playoffs cuz it seems like everyone in the east got better.

So far, I've really liked Epiphanny Prince. Her defensive intensity is always high, she has quick hands and plays the passing lanes well. So far, she has focused more on her PG duties and less on scoring. Logically, that's probably a good thing. We need her to continue to develop her PG skills if this team is going to do any real damage in the near future. On the other hand, knowing that she is such a prolific scorer, I'd love to see her look for her shot a bit more. I'd love to see what she can do offensively when the reigns are taken off, ya know? I guess the 'rook is just gonna have to wait her turn. Overall, Prince is a stellar addition to this team and I think her learning curve is pretty steep. She might not be blowing anyone away right now, but she's gonna get better and better every game.

The Sky have never had a dominant SF before. For the entire existence of this franchise, this has been the weakest spot for us. The first couple years it was Stacey Dales. Then Brooke Wykcoff. Then Armintie Price. At times we would just stop trying to fill that SF spot with an actual SF and just play three guards...or move a PF to the SF spot. Shyra Ely did this for us in '09 and did a great job. At the end of last season we got Tamera Young. This PF carousel has been going on for 4 seasons. We never had a solid SF and now we have an allstar SF. Shameka Christon is an absolute anomaly to me. I don't even know what to expect from that spot in our offense. Thus far, Christon really hasn't "wowed" us, but I think she's battling a nagging injury and it'll likely just take some time for her get acclimated to the system. Heck, perhaps Key doesn't even know what to do with a SF cuz we've never really had a great one before!

Ugh, Big Syl's health. The achilles heal of the Sky and Sky fans. On a positive note, Fowles looked really good in the NY game. She looked healthy. The problem is, she's so athletic and gets up so high for boards, for blocks and for shots and doesn't really have great body control. She does this super athletic stuff in traffic in the lane. It's just a matter of time before she lands awkwardly or lands on someone else's foot or something. During the home preseason game vs. Indy, she literally tweaked her knee three different times during that game. THREE TIMES IN ONE GAME! She landed awkwardly three times and was grabbing and rubbing her knee (...and limping) on three separate occasions. I try to be positive regarding Big Syl, but, honestly, I have absolutely NO CONFIDENCE in her whatsoever. Her injuries have already killed two seasons for us.

[2] The Sky are 0-2. Why does the Chicago Sky stink so bad? =D

[2] You know what, I didn't see that first game vs. Connecticut. I looked at the box score and that was enough. Looked like the Sky just laid an egg in that game. Offensively, defensively...I have no idea. With regards to the NY game, the Sky simply had too many defensive lapses (c'mon Taj with 20 pts!) and too many stretches where they got very, very careless with the basketball for multiple plays in a row. Our turnovers came in bunches. At times we'd play under control and at other times we would play frantic and careless. We played well when Erin Thorn was on the court to direct traffic and calm everyone down. Big Syl looked MUCH improved on offense but looked lost/uninterested on defense (again...Taj with 20 pts!). Oh, and we have perfected the art of the "3rd Quarter Meltdown." Third quarters have been rough for us for, oh, 5 seasons now. But overall, the Sky looked good in the NY game. They looked like a team that had all the pieces but had yet to put all the pieces together to form the picture.

[3] Your last win was against... the Fever! Should I be concerned that you'll sweep the home-and-away this weekend?

[3] Yes, be concerned...very concerned! We 'gon SWEEEEP! Ignore the fact that we're 4-11 all-time vs. the Fever and that the past four years we've gone 1-3, 1-3, 1-2 and 1-3 vs. you guys. Hmmm...looks like we can only beat you guys once per season. So, yeah, maybe you don't have to worry about the sweep after all!

But seriously, that Fever win in '09 was one of the greatest games in Sky history. The arena was absolutely eLeCtRiC and I seriously thought we were definitely playoff-bound after that win. Toliver won that game for us (Game Notes: Sky 86, Fever 79

). She absolutely LIT YA'LL UP! ...uh, I guess you don't have to worry about that this time around though!

[4] The Chicago Sky went 16-18 last season. What do you like to do when the Sky lose? How do you deal with loss?

