The dog days are over for the Indiana Fever. They endured a tumultuous start to the season that included an absolute gauntlet of a schedule to being the subject of right-wing talking points leading to nasty and unproductive dialogue.
The block has seemingly cooled down for the Fever and they can focus on all the reasons they should be excited for this second half of the season.
With a more manageable schedule ahead of them, the playoffs are still a very real possibility for this young team. They also have something to look forward to as it was announced earlier this week that All-Star 2025 will be in Indianapolis.
The excitement around the team is still high and No Cap Space was able to talk with
of about what life has been like in the spotlight for the young Fever team.The biggest lesson Indiana has to learn the hard way was blocking out the noise. And there was a lot of it. This, according to Agness, led to improved chemistry amongst the team along with just standard practice reps on the floor.
"Yeah, I would say the overriding theme to the Fever right now is trying to gain better chemistry," he said. "And especially early on, they didn't really have much at all. You had maybe, what, seven training camp practices? No off the court, team building stuff."
"And I think that stuff is huge, whether you're out doing a community event or just taking time for a team dinner," he added. "They didn't do that ‘till, like, three weeks into the season. And so you see it with your own co workers, if you don't know what they're about, or what makes them tick, or how they respond to certain things..."
Second-year head coach Christie Sides hasn't been immune to the growing pains either as she had to learn, in a hurry, what comes with being at the helm of one of the most popular and oftentimes scrutinized team in the league. From fans putting her clipboard under a microscope to nationally televised press conferences, Sides has had to learn a lot on the fly with the buzz around the team at a high.
"I think there's a couple things probably along the way that you'd want to have back and such, but a lot of times, if anything, I think you could criticize her for being, for not being revealing enough," Agness said.
He added that Sides would initially keep game plans close to the vest, but would listen up and become more candid as the pressers went on.
This month posed a different challenge for her; preparing the team to secure its first playoff berth in almost ten years. Agness said the team enjoyed about 10 days off before getting back to business and Sides had to get creative.
"And she was like 'look, you got to realize right now, going three weeks without games, that can be monotonous. So we got to find ways to keep it interesting, to keep the competitive juices,'" Agness recalled. "Not only do we do, we need to scrimmage, but we need to insert some games. And so that's what they've done, right? So they had a scavenger hunt recently. They've done some team building exercises."
The Fever making the playoffs this year could pay dividends next year as a number of big names will be on the market during free agency. Agness said All-Star weekend gave some of those names a glimpse at what the Fever experience could be for them as Aliyah Boston and Caitlin Clark had arguably the most exciting clip from the game. It started with the duo being picked up full court and ended with the crowd electrified as Boston caught a dime from Clark and finished through contact. The play gave vets something to think about as the perks for playing for the Fever have been on full display this year.
"But if you're a Fever fan, that is absolutely what you are hoping for," Agness said. "Is that you look here, you see the attention you're going to get your parents and family and friends and fans are always going to be able to watch on national TV. It'll have as much of a college like intensity."
We've seen old habits rear their ugly heads late in games with this team, but Agness said keeping that under control is on his list of things he'd like to see from them in this last stretch, because while they're not a title contender yet, they are still a competitive ball club.
"I want to see them actually care about defense," he said." he said. " Yes, there's limitations, personnel wise. Again, that is something that can be addressed and has to be addressed more in the off season. But I want to see more from that, from them on the defensive end.
" I want to see better execution late in games. That's something that really bother bothered them last season, and has some this year," he noted. "And then I think if they get into the rhythm of their offense when the ball is not stopping and it's playing fast, that's when they're at their best."
Indiana will show what fresh legs can do against the Phoenix Mercury, Friday at 7:30 p.m. EST on Ion TV.
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