BALTIMORE — One of the biggest aspects of Indiana’s offense, one of the biggest reasons the Fever are so hard to guard, is because of their pace.
They like to push the game out in transition, get those easy buckets while the defense isn’t set. It worked for the first four games, as Indiana had 49 transition points, an average of 12.25 per game.
On Wednesday, that number — one that the Fever rely on heavily — dipped to zero.
It came as the Fever were without Caitlin Clark, the point guard and playmaker that pushes the pace and makes those transition points possible. She is out at least until June 9, when she will be re-evaluated, because of a quad strain.
That could’ve been the difference in what became an 83-77 loss to the Mystics. Washington finished the game with 10 points in transition.
“Caitlin is really good at finding rim runners, getting the ball up the floor, and that’s one where we gotta be better there,” Fever coach Stephanie White said. “You know, not relying so heavily on dribble handoffs and on-ball screens.”
The Fever’s offense, as a whole, felt disjointed without Clark on the floor. The spacing, which Clark commands so much of with her elite playmaking and logo 3-pointers, was off. The pace was slower, allowing the Mystics’ defense to set better, and Natasha Howard and DeWanna Bonner were the only players to make more than one field goal in the first half.
“I think we got punched in the mouth early,” Fever guard Kelsey Mitchell said.
The Fever had multiple breakdowns defensively, too — Indiana allowed 12 offensive rebounds to Washington, leading to the Mystics taking six more shots. Washington shot 43.5% from the field (compared to Indiana’s 39.5%) and went 19 of 25 from the free-throw line.
“It was (a lack of) attention to detail, knowing personnel, knowing defensive schemes, I think a lot of our breakdowns today was just knowing who you’re guarding … we just weren’t sharp,” White said. “We weren’t sharp enough to be a contender for anything tonight.”
The Fever started Sydney Colson, who is much more of a facilitating point guard than a scorer, in Clark’s place. Colson finished 2 of 7 from the field for four points, with three rebounds and three assists.
Yes, it’s a big adjustment for the Fever to be without Clark. There’s not a player much like her, with her ability to both score and facilitate at a high clip, push the floor in transition, and set up high-percentage shots.
The problem became, though, that they had to completely adjust their offense without her on the floor.
Fever center Aliyah Boston finished with 10 points, and she’s typically a high-percentage scorer. But, as a player that averages double-digit shots, she didn’t get nearly as many touches as she usually does.
She only had one shot at halftime (which she made) and finished 4 of 5 from the field with seven rebounds.
Clark typically runs a two-man game with Boston, leading to easy points. Boston’s lack of touches could be attributed to multiple things, including Washington’s vigilant defense, but it also had to do with Clark not being there to run the pick-and-roll.
“Certainly, (Boston) gets so many of her touches in the two-man game with Caitlin on the floor, and it looks different now without Caitlin,” White said. “We’re making it a point of contention to get her touches on the block as much as in the two-man, you know, and I thought they did a really good job of changing bodies every couple of minutes and being physical with her and forcing her to defend on the other end as well, with their post players. We’ve got to be better as coaches, of trying to get her in positions to be successful.”
Clark will be out at least for the next three games, and possibly more depending on how her recovery and rehab go. The good thing for the Fever is the next three games are winnable: Indiana plays Connecticut (0-5), Washington (3-3), and Chicago (0-4).
But those games are only winnable if Indiana can figure out how to run its offense without her.
“I think this was a kind of gut punch for us,” Fever guard Sophie Cunningham said. “We’re going to come back to practice with more focus, more energy. We know we want to be at the end of the season, but we’re not just going to get there. You know, sometimes it sucks and it’s a grind, and that’s where we’re at right now.”
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Explaining Indiana Fever offense issues without Caitlin Clark