Indiana Fever: NaLyssa Smith, Lexie Hull, & Christie Sides speak after practice on September 3, 2024

what have you thought of the way the team has played recently and how you've helped this group kind of hit their best stride out of the Olympic break I think it's been great uh what better time to do it then now we're trying to make a playoff push so just all of us playing our best basketball right now is going to help us get it how does this feel compared to the first couple years you had with this franchise all the winning and playoffs looming very soon oh winning is always fun so of course this year has been you know a lot more fun a lot more enjoyable but I mean we haven't done nothing yet we still got to make the playoffs we still got to make a run make the push for but it's been really fun this far um what have you seen just watching Caitlyn and Kelsey I mean they've they've been going off ever since the start of the break so what's that like for you just you know being one of the starting five and to see that too oh it's great to see it you know it's great to see everybody on our team like I said finally coming together kelse is playing her best basketball she looks comfortable she's scoring a lot more efficient Caitlin's being Caitlyn scoring passing B great and how about that play in uh transition at uh Dallas is that something that you practice for Kelsey that that uh behind the back uh n that was crazy though I'm just glad I made the layup a lot of pressure what's been key for you and your sort of Shifting roles you've had throughout the season to stay consistent in your production um just keeping the main thing the main thing you know just always knowing who I do it for always knowing why I play basketball for my family for everybody that I love so you know not wanting to let them down so I keep got to do what I do you feel like your strengths work with any front Court combo on this team um if I if I play how I know how to play then yeah you know it's just about adjusting seeing where I'm going to get the ball you know it's been different a lot the last three years so just adjusting to that and I feel like I'll finally find what what does that adjustment take for you do you just figure it out over games with teammates is there a lot of conversations and film what what do you feel like has made that work for you recently especially yeah just continuing to play with them and just you see everywhere where you get the ball you see where you're not going to get the ball you know where to be on the floor so things like that just when it comes to the playoffs you guys could clinch as early as tonight just what would that mean to officially clinch the playoff it i' be huge I mean it's something this program hasn't done in a while so just could be a part of it what has your family thought of this hot stretch that you're in and it seems like making all the shots do you do you hear from them all the time about it yeah I they they you know part of the game day routine or was text my mom and dad pregame and post game so they're just a lot more excited T post game these days so yeah it's been great there're really Mak the world for you to be in this organization uh for the last few years you know now you're now you're uh starting more consistently and and you're having a really big impact in the playoff course just what does that mean to you just kind of compressing your career and now it coming to a head right now yeah I think you know just trusting a process taking it day by day um you never know what you're going to get season through season so and game by game so just staying ready and making sure that I trusted you know the work that I put in so don't out there I keep off them how do The Vibes and practice change when you're on the stretch of Victories that you guys have been on since the break yeah I mean you know winning just you know makes everything a lot lighter and feel a lot better but they're still locked in and that's kind of what we talked about in film um you know they we talk about emptying our tank and we talk about like what that means and you know we do whatever we can to to fill it back up you when you don't use it you lose it and we don't want to waste anything and you know these guys are put in the work and it's showing and so you know they're locked in um at practice and video um for the next which is tomorrow against how do you feel positively about that knowing that you know they're not getting complacent at a time like this they're continuing to have the same attitude and putting forward towards I mean we still haven't done I mean we haven't done anything yet we want to you know picked up the 17th win which was excellent but like we're not we're not stopping there but we're not changing what we've been doing the get us to that point you guys could clinch playoffs tonight have you thought about what that would mean to you if it happens today yeah I'm not thinking about wor about it like uh you guys you guys are in the driver's seat after winning four straight for the playoff push do you sense any pressure for a young group to actually get that done to actually clench it you know I think it's Kelsey Mitchell that always says like you don't you know we can't get too low we can't get too high and and her kind of being more vocal um right now for us as a leager she kind of helping us keep that um not get too high not get too keep just fighting for what we're trying to do next and um La is what's up next you the unique circumstances all these days now at home how do you plan to utilize it or is it truly just day in and day out back to your routine yes I mean we're three games in five days right so it's every other day so you really just got to keep you know we're shooting the ball extreme you know pretty well and we just want to make sure that we keep doing that by getting reps um game like shots and game reps um and just try to keep the momentum that we have going um and just the positive energy that I mean this team is playing with so much joy it's just there to wat Ka Lou kind of back to what she can be again of health illness all that yeah we're working her in and and she's kind of letting me know how she feels and we're going you know where she you know she kind of gives me the thoughts off when it comes down and that's kind Alissa's role changes even sometimes within games what to you has been important for her to stay consistent no matter who she's playing with or what she's asking to Melissa yeah yeah I thought she's been excellent for us these last two games um she has been like she's had runs for us where she's scored you know couple possessions in a row she's she is just killing it on the boards I mean she is a she she can just get any rebound when she gets a body wide and like she's worked on you know finding that Defender somebody to box out and just not let anybody have an opportunity she's coming down with all these boards but like she's she is ready to do whatever we need her to do as well and um these last two games early she was really us what was your immediate reaction to the Highlight fast break play that she finished in Dallas yeah that was I was wanting to see it on Sports Center I don't know if it was or it wasn't but it was um maybe one of the best transition offensive moments I've ever seen you know Kelsey just hit her spot on in full strad behind the back for her left you know with her left hand it that was a great moment how have you seen tamy kind of integrate back into the rotation as well yeah I mean Timmy's a veteran and she's been doing what she needed to do to get back and um be back with us and even though she's not been on the court with us she's been able you know she's been still around the team and and now just her her speed her um ability to defend is really is really what we get from her that really helps us out coach's perspective what has stood out to you about what kelc has done the last couple weeks it's something like I've never seen before when she's I mean her ability to put the ball in the hole right now for us is just incredible she's playing with so much confidence um you know she's coming off screens she's coming off ball screen she's coming off pin down staggers she's turning the corner getting to the real she's also spaced out her her Man's having to help she's just knocking down the shots that we need to knock down she's just playing with so much confidence and I I really like I'm hearing so much more talking to the team and she was sitting in uh the coach's chair talking to the players during the game the other night which is something that is just you know that's some really good stuff Kelsey Mitchell is doing that is there any one particular thing that you could sort of pinpoint as to why you know Kelsey's a little bit more vocal and she's just kind of on this unreal stretch since the Olympic break you know I just keep calling her one of the best professional players I've ever been around she's just always consistent she's always consistent consistent with showing up and getting her work in she's always consistent with getting her extra work in um she's not going to leave here till she gets whatever she's trying to get done um You can count on that and so when people have that consistency that just you know that's just going to play out well for you for everybody and then just building the confidence that she's um brought on with how she's playing I think it's just adding more to her her bag as well like I've seen the bottom and everything when you whenever you do clinch will you think back to lows of maybe the start of the season and getting past those challenges or will it go extending back to maybe when you're assistant just trying to get back to these winning ways yeah yeah I saw her say that and um that that broke my heart a little bit in a way but in a you know it's a good thing for us but Kelsey you know I think for me you know when that moment happens for us um I really want to be able to see her face and see how she responds and reacts because she has she's been through a lot here um and she's stuck with it like I said she's continue to be a true professional be consistent and I think she's now going to get to reap all that and and enjoy a moment that she's not had before