Indiana Fever gambled and lost in 2018, but could be set up to win for years to come

Jordan Guskey | IndyStar

INDIANAPOLIS – Pokey Chatman’s head droops over the lectern.

Her opening statement postgame, while collected and deliberate, is ripe with dissatisfaction. As she has many times this season, the Indiana Fever coach must answer for a stretch of poor play that buried her team's chance at a win.

Chatman's explanation came Tuesday after the Seattle Storm weathered a late-game surge from Indiana and dominated the final two minutes with a 12-0 run to win, 92-72. The Fever missed four shots and committed a turnover while the Storm came away with points possession after possession until the clock ran out.

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“We didn’t finish, we fizzled, and that’s extremely disappointing in terms of where we are and what we need to do,” Chatman said. “I’m not talking about moral victories, I’m just talking about being responsible and finishing things at a higher level. We didn’t and we can’t do that against any team in this league let alone a team that’s in first.”

The loss dropped the Fever to 3-23 and was their 10th by 15 points or more. If they lose their final eight games after the all-star break, they’ll tie the 2011 Tulsa Shock for the worst record in WNBA history. It took four more seasons and changes to the coaching staff for the Shock — now the Dallas Wings — to reach the playoffs.

The Fever expect a quicker turnaround.

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Indiana’s WNBA franchise could once have been viewed as a poster child for how to sustain success. The Fever reached the playoffs 12 straight seasons from 2005 to 2016, and went more than a decade without a top-four draft pick.

Only the NBA’s San Antonio Spurs and NHL’s Detroit Red Wings owned longer active streaks of playoff appearances at the end of the 2016 season.

But that 2016 campaign was Indiana’s last with Tamika Catchings, who brought the team a championship in 2012 and was the best to ever wear its jersey. The organization knew it would hurt without her but now grapples with a present that’s far worse than anyone expected.

“As long as I’m here, we’re about winning and we’re about sustained success,” team president Kelly Krauskopf told IndyStar recently. “This is an uncharted area for me.”

Pokey Chatman’s first season last year proved disastrous as three Fever players suffered season-ending injuries and the team finished next to last. The initial plan to push forward with a veteran-laced group was abandoned as a deep draft class in 2018 brought with it the opportunity to blow up the team and gamble on a youth movement.

It’s a bet that’s yet to pay off, as the young talent Chatman and Krauskopf acquired has shown flashes but too often fizzled. A jam-packed schedule to account for the 2018 FIBA Women's Basketball World Cup has meant fewer practices. Rookies have had to learn with wins and losses on the line and now Indiana owns the WNBA’s worst record.

“There’s only one way to learn, through experience in a game,” Krauskopf said. “You cut your teeth through real, live-action game experience. What happens is instead of delaying their development you’re getting them out there now.”

No one in the organization, from the players to the front office, has experienced this much losing before.

But Chatman, who's also general manager, and Krauskopf knew the risk in forming a young roster and asking their three 2018 draft picks — Kelsey Mitchell (No. 2), Victoria Vivians (No. 8) and Stephanie Mavunga (No. 14) — to play significant roles just weeks after wrapping up their college careers. Only Natalie Achonwa and Shenise Johnson, who hasn't played this season due to injury, remain from the Fever team that lost in the 2015 WNBA finals.

“It’s not a matter of people are okay with losing,” Chatman told IndyStar recently. “There are some heads down, heads in towels and tears, because they care.”

Candice Dupree, playing in her 13th season, consistently harps on the Fever needing to play a complete, four-quarter game. Mitchell, while she's experienced individual success as a rookie, looks at what’s unfolding and can’t help but feel she should be doing more.

The average age for the Fever roster, which Krauskopf said was the league's third youngest, is about 26. After most losses Chatman hits hard on her belief the team is still developing the mentality it needs to win close games and not buckle under pressure.

Cappie Pondexter, also in her 13th year, told IndyStar when she signed midseason she saw a team in need of leadership. Pondexter, who Mitchell has idolized for years, has tried to lead by example.

