ISL Indiana Fever Preview
It may be now or never for the Fever.
Indiana has been to the playoffs seven consecutive years, including four trips to the Eastern Conference Finals and a trip to the WNBA Finals in 2009.
But key components are older now. Catchings is 32, Katie Douglas just turned 33 and Tammy Sutton-Brown is 34.
The Fever are back for another run at a title, starting this season at home Saturday against Atlanta. It will be a good test against the team that eliminated Indiana in the Eastern Conference finals last year.
Health could be the main concern, with Catchings and point guard Briann January coming off injuries.
Catchings says she feels good, even after struggling with plantar fasciitis during last year’s playoffs. The reigning league MVP will shift from small forward to power forward this season. She played power forward at Tennessee and believes she will adjust easily.
It’s a good transition, she said. If I can learn and get comfortable there, and I’m already comfortable playing on the wing, it just adds to the all-around game.
Fever coach Lin Dunn said Catchings’ move will give the team flexibility.
We’ve always felt like she could play the 3 or the 4, Dunn said. We like her at the 4 because she’s in the middle of the floor. She’s involved in the pick and pop, she’s involved in the pick and roll. She’s the trail post now, so she can stop and pop.
January tore her ACL and played in just 10 games last season. She’s back and has looked good so far. Dunn said recently that January is closer to 100 percent health than Catchings.
January’s absence gave the Fever a chance to look at Erin Phillips. The Australian has earned a spot in the rotation this year, even with January’s return. She returned from Poland recently and is ready to go.
Some new faces have joined the familiar veterans to give Dunn a squad she says might be her deepest since she took the Indiana job in 2008.
Roneeka Hodges was acquired in a trade that sent Tangela Smith to San Antonio and averaged a team-best 13 points per game in the preseason.
The Fever also added Georgia Tech’s Sasha Goodlett in the first round of this year’s draft. Dunn said the 6-foot-5 center has potential, but she’s getting used to the speed of the pro game. She’ll help Jessica Davenport and Sutton-Brown in the post.
Another key move is Shavonte Zellous’ move into a possible starting role. The spot became available when Smith was traded. Zellous has always been a key energy player for the Fever, and her athletic ability and aggressiveness give the team quick-strike ability.
The talent is there. The shooters are there – Jeanette Pohlen already is one of the league’s top 3-point threats and Douglas is a known threat. The team’s size is impressive, as is the variety of lineups Dunn can use. If January’s shot has improved, there is an entirely new ceiling on the Fever because teams won’t be able to focus so much on her drive.
The only questions are if the team will be healthy and if age will start to catch up by the end of the season. Perhaps January and Zellous, with their youth, speed and quickness, can be the difference this time. And perhaps finally, luck will go their way. Catchings waited seemingly forever to be named MVP. Perhaps now, it’s time for her to claim her place among WNBA champions.
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Follow Cliff Brunt on Twitter: www.twitter.com/cliffbrunt_isl
