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What is wrong with the Indiana Fever’s offense?

 I saw the same thing in the New York Liberty under Pat Coyle when she had the team run a five-out set. The offense would start with post players Janel McCarville and Cathrine Kraayeveld at the top of the arc. Then McCarville and Kraayeveld would work their way to the block, most times this gave them little energy to do anything with the ball when (if) they do get it.

 

The same concept holds true for the Indiana Fever. Tammy Sutton-Brown and Ebony Hoffman do not get the ball enough on the low block. It may be a lack of an offensive toughness or the system Indiana runs, but the post players do not do a great job of posting up. Heck, sometimes I see Tamika Catching post up more than Sutton-Brown. If Sutton-Brown does get the ball, she shoots remarkably well 46.6 percent - if she gets the ball.

 

Why is getting the ball inside to the posts important? Well, post touches make the defense move. When the post player receives the ball down low defenders have the option of playing the post one-one-one or doubling (or even tripling) the post player. This forces the entire defense to shift which forces the defensive players guarding the perimeter to move away from the women they are guarding. If the post player is double-teamed, then one defensive player has to guard two offensive players leaving someone on offense wide open. The post with the ball has the option of taking her defender one-on-one, or if double-teamed, kicking the ball back out to the guards – hopefully, the wide open player. Ball movement is an important key to basketball success in the half court offense. Aggressive posts inside can open up shots and driving lanes for guards to shoot easier baskets.

 

 If you have not noticed, the Indiana Fever spend a lot of time passing the ball around the perimeter on offense, usually watching Catchings and Katie Douglas. The Fever's opponents do not have to shift much as the ball only moves a couple feet from player to player around the perimeter. In a stagnant defense like this, Indiana’s only option is to dribble-drive which produces very little if its opponent has descent help-side defense. If Indiana can’t dribble-drive to the basket and the guards cannot get the ball to the posts then the only real option is to shoot perimeter jump shots.

 

Shots in the paint are high percentage shots because they are taken closer to the basket. Shots outside the paint are lower percentage shots. Perimeter shots are lower percentage shots. Ever notice how it is easier to make a layup than a half court bucket? Since the posts rarely get the ball on the block, the Fever is forced to take a lot of lower percentage shots, hence its ridiculously low shooting percentage.

 

So how was Indiana able to win the regular title in the east with such a poor shooting percentage? The answer is defense. If Indiana can’t score, all the team has to do is make sure its opponents cannot score either. It was working wonders...well, up until September.