[4] The Sky played GREAT at the Pavillion last year. The home crowd was treated to several amazing, down-to-the-wire home wins. Most of the Sky's bad losses came on the road. Unfortunately/fortunately, due to the wonders of LiveAccess, we were actually able to see our team play on the road last year. And let me tell you this: Sky fans are a tough crowd. Whenever the Sky lose, everyone gets an attitude. Everyone blames the coach. Everyone wants the coach fired. Everyone complains that their favorite player didn't get enough minutes. Everyone complains about everything. Actually, we do the same thing even when the Sky win! For me personally, I don't take every loss badly. I try to keep focused on the big picture -- finishing .500 (or above) and making the playoffs. When we lost to Detroit in the final game of the season in '09 (killing our playoff chances and finishing a game below .500), I was crushed. Worst. Sky. Moment. Ever.

Thanks a lot Audrey for the Chicago Sky view!

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Media Day, Part Deux

The Fever held a second Media Day today to welcome returning starters Tamika Catchings, Katie Douglas, Ebony Hoffman and Tammy Sutton-Brown.

I was able to sit down and talk with a few of them

1. about the 0-2 start,
2. what they've been up to this week and
3. what to expect going into the "Sky/Fever Rivalry Weekend" home-and-away back-to-backs this Saturday and Sunday.

1. Jet-lag, Synching and Turkish League Rules vs. the WNBA
From that discussion, I got the sense that the week between games is a huge blessing and that the team may need to take a bit longer to get back to championship caliber basketball. Hey, it's only May, they've got another four months of games to go!

Obviously an 0-2 start is not a disaster. The Fever played two good teams. There are no New Jersey Nets disaster teams in the WNBA. They also played competitively and were well in the Altanta Dream game. As widely reported, jet-lag was also a huge factor.

Even so, we should expect the whole process of gelling back into form to take more than just this week. Specifically, Ebony Hoffman discussed the need for the starters to refresh and refamiliarize themselves with the playbook and with each other. Although they've played together last year, spending five months in the Turkish league means they've been speaking a wholly different basketball playbook language.

In addition, the starters need to get back into WNBA mode playing style. What does that mean? In Turkey, travels are called and moving screens aren't. In the WNBA, there are a lot more steps that are not considered travels, and moving screens will be whistled. That makes it a much different game in on both sides of the ball.

Adjusting to these rules may take more than a week. In the meantime, as seen in the first two games, there may be a bit more hesitation on drives and a few more whistles against the team on defense.

In tomorrow's Sky/Fever Preview, I'll discuss the team's activities this week and what to expect this weekend versus the Fever.

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Questions, Questions

Media Day was last week, but since we are catching up, here's the photos from the Indy Star.

Fever media day - More The Indianapolis Star Galleries

View this gallery at The Indianapolis Star: Fever media day

First off, I'd like to thank Kevin Messenger for allowing me to come by tomorrow's Fever practice to catch up with a few of the returning players. I have a lot of questions.

1. Why is Turkey the hotbed for premium WNBA offseason talent?
Mainly, and I may ask this around even to Kevin since the whole Fever staff has followed this in the off-season, but I am quite curious as to why Turkey became the hotbed of WNBA offseason talent. Certainly there's nothing wrong with Istanbul, greek salads, heaps of feta cheese, strong shots of coffee and life on the Meditteranian Sea, but it isn't necessarily your first thought as the highest bidder for the best WNBA talent.

The scenarios that played out in the title run in Turkey are an analysts' dream. The Fever players were mixed and matched against Mercury players, along with a host of other basketball stars of whom the casual observer does not know. How big of an achievement was grasping that title for Ebony Hoffman? How many hard fouls were delivered between Fever friends?

One thing's for sure - we missed some great games in basketball not seeing that playoff run, and some great WNBA talent at work.

2. What is Lin Dunn doing in practice to get the team back to its winning ways?
0-2 is bad, but hardly bad considering the team's four starters have missed the preseason and are just getting back. How do the Turkish League rules differ from WNBA play?

Given that the team's starters may have been playing hard and at a high level over seas, the issue is not conditioning. You might think integration is an issue, but the team only has one new face on the roster, rookie Jene Morris who has played 5 minutes in game 1 before pitching in a whopping 14 minutes in game 2. Still, not enough to upset the Fever ship, perhaps.

If the problem isn't conditioning or integration, it seems only jet-lag might explain the losses. It will be interesting to see if the coaching staff focuses more on general Fever improvement work or does anything special for this weekend's home-and-away with the Chicago Sky. That leads me to question 3.

