The Indiana Fever came up short at home to the Atlanta Dream, falling in a 90-91 loss on Tuesday night. One thing that could become a concern is that there was much to blame regarding the team's overall performance. The Fever found themselves in a scoring deficit really from the start of the game.
It could be sensed early on that things were just not clicking for the Fever, and despite trailing by as many as ten points in the second quarter, they only found themselves down by two at halftime. There was sloppy passing, players weren't aggressive in rebounding on both ends of the floor, there was foul trouble early, and the free-throw shooting was far from acceptable. Give the Atlanta Dream credit, they came into Gainbridge Fieldhouse ready to play and were not intimidated by the stacked Fever roster.
Aside from the late-game comeback that head coach Stephanie White led the charge in, the home crowd did not have much to cheer about.
The loss showed that the Fever still have a lot to figure out
It was Kelsey Mitchell's late basket with a minute left in the fourth that tied the game for the Fever, and it was Mitchell who didn't mince words at the conclusion of the game about the team's lack of execution.
"You always hear me say being consistent in our discipline, and today we failed. We failed miserably as a group," Mitchell said.
"So it kind of just lies in discipline right now. Awareness, knowing our personnel,” she added. “Certain stuff we have to hone in on to be successful. Our lows were too low. They can't be that low. We don't have that margin for error.”
Along with a poor start and even trailing by eight in the first quarter, the entire game had no sense of rhythm, and the lack of chemistry really showed. Despite it being just the second game of the season, there is plenty for the Fever to clean up. Free throw shooting (the Fever missed a total of 10) ended up being the difference in the game. The Fever played confused and were in several incorrect positions, not knowing their defensive assignments.
The foul trouble early would go on to negatively impact the game, having 13 of them called against the Fever in just the first 11 minutes. Coach White was frustrated after this one, but didn't let it overshadow her team's comeback effort at the end of the game.
"I was proud of our fight and the toughness that we showed. Our ability to stay together, we were all engaged. At the same time, you’ve got to be ready to go every game in this league," White said.
The Fever have to clean it up and figure it out fast as they once again take on the Dream Thursday and then play host to the league's defending champions, the New York Liberty, on Saturday.