2016 WNBA Season Preview: Indiana Fever


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2015 Record:
20-14
Lost in WNBA Finals

Key Offseason Moves:
Traded Natasha Howard to the Minnesota Lynx in exchange for Devereaux Peters

Traded Layshia Clarendon to the Atlanta Dream for 2017 second round draft pick

Players Acquired:
R1, P9: Tiffany Mitchell, G, South Carolina
R2, P9: Brene Moseley, G, Maryland
R3, P9: Julie Allemond, G, Belgium

Outlook:

Last year’s ESPN short film “Italian Imports” showcased the childhood friendship of Tamika Catchings and Kobe Bryant as kids living in Italy while their fathers played in Europe following their NBA careers.

They shared some of the same experiences, both in Italy and when they returned to the United States, and went on to become two of the greatest basketball players the game has ever seen. They both wear the No. 24 and both are ending their professional basketball careers in 2016.

While Tamika and Kobe have much in common – both are tenacious competitors, champions and future Hall of Famers – the ending of their pro careers should be much different. Kobe’s career came to a close in April as the Lakers finished at the bottom of the standings with little hope for a playoff berth.

Catchings will look to go out on top during her 15th and final season.

Catchings will look to go out on top during her 15th and final season.

Meanwhile, the Fever enter the 2016 season coming off a WNBA Finals appearance a year ago – their third appearance in Catchings’ first 14 years – and have expectations for another deep playoff run this season. Indiana, which has made the playoffs in a record 11 straight seasons, returns much of the core from last year’s team that surprised many by making it to the Finals under first-year head coach Stephanie White.

To make it back to the Finals will be a challenge and capturing a second championship to send Tamika off into the sunset would be the storybook ending. But there is plenty of basketball to be played before any of that can happen, and plenty of questions that will need to be answered along the way.

1. How much does Tamika have left in the tank?

Catchings is the ultimate competitor, but Father Time remains undefeated and Catchings is pulling double-duty this year, as she will compete for her fourth Olympic gold medal in Rio this August.

“I felt great. This is the first game I played since last season. I’ve had a lot of time off and a lot of rust… But just getting out there I felt good getting up and down,” Catchings said after scoring 16 points in 12 minutes during her preseason debut on Friday. “I love the rhythm of the team. Just practicing with everybody and how much fun we have out there, that kind of translates practice into the game.”

2. How soon can Briann January get back to full strength?

January is coming off a microfracture surgery in her right knee after sustaining an injury during the decisive Game 5 of last year’s Finals. January has not played in the preseason and may miss the season opener as the Fever take a cautious approach to her return.

“Because she could play for a long time in this league, and there’s no sense rushing her to get back quicker than she’s ready and jeopardizing that,” White recently told the Indianapolis Star.

January has been rehabbing in Indianapolis for months to work her way back to the court.

“Everybody’s heard the horror stories of people coming back too soon off their microfractures, pushing it a little too hard,” January said. “Our support staff and everybody has done a phenomenal job throughout my recovery to just help me along the way, build the strength, hold me back, rein me back in when I needed it. We’re progressing every day, and I’m feeling great.”

Indiana’s Top Plays of 2015

3. Can Shenise Johnson and Marissa Coleman rise to another level?

Both players are coming off career years in 2015 and will be relied upon even more heavily as January continues to rehab, Catchings continues to slow down (she averaged a career-low 13.1 points last season) and bench sparkplug Shavonte Zellous now plays in New York.

4. Can Devereaux Peters provide some much-needed rim protection and rebounding help?

Indiana ranked last in blocks per game last season (2.9) and second-to-last in defensive rebounds (22.7). Peters, a 6-2 forward taken third overall in the 2012 Draft, was acquired in a sign-and-trade with the Minnesota Lynx, where she played her first four seasons in the WNBA.

While Peters’ per-game stats from last season don’t jump off the page (3.4 rebounds, 0.9 blocks), she was only playing 14.5 minutes per game for the star-studded Lynx. Her per-36 minute numbers are far more impressive: 8.4 rebounds and 2.2 blocks.

5. Finally, how quickly can rookie Tiffany Mitchell contribute?

The Fever were excited to see the 5-9 guard from South Carolina fall to them at the No. 9 pick in last month’s draft. Her ability to score, shoot the three and defend should fit in very well with White’s uptempo style of play – the Fever ranked third in pace in White’s first season in 2015 after ranking second-to-last the year before.

“We’re really excited that she was still around, and we feel like she can come in and make an impact,” White said on draft night.

Not only should Mitchell help fill the void left by the departure of Zellous, but she can be a building block for the post-Catchings era of Fever basketball.

“We’re never going to find a substitute for Tamika Catchings. You just hope you can find two or three players who can collectively give you what Tamika gives and, to be quite honest, what you miss most with a player like Tamika, you can’t even see on the stat sheet,” White said. “So that’s where the toughness, the mentality, the work ethic, all of those qualities come into play and I think that Tiffany Mitchell, to have a year to learn from Tamika, and you look at this team with Briann January as well, those type of qualities are what you really want to surround yourself with, and she has those.”

Of course, life after Tamika Catchings hasn’t started yet. There is still a season to be played and an ending to be written.

“I’m excited,” said Catchings. “I’m really excited about this year and looking at this being my last season, but then also celebrating 20 years with the league and all that encompasses. I’m really excited. I feel like the energy is high, I like the morale of the whole league, it’s the best it’s ever been and I’m excited to be a part of that.”