While expectations were sky-high for the Indiana Fever heading into the 2025 WNBA season, almost nobody knew what to expect from the Atlanta Dream.
The Dream largely kept their core of players together over the offseason, but they essentially swapped out Tina Charles for Brittney Griner and replaced Cheyenne Parker-Tyus with Brionna Jones. As for the Fever, they added the legendary DeWanna Bonner and solid role players like Natasha Howard and Sophie Cunningham to an exciting core around Ciatiln Clark.
The beginning of this season has gone two very different ways for these teams. Many feel that Atlanta is one of the league's pleasant surprises, whereas Indiana has been a bit of a let down. Part of this has been the absence of Clark due to injury, but Bonner has also largely underperformed through her team's first eight games.
On Tuesday, these two teams will face off for the third time already this season. The previous two matchups were split, so this game could go a long way in terms of determining who eventually settles as the No. 2 team in the Eastern Conference.
Indiana Fever vs. Atlanta Dream could be critical for WNBA standings
The New York Liberty are 8-0 and have shown no real signs of weakness, so most have already penciled them in as the top team in the East. However, when Clark returns, Indiana will be hot on Atlanta's tail for the second spot.
Entering play on Monday, the Dream sit at 5-3, whereas the Fever own a 4-4 record. A win by the Dream would put them two full games ahead of Indiana at this point in the season, whereas a win by the Fever would catapult them into second place in the conference and fifth place in the league.
RELATED: WNBA Player Rankings: Kelsey Plum and Rhyne Howard lead one important category
Atlanta's Allisha Gray was the Eastern Conference Player of the Month for the month of May, and 2022 No. 1 overall pick Rhyne Howard has been one of the league's most prolific scorers in the early going. This tandem has largely carried the Dream to their 5-3 record, but they are coming off of a shocking loss against the lowly Connecticut Sun on Friday.
The Fever, meanwhile, are riding a two-game winning streak into Tuesday's contest after suffering two straight setbacks in their first two games without Clark on the floor. They seem to have found a way to adjust to life without their superstar, and they should bring that approach once again.
These two teams will face off one more time later in the season, but Tuesday's winner will hold a crucial advantage as far as tiebreakers. In a WNBA season that seems to have a lot of parity, every game counts, but Tuesday's is especially important for these two teams.