“They’re learning, they’re young ladies,” Pondexter said. “The season goes so quickly that they have to learn how to be a professional off the court, how to be a professional on the court, so it’s a lot coming at them. I get it, I understand it. Their second season they’ll start to get it.”

Chatman said it’s a testament to the character of her players they haven’t given up. They trust her vision, despite starting 0-10, and rather than being relieved after wins, are excited to see what can happen when they deliver.

“If you’ve been watching this team and you’ve been watching the league, you can see it,” Krauskopf said. “You can see that the future is really in front of us. That’s what we’re doing, we’re rebuilding the house.”

As it’s rebuilt, Krauskopf and Chatman believe casual fans will start to make the pilgrimage back to Bankers Life Fieldhouse. The Fever expected a drop in attendance the first year without Catchings, and watched the average home game crowd slide from 8,575 people in 2016 to 7,538 in 2017. This year, through 13 home games, the average is 6,064 fans.

“We’re slowly regaining strength and we’re slowly picking back up,” said Julie Graue, the Fever’s chief operating officer, about the team’s rebuilding effort with the fan base. “I think the future’s really bright.”

It’s not about creating another Tamika Catchings, who’s still around the organization in a front office role, but instead about introducing new faces such as Mitchell and Vivians to the fans.

Chatman, who admits the Fever need more size in the post, said Mitchell and her fellow rookie teammates have been forced to diversify their games as opponents have started to pick up on their tendencies. With that has come frustration and, at times, less impressive stat lines. But Chatman's already seen enough to be confident in their futures.

Mavunga's done what she can when healthy. Vivians responded to being challenged about her ball-handling skills, and has developed into a reliable defender faster than Chatman expected.

Chatman used to have to tell Mitchell to shoot more, and now Mitchell is set to participate in the WNBA’s 3-point contest after hitting the second most 3s in the league so far this season. Mitchell’s even disappointed she’s not an all-star.

“I don’t think you’re a competitor if you don’t want yourself to be an all-star,” said Mitchell, who's averaging 13.3 points and 2.7 assists per game. “They picked who they picked.”

And none of them are satisfied.

"Me and (Victoria), who's kind of like my right-hand girl right there, we always talk about, 'Oh my god, people are saying we're doing well,'" Mitchell said. "We're like, 'This is terrible.' I guess we take what we can get at this point and just learn on the go."

Of the five teams who struggled the most in WNBA history, the Atlanta Dream rebounded the quickest and went from 4-30 in 2008 to 18-16 in 2009.

Team Record Years to .500+ 2011 Tulsa 3-31 4 (18-16) 1998 Washington 3-27 4 (17-15) 2008 Atlanta 4-30 1 (18-16) 2012 Washington 5-29 3 (18-16)* 2006 Chicago 5-29 7 (24-10) * Washington was .500 in 2013

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While Indiana lost against Seattle on Tuesday, the game proved to be another showcase for what Kelsey Mitchell can mean for the Fever.

As the fourth quarter drew to a close, Mitchell didn't shy from having the ball in her hands.

Already changing direction as she caught a pass two dribbles beyond the 3-point line, Indiana down 11, the rookie caught a veteran defender off balance with a quick first step toward the basket. A bit past the free-throw stripe she rose up, absorbed contact and dropped in the bucket with a foul.

The Indiana Fever were once down 21 points, floundering against the WNBA-leading Seattle Storm, but somehow Mitchell again willed her team back into the game. Down just eight with two minutes left after Mitchell’s free throw, the three-win Fever were in an unusually usual spot for a team that so often loses.

Within striking distance against a WNBA power, they could have slain another giant. Indiana's three wins during the 25-game stretch ahead of this battle came against a team that occupies one of the top five spots in the league.

Whether Indiana takes advantage in the future depends on how well its youth-heavy lineup steps up.

Follow IndyStar sports reporter Jordan Guskey on Twitter at @JordanGuskey or email him at jguskey@gannett.com.