The Indiana Fever’s offense picked the worst night to disappear. After spending the season masking a struggling defense with relentless scoring, the Fever saw that usual saving grace vanish in Game 1 against the Las Vegas Aces. Naturally, WNBA writers noticed this.
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Led by the backcourt duo of Caitlin Clark and Kelsey Mitchell, the Indiana Fever formed one of the greatest backcourts in WNBA history. But even that was missing in Game 1, as WNBA writers Zena Keita, Chantel Jennings, and Sabreena Merchant revealed their thoughts on the Fever’s failure to go up the court.
“Also, they struggled offensively. Clark shot six of 17, three of 10 from three. She had six turnovers. Mitchell shot four of 16. They had a combined 27 points. Um this is the highest scoring duo in league history. They did not show up in that way. And then the amount of points given in transition. 17 turnovers, 28 points off of that. You cannot feed the beast, and that’s exactly what happened in that game.” Keita said on the latest episode of the No Offseason show on YouTube.
On the night, Caitlin Clark especially stood out. The Fever star shot just 6-of-17 from the field and 3-of-10 from three, while the Aces kept her off the free-throw line entirely. Then came her six turnovers, four of which were in the first half during Las Vegas’ decisive scoring run. Clark also finished with a -18 plus-minus across the 34 minutes that she was on the court.
While their Game 1 performance against the Aces did not reflect it, Caitlin Clark and Kelsey Mitchell were on a generational scoring run together during the regular season.
The Fever duo accomplished an unprecedented record this season, becoming the first in WNBA history to score at least 30 points each four times. Clark and Mitchell have also broken the single-season record for most games in a single season with both players scoring 20 or more points.
Individually, both Clark and Mitchell have had their career-best seasons, so much so that they are in the running for league MVP. Clark is averaging 22.3 points, 4.0 rebounds, and 8.3 assists, while Mitchell is averaging 24.7 points, 1.7 rebounds, and 2.8 assists this season.
The Fever’s defeat gets even more demoralizing when we realize that they bested the Aces twice in the regular season and lost one game in overtime by two points. However, the Aces’ star player was not present in one of those losses, and she more than made up for it during the first-round matchup.
A’ja Wilson was the main reason the Fever struggled both offensively and defensively. The four-time MVP and AP WNBA Player of the Year was everywhere on the court, and her 38-point, 16-rebound performance strengthens that fact.
Apart from Wilson, FIBA World Cup final hero Jackie Young added 21 points, which helped the Aces build a 17-point lead.
But on the contrary, the Fever’s offensive creators were unable to do the job. Clark called Indiana’s actions “sloppy.” Regardless, while it may have been an off night for the Fever’s offense, the team is one of the most gifted in this aspect, leading the league in points per 100 possessions.
The defense, as always, has been a different story. Out of the eight postseason teams, the Indiana Fever have had the worst defensive rating. Secondly, as Keita said, the Fever committed 17 turnovers, and the Aces converted them into 28 points. Even Clark said it made it tough for them because of the Aces’ transition defense.
“I thought what we were running just wasn’t great,” Clark told reporters after the game.
Between poor efficiency, turnovers, and constant defensive struggles, the Indiana Fever have plenty to clean up ahead of Game 2. Thankfully for them, both teams travel to Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis. The Fever are one of the most followed teams in the WNBA, so the crowd support will certainly help pump Clark and co. to perform better.
With the Fever’s season on the line, it will be interesting to see how they tackle the Aces this time around so as to not be eliminated by them in back-to-back playoffs.