The Indiana Fever have looked good the entire season, but with the recent 93-77 loss to the lower-seeded Washington Mystics, Indiana now sits fifth, one loss away from dropping out of home-court advantage. For ex-ESPN host Linda Cohn, the gaps in the Fever’s play could be the beginning of the end for Stephanie White’s title-contending team as she points out an important fact about the playoff seeding, as she exposed in a clip on X from The Linda Cohn Show.
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“There are now two games left…Both against Minnesota…The best team in the league. And Minnesota isn’t showing up just to put in some extra cardio before the playoffs…One more win for them, and they lock up the number one seed and home-court advantage throughout the playoffs. So Minnesota has motivation. And suddenly, Indiana has desperation. Because the Fever remain outside the top four right now. Which means if the playoffs started on this day, they would not have home-court advantage in the first round,” said Cohn.
“That’s kind of a big deal, especially for this team and the atmosphere there in Indy. That’s what Indiana has been chasing. And instead of helping themselves on this day, they opened the door for everyone else around them to take that spot,” she added.
If the Fever lose the next two games to the Minnesota Lynx, they could fall to eighth place, granted the New York Liberty, the Dallas Wings, and the Mystics win their games. Fever fans are known for their loud support, and this is an advantage the Fever would want heading into the playoffs. Cohn is uncertain if they can hold on, considering their last performance.
The Fever had their third-worst scoring performance this season against Washington, ending their four-game streak of 100+ scoring games. Washington’s defense forced 16 Fever turnovers, converting them into 17 points, while Indiana scored only eight off Washington’s 13 turnovers. And the Indiana Fever’s star guard, Caitlin Clark, was the cause of five of these turnovers, a game high.
Clark, though she shot a game-high of 25 points, was not her usual effective self. She went 6-for-20 from the field, including shooting 30% from the three-point line.
The Fever have the best offensive rating in the WNBA, with 116.2. This effort has been led by Kelsey Mitchell and Caitlin Clark, who have been the primary scoring engines on the team. The two have combined for a jaw-dropping 289 points in their last five games. But while the Fever’s backcourt duo is solid, their defense has suffered significantly.
The Fever hold the fifth-worst defensive rating in the league, with all the teams below them having been knocked out of playoff contention this season. Indiana does not feature in the top eight in rebounds, blocks, or steals. And their last game against the Washington Mystics allowed the league – and future opponents – to see what could bring the team down despite their scoring prowess.
Head Coach Stephanie White seemed cognizant of the threat that Cohn spoke of, which she acknowledged in the post-game press conference.
“Every one of these games that we’re playing right now are like playoff games. We’ve got to understand collectively that everything has to take it up a notch. Intensity level. Preparation. Knowing personnel on our scouting report. At this time of the year, it’s not meant to be pretty basketball.”
Clark, who is currently averaging 22.6 points and a league-leading 8.5 assists, also echoed this sentiment.
“You would love to say, hopefully, this is just a fluke, and you throw it away, but at the same time, you’ve got to be able to learn from it. You’ve got to be able to assess it and figure out what went wrong.”
The Mystics’ win over Indiana has shown the league that giants can fall too. Led by Kiki Iriafen and Shakira Austen, who combined for 41 points, they kept up the offensive pressure while tightening their stranglehold on the Fever. Through the first and second quarters, Washington outscored the Fever, establishing a 51-30 lead at halftime. While the Fever did fight back with a 31-26 lead in the third, they could find no answer for the overwhelming pressure from the Mystics, leading to a 26-point deficit at one point in the game.
The Fever will be facing the top-seeded team, the Minnesota Lynx, for their final two regular-season games. The Lynx hold the second-best offensive rating after the Fever and have held on to the top spot for months. Led by rookie sensation Olivia Miles and veteran forward Napheesa Collier, the Lynx seem like a difficult team to overcome if the Indiana Fever’s issues persist. White and Clark will hope to improve their form as they face the Lynx on September 22 in Gainbridge Fieldhouse.