I have tickets to go see the Fever play the Mercury in two weeks and I am beginning to wonder if Christie Sides and the Fever as we currently know them will still be in the same form as they are now. Will someone be cut? Could it be Coach Sides? It’s tough to say but I don’t think that Caitlin Clark getting left off the Olympic team helped.

What does Caitlin Clark on the Olympic team have to do with the Indiana Fever getting blown out by the Connecticut Sun 89-72 last night? Well, not much on the court. But off the court, things have gotten bad. Caitlin Clark allegedly texted Coach Sides that “they woke a monster” when they left her off the Olympic team (which Sides questionably revealed to the media), and Clark’s getting left off the Olympic team woke up the monster within the fans, who now seem to be attacking the Fever organization from all sides, but especially Coach Sides.

Most are now questioning her line-ups, her playing time distribution, and either her overuse or underuse of Caitlin Clark. Her press conference last night where Coach Sides laid much of the blame at the feet of the players did not help:

A Tough Loss

Before Sides was interviewed, both Lexie Hull and Aaliyah Boston answered questions and they both seemed well spoken, calm and forthcoming. But there is also a general sense of frustration on a team whose preseason expectations might have been too high. I had seen more than one podcast peg the Fever as an instant WNBA playoff team if not an outright finals participant. But now they are in second to last place ready to win the Paige Bueckers lottery. And you might think – wow, that’s what they need. But folks, THEY ALREADY HAVE CAITLIN CLARK AND AALIYAH BOSTON ON THEIR TEAM.

And yet the team was down 55-35 last night at half – and Caitlin Clark just sat on the bench for most of the second half. Aaliyah Boston had a double-double, 14 points and 12 boards, and Lexie Hull had 10 points (a nice showing for her in what has been a frustrating season), but like always, not enough came together for a win, or to even make it competitive.

And the fans are not letting up. This team is so far under the microscope it might be coming out the other side. That post-game presser had 12K views on Youtube in under 24 hours. The league champs Las Vegas Aces post-game presser from Friday night when they played top team Minnesota had 8K after 4 days (I will admit that their pressers are getting substantially more views when Kate Martin is in the thumbnail).

But I get it, this fanbase was expecting more wins. This is a team in the midst of the Commissoner’s Cup with a 3-10 record. The Sparks have far less talent and have managed four wins, including two in a row. The Mystics have no wind but at least look competitive almost nightly. Which adds to another issue, the Fever not only lose but much of the time but also do not look competitive. And that may be what is really exacerbating each loss with the now chirpy fans.

A Roster Issue?

This team should be winning more games – that’s for sure. Their talent level and basketball intelligence have to be some of the highest in the league with other high draft picks like the aforementioned Lexie Hull, drafted just a few years ago in 2022 out of Stanford but already displaying the weariness of a disgruntled vet, and sharpshooter journeywoman Katie Lou Samuelson. That is to say nothing of potential all-stars like Erica Wheeler and Kelsey Mitchell who could pretty much carry another team on their own.

Which makes me think – do the Fever have too much talent – or perhaps more succinctly, do the Fever have too much disparate talent? They have heliocentric ballhandlers like Caitlin Clark, Wheeler, and Mitchell, they have veteran shooters like Kristy Wallace, Hull and Samuelson, and they have a dominant post presence with players like Teme Fagbenle and Boston. But playing them all together just has not worked out. It’s almost like an episode of CHOPPED and there’s all kind of good stuff in there but just not enough of one thing to pair with another. On paper it should work. But if you are starting Clark, you are losing out on low post presence or shooting because you also have to start Wheeler and Mitchell (or at least play them signficant minutes). One thing is for sure, the team as it is constructed now does not need another guard, especially Paige Bueckers.

Maybe it isn’t Sides’ fault. Maybe the GM Lin Dunn needs to make some trades and better balance out the team. Trade some of those ingredients in that Chopped basket for something else. The Sparks or other guard deprived teams could use a Lexie Hull or even an Erica Wheeler. The Storm could use another post player. There are definitely moves to be made and the Fever need to make them.

One way or another I doubt the Fever, as they are constructed today on June 11th, make it to the end of the season intact. If they do, maybe they will be front and center for the Paige Bueckers lottery.