With almost two weeks left in the WNBA season, Caitlin Clark and the Indiana Fever secured their first postseason berth since 2016. This was achieved on September 3. With a little assistance from the Las Vegas Aces, who dominated the Chicago Sky, and the Phoenix Mercury, who destroyed the Atlanta Dream, the team was well on their way to making the postseason.
Indiana has amassed a 6-1 record since the post-Olympic break and is presently riding a four-game winning streak that is the longest in the conference.
It was evident early in the season how the team was impacted by game speed. The Fever profited from the Olympic break since it gave them time to recover and concentrate on the second half of the season. Since the hiatus, the franchise has seen a change in narrative, with Caitlin Clark improving, Aliyah Boston making big plays, and the supporting cast rising to the occasion.
If the playoffs began today, Indiana would face the Minnesota Lynx in sixth place with a 17-16 record. Clark and the Fever have already qualified for the postseason with seven games remaining, but with a couple more victories and a little more good fortune, they might move up the standings.
These are the Fever’s three most significant adjustments, which have erased years of hardships and a difficult start to the 2024 campaign, returning them to the postseason.
3. Repeated transgression
The main reason Indiana will advance to the playoffs is their well-rounded offensive line. Even while Clark isn’t leading the team in scoring, she is still putting up remarkable stats: 18.7 points, 8.4 assists, 5.6 rebounds, and 1.4 steals per game.
At a career-high 19 points per game, Kelsey Mitchell is leading the team in scoring and enjoying an incredible season. Mitchell is under less pressure because of Clark’s ability to pull up from anywhere on the floor and get the ball anywhere on the floor.
Right now, the Fever rank third in the league for offensive rating. They only make shots; they aren’t very good at guarding the ball, hitting the offensive glass, or getting to the line.
2. Working space
The 3-point shooting of Mitchell (37.6 percent) and Clark (34.1) helps spread the floor, allowing Aliyah Boston to dominate in the post. Late-game scenarios are increasingly including high-pick-and-roll plays, which makes it difficult for defenses to counter.
Boston has nine rebounds per game, which leads the squad. She can grab easy buckets at the rim and serves as a safety net for the team when they are having trouble scoring.
Recently, Lexie Hull—who is shooting an incredible 45.6 percent from three and plays a strong defense—has contributed to the team. From downtown and on the offensive boards, Damiris Dantas has really come to life. One player that benefits from Clark’s vision in transition is Nylassa Smith.
Smith is a player who gains from Clark’s offensive attention-grabbing demands. Although NS is capable of making her own shots and getting to the hoop whenever she wants, she is most potent when Clark has bent the defense. Christie Sides, the head coach of Indiana, has discovered a few lineups that are effective despite the team’s sluggish start to the year.
1. The squad deserves credit for the Caitlin Clark effect, which saw Indiana turn the tide towards the conclusion of the season. But a major contributing reason to the team’s present ranks is the Clark effect. In addition to having trouble hitting the home run plays, CC had trouble adjusting to the physicality earlier in the season. For her, the game slowed down as the season progressed.
The Iowa product is shooting slightly below average from three (34.1), but she still creates opportunities for teammates to score because she can attract defenders.
Clark’s passing skill and vision are two underappreciated aspects of her game. She can easily make skip, baseball, and overhead passes and is always gazing up.
Because Clark can get the ball out in front of her teammate on time, she creates easy transition points. She attempted to assume the scoring role early in the season but soon came to the realization that she needed to rely on her colleagues.
Due to their remaining schedule and their second-half comeback, the Fever qualified for the postseason. The Los Angeles Sparks, Minnesota Lynx, Atlanta Dream, Las Vegas Aces (twice), Dallas Wings, and Washington Mystics are the teams Indiana will play their final seven games against.
The only team left on the schedule that the Fever have not defeated this year is Las Vegas. Even though Atlanta is the club closest to the eighth seed, they still have trouble finishing games.
The Chicago Sky have had ups and downs this season, while Phoenix, presently ranked as the seventh seed, has been inconsistent throughout the season. Due to illness, Chennedy Carter is presently sidelined for the Sky, which couldn’t come at a worse time given the team’s current six-game losing skid. That’s all to say, the Fever are in and have an opportunity to climb the standings.
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