It was the second screening of the Indiana Fever vs Minnesota Lynx game on August 24, 2025. The same movie with a slightly different cast. A star character made a comeback from her ankle injury to remind everyone who the real MVP is, while Indiana’s demigod, Caitlin Clark, still remained on the sidelines. Napheesa Collier dropped 32 points and 9 rebounds as the Lynx rallied from an early lull for the second time in a row. 

Kelsey Mitchell and Co. got off to a hot start with a double-digit lead. Just like in their last matchup, Minnesota slowly eroded that lead in the second quarter and finally broke the dam in the third to let the points flow, eventually winning 84-97. CBS Radio Host and Sports Illustrated Analyst Robin Lundberg pointed out the obvious after Indiana’s loss. “The Fever just don’t have enough personnel to beat you to soften that defense,” he said. Indiana has had 17 players on the roster after starting at 11 at the beginning of the season, with players dropping like flies.

Even their emergency signings like Chloe Bibby and Odyssey Sims are suffering from injuries, leading to more shortages. Amid their crisis, the ones who are fit have to endure the baptism by fire on the court. As Lundberg further said, “You know, it’s hard to throw it to AB on the block if she’s getting doubled and even on the perimeter. There’s extra attention coming her way. You saw more and more of it as the game comes along.”

Aliyah Boston has been an anchor in the paint for the Fever till this personnel drought hit. She has been providing the physicality and doing their dirty work under the basket. While they aimed to steadily increase her creative output, that progress had to be fast-tracked because there is just no one to provide that. Literally every point guard they have had has suffered some kind of injury, and Boston has had to do a lot more of the ball handling abilities while dragging even more defenders. 

There is no more Sophie Cunningham to cut inside, or Aari McDonald to take over at point guard. Kelsey Mitchell has had to take up a more creative role, too. As a result of the continuous changes, Mitchell and Boston are looked at with hawk’s eyes. Lundberg further gave Boston one thing she could try to free herself up. “I think one thing AB can try to do is instead of dribble handoff, turn her shoulder and drive more. She’s had success when she’s really been aggressive, putting the ball on the floor.” He said. 

Boston has made only 32.6% percent of points unassisted, which falls in the middle of the pack in Indiana. With this change in role, she could try and change that number. She could use her physicality to ram herself through the defense, as her handles are not good enough to make regular drives. Even if Boston somehow manages to perfect this move, the limitations will always prevent Fever, according to Lundberg. “I mean, to free AB up, Kelsey Mitchell (is) really the only other player who can score consistently, without being fed the basketball, can score on her own.” he said.

The Fever are among the worst teams in the league when it comes to scoring off assists. Only 65.6% of their points are coming from assists, which is the third worst in the league, only ahead of Las Vegas and the Sun. The Aces are succeeding despite this metric, and they have A’ja Wilson on their roster.

Boston and Mitchell are among the best players in the league, but Wilson is on another level altogether. The Fever are missing Caitlin Clark, who could have offset these problems. Even as the world seemed to be burning around them, their coach was calm and composed after their loss threatened their playoff hopes. 

Stephanie White’s Poised Reaction Amid Fever’s Slide to 8th

The thing Indiana Fever feared the worst happened, as it has been throughout the season. The Fever needed just one of the two other results to fall their way to have a cushion in that final stretch. They either needed the Mystics to beat the Storm or the Valkyries to fall to the Dallas Wings. The Fever were already going to have a tough time against the Lynx, but the other two games were more balanced. 

However, none of their wishes came true, and they have dropped to No.8 with a 19-18 record. The Fever are tied with the Valkyries when it comes to their record, but they lost the tiebreaker when it comes to head-to-head. That could be brought up even more as the season sets in, but Stephanie White is looking at what she can control. 

“Just going into these final weeks of the season, into the playoffs, just how much stock you take in the standings at this point?” A reporter asked after the game.

“I think for us, we got to focus on one day at a time,” White answered. “We got to control what we can control, and that’s our next opponent, right? That’s going to be Seattle coming into our place, which is a big one. It’s a big one.”

Their remaining schedule is arguably the hardest of all teams. Like White mentioned, the Storm are next, who are on a three-game winning streak. Then they will face their competitors for eighth place, the Los Angeles Sparks. Kelsey Plum and Co. are on a hot streak, too, while the Fever are on a downward spiral. While many fans and ESPN still believe the Fever can sneak in, it will be an uphill task for White’s team.