WNBA Season Preview 2019: Every team’s best case scenario
By Miles Wray
Indiana Fever: Intimidating center Teaira McCowan lifts Indiana out of the basement and into ninth place or better for field goal percentage, blocked shots, and opponent rebounds
Given the increased continuity in the WNBA, it can make much more sense for a team to draft for positional need, compared to the more-transient NBA. Even though the Fever’s scorched-earth rebuild only landed them the third overall pick in this spring’s draft, the board fell so that they could fill the direst positional need in the league, locking in the 6-foot-7 McCowan. The rest of Indiana’s starting lineup has been difficult to evaluate with the Fever finishing a clear league-worst in all interior-based statistics, such as 2-point field goal percentage. The addition of McCowan could very well have been the moment when the Fever’s ambitious rebuild turned from painful to hopeful.