The WNBA, and particularly the Indiana Fever, are having a revolutionary year. Of course, you know where this is going. All WNBA chats inevitably end in Caitlin Clark. But this time, it’s her teammate, Kelsey Mitchell, who’s in the spotlight. And it’s both hilarious and, for Fever fans, worrying. The women’s hoops league is caught in the postseason fever (pun intended) and Indiana, heading for the playoffs for the first time since 2017, might be a little overwhelmed with all the lights, camera, and action that followed Clark here.

If not the franchise, Kelsey Mitchell seems to be feeling the nerves. To calm herself and perhaps get a few tips about playing in the highly stressful environment of playoffs, the 28-year-old reached out to D’Lo.

“I recently talked to my close friend D’Angelo Russell. We go way back. Me and him go back to the point where we trained together at Ohio State. We kind of know each other so, from that perspective, it was good to get a conversation in regards to how [the playoffs] looked,” she revealed. With 4 postseason runs under his belt, it surely seems to be a good move because of his experience. Only, fans don’t think it to have been the right route to take.

Kelsey Mitchell-D’Angelo Russell tête-à-tête has folks genuinely worried about Fever’s fate, sparks Ben Simmons mockery

Now, if it was just a casual chat between friends, this would have just received a lot of love (and perhaps a smidge of those odd lights). However, Russell doesn’t exactly have the best record when it comes to the postseason. And that is what worries the fans. Take this guy, for instance. “She’s asking the wrong person about Playoffs bruh,” followed by a crying and laughing emoji.

D’Lo has played in 32 games, starting in all of them, except one. And sure, the 6’3 guard has had his short bursts of standout games. For example, when he dropped 31 against the Grizzlies in Game 6 of the 2023 playoffs in the first round. But, in the Conference Finals vs Denver, his numbers dropped dramatically, averaging just 6.3 points, while shooting a mere 32.3% from the field and an embarrassing 13.3% from downtown. So, at best, the 2023 NBA Cup champion (now known as Emirates Cup) is inconsistent.

A point this next user depicted quite graphically, with the help of a different set of stats. “Imagine asking this guy about Playoffs,” followed by a crying-a-river emoji.

Not his best night, for sure. But then again, the Lakers have collectively been helpless at the hands of Denver. And D’Angelo seemed to have been dealt the worst hand. Moving on, this next individual has made up his mind about how the Fever’s postseason is going to be. “Rip to Fevers playoff hopes.” And another one, this coming from a Lakers fan. “Welp they going home early.” 

Clearly, these fans really have no faith in D’Lo. And finally, this last guy, a Warriors and Curry fan, decided to use this opportunity to take a dig at Ben Simmons! “Thats like reaching out to Ben Simmons for three point advice.” 

A major pain point of the Nets star, to be sure. But got to hand it to the guy for standing out of the crowd with that! For argument’s sake, though, D’Angelo Russell might have a not-so-great playoff record (and that’s on him), but that doesn’t discount the playoff experience he has acquired. And there’s no doubt he can be of help for Kelsey Mitchell. Here’s to wishing the best for the Fever!