Indiana Fever Shootaround Media Availability (at Chicago Sky) | August 30, 2024

Kelsey Mitchell going against the team that's really also hungry get the playoffs and not losing streak for you guys tonight um I think I mean me personally I'm focused on what our team is going to do and what we bring to the table but I mean Chicago is a really great team really young um really vibrant city so we can expect it to be you know a little bit more amped up but I think that the focus is us the focus going always be us um as great as Chicago is I think we got our own stretch going and I think we trying to make the playoffs so we going to do whatever I guess to make that happen right how enjoyable as a competitor are these like environments that we've come to yeah know between you and this guy man I think I'm kind of like y'all I caught on a little late I didn't realize it was a Ry about two or three weeks ago I was like what is the deal but obviously you know The Spectator comes with it and I think that um for one the women's game has done a really great job of like you know showing how great our our women is but I think more importantly like rival not I think you going to see some really good basketball and I think it's a really good atmosphere for our game kind of like you know you know whatever the Rivalry is I think that we stay focused on the basketball court and that part is going to keep flourishing for our game and so um whatever happens in a rivalry whoever wins I think that we're going to stay focused on the right stuff but I think the Rivalry itself is just it just adds to how great our game is getting you know when it comes to the evolution of this team like yeah we go back to the beginning of the Season like y'all y'all went through some challenges and now we're kind of see the fruits of those challenges for you guys as the players like what's been the most enjoyable part about um the difference between kind of that first half of the season and now what we're seeing now uh a difference I think the fact that was a difference and you guys can see you know the opposite side and I think that experience everyone has this expectation about the pros and what it is and I think that being a pro comes with experience and you just don't walk into a league think you have it all you know put together and I think that we got punched early and we needed it you know you get a chance to see where you are individually and even as a team and I think on the flip end you get to see where we are now so it's kind of like The Best of Both Worlds kind of the fact that Chicago has uh no they're probably going to be way more amped up I think um I can like some of the players on their team really great pros and so I think they have a season group especially off the benches so I don't think the co is going to matter they still going to play hard as I I can expect that from theor of time when you talked about the things that you guys need to focus on whether not it's for game or just to close out the season strong get to the playoffs what are because we're also seeing you guys play so well but you guys want more so what are some of those things that are really focus for you guys uh defense uh defense is always going to be our our appe feel in some ways and it's going to help us win games in a lot of ways I hope so um our defensive like mindset is just us stay focus going to let y'all know this a bad mother woo she's shouting uh defense man defense is going to be our Focus we got to stay focused on that part um I think if we can defend we going to get whatever we want what does like great defense look like for the yeah 40 uh 40 minutes for one um somewhere near close um and I think um taking our challenges and individual matchups and being able to take those challenges and know who we're playing against and know how great individual players are um and taking taking pride in having to defend you know individual Personnel so that that's our next step because individually as this playoff stretch comes more and more individual players will to be more and more amazing so if we can guard our matchups and you know kind of stay focused on what you know individual Personnel looks like we got a chance do you feel like in that respect the team improveed since the beginning yeah for sure yeah for sure I think I think that we'll always can improve but I mean you got to get as close as perfect possible and we're not there so and then when it comes to the evolution of this team like is there one specific aspect attributed to like was it the punches you guys took early was it um just the time required to kind of bring a new team together like what this difference we're seeing between the first half and the second what would you kind of attribute that to I think like I said the competition early when when the schu first came out and some of the teams that we played and participated in uh you know it wasn't ideal but uh you know you get a chance to see early how you know where you need to work at and so now we get to see like dang like we came far a far far away but it was worth it so I I was I would contributed to getting punched early like with those really great teams your New Yorks and your connectic because you know that's the pillar that's like the standard so you guys seem like you're having a lot of fun this morning are you guys warning people I mean me personally I'm not but I think that the team is clearly um plus you know we it's our difference so we take what we can get but this is us to a te for the most part okay uh what was the Olympic break like for you in particular that really help you to get on this Ro that you've personally been on everything I do I keep the same I don't do anything different um whether it's a break or not uh I like to you know stay in routine I mean obviously I took a couple days to like mentally prepare over Olympic break but the work itself you try to do as much as you can and stay consistent and I tried to do that throughing my Olympic break I didn't really you know change much so it's about being polished and staying crisp in certain areas and so that's what I did over my break we were talking Head Coach Christie Sides with Kelsey she was saying you know like we know Chicago is a team that it's fighting for its playoff lives but we still have goals too like you guys still want to make the playoffs and everything obviously so when you think about the hunger that Chicago is going to be coming in with but also what you guys thought to do what are the kind of the focuses either Scouting Report wise or also just for you guys individually as a team yeah you know we've just been preaching from day one it's all about us make it about us what do we have to do to make sure we give ourselves an opportunity to win this game so you know we're not trying to get caught up in all the extras and all the other outside stuff like is what we have to do to get better that's I mean to to win this game take care of the basketball defend without fouling we can't put them on the free throw line and my gosh they're the best offensive team in the league rebounding team in the league so we've got to make sure we're we're boxing out every possession how does um Kennedy Carter like her absence change you know the makeup of this team cuz she's obviously very Dynamic yeah Dynamic is a great word for for Kennedy Carter I mean she's capable of putting up 25 points before you know it I mean she's just so skilled her game is so