The Indiana Fever’s success in the 2025 playoffs was one of the best stories of the season. They were expected to be really good going into the season, but season-ending injuries to Caitlin Clark, Sophie Cunningham, and several other players dampened expectations. Nevertheless, the Fever upset the Atlanta Dream in the first round and pushed the Las Vegas Aces to overtime in Game 5 of the semifinals.
Clark is now healthy and playing great basketball. So is Kelsey Mitchell, who has just been absolutely unstoppable as a scorer. The playoff expectations are a lot higher this season. However, with the Aces waiting for them, there’s a good chance that the Fever won’t even make it out of the first round this year.
The Fever seemed to be on a collision course with the Dream for another first-round meeting. But then they lost to the Minnesota Lynx and the Washington Mystics beat the Chicago Sky to leapfrog them for the No. 5 seed. So, they will have to face Las Vegas, and betting against A’ja Wilson and the Aces is never a good choice.
Indiana has the offensive talent to make the Aces sweat and maybe even pull off the upset, but the Aces also have the talent to take care of business and eliminate them early—even if it may take overtime in Game 3.
Las Vegas will be a tough first-round matchup for the Fever
The Fever played the Aces fairly well in the regular season. They took the first game 84-68, but neither Clark nor Wilson played. They also won the second game 109-75, but then lost the third matchup 86-84 in overtime after Clark missed clutch free throws and turned the ball over against Wilson, which led to a big shot by Chelsea Gray.
One of the Fever’s big advantages against the Aces is that Aliyah Boston guards Wilson about as well as possible. Boston left the Fever’s game against the Lynx in the first half and didn’t return due to a lower leg injury, so hopefully she will be ready to go in the playoffs. Moreover, not having NaLyssa Smith will really hurt the Aces in the playoffs.
Still, beating the Aces in the playoffs is incredibly difficult. Wilson is the best player in the world, Chelsea Gray thrives in clutch situations, Jackie Young is one of the best two-way wings in the game, and Becky Hammon excels at making adjustments, drawing up the right plays, and exploiting teams’ weaknesses. The Aces have not lost a first-round series since they first made the playoffs with Wilson in 2019.
While the outcome of this series is anything but certain, the entertainment factor is. This series will feature two of the best big threes in the W, the league’s two leading scorers, great coaching, and high stakes. It will be must-watch TV for anyone who enjoys watching good, competitive basketball.
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