The Indiana Fever are playoff certain. On Tuesday evening, each the Chicago Sky and Atlanta Dream misplaced, solidifying the workforce’s spot within the WNBA postseason for the primary time since 2016.
Indiana owns a 17-16 report and sits within the No. 6 spot within the WNBA standings. The highest eight groups within the league earn a visit to the playoffs.
— Indiana Fever (@IndianaFever) September 4, 2024
Even with back-to-back No. 1 picks in Aliyah Boston (2023) and Caitlin Clark (2024), the yr began off rocky for the Fever. The workforce opened the yr with a 1-8 report and seemed to be in retailer for a protracted season.
However as soon as the workforce’s chemistry started jelling, the Fever took off. That is been evident within the post-Olympic break. Since getting back from a month-long layoff, Indiana has a 6-1 report and has scored no less than 90 factors in 4 of these video games.
Clark has stolen a majority of the dialog with a sensational rookie season. The No. 1 general choose within the 2024 WNBA Draft is averaging a league-best 8.4 assists per sport to go together with 18.7 factors and 5.6 rebounds per contest. She’s the frontrunner to win the league’s Rookie of the 12 months award.
However Clark has obtained a ton of help, particularly from Kelsey Mitchell for the reason that finish of the Olympic break. Within the seven video games for the reason that return, Mitchell is averaging 26.7 factors per sport and has set a Fever franchise report with seven consecutive 20-point performances.
Boston has additionally supplied an incredible publish presence for the Fever, averaging 13.4 factors, 9.0 rebounds and three.0 assists per contest.
Clark, Mitchell and Boston have been all chosen to the WNBA All-Star workforce earlier this yr. They’re dwelling as much as the hype, particularly within the second half of the season.
WNBA playoff format
The WNBA playoffs will start on Sunday, Sept. 22. For these unfamiliar, here is how the format works, per the Indiana Fever’s web site.
“The highest eight groups no matter convention will qualify for the playoffs and be seeded primarily based on their report. The primary playoff spherical follows a best-of-three format the place the groups are seeded primarily based on their regular-season report. The primary-round sequence video games will embrace a 2-1 format wherein the upper seed will host Video games 1 and a pair of and the decrease seed will host Sport 3 if obligatory.
“The semifinals and WNBA Finals will every function a best-of-five sequence following the 2-2-1 format with the upper seed internet hosting Video games 1, 2 and 5, and the lower-seeded workforce will host Video games 3 and 4 of their respective sequence.”
