Indiana Fever secured a postseason berth against the odds, despite losing Caitlin Clark and four other key players for the season.
For a franchise that has spent years searching for stability, simply making the playoffs with a 24-20 record felt like a small victory in itself.
Clark‘s absence loomed large in the final weeks. The former Iowa star announced she would miss the rest of the campaign due to a groin injury, the latest in a string of setbacks.
Many expected that news to sink Indiana’s playoff hopes. Instead, the Fever proved remarkably resilient, stringing together wins at critical moments to hold onto the eighth seed.
The road to the postseason was anything but smooth. Alongside Clark‘s injury, the Fever lost Aari McDonald and Sydney Colson on the same night, then saw starter Sophie Cunningham sidelined for the year with a knee injury.
Those blows could have broken the team’s spirit. Instead, head coach Stephanie White crafted new rotations and leaned on her players’ grit to keep the season alive.
At one point in July, the Fever ripped off five consecutive wins without Clark, displaying the same perseverance that carried them through the stretch run.
They closed the season with three straight victories, including a notable upset over Minnesota, the league’s top regular-season team.
Analyst Sabreena Merchant, speaking on the No Offseason podcast, said the statistical picture makes them a more serious contender than many assume.
“To finish the season with a number four net rating like a top four team in the WNBA, I think, is exactly where Indiana wanted to start the regular season,” she explained.
Facing a formidable Atlanta team
The Fever’s first-round opponent is the Atlanta Dream, the third seed, who split the regular-season series with Indiana at two wins apiece.
ESPN’s analytics give the Dream a 66 percent chance of winning Game 1, and many analysts see them as the clear favorite.
Under first-year coach Karl Smesko, Atlanta built its identity on fast-paced scoring and league-best defense, averaging 84.4 points per game while posting a defensive rating of 100.5.
Yet Indiana has proven they can keep up offensively. They finished as the WNBA’s third-best offense, carried by Kelsey Mitchell’s 20.2 points per game and Aliyah Boston‘s steady inside presence at 15.0 points per contest. Merchant credited both players for elevating the team through adversity.
“So that’s honestly credit to Kelsey Mitchell, credit to Aliyah Boston, and whoever has been healthy remaining for the Indiana Fever that they’ve gotten to this point,” she said.
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