Indiana
This Indiana Fever rebuild is a process. WNBA’s best showed it won’t happen overnight.
INDIANAPOLIS — The Indiana Fever are two games into the season, and they already know they have a lot to figure out.
In the first two games of one of the most anticipated seasons in history, the Fever lost by 21 on the road to the Connecticut Sun, then returned home to the wrong side of a 36-point drubbing, 102-66, against the New York Liberty on Thursday at a sold-out Gainbridge Fieldhouse.
“You don’t win a lot of games in this league when you only score 66 points, but also you don’t want a lot of games giving up 102,” said Indiana coach Christie Sides. “So we’ve got a lot to figure out.”
More: Fever are loaded with offensive talent. But they have to figure out how to use it.
To give the Fever some (if any) credit, they went up against two of the most experienced teams in the league. The Sun don’t have a rookie on their roster, and their core of DeWanna Bonner, Alyssa Thomas and Brionna Jones have been playing with each other for over four years.
In addition to Sabrina Ionescu, New York has Breanna Stewart, Courtney Vandersloot and Jonquel Jones — all of whom are seasoned veterans who joined the Liberty in 2023, appearing in the WNBA finals.
These players know what they’re doing. They have a connection that can only be forged with time — something the Fever don’t have any advantage in.
“Our communication just has to increase, especially when you’re playing teams that know each other like the back of their hand,” said Fever second-year center Aliyah Boston.
The Fever have two starters who are completely new to the team and system: Katie Lou Samuelson and Caitlin Clark. Samuelson, a five-year veteran, came to Indiana after a year off because of pregnancy. Clark is coming to the Fever as the No. 1 pick, fresh off a Final Four season with Iowa.
With the Fever, there’s just not the same chemistry other, more-veteran teams, will have. Still, some of it comes down to effort and communication.
“I think there’s quite a bit that we need to learn about each other and about ourselves,” Samuelson said following Thursday’s loss. “But if we can dig deep, and play as hard as we can, as tough as we can for 40 minutes, we can probably make up for some of that. But we have lapses where things just escalate, and you can see this kind of dip.
“So it really comes down to just playing with a lot more energy, playing harder, communicating louder, little things that we shouldn’t be saying in this press conference right now, but that’s really the stuff we need to take care of.”
It takes time to get a team working together as well as the Sun and the Liberty. But, Sides said, the Fever are also missing some things that have nothing to do with how long a team has been together.
“It’s a process, but there’s a level when it just gets too much, when people are just continuing to punch you,” Sides said. “We’ve got to figure out how to stop them and give it right back to them. And we’re just not matching that.
“We’ve just got to get an attitude a little bit when people score on us,” she added. “You just can’t let it be so easy to just let them do what they want to do on us. It all goes back to just having a little bit of fight, passion, toughness.”
The Fever’s schedule isn’t doing them any favors. They start the season with two games each against the Sun, who reached the playoff semifinals last season, and finals runner-up Liberty. Five of their first seven games are on the road, and they play all seven within a 12-day stretch.
It’s challenging, no doubt, but it’s also not an option. The Fever are going to have to work through this gauntlet of a schedule, both travel- and competition-wise.
“You just have to do what you have to do to recover, and take the time when you get it,” Boston said. “We don’t really have that many days of a break in between games, and so we just have to be ready and recover.”
The reality of the situation is the Fever are 0-2, and their 57-point deficit through two games are the most to begin the season in league history (per ESPN Stats). Drafting Clark will be a franchise-changing move for the Fever, but they weren’t going to come out and beat some of the best teams in the league out of the gate.
A’ja Wilson was the Las Vegas Aces’ second-straight No. 1 draft pick in 2018, following Kelsey Plum. That 2018 Aces team went 14-20 and missed the playoffs, getting the top pick for the third straight draft. Now, Las Vegas are the back-to-back champions and Wilson has won two MVP titles.
If history is any indication, Clark and the Fever are going to be fine. They’re going to be good, or even great. But building chemistry doesn’t happen overnight, and success isn’t instant.
Follow IndyStar Fever Insider Chloe Peterson on X at @chloepterson67.
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Indiana
Indiana unemployment sees another slight increase – Inside INdiana Business
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Indiana’s unemployment rate hit 3.7% in May, up one-tenth of a percent from the previous month. The Indiana Department of Workforce Development said Tuesday that the state added 3,400 private sector jobs over April.
May’s unemployment rate marked the second consecutive month-over-month increase.
The DWD said Indiana’s total private employment stands at 2,850,400. The state primarily saw job gains in the trade, transportation and utilities; professional and business services; construction; financial activities; and leisure and hospitality sectors.
The state’s labor force participation rate fell one-tenth of a percent to 62.4%, which remains slight below the national rate of 62.5%. The labor force, which includes residents who are either employed or seeking employment, stands at 3,377,185, down nearly 1,700 from the previous month.
The DWD said the state had 98,693 open job postings as of June 17, while 19,458 unemployment insurance claims were filed as of the week ending May 25.
The state’s unemployment rate is lower than the national rate, which also rose one-tenth of a percent to 4% in May.
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Indiana
Indiana State Museum to offer an adult summer camp
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INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — Hoosiers can get ready for an eventful Adult Summer Camp hosted by Indiana State Museum on July 12 from 7-9 p.m.
The program is inspired by the new exhibit, Good Night Forest. The nature-inspired exhibit debuted June 8 and features hand drawn illustrations from local artist, Penelope Dullaghan.
Museum goers can enjoy outdoor activities such as archery, axe throwing, bubble bowling and an obstacle course. Activities are not limited to outdoors; visitors can also make friendship bracelets and tie-dye bandanas.
The museum’s galleries will be open for guided after-hours tours and nighttime stargazing.
This program is open to visitors 21 and older. Tickets are $45 for non-members, with a 10% discount for Indiana State Museum and Historic Sites members. Each ticket will include admission to the museum, access to all activities, snacks and one drink ticket.
Space for the summer camp is limited, tickets are available at IndianaMuseum.org.
Indiana
What the latest 2024 NBA Draft mock drafts say the Indiana Pacers will do
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INDIANAPOLIS — The 2024 NBA Draft is in just two days, and the Indiana Pacers have one of the most interesting setups in the league. They have three picks, more than 23 other teams, but all of their selections come in the second round. It will be difficult to manage that reality.
The Pacers top pick comes at 36th overall, then at 49 and 50. Indiana traded their first-round selections for Pascal Siakam, but now they are more limited in the upcoming draft, which spans two days.
“There will always be good NBA players that come out of every single draft,” Pacers VP of player personnel Ryan Carr said last week. “It’s our job to figure out who those guys are and get them on our team.”
Carr shared that his team always prepares the same way every year regardless of what picks they have. They’ll be ready come Wednesday and will try to get the best player they can at 36. General manager Chad Buchanan discussed the draft earlier in the offseason.
Who might that best player be at 36? And who else could the Pacers pick this week? Recent mock drafts have some overlapping names.
Yahoo Sports (Krysten Peek)
The Athletic (Sam Vecenie
)
ESPN (Jonathan Givony and Jeremy Woo)
The Ringer (Kevin O’Connor)
The NBA Draft starts on Wednesday night and ends Thursday evening. It’s a two-day event this year for the first time.
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