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The Indiana Fever weren’t supposed to get to this point, “literally” Sophie Cunningham said, but that’s what everyone was thinking.
The Fever won the final two games of a first-round WNBA playoff series to advance to the semifinals for the first time since 2015. Better yet, the get the second-seeded Las Vegas Aces. That with five season-ending injuries that included Cunningham, superstar Caitlin Clark and others.
So much has changed since the Fever last played the Aces on July 24. That game clinched the season series in favor of the Fever, who lost the opener of the season series June 22 by eight but bounced back with wins of 27 on July 3 and 10 on July 24.
Here are four things we learned from the three-game series.
Caitlin Clark’s absence didn’t stop Fever from beating Aces
No Clark? No problem for the Fever against the Aces this summer. Clark played in just 13 games, including that loss in Las Vegas, while battling injuries that ended her sophomore season. And, no, Clark won’t be able to play in the playoffs even if she were healthy. Clark had 19 points on 7-of-19 shooting, 1 of 9 on 3s, in the 89-81 loss. But she scored just five points in the first half (2 for 9) and had 11 assists for the game.
Three players in the early July win scored in double figures with Clark out, and all three players are healthy. They shot 49.2% from the field that game, but struggled from 3-point range, and were 14 for 17 from the charity stripe. The second win featured four players in double figures, though that included 15 points by Cunningham. The Fever made just 40.8% of field goals but were 11 for 23 (47.8%) on 3-pointers and 11 for 14 on free throws.
So, the key without Clark is an efficient night at the free throw line and a potential 3-point barrage.
Kelsey Mitchell needs to take over games for Fever
Kelsey Mitchell struggled early in the year but turned it on and has had a campaign worthy of being top 5 in WNBA Finals MVP voting. She averaged 20.2 points, 1.8 rebounds and 3.4 assists per game during the season, and she was the catalyst of Fever wins over the Aces.
Mitchell had 25 points and six assists, converting 50% of her shots and going 4 for 6 on 3-pointers. She followed that up with 21 points, albeit on a less efficient 33.3% from the field and on 3-pointers. That could be attributed to the Aces’ defense after having film on a Clark-less team they from that previous win.
Her three-game run in the playoff series against the Atlanta Dream was remarkable. She averaged 23.3 points, 2.7 assists and 1.0 rebounds per game while shooting 46.8% from the field and 44.4% on 3s. The Fever will need more of the same to upset the Aces.
A’ja Wilson alone can’t lead Aces past Fever, but 3-point shooting would help
A’ja Wilson very well may win her fourth WNBA MVP award at 11:30 a.m. Sunday, a few hours before the 3 p.m. tip-off in Game 1. And she surely will be a force against the Fever, still. Though she was 21-1 against the team till the two-game losing streak, she averaged 24.3 points and 5.3 rebounds in the three games against Indiana.
During that blowout loss in which she scored 29 points, no other Aces player scored more than six points. Las Vegas was held to 26.2% shooting and 18.8% on 3-pointers. The next loss to the Fever? There were two more players in double figures but the Aces still shot 13.3% on 3s.
Perhaps the Fever deploy fellow South Carolina Gamecock Aliyah Boston to defend Wilson, and enlist help in the form of double teams and allows the Aces to live and die by the 3-pointer. Or perhaps she goes one-on-one with Wilson and they defend straight up to shut the other four players down. How a Fever team light on depth defends, and if the Aces can execute may be the key to victory.
Will home court be deciding factor in Fever-Aces playoff series?
Well, if the Fever are going to reach the WNBA Finals, as improbable as it may be, they will have to win on the road. Neither team could do that in the regular season, and the Aces did it in Clark’s rookie season as Las Vegas was the only team the Fever couldn’t beat that year.
The Aces also won 16 straight games to close the regular season. An eight-game road winning streak extended from July 27. Though that streak was snapped in Game 2 against the Storm, the Aces seem well-equipped to handle a noisy Gainbridge Fieldhouse unlike their previous two games this season.
Chloe Peterson is your best Fever follow, watch IndyStar TV for more coverage and sign up for our Caitlin Clark Fever newsletter.
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