INDIANAPOLIS – The Indiana Fever are expected to regain the services of guard Shavonte Zellous for this weekend’s two games. That’s a plus for the team.

But unless the Fever learn how to deliver as a defensive unit, it may not matter who’s on hand.

“We can’t afford to have slippage on the defensive end,” Coach Stephanie White said after Thursday’s practice at Bankers Life Fieldhouse. “We have been, and I have been, focused on a new offensive system that’s certainly going to help us score. But we’re giving up too many points.”

The Fever are winless in their first three starts. Indiana gave up 95 points in a season-opening defeat at Chicago. The Fever surrendered 86 in their most recent loss at New York, including allowing the Liberty a 20-4 run to start the second half in an 86-79 outcome.

“We haven’t been disciplined to our defensive coverages and our defensive concepts,” said White, who is espousing a back-to-basics plan with her team this week. “(It is) what our franchise has been built on: That’s defense. That’s rebounding. That’s toughness.

“We have to be able to get back to that, and when things aren’t going well offensively, rely on that.”

Indiana has home games this weekend against Phoenix (Friday) and Chicago (Sunday). It won’t be a surprise if Zellous plays in both games.

The Fever veteran was expected to be absent for the season’s first month while she played for Croatia in the European Championships. However, paperwork for the process that would make Zellous a naturalized citizen in Croatia didn’t get completed in time.

Zellous didn’t make it back from overseas for Thursday’s Fever practice, but she was expected to arrive in Indianapolis later in the day. She practiced with the Indiana team for the first week of training camp before departing for Croatia.

Zellous, a 2013 WNBA All-Star, averaged 11 points last season. She can be one of the Fever’s most prolific offensive players. She also is an instinctual player who could be inserted into the Fever’s new scheme and not miss a beat.

“She knows the things that we put in,” White said about Zellous’ work early in camp. “We can just refresh her. And then it will be getting a gauge of how she feels physically.”

White is concerned about Zellous’ energy level after traveling internationally. But, White added: “I’m planning to use her unless she just tells me, ‘Coach, I’m just dragging.’ ”

LOSING A VALUABLE TEAM MEMBER

After Thursday’s practice, Fever coaches and players gathered at midcourt. That’s when Ashley Miller, who is manager of Fever basketball operations, announced to them that 2015 would be her final year with the franchise. It was an emotional moment. Miller has been with the team since its inception, starting as a ball girl. She will be moving to Dallas, where her husband is beginning a new position as an attorney.