Earlier than the season, nobody would have been shocked by a semifinal collection between the Las Vegas Aces and Indiana Fever, each of whom had aspirations to contend for a title. A number of months in the past, nonetheless, when the Aces had been beneath .500 and the Fever had been with out Caitlin Clark and mired in an damage disaster, it appeared inconceivable.
The Aces abruptly flipped a change and closed the common season on a 16-game profitable streak to earn the No. 2 seed, whereas the Fever gained 5 of their ultimate seven video games to not solely clinch a playoff berth however leap to the No. 6 seed. Each groups needed to go the space within the first spherical, however superior after thrilling Sport 3 wins over the Seattle Storm and Atlanta Dream, respectively.
WNBA playoff bracket, the place to look at: Schedule, scores, TV channel as Mercury beat Liberty to advance to semis
Isabel Gonzalez
Jackie Younger transformed a go-ahead putback to provide the Aces the lead with 12.4 seconds remaining, and so they held on after Skylar Diggins‘ potential game-winner didn’t go down. The Fever’s go-ahead bucket from Aliyah Boston got here with 7.4 seconds left, and so they escaped when Brionna Jones‘ 3-point try on the buzzer clanged off the rim.
Now, the Aces and Fever will meet with a visit to the Finals on the road. The Aces, who gained the title in 2022 and 2023, are on the lookout for their third journey to the Finals within the final 4 seasons. Alternatively, the Fever have not been to the Finals since 2015, after they misplaced within the Finals to the Minnesota Lynx.
No. 2 Las Vegas Aces vs. No. 6 Indiana Fever
- Sport 1: Fever at Aces (-8), Sunday, 3 p.m. ET — ABC / Fubo (Attempt totally free)
- Sport 2: Fever at Aces, Tuesday, 9:30 p.m. ET — ESPN / Fubo (Attempt totally free)
- Sport 3: Aces at Fever, Sept. 26, TBD — ESPN2 / Fubo (Attempt totally free)
- Sport 4*: Aces at Fever, Sept. 28, 3 p.m. ET — ABC / Fubo (Attempt totally free)
- Sport 5*: Fever at Aces, Sept. 30, TBD — TBD
*If essential / Odds supplied by FanDuel
Gamers to look at
Aces: A’ja Wilson
Wilson is one of the best participant within the league, so this may occasionally appear apparent, however the Aces go as Wilson goes. She had 38 of their 74 factors of their Sport 3 win over the Storm and 88 of their 259 factors (33.9%) within the collection. Over the three video games, she solely sat for 14 minutes, and almost eight of these got here within the fourth quarter of the Aces’ blowout win in Sport 1. Whereas the Aces’ supporting solid has been significantly better over the past seven weeks, Wilson is the first driving pressure behind their success.
WNBA playoffs: A’ja Wilson’s utter dominance on each ends leads Aces to semifinal matchup with Fever
Isabel Gonzalez
Fever: Aliyah Boston
Boston, who hit the game-winning shot to ship the Fever to the semifinals, has performed a significant function in conserving the Fever from falling aside amid all of their damage issues. With out Clark, the Fever run a good portion of their offense by means of Boston, using her as a hub for hand-offs and screens. She’s additionally their greatest inside defender and may have the first accountability for checking Wilson throughout this collection. The Fever will want a large collection from Boston in the event that they need to pull off one other upset.
Three keys to the collection
The “actual Aces”
The Fever gained the season collection between the 2 groups, 2-1. Coincidentally, their lone loss got here with Clark, whereas their two wins had been with out her. What does that imply for this collection? Apart from doubtlessly giving the Fever some confidence, little or no.
All three of the Aces-Fever matchups occurred in June and July, earlier than Las Vegas began its unimaginable turnaround. As well as, the Fever nonetheless had Sydney Colson, Sophie Cunningham and Aari McDonald throughout these contests.
