WNBA: Indiana Fever Can Bounce Back

Read Time:2 Minute, 43 Second

As most WNBA fans know, the Fever have yet to win a single game this season, with their current record being 0-9. They have been close a couple of times, sending their games against the Aces and Liberty into overtime. With all of this downward momentum, it may seem like it is going to be hard to tip the scales towards the win column, but it can be done. There was one thing after another that has torn down the Fever, but with such a young roster, the grit from two veterans new to Indianapolis, and the rookies’ willingness to learn, this will eventually lead the team to their first win of the season.

The youth of the Fever

People have to recognize how young this team is, in more ways than one. Ten of the sixteen players on the Fever roster are 25 or younger. This is only Pokey Chatman’s second year coaching the team. They lost their all-star, Tamika Catchings, two seasons ago. Briann January was traded to Phoenix in the off-season. Shenise Johnson is out for the season from an ACL injury that happened last season during practice. All of these things add up and would impact any team no matter the sport. This team is in a major rebuilding phase and as all sports fans know, it takes time to rebuild. Fever fans just have to be patient as Chatman figures out how to piece together the puzzle of a team that has been put in front of her.

Replacements for Catchings?

Second, the team has yet to find a solid replacement for Tamika Catchings. Yes, that is going to be nearly impossible, but the Fever are really going to need their two key veterans, Candice Dupree and Kayla Alexander, to step up and be leaders for these rookies. Candice Dupree leads the team with 31.1 minutes per game and is second on the team in the points category with 14.3. Although she has only been with the Fever for two years, she has the experience in Europe and around the WNBA that says she can be a strong leader on this team.

Kayla Alexander, on the other hand, has played 10 minutes or less since June 2nd. Alexander has been fairly consistent at the free throw line this year going 10-16. She is new to the team this year, after spending her career with the then San Antonio Stars. She has scored almost 10 points per game in her last two seasons, one of which she was 90 percent at the free throw line. These are the two longest playing veterans on the team and they too are new to Indianapolis.

In the end, it comes down to a few questions. Is Dupree going to be a leader on the court for these rookies? Can Chatman put together the puzzle pieces that is this very young team? Will all of these rookies prove their worth for the WNBA? Fever fans must stay patient in times like these and the answers to these questions to come to the surface.