Fever Coach Christie Sides Applauds Pacers Advancing to Eastern Conference Finals

After the Indiana Pacers defeated the New York Knicks in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference semifinals, Fever (WNBA) coach Christie Sides gave the team a major shoutout. She's hoping her squad can follow the Pacers' blueprint to success.

Dustin Schutte | May 20, 2024

Indiana Fever head coach Christie Sides / Grace Hollars/IndyStar / USA TODAY

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Indiana Fever

The Indiana Pacers pulled off an upset in the Eastern Conference semifinals on Sunday, defeating the New York Knicks 130-109 in Madison Square Garden in Game 7, advancing to the Eastern Conference Finals to play the Boston Celtics. There is a lot of excitement around Indianapolis, and Indiana Fever coach Christie Sides was quick to celebrate the accomplishment.

"We're so happy for them and proud of them going to the next round of the playoffs," she said, via a post from the team. "It's right where we want to be, it's what we're aiming for."

Indiana defeated New York 4-3 in the series to advance to the Eastern Conference Finals. The Pacers will play the Celtics at TD Garden on Tuesday, May 21, with tipoff scheduled for 8 p.m. ET.

a lot of excitement in Indy 🙌 pic.twitter.com/pHLB0N7Y0H
— Indiana Fever (@IndianaFever) May 20, 2024

The Pacers have thrived with a young nucleus and a star point guard in Tyrese Haliburton. It's the blueprint for how the Fever also hope to have success in the future.

Sides' squad is off to a rough start to the WNBA season, opening the year with an 0-3 record. But the Fever had the No. 1 overall selection in back-to-back seasons, picking Aliyah Boston in 2023 and Caitlin Clark in 2024. The foundation for success is in place.

But because the Fever are young, there are some serious growing pains. The team is working to get the right chemistry on the floor. It might take some time, but when it finally clicks, Indiana will have one of the more dangerous teams in the WNBA.

Sides is in her second season as the coach of the Fever. She was previously an assistant coach for the franchise from 2017-19.

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