As the clock ran out in the Indiana Fever vs the Washington Mystics’ latest matchup on Monday, relief came across all the Indiana Fever fans. After all the adversity and setbacks, the Indiana Fever had finally locked in a playoff spot with a 94-65 win over the Mystics. Although the team had been playing with Caitlin Clark since mid-July, the news of her missing the rest of the season had the potential to bring them down and out of the playoffs. And now, Clark’s teammate has spoken about the team’s mentality despite going through such hardships throughout the season.

For the Indiana Fever, there were many ups and downs along the way, but they reached their destination. Despite all the noise around them, the locked room remained together and continued to believe. And after finally booking their ticket to the playoffs, Aliyah Boston has spoken about the internal conversations in the Indiana locker room and her feelings about them. 

Speaking to the media after the win against the Washington Mystics, Aliyah Boston said, “I think you know, just being someone in this locker room, you never doubt yourself and what you’re capable of no matter what happens. I think the entire staff, up to the head just made great decisions when people went down on who to bring in, the type of people to bring in, and that was really our mindset.”

She further elaborated on the mindset of the locker room, saying, “We never doubted ourselves. We never doubted that we can be in the playoffs. Even if things looked like it got harder, for us it was about sticking together. And think through everything, you’re able to see that us play with joy, us play together, regardless of who’s on that floor.”

Due to the injuries, especially at the guard position, the Fever had to deal with a lot of turnover of players. It started with Aari McDonald and has now ended (hopefully) with the signing of Aerial Powers. But it wasn’t just limited to the guards. After losing Chloe Bibby for the rest of the season, the Indiana Fever signed Bree Hall. While it is true that players on hardship contracts have very limited time to make an impact, in the Indiana Fever’s case, their hardship replacements have worked well for the most part. 

One of the hardship contract signees,

Odyssey Sims, has seemed to fit seamlessly with the team, averaging 9.9 points per game. Recent signing Aerial Powers has also seemed to have found her footing as she was one of the biggest contributors in the playoffs spot clinching win over the Mystics with 15 points.

When a franchise loses a generational talent like Caitlin Clark to injury, there is no replacing that player. However, with careful planning, the players on hardship contracts have worked out well for the Indiana Fever. Now with the goal of making the playoffs behind them, the next goal would be to finish the season as high as possible and then, hopefully, shock a contender or two.

Can the Indiana Fever beat the top seeds without Caitlin Clark?

After locking up a playoff spot, the Indiana Fever are not focused solely on finishing as high as possible. In all likelihood, they will end the regular season as the seventh seed. As a seventh seed, their first round match-up could be against either the Atlanta Dream or the Las Vegas Aces. Historically, whenever a seventh seed faces off against a two seed, it seems like an easy win for the higher seed. 

However, with the sort of season the Indiana Fever have had, there are no certainties. Yes, not having Caitlin Clark has had a lot to do with these inconsistencies, but even when she was available, the team wasn’t able to win three games in a row. Ironically, their best run of the season came after CC got injured. However, since that five-game win streak, the roster has changed once again. 

The Indiana Fever no longer have Aari McDonald, Sydney Colson, Sophie Cunningham, and Chloe Bibby available. With a matchup against one of the top contenders for the title looming, there is just one question: Can the team surprise without Caitlin Clark? Well, if you look at the team’s head-to-head record against the Las Vegas Aces, they do have a series win against them. However, both their wins came long before A’ja Wilson entered the MVP mode and the Aces went on it’s 14-game win streak.

When it comes to the Atlanta Dream, both teams had two wins each. But again, their last meeting against each other was in July. Since then, the Fever have basically half a new roster. Considering the changes happened since then, it is very difficult to predict if the Indiana Fever can defeat any of these teams.

If the Fever has any chance to pull off a surprise, the trio of Kelsey Mitchell, Aliyah Boston, and Lexie Hull needs to be in top form. Whether they can maintain their level of performance during the high-pressure playoff atmosphere remains to be seen.