“They have not seen the actual Aces but,” Vegas coach Becky Hammon stated after her staff’s Sport 3 win on Thursday. “They caught us after we had been a bit in turmoil. Not solely that, they whooped us in a type of stretches. We’ll buckle in, hone in the place we are able to and maintain enterprise.”
From opening day by means of Aug. 2, when the Aces misplaced by 53 factors to the Minnesota Lynx, Vegas was 14-14 with a minus-3.0 web score. Since then, the Aces have gained 18 of their final 19 video games and closed the common season on a 16-game profitable streak. Throughout that streak, they boasted a staggering plus-16.5 web score.
The staff the Fever beat twice within the common season shouldn’t be the staff they’re going to play on this collection.
Can Boston replicate regular-season success vs. Wilson?
A’ja Wilson is one of the best participant on this planet and should win a file fourth MVP later this month. However in opposition to Boston, her fellow South Carolina Gamecock, she seemed nothing of the type in the course of the common season. Whereas Wilson averaged 24.3 factors per recreation in opposition to the Fever of their three regular-season conferences, she shot 24 of 56 (42.9%) from the sector. The one staff she had a worse discipline objective share in opposition to in the course of the common season was the New York Liberty.
The 6-foot-5 Boston, who’s a candidate for each All-WNBA and All-Defensive honors, was the first defender in opposition to Wilson when the groups met this season and did a superb job. Here is a have a look at the distinction between when Boston was guarding Wilson and when anybody else had the accountability. Word: All knowledge was hand-tracked.
|
Boston |
13 |
38 |
34.2% |
|
Everybody else |
11 |
18 |
61.1% |
The first motive Boston had a lot success in opposition to Wilson was that, due to her dimension and power, she was in a position to preserve the MVP candidate away from the basket. Of Wilson’s 38 shot makes an attempt with Boston as her major defender, 25 of them had been jumpers. On these makes an attempt specifically, Wilson was 7 of 25.
Whereas Wilson is a really stable leap shooter, she’s almost unstoppable across the basket. For the season, she shot 45.2% on mid-range makes an attempt, in comparison with 70% on restricted space makes an attempt. In case you can flip Wilson right into a leap shooter, you no less than have an opportunity, but when she’s feasting on the rim, you don’t.
How do the Fever rating sufficient?
Kelsey Mitchell and Boston helped preserve the Fever’s offense afloat in the course of the common season with out Clark, however doing so within the playoffs has proved rather more tough.
Throughout their first-round collection in opposition to the Dream, the Fever shot 39.9% from the sector, together with 28.6% from 3-point vary, turned the ball over 40 instances and had an offensive score of 96.7. Mitchell (70) and Boston (37) mixed for 107 of their 232 factors.
Whereas the Fever’s protection proved formidable within the first spherical, they bought some assist from the Dream on that finish of the ground. With a purpose to pull off one other upset, they will have to attain to maintain up with Wilson and the Aces, who boasted a 111.6 offensive score within the first spherical.
Even if you happen to pencil Mitchell and Boston in for 40-45 factors per recreation — greater than the 35.6 they mixed to common within the first spherical — the place are the opposite factors coming from? Odyssey Sims is the one different participant scoring in double figures, and he or she’s at 10.3 factors per recreation on 28.1% capturing. A giant 3-point capturing collection from Lexie Hull, who shot 36.7% within the common season however was 3 of 12 within the first spherical, would go a great distance.
However even then, it is simply exhausting to see how the Fever discover sufficient offense to match the Aces, given how restricted their choices are on that finish of the ground.
Prediction
The Aces had been the consensus pre-playoffs decide to get to the Finals from this facet of the bracket, and are even greater favorites now that the Fever have upset the Dream. Per Caesars, the Aces are -1400 to win this best-of-five matchup. The Fever’s never-say-die angle has been extraordinarily spectacular, however this seems like too large a hill to climb. The Aces simply have an excessive amount of expertise. Decide: Aces in 4
