WNBA Season Preview 2019: Teaira McCowan changes everything for the Fever

The Indiana Fever were the worst team in the WNBA last season but Teaira McCowan gives them a chance for rapid improvement.

The Indiana Fever return almost their entire roster from last season, with only the retired Cappie Pondexter and Victoria Vivians, who suffered a season-ending ACL injury, not returning from their top 10 in minutes played last season. Continuity is often a good thing but it may not be that encouraging in the case of the Fever, considering they finished last season with the worst record and point differential in the league.

Indiana ranked last in offensive efficiency last season and second-to-last in defensive efficiency. It was not lack of talent, or at least promise. Four different players averaged double-figures, led by veteran Candice Dupree’s 14.7 points per game, and last season’s No. 2 overall pick, Ohio State guard Kelsey Mitchell, had a strong rookie season. Mitchell averaged 12.7 points and 2.7 assists per game. Efficiency was elusive — she made just 33.5 percent of her 209 3-point attempts — but the Fever didn’t have that one dominant offensive player who could keep pressure on the defense and open space for everyone else.

Indiana is hoping that their 2019 first-round pick, center Teaira McCowan, can be that player for them this season, the kind of two-way star who brings all the rest of their promising young pieces into orbit around her gravity.

McCowan averaged 18.4 points, 13.5 rebounds and 2.4 blocks per game last season for Mississippi State. At 6-foot-7 she has an enormous size advantage over most opponents but she’s much more than just a big body. McCowan has great hands and a soft touch around the basket and she excels catching and finishing in traffic. That length and touch makes her incredibly effective on the offensive glass (she averaged an eye-popping 5.7 offensive rebounds per game last season) but also a potent threat in the pick-and-roll or lurking on the baseline for dump-off passes from driving guards.

If the defense is sticking to McCowan on dribble penetration, her guards are going to get a lot of layups or trips to the free throw line from late rotations. If an opposing big leaves her to stop the ball, she’s going to end up with the layups, or simple batting the ball to herself off the offensive glass until she gets it to go down.

More than just a complementary threat, McCowan also has excellent footwork in the post and uses that soft touch to devour single-coverage, even scoring over double-teams. She is very comfortable reading the defense, knowing when to flash open and making quick decisions with the ball.

In that final clip, Oregon has essentially collapsed three additional defenders into the paint to try and keep McCowan from receiving the ball. If Mississippi State had spaced the floor a little better they’d have their pick of three different players taking a wide open 3-pointer, an indication of just how important her presence could be for Indiana’s perimeter players next season. Or, Indiana, could just do what Mississippi State does here — throw the ball to McCowan and let her easily score over three defenders.

The ways in which McCowan makes her teammates’ lives easier should be just as significant at the defensive end. She’s an intimidating shot-blocker and rebounder and also has the quick hands and feet to create havoc in space. Despite being mostly anchored to the paint on defense last season, McCowan still managed to create 33 steals in her 36 games played.

McCowan’s presence on the interior will give the Fever a dimension they just didn’t have last season, creating a healthier developmental environment for players like Kelsey Mitchell and just simplifying everyone else’s roles and responsibilities. The Fever may still face an uphill battle to make the playoffs, given how incredibly deep the league is right now, but an up-and-coming roster is starting to take shape.