The WNBA playoff schedule is ready, and the Indiana Fever’s path is laid out. On Sunday, Cailtin Clark, Kelsey Mitchell, Aliyah Boston and co. will face the Connecticut Solar in Uncasville, Connecticut, in Recreation 1 of the postseason on ABC at 3 p.m. ET.
After a stellar rookie marketing campaign that noticed Clark break a number of data and assist the Fever make the playoffs for the primary time since 2016, the query on a number of of us’ minds now could be this: How far can Clark and Indiana go within the postseason?
If the second half of the common season is any indication, the second spherical looks as if an actual risk. And as soon as the Fever get there, it’s all about matchups in an anything-can-happen postseason event.
Think about that the Fever went 9-5 after the Olympic break, a stretch that included a five-game profitable streak with triumphs over fellow playoff-bound groups just like the Atlanta Dream and Indiana’s subsequent opponent, the Solar. The Fever look like a brand new group after that point off in late July and early August and have elevated their sport. Indiana leads the WNBA in area purpose proportion (45.6), efficient area purpose proportion (52.3) and is second in complete factors scored. Merely put, there isn’t a group within the league that the Fever can’t sustain with offensively.
It is a unit led by Clark, who has continued to attract in new eyeballs to the WNBA this season together with her completely electrical play. The 2024 common season was the most-viewed ever on ESPN platforms with a median of 1.2 million viewers per sport; the All-Star sport drew a document 3.4 million viewers; and a sport between the Fever and the Las Vegas Aces on Sept. 11 drew 678,000 viewers, making it the most-viewed WNBA sport ever on NBATV. A lot of the information for elevated consideration and viewership within the WNBA factors in Clark’s route, which is why Indiana vs. Connecticut is getting the ABC remedy on Sunday, with all different video games aired on ESPN. Excuse the fits at Disney in case you discover them rooting for the Fever.
Clark, after all, has backed up the hype together with her play.
She’ll seemingly win the WNBA’s Rookie of the 12 months award and will discover herself voted to the All-WNBA First Group, each of which might be deserved honors. Clark averaged a league-leading 8.4 assists per sport this season together with 19.2 factors and 5.7 rebounds. She additionally led the WNBA in 3-pointers made with 122, or 3.1 per sport. For some perspective, think about that the nice Sheryl Swoopes averaged north of 19.2 factors per sport simply as soon as in her 12 seasons within the WNBA and by no means posted greater than 4.3 assists per sport.
That assists determine places Clark in elite and unique firm. Solely Ticha Penicheiro and Courtney Vandersloot have ever averaged eight dimes or extra in a single season. And no participant within the historical past of the WNBA, which started in 1997, has ever posted per sport averages of not less than 19 factors and eight assists in the identical yr.
However what makes the Fever a risk to make a probably deep playoff run is extra than simply Clark. Within the second half of the season, her teammates have stepped up in a giant approach. Bear in mind, Kelsey Mitchell and Aliyah Boston had been each all-stars alongside Clark. Mitchell is averaging 19.6 factors per sport this season and simply dropped 30 factors in a win over the Dallas Wings on Sunday. Boston is averaging 14.1 factors and 9.1 boards per sport and has proven that—along with being a defensive anchor for the Fever—she will be able to rating in bunches too, like when she scored 30 factors in a Sept. 8 win over the Dream.
A sport that could possibly be an indication of issues to return for the Fever is their Aug. 28 win over the Solar, which noticed 5 Indiana gamers rating in double figures for a well-balanced scoring assault that led to an 84-80 triumph. Lexie Hull was essential in that sport for Indiana, flattening 4 3-pointers.
Ought to the Fever get previous the Solar within the first spherical, they could bump their heads towards their ceiling. For the reason that Olympic break, Indiana is 0-2 towards the second-seeded Minnesota Lynx with a pair of double-digit losses, and the Fever are 0-4 on the yr towards the two-time reigning champs, the Aces. Earlier than the break, Indiana went 1-3 towards the top-seeded New York Liberty.
But when the WNBA postseason is something like March Insanity, we all know there aren’t any limits on the vacation spot with Clark within the driver’s seat.
