The Indiana Fever’s loss against the Las Vegas Aces in Game 1 of the first round of the WNBA playoffs was tough, evident from Caitlin Clark and Aliyah Boston’s reactions during the post-game presser. However, WNBA expert Robin Lundberg has pointed out that after the Fever’s season finale loss to the Minnesota Lynx and getting dominated by the Las Vegas Aces in Game 1 of the playoffs, Stephanie White’s team has a new problem.

According to the broadcaster, the Fever are losing the excitement factor in their performances, despite having arguably the biggest crowd puller in the league in the form of Caitlin Clark.

“I think a big part of it for me personally is that you get excited to watch these games, and it doesn’t feel exciting right now to watch the Indiana Fever. It doesn’t feel exciting to watch Caitlin Clark play, which feels nearly impossible.”

“You know, getting ready to head out for the game, like maybe it turns around, but part of you feels like you’re headed toward a team’s funeral,” Lundberg said of the atmosphere around the Fever.

And Lundberg isn’t the only one who realizes that Game 2 could very well be the Fever’s final game of the 2026 postseason. TV host Rachel DeMita didn’t look too optimistic about the Fever’s chances in her post-game breakdown either.

“All right, you guys. One down and possibly only one more to go,” DeMita said as the opening statement on the latest episode of the Courtside Club.

Meanwhile, Lundberg revealed that he could see and feel the disconnect in Indiana’s problem.

“And you can definitely sense the tension. You can sense the disconnect that’s all out there and apparent in the way they’re playing. They’re not playing on a string, and it was clear they didn’t have fun in game one against the Las Vegas Aces.”

Following the FIBA World Cup break, the Fever have not had their greatest run. With heavy losses against the Washington Mystics, Minnesota Lynx, and now the Aces, the Fever are slowly losing their mid-season form. This is mainly because of their season-long defensive woes, which the Fever were initially able to cover thanks to Caitlin Clark and Kelsey Mitchell’s insane backcourt chemistry. But the business end of the regular season and now the playoffs are proving it is not enough.

Even Lundberg has talked about this defensive slippage, which has carried into the playoffs against the Aces.

“The Fever look like a mess since the FIBA break. I don’t know what happened there. How is that possible?… Indiana is so undisciplined defensively. They have no idea what they’re doing,” Lundberg said in a clip posted on X.

Lundberg talked about an example of the friction he feels is the reason why the Fever are not playing up to their usual standards. He pointed to Fever head coach Stephanie White’s comments at the press conference, which are currently doing the rounds on social media.

When White was asked about the team’s lack of urgency and finding its path back to winning ways in the do-or-die Game 2 against the Aces on Tuesday night, the Fever head coach answered with the team’s inexperience compared to the reigning champions.

“It’s experience. Certainly, there’s no substitute for experience; some of them got it a year ago. But, oftentimes, you have to be humbled first, right? I mean, that’s life. You don’t always learn from the successes; you learn from being humbled, so I think for us, we know, we felt the difference and the intensity level,” White said.

Stephanie White is currently under a lot of scrutiny from the Fever fandom following this comment, and Lundberg agreed that it was not “the most motivational speech if I’m sitting next to my head coach.”

Well, sitting beside White was Caitlin Clark, and her reaction after White’s comments strengthened Lundberg’s analysis, as Clark sat there with a towel wrapped around her mouth while White talked.

Now, the Indiana Fever need to find their connection in just two days if they want to stop the Las Vegas Aces from eliminating them from the postseason in back-to-back seasons.