This is a strange time for everyone in the WNBA, but the Indiana Fever's 2020 season got off to a particularly stressful start. Due to positive COVID-19 tests, they traveled to Florida a full five days later than every other team, and as such got a late start in their preparations.
That would have been a disadvantage for any team, but was especially so for the Fever, who have a new head coach in Marianne Stanley, and an extremely young team. But despite their youth, they'll be looking to build on last season and make it back to the playoffs for the first time since 2016.
With five top-10 picks from the past five years, there's plenty of young talent around veteran leaders Candice Dupree and Erica Wheeler. Whether they can put it all together remains to be seen.
Ahead of the 2020 season, here's everything you need to know about the Indiana Fever.
Fever roster
| PLAYER | POSITION |
|---|---|
Natalie Achonwa | F-C |
Julie Allemand | G |
Kennedy Burke | G |
Lauren Cox | F |
Kathleen Doyle | G |
Candice Dupree | F |
Stephanie Mavunga | F |
Teaira McCowan | C |
Tiffany Mitchell | G |
Kelsey Mitchell | G |
VIctoria Vivians | G |
Erica Wheeler | G |
Players sitting out: None
Fever schedule
All times Eastern
| DATE | TIME | OPPONENT | TV |
|---|---|---|---|
July 25 | 5 p.m. | Washington Mystics | CBS Sports Network |
July 29 | 7 p.m. | Phoenix Mercury | WNBA League Pass |
July 31 | 8 p.m. | Dallas Wings | CBS Sports Network |
Aug. 2 | 4 p.m. | Atlanta Dream | WNBA League Pass |
Aug. 5 | 10 p.m. | Los Angeles Sparks | WNBA League Pass |
Aug. 7 | 6 p.m. | Minnesota Lynx | WNBA League Pass |
Aug. 9 | 5 p.m. | Washington Mystics | WNBA League Pass |
Aug. 11 | 7 p.m. | Las Vegas Aces | ESPN 2 |
Aug. 13 | 6 p.m. | New York Liberty | WNBA League Pass |
Aug. 15 | 4 p.m. | Los Angeles Sparks | WNBA League Pass |
Aug. 18 | 7 p.m. | Connecticut Sun | CBS Sports Network |
Aug. 20 | 8 p.m. | Seattle Storm | WNBA League Pass |
Aug. 22 | 2 p.m. | Chicago Sky | CBS Sports Network |
Aug. 25 | 10 p.m. | Seattle Storm | WNBA League Pass |
Aug. 27 | 7 p.m. | Chicago Sky | WNBA League Pass |
Aug. 29 | 12 p.m. | Dallas Wings | CBS Sports Network |
Sept. 1 | 8 p.m. | Atlanta Dream | WNBA League Pass |
Sept. 3 | 10 p.m. | Phoenix Mercury | WNBA League Pass |
Sept. 5 | 4 p.m. | Connecticut Sun | WNBA League Pass |
Sept. 8 | 10 p.m. | Las Vegas Aces | WNBA League Pass |
Sept. 10 | 7 p.m. | New York Liberty | CBS Sports Network |
Sept. 12 | 6 p.m. | Minnesota Lynx | WNBA League Pass |
Key storylines
Late start: While teams had been in something of a training camp mode for months, the process of actually getting together and traveling to Florida for the start of the season seemed a bit haphazard, as the league hastily prepared plans for the bubble. Eventually, a travel date was set, and teams headed south on July 6.
The Fever, however, had to stay behind in Indianapolis and follow CDC guidelines after multiple positive COVID-19 tests. After five days, they were allowed to travel to Bradenton on July 11. With multiple days of quarantine required upon arrival in the bubble, the Fever haven't even had a full week of practice yet.
The team obviously isn't making excuses, but there's no doubt that losing multiple days of practice hurts. Not only are they a young team with a new coach, but this is a unique situation and a cramped schedule means there will be little time for practice once games begin.
Playoffs?: The Fever are not a contender, that is for certain. But even if they're a few tiers below the elite clubs, it's clear they have their sights set on the playoffs after falling just two games back of the eighth seed last season. They would have been right there fighting for one of the final spots in a normal season, but now that it's been shortened to 22 games, they can absolutely get in. If they do, it will be their first trip to the postseason since 2016, and end the longest drought in franchise history.
Frontcourt for the future: In each of the past two drafts, the Fever have had the No. 3 overall pick, and selected a potential frontcourt star. Last year, it was Teaira McCowan out of Mississippi State, and this time around it was Lauren Cox from Baylor. While most of the basketball world is moving toward a perimeter-oriented style, the Fever are trying to build a dominant frontcourt.
While Cox is yet to see the floor, and in fact isn't even in the bubble yet -- she's expected to join the team soon -- McCowan showed promise in the second half of last season, averaging a double-double after the All-Star break. In theory, the two should fit well together as a high-low pairing, and Cox has plenty of experience playing with a true center after teaming up with Kalani Brown in college.
It's likely going to take a few seasons for this duo to find their footing together, and depending on when Cox arrives, we may not even get to see much of them this summer. Whatever we do get, though, will be must-watch TV.
Vivians returns: Building around Cox and McCowan is all well and good, but even if they become a dominant frontcourt pairing, it's hard to be consistently successful without perimeter scoring. The Fever should get a big boost in that department with the return of Victoria Vivians.
The No. 8 overall pick in 2018, Vivians tore her ACL and missed all of last season, but is now healthy and ready to return to action. At 6-foot-1, she has good size for a guard, and shot an impressive 39.9 percent on 4.8 3-point attempts per game in her rookie season. Her outside shooting will go a long way on a team that took just 16.7 3s per game last season -- second-fewest in the league -- and needs plenty of spacing around Cox and McCowan.
