After brutal start, Fever now back in playoff race: ‘We just keep improving.’

INDIANAPOLIS — On Wednesday night, the Indiana Fever accomplished something it hadn’t done since 2015: win four straight home games.

It’s been a long time coming for a franchise that hasn’t had a collective sense of self since Tamika Catchings retired in 2016. Since Catchings left the court, Indiana has had four general managers, including Catchings herself, and four head coaches. That’s not conducive to a consistent culture or winning strategy.

Lin Dunn’s return as general manager in 2022 has provided stability and Christie Sides’ first season last year saw an eight-win improvement. Consistency is starting to pay off. The Fever are 5-2 in their past seven games, and their 6-10 record puts them in the eighth playoff spot nearly halfway through the season.

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Kelsey Mitchell, who has spent her entire seven-year WNBA career with the Fever, had just won Big Ten Freshman of the Year at Ohio State when the Fever won four consecutive home games. Through the vitriol of the past six seasons, Mitchell has learned what it takes to consistently win.

“Collectively, it’s us taking the time to build the organization to what it can be,” seventh-year guard Kelsey Mitchell said. “Tamika Catchings in her era was what it was, and I think we’re trying to do something and establish something different.”

Both Dunn and Sides worked to overhaul the roster and culture of the Fever, step-by-step. Sides has stressed throughout her year and a half as coach this is a process — they can’t skip steps in the full-scale rebuild, or it will all come crumbling down.

The Fever went 13-27 in Sides’ first year. It wasn’t enough to make the playoffs, but it was over double the number of wins compared to the Fever’s 5-31 record in 2022.

Then, Indiana got the No. 1 pick for the second straight year. That’s when the rebuild started to take off.

Although No. 1 pick Caitlin Clark joined the group, the Fever struggled to start the season. Whether it was because of the schedule (11 games in 20 days, five against the WNBA’s top teams) or a lack of experience, Indiana started Clark’s tenure at 1-8.

“It was a challenge for them, you know, just everyday,” Sides said. “Not having success, going 1-8. That’s really hard to do, to keep coming back and just asking them to just stick with it, or let’s just keep getting better. Keep getting better, keep improving. And to me, that’s, that is what I am the most proud of: they kept showing up. We just keep showing up, we just keep improving.”

Social media was filled with calls for Sides’ job. There were calls for 2023 No. 1 pick Boston, who struggled to start the season, to be benched or even traded. There were calls for Clark to be traded to a “better team.”

But the Fever blocked out all the noise. They kept working, practicing where they could, and improving.

“Right now we’re keeping the basketball, we’re keeping the main thing, the main thing,” Mitchell said. “… I don’t think we focus on what the world could be saying, and that’s the best part for us right now.”

And Clark knew, as the No. 1 pick, she wasn’t going to go to a contender. She knew she was going to a struggling franchise, and knew it would take time to build — even if outside fans didn’t.

“I think everybody just loves instant satisfaction in our world,” Clark said. “No one came in here and said we were going to be WNBA champions from day one in our locker room, that was never our goal. Our goal is to get back to the playoffs, and we’re fighting for that every single night… you have to have perspective on things, and that goes for life, too.”

Eventually, things started to click. Each of the Fever’s core four — Clark, Boston, Mitchell and NaLyssa Smith — have scored in double figures for two straight games. Indiana is starting to see through opposing defenses, and the Fever are starting to anticipate Clark’s elaborate passes.

It takes time and reps to build chemistry, and time came at a premium for the Fever in the first three weeks of the season. Now that they have time to slow down, relax and practice, they’re starting to see everything come together.

“I think it’s just this group is starting to click and build some chemistry, and it’s one day at a time,” Clark said. “Like I said, everybody loves instant satisfaction. Sure, we would’ve probably loved that too. But I think we all kept a good perspective on knowing we just need to get better, one step at a time and that’s what we’re going to continue to do.”

Follow IndyStar Fever Insider Chloe Peterson on X at @chloepeterson67.

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: After brutal start, Indiana Fever, Caitlin Clark in WNBA playoffs mix