In what’s prone to be the matchup of the day, the Connecticut Solar host Caitlin Clark and the Indiana Fever within the opening spherical of the WNBA playoffs. There’s a lot to unpack on this one — it’s Clark’s postseason debut, it’s a battle between a fast-paced offense and an elite protection — and between Clark, Kelsey Mitchell, Aliyah Boston, Alyssa Thomas, and Brionna Jones, a protracted record of All-Stars will likely be featured. The Solar are used to creating the playoffs, whereas the Fever are doing so for the primary time since 2016 — however none of that issues when the sport suggestions off. Fittingly, Caitlin Clark’s postseason profession begins precisely the place her common season profession did, on the Mohegan Solar Area.
Solar-Fever Playoff Schedule:
Recreation 1 will likely be in Connecticut on Sunday, September twenty second at 3pm (on ABC)
Recreation 2 will likely be in Connecticut on Wednesday, September twenty fifth at 7:30pm (on ABC)
Recreation 3, if mandatory, will likely be in Indiana on Friday, September twenty seventh, time TBD (on ESPN2)
Common Season Collection: Connecticut received 3-1
Notable Gamers:
Solar: Alyssa Thomas, DeWanna Bonner, Brionna Jones, DiJonai Carrington
Fever: Caitlin Clark, Kelsey Mitchell, Aliyah Boston, Lexie Hull
Prediction: Solar in two (or Fever in three).
This sequence might be the hardest first-round sequence to foretell. The Solar have been the higher staff this season, they usually’re much more skilled (and superior defensively). However the Fever even have the higher post-Olympic report, and the 2 hottest guards within the recreation (Kelsey Mitchell and Caitlin Clark are the second and third-leading scorers within the league for the reason that Olympics, respectively).
Indiana has additionally discovered one thing with Lexie Hull within the beginning lineup — she’s been a pest defensively, and completed yr season with the second-best three-point proportion of any participant within the WNBA. Aliyah Boston seemed like a distinct participant to shut the yr than she did within the early elements of the season.
Driving all of it has been Caitlin Clark, who broke a report for many assists in a season — and in a recreation — by any participant in WNBA historical past. Clark is the definitive Rookie of the 12 months, and has damaged numerous information in her first yr within the WNBA, one way or the other exceeding the lofty expectations that had been positioned on her. How her common season success will translate into the postseason stays to be seen.
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Photograph by Michael Hickey/NBAE through Getty Photographs
The Solar’s defensive backcourt is likely one of the greatest within the recreation — DiJonai Carrington, Ty Harris, and Marina Mabrey have all been stellar on that finish, as has Veronica Burton off the bench. With the best way Mitchell and Clark have been taking part in, it’ll be troublesome to include the Fever backcourt no matter their defensive personnel — however the Solar have nearly as good an opportunity to sluggish them down as anybody.
“They simply pay actually arduous. They’re going to do some various things with ball screens, they’re going to entice some,” Caitlin Clark mentioned. “They’re simply going to be aggressive. The entire group, they know what they’re doing. They play sensible.”
The Fever nonetheless haven’t been nice defensively, and they’re going to have their palms full with a seasoned Solar staff that has six gamers averaging double-figures: DeWanna Bonner (15 factors per recreation), Marina Mabrey (14.9 factors), Brionna Jones (13.7 factors), DiJonai Carrington (12.7 factors), Alyssa Thomas (10.6 factors), and Tyasha Harris (10.5 factors).
Connecticut nonetheless goes by means of stagnant spells offensively, however since buying Mabrey mid-season, they’ve yet one more resolution to these these struggles. Mabrey has shot a team-best 42.4% from three since becoming a member of the Solar, and is a significant key for them shifting ahead because the group pursues a franchise-first WNBA title.
Issues get tough for Connecticut in the event that they lose certainly one of their two video games at Mohegan — Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis goes to be an extremely boisterous playoff environments, and Indiana has fed off that crowd all season. If the Solar cut up the primary two video games, Indiana has home-court (and the momentum) heading right into a deciding Recreation 3.
Key Query: Who has the sting within the battle between Aliyah Boston and Brionna Jones?
Each All-Star bigs have had nice particular person seasons: Boston averaged 14 factors and eight.9 rebounds per recreation this yr, whereas Jones averaged 13.7 factors and 5.5 rebounds.
Who has the higher hand on this matchup will likely be a key determinant of the result; final time the 2 groups confronted off, the Fever got here away with a 4 level win, and Jones was held to simply 2 factors and 1 rebound in half-hour. Boston, in the meantime, ending with 10 factors, 8 assists, and 6 rebounds. Brionna Jones is probably going going to have to be extra impactful — as she has been all season — for the Solar to return out on high.