3. What should we expect this weekend against the Chicago Sky?
Obviously, I hope the Fever players tell me "Sweep!" but I will also be in contact with Audrey of Chicago Sky Hoops! It's going to be a matchup between winless teams. The nice thing would be to let each team take one at home. The mean thing would be to let the Chicago Sky run away with both. The best thing would be to see the Fever get back on the horse and steal one in Chicago and then come back here and get the other.

Anyway, I'll be talking with Audrey later this week about Sky high expectations, what's going on with the team and find out if they have any legitimate excuses like jet-lag. Or a Fever.


Some catchup links:




(courtesy SportsPageMagazine.com)

Dream beats Fever 66-62:
Check out Pleasant Dreams for coverage of the game!




Jene Morris - Social Mastermind in the Making / Swish Appeal, Q McCall

Building a brand was one of the themes of the post-draft orientation curriculum the rookies were taught about and being a brand-builder herself, Morris is ahead of the game. Using and studying Twitter and social media prior to the draft gave her the early lead in the classroom and a firm grasp on the importance of social media.

"[The WNBA] actually explained to us to build ourselves and to build an image for ourselves because that’s going to help the league," said Morris. "Ticket sales – we need people to come watch us play, we need people to like us and to see who we are off the court and they’re going to want to see that on the court. It’s definitely helping my business . . . You basically can promote and build who you are. With me being the representation of the WNBA I think that that will bring a lot of attention to the WNBA – and a positive one at that."

Her Blog link is on the left side panel all for you!

More Jene Morris background from Q McCall at Swish Appeal:

Jene Morris, San Diego State University

Morris is another person who caught a buzz during the tournament with an impressively quick release on her jump shot and ability to find scoring opportunities. However, unlike some of the other pure scorers above, her tendencies make her more of a "perimeter scorer", a generally productive group of players (partially because it includes Cappie Pondexter). Like Barlow, Hightower, and Wright, she also rates as a very good defender with a steal percentage of just over 5% (she did win the conference defensive player of the year, after all).

The reason she's knocked down statistically is obviously her team's RPI, but also a below average shooting efficiency for her style of play and a very low rebounding rate, which tends to be a strong red flag at any position. Given that, despite her tournament performance and defensive ability when compare Morris to a player like Grant, Grant just seems to have physical tools a notch about Morris, not only in terms of height, but build. But ultimately, choosing between the two will be a matter of personal preference.

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Week in Review

Given that the Fever's stars have arrived quite late, missing all of the preseason, I do not feel one bit bad about firing up this blog a full week into the season.

The Fever have had a rough start, going 0-2 in their home and away openers, but have the full week to get things together before embarking on a home-and-away versus the Chicago Sky. The Chicago Sky themselves are also winless, so both teams will be looking to get out of the East Coast cellar.

It's all too early to suggest that either of the two losses meant anything, particularly given that the Indiana Fever's four stars just came off of a competitive championship title run in Turkey's grueling professional league. The campaign ran from early November through early May (last week).

Ron Cass covered the season in the Turkish league, concluding (May 11, 2010)

Four returning starters from the Indiana Fever’s 2009 WNBA Finals team concluded play in Istanbul, Turkey on Tuesday when Fenerbahce claimed its fourth straight Turkish championship by beating cross-town rival Galatasaray, 82-78. Fenerbahce swept the best-of-five game series with three straight wins.

A pair of Fever stars appeared in both lineups – Ebony Hoffman and Tammy Sutton-Brown for victorious Fenerbahce; Tamika Catchings and Katie Douglas for Galatasaray.

courtesy of Fenerbahce

Fenerbahce went undefeated (22-0) with the Mercury's Penny Taylor pitching in 28 points and 7 rebounds. The good news continues for Fenerbahce, as they've signed Diana Taurasi for the 2010-2011 season.

Michelle Voepel's preseason look suggests that the Fever will not be able to repeat their conference domination this season, despite few changes in the offseason. We'll have to see, starting with how Coach Lin Dunn reigns in the late arrivals and gets the team ready for the Chicago Sky.

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Welcome to FeverWeek.net!

Basketball fans,

Welcome to Fever Week!

Fever Week is a new fan-based blog covering the local exploits of the WNBA's Indiana Fever at Conseco Field House.

Given the rather limited coverage and evolving fan base of the WNBA's teams, this blog will attempt to provide regular weekly coverage of local games and practices, including locker room interviews and in-depth features on the team's leading stars, visiting opponents and all around shakers and movers.

The site is looking for a regular sports photographer to provide high quality game photos. If you are interested, please contact me at samjames@feverweek.net .

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