Christie Sides reveals biggest adjustments Caitlin Clark, Fever must make vs. Sun

The first two playoff series around the league ended in sweeps.

If the Fever could go back to Indianapolis, it’d obviously transform the tide of the series.

But the odds are not with the Midwest. Indiana is 0-3 at Connecticut in 2024 during the regular season and the playoffs, outscored 274-212. Even by adding the Fever’s sole win over the Sun at home, that margin is 354-296. It goes without saying, but the Fever must make adjustments.

“We’ve done a really good job defensively in our schemes,” Fever head coach Christie Sides said before Tuesday’s practice at Mohegan Sun Arena. “And I don’t think we did a great job of making it really hard on them… they shot the ball extremely well… we could have done a better job in handling some of the actions that [Marina Mabrey] got those threes in.” (Mabrey had five).

Sides also credited her post players for limiting Sun center Brionna Jones to four points on an inefficient 2-for-7 afternoon. But that frankly glosses over just how much Connecticut’s two other frontcourt players, Alyssa Thomas and DeWanna Bonner, weaseled into the cracks of the floor, unearthed the Fever’s defensive lapses and especially picked apart the over-helping by the rim.

But many problems also lie offensively for the Fever. Sunday marked only the third time Indiana hasn’t reached 70 points through 41 games this season — and the first time since weeks before the Olympic break. The simple reasoning is, the Fever helplessly shot 6-for-28 beyond the arc. Caitlin Clark and Kelsey Mitchell, usually an indomitable backcourt, only shot 4-for-23 together.

“We even talked about it,” Sides said about Clark. “She said, ‘I just missed some wide open shots.’ And players are going to have those kinds of nights, right? But give Connecticut credit. They made it really difficult on us, everywhere we moved, changing it up on her, who was guarding her.”

Connecticut hurled multiple defenders at Clark: Veronica Burton, DiJonai Carrington and also 6-foot-4 DeWanna Bonner, to name some. Clark did get decent looks and so did teammates. But most looked rushed, and some falsely looked like the best possible shot. The Fever were taken out of offensive rhythm. The pick-and-pops with Aliyah Boston was an effective option.

But it wasn’t enough. The Sun perfectly severed the perimeter, while swamping driving lanes.

What the Fever worked on in opening 30 minutes of Tuesday’s practice

Connecticut’s scheme was to double Clark and Mitchell whenever teammates set ball screens on the outside. That — or — post players switching onto Fever guards. So, that’s what Indiana practiced for Tuesday afternoon. Clark dribbled at the top of the key, Dantas set the high screen, Fever coaches mimicked the switch, and players zipped passes to then maximize the mismatch.

After that set, Indiana practiced handoffs right into crisp passes on the arc for an open shooter. Sides noted that the Fever were ball-watching too much on defense Sunday, and that though they initially defended sets fine, it wasn’t for the whole length of the shot clock. That can almost be applied to the offense. The Fever could’ve moved more off-the-ball. They practiced that too.

There’s an importance in connectivity and not getting bottled up. In the August meeting between these playoff opponents, the Sun’s defense was noticeably more spread out and relied more on individual matchups. It led to more open three-pointers and pick-and-rolls for the Fever, which were able to withstand the Sun’s points in the paint, fastbreak points and turnovers advantages.

“I don’t think there was a disconnect,” Mitchell said of her and Clark Sunday. “We were learning what it was like to play in a playoff game… you got to see a disconnection throughout the course of our organization… the good thing is you can look at Wednesday and say ‘hey, see how much you can learn’… me and C squared will always be locked in on what we can bring to the table.”

In the win over the Sun in August, Clark and Mitchell accounted for half of the points. Sunday wasn’t poor in comparison — 46% — but inefficient shooting adds up fast with poor defense.

The Fever starting five and bench unit also practiced collectively running up the floor after an opponent made basket to set up the offense. Indiana stayed in contention for the first half in Game 1, but they never were in control. Time ticked as the Sun controlled the pace and later took over. Mitchell said Sunday that the Fever need to play more aggressively out of the gate.

Wednesday night, they’ll get their chance. What could be, their last chance.

“Just trying to learn and go with it,” Clark said. “But I feel like I’ve been in a lot of high-pressure, intense games. That’s what the playoffs is. So It’s not anything you shy away from. Some are gonna be good, some are not gonna be as good. Lucky for us, the first game wasn’t as great. And you have an opportunity to come back the next game and try to play a little bit better.”