This WNBA season felt rocky for the Indiana Fever — battling inconsistency, injuries and the disruptive outside narratives that can come with intense media scrutiny. But don't be distracted by the noise, this team took a big step forward this season and they're a serious championship contender. They just need to get through MVP-favorite A'ja Wilson and the defending champion Las Vegas Aces as their first challenge.
The good news is that the Fever took two of three regular season games from the Aces and that their regular-season point differential is almost exactly the same as Las Vegas', even though they finished three games behind them in the standings. The bad news is that the injury report for Game 1 includes both Caitlin Clark and Aliyah Boston and they may be shorthanded as they kick things off.
Caitlin Clark is listed as probably for Game 1
Clark is listed as probable for Game 1 with a nagging back injury but we can safely assume she's going to play. Early in the season, the Fever held her out of a game for the same back injury after not listing her in the injury report earlier in the day. They were disciplined by the WNBA and since then they've been committed to the bit, making she's listed as probable in every single game regardless of any other updates on her health. She's listed, but there's no real reason to think she won't play.
Aliyah Boston is listed as questionable for Game 1
Boston is listed as questionable for Game 1 with a leg injury, and this one should worry Fever fans a bit more. She left their regular-season finale against the Lynx after playing just 13 minutes. Head coach Stephanie White said it was just a "flare-up" of a previous injury and pulling her from that game was precautionary. But her status is certainly more in doubt than Clark's and the Fever may have to prepare to deal with A'ja Wilson without her.
Projected Indiana Fever starting lineup and rotation without Aliyah Boston
STARTER | POSITION | BENCH |
|---|---|---|
Caitlin Clark | Point Guard | Raven Johnson |
Kelsey Mitchell | Shooting Guard | Sophie Cunningham |
Lexie Hull | Small Forward | Sophie Cunningham |
Monique Billings | Power Forward | Myisha Hines-Allen |
Mikayla Timpson | Center | Myisha Hines-Allen |
If Boston is unable to play, Monique Billings probably takes her place in the starting lineup and Myisha Hines-Allen and Sophie Cunningham both pick up some extra minutes trying to fill frontcourt minutes for a Fever team that's short on size. Tyasha Harris has also been ruled out on the injury report which means rookie Raven Johnson may see more minutes thatn expected as well, backing up both Clark and Mitchell.
The potential loss of Boston is a HUGE issue for the Fever as she was they key to their success against Las Vegas in the regular season. Kelsey Mitchell had some huge scoring performances, 27.3 points on 63.8 true shooting in those three matchups. But Clark really struggled, shooting just 38.7 percent from the field and 20 percent from beyond the arc. Meanwhile, Boston did everything at both ends of the floor, averaging 19.3 points on 66.3 percent true shooting, 11.0 rebounds, 2.0 assists, 2.0 steals and 1.7 blocks. He defense was key on Wilson, holding her under 40 percent shooting, limiting her to just 12 free throw attempts across three games and making sure she finished with more turnovers (6) than assists (5).
If she can't go in Game 1, the level of difficulty for Indiana goes through the roof.
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