Fever Coach Stephanie White Sends Strong Message Before WNBA Playoffs

"Pleased with being able to get another win, pleased with the way that the last three games we’ve been able to find ways ... not pleased with the fourth quarter," White told reporters in her postgame press conference. 

The Fever led wire-to-wire for just the second time all season. Their lead was as large as 19 in the first half, but they were outscored 19-13 in the final quarter by a Minnesota team with little to play for. They already clinched the No. 1 seed and chose to rest MVP candidate Napheesa Collier for the game.

"And so the message is, you know, we’re not happy to just be in the playoffs," White continued. "We want to compete in the playoffs. We want to be a team that is competing for championships. And in order to compete for championships, you don’t play the score. You don’t play the opponent. You play the standard. We did not play the standard the last five minutes of the fourth quarter. We’ve got to be better.”

"We want to be a team that is competing for championships."

Indiana Fever head coach Stephanie White after beating the Minnesota Lynx

Can the Fever Really Make a Deep Playoff Run?

The Fever already proved they can win a championship without Clark this season when they beat the Lynx in the WNBA Commissioner's Cup final on July 1.

However, the Lynx also did not have Collier for that game, and it was not a three-game series like the first round of the playoffs. That final was also at home, whereas Indiana will have to win at least one game on the road to make it out of the first round.

WNBA legend Rebecca Lobo, who was the television analyst for Indiana's regular-season finale on ESPN, said a first-round upset would qualify as a "massive success" for the Fever in the playoffs. She did not have as much faith as White that they could be in the championship discussion with the Lynx.

The Fever are likely to face the Las Vegas Aces or Atlanta Dream in the first round. No matter the opponent, they will enter as an underdog without the likes of Clark, Sophie Cunningham, Aari McDonald, Sydney Colson and Chloe Bibby for the rest of the season.

"New season starts on Sunday," Sims said on Tuesday. "Everybody's 0-0. Anything can happen."

With White setting a clear standard and refusing to settle for less, the Fever are now just five wins away from reaching the WNBA Finals for the first time in a decade.

Every time they have been doubted or faced a new challenge this year, they have risen to the occasion — it would be foolish to count them out.