“Aren’t Equipped To Go After Fever’s Biggest Weakness”: Aces’ Playoff Chances Against Caitlin Clark & Co. Gets Blunt Reality Check From WNBA Reporter

The Indiana Fever have spent the final week of the regular season looking like a team searching for answers and are now set to face the defending champion Las Vegas Aces in the first round of the playoffs. However, WNBA reporter Robin Lundberg believes the matchup may be more favorable for Indiana than the seeding suggests, particularly because of how the two teams match up.

“The Aces aren’t really equipped to go after the Fever’s biggest weaknesses on the boards or perimeter defense. It doesn’t mean they’re going to win, but they are certainly capable of beating the Las Vegas Aces,” Lundberg said in a clip of his YouTube show posted to Instagram.

“On paper and in the games that we’ve seen, not only did the Fever go the distance with the Aces last year with Caitlin Clark out and Kelsey Mitchell, her body gave out in that series, but look at this year. They played three times. The Fever won two out of those three. And they were up by 20 in the game that they didn’t win that went to overtime. It required an extraordinary set of circumstances for them to lose. Then you’ve got Aliyah Boston, who guards A’ja Wilson better than any player in the league.”

His assessment came after Las Vegas entered the postseason as the No. 3 seed with a 31-13 record, having won seven straight games to close the regular season. On top of that, the Aces are statistical monsters too. During the regular season, they led the league in blocks at 4.9 per game while committing roughly 12 turnovers per game, among the WNBA’s lowest figures.

But Indiana enters the postseason with the league’s best offensive rating, giving the Fever a statistical advantage that could matter against an Aces team that has shown vulnerability on the perimeter. Indiana averaged a league-best 96.7 points per game during the regular season, while Las Vegas averaged 91.3.

And as he noted, Indiana won the first two of the three matchups; they won 84-68 on July 5, then followed it up with a 109-75 win a week later. That’s a combined 50-point margin of victory.

The Aces’ lone win in the season series, though, offered a reminder of how difficult they can be to put away. During the August matchup, Indiana led 42-22 in the first half, but Las Vegas erased the deficit. Chelsea Gray hit a late three-pointer to force overtime before burying another buzzer-beating three to give the Aces an 86-84 victory.

A’ja Wilson is the biggest factor in the Aces’ favor. The four-time MVP is clearly the best individual talent in the matchup, but per Lundberg, the Fever can at least slow her down. He pointed to Aliyah Boston as a potential defensive answer, citing her history against the Aces.

After all, Boston slowing down Wilson was one of the storylines of last year’s semifinal series between the two sides, with the Indiana star holding Wilson to 44.1% from the field compared to her regular season average of 50.5%. Unfortunately, that didn’t translate to a series win.

It is to be noted that Indiana played the series without Caitlin Clark, who sat out most of the season with injuries, leaving Kelsey Mitchell overtasked. The star guard, who shot 45.6% from the field in the regular season, dropped to 40.7%, taking 18.2 shots per game to get to 21.6 points on average.

This year’s rematch is fundamentally different. Clark is available, drastically reducing the load placed on Mitchell both as a ball-handler and scorer, especially with her leading the Fever in assists at 8.3 and contributing 22.3 points per game in the regular season.

However, Indiana still enters the series with a major injury concern. During the team’s final regular-season game, Boston exited early with a right lower-leg injury that head coach Stephanie White later described as a flare-up of an earlier issue. Boston’s availability could therefore become one of the series’ biggest swing factors, particularly with Wilson waiting on the other side.

That said, Indiana isn’t the only team entering the series with a frontcourt concern. Las Vegas lost NaLyssa Smith to a season-ending knee injury, removing one of Wilson’s primary frontcourt partners and potentially forcing the Aces to rely on smaller lineups around their superstar.

And unlike the five-game semifinal series these teams played last season, the first round is a best-of-three, making the margin for error considerably smaller. Las Vegas will host Game 1 and a potential Game 3, while Indiana will host Game 2.

Now, only time will tell if Lundberg’s assessment holds.

The post “Aren’t Equipped To Go After Fever’s Biggest Weakness”: Aces’ Playoff Chances Against Caitlin Clark & Co. Gets Blunt Reality Check From WNBA Reporter appeared first on EssentiallySports.