Key Sentence:
- The final season of Indiana Fever ended earlier than anyone in the organization wanted.
The Fever went 6:26 in the 2021 campaign, Little Victories the last place record that tied the franchise with low-level wins in a single season. To outsiders, this season will almost certainly seem like a failure for Indiana.
Internally, the team wants to get better. “It’s been a difficult season,” striker Jantel Lavander said at the end of the season. But a closer look at the profit and loss record doesn’t tell the story of the Indiana fever in 2021 very well and doesn’t describe where the Fever is heading.
The Indiana team overcame many unusual challenges. There Little Victories are some unique things that every team in the league has to deal with, such as the COVID record and the mid-season Olympic break. The hurdles weren’t fever-specific, but they were hurdles nonetheless, and the Olympic break disrupted the season’s best three-game winning streak.
However, the 2021 fever also has to face many challenges that other teams don’t face.
They opened the season with six games in 12 days, a short period for so many fights. However, by the end from May, they had played eight games, which is the most in the league, and had reached ten, playing faster than any other team. It was a bit from a challenge, but very difficult for a team with some new players.
After four home games at Bankers Life Fieldhouse, Indiana had to change stadiums due to ongoing renovations to their signature arena in downtown Indianapolis. This resulted in minor changes in the schedule and nature of their game days and changed their season.
At the end of the campaign, Fever had played two games with only six healthy players, and they had played many games with half a dozen or so players sidelined through injury. As a result, they barely managed to get a team at the end of the season; they are fortunate with injuries and illnesses. “Never,” said Fever head coach Marian Stanley when asked if he had ever coached a team with such difficult injury situations. Stanley has been on the WNBA coaching staff for more than two decades. “It’s one after the other.”
As WNBA teams compete throughout the season, the Fever has to overcome many obstacles. The roster isn’t as talented as others in the league, but they’ve had to overcome a lot of external difficulties that have held back growth this season.
“I think, in general, our team has improved in defense. And some people are better at it. I think we learned that supportive people played a few minutes shorter, give us more in a bigger role,” he added. So despite poor results and countless hurdles, the Fever grew. It was only slower and more complex. Thanks to all the game factors.