Indiana Fever Fires Coach Christie Sides in Latest WNBA Shake-Up Following Playoff Exit

[RandySF]

In a surprising move for some, the Indiana Fever announced on Sunday that they fired coach Christie Sides following a disappointing end to the season.

This decision comes just after Caitlin Clark, the 2024 WNBA Draft’s No. 1 overall pick and sensational Rookie of the Year, saw her inaugural season conclude with a swift playoff sweep by the Connecticut Sun. Despite an impressive individual performance by Clark, averaging 19.2 points, 8.4 assists, and 5.7 rebounds per game, her efforts were not enough to save Sides’ job. Under her leadership, the Fever ended the season with a 33-47 record, managing to claw their way to the No. 6 seed after a rocky start, only to crash out of the playoffs in the first round.

In a statement, Fever president of basketball operations Kelly Krauskopf expressed gratitude for Sides’ role during a challenging transition period. However, the gravity of the situation cannot be overstated.

“While decisions like these are never easy, it is also imperative that we remain bold and assertive in the pursuit of our goals, which includes maximizing our talent and bringing another WNBA championship back to Indiana,” Krauskopf wrote in a statement.



https://balleralert.com/profiles/blogs/indiana-fever-fires-coach-christie-sides/

[moniss]

1. Poorly written

Last edited Mon Oct 28, 2024, 10:01 PM - Edit history (1)

article to claim the Fever season ended as 33-47 when that is Sides total record and the Fever actual season record this year was 20-19 and 0-1 in the postseason.

But on the subject of Sides herself she was less than effective in use of timeouts throughout the season, failed to embrace playing the uptempo game of CC early on and instead seemed to want more of the traditional "point guard pass to the wing for a shot or a drive and then rebound" sort of game instead of the faster paced game of movement combined with skilled crisp passing that CC brings. Her failure to push back for most of the season on Caitlin being mauled and not getting calls put her players out there as "open game" for other teams. Luckily there were no major injuries because of it. She often didn't seem to have a strategy she could impart for closing the half or the end of the game.

In Sides defense I don't think the assistant coaches were effective for her either. It may have been a bad dynamic or just lack of coaching ability. Coaching defense is one of the most unheralded roles/skills in basketball and it is not stressed nearly enough and worked on hard enough for many of today's players both men and women at all levels. Defense other than rebounding, steals and blocked shots don't give to the stats line but the great defense of denying the position on the floor, effectively denying open shots, anticipating the play and disrupting screens etc. all contribute to your opponent having a miserable night and it removes you from always having to score tons of points to win a game. But you have to teach it and coach it 24/7/365 and it has to be something you want. You have to make sure your players are just as satisfied in preventing a shot as they are in making a shot. Now whether the assistants tried but were overruled we don't know. First half of the season I saw Fever players lack effort to move quickly when defending, trying to play defense by too much reaching and generally acting like they had no foot movement and only had a vertical leap that was more like a halfhearted hop.

[ProfessorGAC]

2. Excellent Post

You made the points I was going to make.
It's like Sides was still coaching ladt year's roster, after adding the most dynamic player in the game.
It's like she wanted the player to fit the system rather that adjust the system to fit the best player.
Also, agree on some in-game management. I only saw a half-dozen games, but in every one of them there were some "Why would one do that?" moments.
A to B to C.
I still remember when The Bulls fired Doug Collins to hire Phil Jackson because they thought Collins was a food A to B coach, but couldn't get a team to C.
Might be how the Fever is viewing the situation.
All that said, it feels odd for a coach to get fired after increasing the win total by 50%.

[moniss]

3. I think there may also be

some behind the scenes things we aren't privy to. I've watched the W drift into chaos over the last several years with the horrendous officiating and it may well be that CC may have made feelings known. On the subject of her getting purposely run over by Diamond DeShields of the Chicago Sky and only a flagrant one foul called, it is interesting to go back to the video clip on YouTube from 2012 when Jason Smith of the New Orleans Pelicans did the same to Blake Griffin of the Los Angeles Clippers. Smith got hit with a flagrant 2, ejected from the game and then the league suspended him for 2 games. But for Caitlin it was just the flagrant one foul call. Here's the videos. At least Smith had the decency to eventually apologize for the hit. DeShields never has.

[ProfessorGAC]

4. I Watched That Sky/Fever Game

I'm a parochial Chicago fan & even I thought "What the heck was that?" That was a clear ejection moment, not a basketball play.
I also agree the officiating is substandard. While I think the eurostep is traveling in general, it's really bad in the W, and it's never called. The players are clearly taking 3 full steps, but it is almost always ignored.
The play is too rough in the WNBA as if banging adds credibility. The refs have insufficient control over the game and the CC attention has put a spotlight on it.