Aug. 23—INDIANAPOLIS — The Indiana Fever have become perhaps the most crowd-pleasing team in the WNBA.
They certainly play in front of the largest audience.
Indiana’s average crowd of 16,955 for 13 dates at Gainbridge Fieldhouse is more than 4,000 better than the second-place New York Liberty. Likewise, an average of 15,306 fans have watched the Fever play away from home, again more than 4,000 clear of the second-place Chicago Sky.
Those crowds have seen an offense that ranks fifth in the league with an average of 82.7 points per game. During a 4-1 stretch that dates back before the month-long Olympic break, Indiana has increased that number to 91.8 points per game.
Put it all together, and the Fever have positioned themselves nicely for their first postseason berth since 2016 with 12 games remaining in the regular season.
But, just as the team never read too much into a rough 2-9 stretch to start the season, players and coaches are keeping the current up turn in perspective.
“I think the one thing that keeps always popping in my head is, ‘Don’t get too high, and don’t get too low. Stay with the process,'” Indiana head coach Christie Sides told reporters this week. “As a coach, you play these two games (back from the break last weekend) and you beat two really good teams, you can maybe get ahead of yourself.
“We’ve got to just keep building blocks, keep building blocks.”
The Fever (13-15) were highly impressive in the restart to the regular season with a 98-89 victory against the Phoenix Mercury and a 92-75 decision against the Seattle Storm last weekend.
But a hugely impactful four-game stretch starts Saturday on the road against the Western Conference-leading Minnesota Lynx (20-8).
A road trip against the Atlanta Dream (10-17) follows Monday, with a home game against the Connecticut Sun (20-7) on Wednesday and the final date of the regular season againstt the rival Sky (11-16) rounding out the week on Aug. 30 in Chicago.
Why is this week so potentially important? Just take a look at the standings.
In the WNBA, the top eight teams make the postseason regardless of conference affiliation.
Indiana entered Friday in seventh place, 1.5 games ahead of Chicago and 2.5 in front of Atlanta.
The Dream was 3-0 after the break, with a game pending against Phoenix after snapping an eight-game losing streak with impressive wins against the Storm, Mercury and Sun. With superstar Rhyne Howard back in the lineup, Atlanta is making a serious push for a playoff spot.
That makes the stakes for Monday’s game — set to be played at the NBA’s Atlanta Hawks’ State Farm Arena — obvious.
The same can be said for the impending showdown in the Windy City with the Sky attempting to close the gap on Indiana and stay in front of red-hot Atlanta.
The other two games are against teams battling for the No. 2 overall seed.
Indiana won 81-74 at Minnesota in the teams’ only meeting this season on July 14, but Connecticut is 3-0 in the season series and has won by an average of 14 points.
If the Fever are to reach their stated goal for the season and end their eight-game postseason drought, this week could play a crucial role.
“It’s just one (game) at a time,” Indiana rookie guard Caitlin Clark said. “I thought we’ve done a really good job of that over these first two games.”
INJURY UPDATE
Indiana announced Friday center Temi Fagbenle (thumb) is probable for Saturday’s game at Minnesota.
Fagbenle has averaged 8.5 points and 5.5 rebounds in 11 games this season, but she’s been sidelined since July 2 and injuries have limited her to just three games since May 28.
