When: Games 1 and 2 – Sunday and Wednesday at Connecticut. Game 3 – Friday at Indiana (if necessary)
What Players to Watch: Connecticut – Alyssa Thomas and DeWanna Bonner; Indiana – Caitlin Clark and Kelsey Mitchell
In a year where the Indiana Fever went from struggling to streaking, they now look to carry the positive momentum they’ve built throughout their post-Olympic break into the 2024 playoffs, their first appearance since 2016, when they face the Connecticut Sun on Sunday.
Against Connecticut, however, they square off against a foe that has had their number for much of the season this year after going 1-3 overall with their lone win coming against them on Aug. 28 at home when they won with a final of 84-80.
However, glaring differences stand to be remembered in this postseason matchup. First, the idea that three of their first games against Connecticut came pre-Olympic break. Second, two of those matchups were within the first week of the regular season. It was abundantly clear that Indiana was far from finding any cohesion.
Indiana and Their Post-Olympic Run
Since then, they’ve used a 9-5 post-break record to find consistency on the offensive side of the floor. Indiana sits third in the league with an offensive rating of 104.2. Connecticut trails in fifth place with 102.3.
And while Indiana will be spearheaded by the likes of Clark, who co-leads with 19.2 points per game (PPG), Mitchell (19.2 PPG), and Aliyah Boston (14 PPG), Connecticut suits up six players that average double figures led by Bonner’s 15 PPG and 14.9 from Marina Mabrey with just 16 games played with her current team. Mabrey was moved in a trade earlier this season by the Chicago Sky.
By the numbers, these two teams hover near the same stratosphere in terms of offensive play in certain respects, while both sit in the middle of the league in terms of fast break points along with points in the paint.
The main differential, however, is Connecticut’s ability to convert off of their opponent’s turnovers. Sitting at first in the league with 18.6, they also average 8.2 steals per game as a team while Indiana is dead last in the league regarding points off turnovers and steals.
Couple these areas with the fact that Indiana is one of the league leaders in turnovers per game while also being a team that has the least amount of playoff experience amongst postseason-eligible squads and this may ultimately be the recipe for an early end to what has been a franchise-changing season for Indiana.
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