smooth um she's a really hard guard because of her speed and she changes speeds very well and um so you know I hope she's okay hope she feels bad I hope she's better after tonight um but uh she's she just makes it really hard to guard she's that's good for an athlete and then when it comes to like this team your team the difference between the first half and the second Kelsey talked about obviously those early challenges you guys are figuring each other out there's a lot of people that are like is this team going to figure it out I think many people knew you guys would at some point what do you attribute the figuring out to is it those early challenges is it just the players needing to you know develop some camaraderie some friendship like how do you yeah I just think it was just put on such a stage with the expectations with the number one draft pick that we got and Caitlyn and I mean guys we won five G they won five games two years ago and then last year we won 13 so the expectations from the outside was we should be winning every game we're still in this we're still in this rebuild we're still in this process we're still trying to just figure things out get better and you bring in a new point guard um it changes who she is and what she does changes how we played from last year so that takes time we played a game after six practices and then we just got thrown into the fire with the the competition with New York several times Connecticut several times Vegas so people ask would you have rather played someone else instead of those honestly I think we learned so much about ourselves during that time and they never um The Challenge was making sure they showed up every day to come to practice and get better because it could have gone in several different directions going one and eight it kept showing up they kept showing up and their work to me is what we're reaping that with the wins we're getting now coach I've heard you talk about the experience of like being under intense media scrutiny team this season do you feel like that has made you less trusting of the media's place in society and you can tell us even though we're the media uh you know I think just some of the narratives that are just so false you know um many many of the narratives that are so false out there makes it hard for you to to believe so when you like when you read articles that some of you guys do and it's just spot on good journalism like that that just feels good you know like when you're giving good information and not finding a way to get a you know a like or a tweet or and good I don't do a lot of social media which is good Ryan keeps me up to date on what I need to know sometimes he's like you don't need to know anything just go go to practice um so you know just it's kind of where we are as a society though right like not just basketball but politics right now and what do you believe and you know so you know we're just we just keep it about us and in our Circle and just keep getting ready for the next challenge ahead Kelsey Mitchell is I'm sorry no you go you go Kelsey Mitchell is playing out of her mind right now out of her mind when you have a player in that flow what does it take to fan that fire keep it going and not disturb it that's a great question uh Kelsey is a very um she speaks when she needs to speak which makes it even more powerful um so like she's going to come in and do her job like a true professional every single day that is who Kelsey Mitchell is so you just let her do that and then just kind of keep guiding her in the direction of what she you know how more she can help the team I mean she is she's playing incredible her her confidence right now is really high for me it's her her play on the defensive end she has really decided to she wanted to be a def I mean she's she's picking up the best teams off best offensive player now I mean um that's who she's been guarding so now she's not not that she got a rest before on defense she's not getting that now but I mean she's like a she's she's like an engine she just keeps getting you know for me her speed gets faster as the game goes on which is I mean just credit to her she's an incredible athlete if you had to give uh the defense a grade at this point in the season what would you give it I know you have high expectations at the end of the floor but I mean we were starting pretty low right like as it relates as it as it you know the league with in the statistical categories um we were last for a while I feel like if we can just get to seven or even eight like if we can just if we can just be average better than we were find ways as a coaching St find ways to help our team have some successes you know changing some things up you know we're able to double in the post more than we had been against Atlanta it was huge for us they bought into it you know just trying to add a few more things to our defensive toolbox that can help them steal a few possessions um but they're bought in and they have to be cuz our practices are like 75 80% defense so you know they love it when we start playing offense I'm like hey it's offensive time and everybody cheers cuz we don't we don't get that as much as the defensive enem I know um this isn't like the job of a coach or like the team that you guys think about the task at hand not necessarily the future so forgive me for my media moment here but when you see what you guys are doing right now even though you like you said are kind of in this rebuild stage how excited does it make you for the future for this team and what what do you think is is right around the corner for this team I mean the with the young talent that we have and the few p and the pieces that we put around I mean the future is really bright really bright as long as they stay in the same Monet that they're in which is just to keep growing together their chemistry right now um we spent a lot of time on that during the Olympic break just working on that camaraderie um you know I said it before but like teams that like each other just fight harder for each other um when when times are are hard and so that was something we really um really stressed during the Olympic break I think you see that's paying off the joy that you see out on the court Caitlyn brings this this Dynamic that she keeps it light she's fun you know she's um which I think is really good because we we have a personality on our team that's just a business like real serious so to have you know someone that has that personality it's a good more guys I know you lost your voice at the beginning of the Season you have your voice back does that make you happier to be able to coach with you know I think like for me the when I'm struggling to like get it out it's like I get these headaches cuz it's like I'm like so I think I appreciate not having the headaches as much because just trying to yeah but whatever they need and I feel like just being able to talk them through things um in games or in practice just really helps a young group I think oh go ahead um many would call this a rivalry um how do you prepare this young team for these big games and these big moments not getting too ahead of themselves but staying in the moment yeah keeping it about us that's that's all we can do like we can't control what's going on with the Chicago sky or the Atlanta Dream or the Seattle Storm what's what's happening on the outside we can control what we do in between these lines and that's what I just keep focusing on