Fever Slip to Sixth After Final-Day Results
The Indiana Fever closed the WNBA regular season with a blowout loss to the Minnesota Lynx, a result that dropped them to sixth seed. Indiana had little to play for in terms of seeding because home-court advantage was already out of reach and other games were beyond their control. When the Washington Mystics defeated the Chicago Sky, Washington moved into fifth place. Both teams finished with identical records, but Washington owned the tiebreaker after winning the head-to-head season series on Sunday.[S1]
Elsewhere, the Las Vegas Aces beat the Phoenix Mercury and the Golden State Valkyries rallied to defeat the Los Angeles Sparks, so both teams kept their seeds. The Valkyries finished second and the Aces third. That set up a first-round meeting between Indiana and the defending champions.[S1]
Regular Season Offers Hope for Indiana
Indiana took two of three from Las Vegas during the regular season, with the only loss coming in overtime. The first win came in a Fever rout with both Caitlin Clark and A'ja Wilson sidelined. The second was also a blowout with both superstars in the lineup, though Clark was on a minutes restriction. In the third matchup, Indiana built a big lead but Clark uncharacteristically missed two free throws late and Kelsey Mitchell also missed one that would have sealed the game. Chelsea Gray then hit a three as time expired to force overtime, where she hit another three to win it.[S1]
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Matchup Favors Fever's Pace and Defense
Facing Wilson, Gray and Jackie Young is never desirable, especially with the Aces attempting to win their fourth championship in five years. But the Fever match up well with Las Vegas, as shown by their regular-season record and the fact they held big leads in every meeting. Aliyah Boston guards Wilson as well as any player in the league, and the Aces lack elite wing depth to exploit Indiana's defensive weaknesses. The Fever are also the faster team and should be able to push the pace against the decorated veteran opponents.[S1]
It will take Clark and Mitchell lighting it up to take down Las Vegas, but that is exactly what the Fever's All-Star guards have been doing all season long. Now they will attempt to take those exploits into the postseason and take down the champs. The best-of-three series begins on Sunday.[S1]
