The Indiana Fever have lost their last two games to wrap up what has been a wild West Coast road trip, leaving them still fighting for their playoff lives. With only three games left in the regular season, they are just 1.5 games ahead of the Los Angeles Sparks for the eighth and final spot. They still very much control their own destiny, having a couple of very winnable games left, but any playoff success will have to depend on one key player: Aliyah Boston. Having been depleted with injuries practically all season has created inconsistent lineup rotations for head coach Stephanie White, which Boston has somewhat struggled with adjusting to.
Her production in terms of numbers has been fairly consistent all season and this comes despite her pick-and-roll teammate Caitlin Clark being sidelined for 27 games. Boston currently averages a career high 15.2 points per game in combination with dominating performances under the rim, averaging eight rebounds per game. She has hit double-digit scoring in all but seven games this season—the Fever are about to play in game number 42 Friday night. One of those games came just recently against the Golden State Valkyries, another team fighting to keep their playoff spot. Boston finished with just four points in 30 minutes.
The concerning part for the Fever is that strong teams like the Mercury, Valkyries, Minnesota Lynx, and New York Liberty have been successful at finding ways to shut down Boston. Each of these teams has one thing in common: they're massive on the interior.
From a production standpoint, Boston has still put up double figures on these teams, but the Fever's overall success under the basket has steadily declined, and this starts with Boston. She is the team's primary 'big' player inside the paint along with Natasha Howard. Teams they will probably see in the playoffs play very big under the basket, and this is what the Fever have struggled with over the course of the last few games. Facing players like Alyssa Thomas, Napheesa Collier, and even Aja Wilson will certainly create a challenge for the Fever.
Aliyah Boston's success will equate to playoff wins
This sounds like a lot of pressure to put on one single player, but the lack of depth that the Fever will have the rest of the way will put more responsibility on the shoulders of their veterans. She's been reliable the entire season and can't allow for a couple of not-so-great performances to derail the rest of the season. Her turnover totals matched her point total in their game Sunday against the Valkyries and she was ultimately a zero factor in a nightmare game for the Fever.
Boston not only will need to keep her point total up for the Fever to have a legitimate chance at postseason wins, but she will also have to be absolutely dominant in the paint. She got beaten on multiple occasions in the team's last three games, but so did every other player on the team. There was virtually no rebounding, no defending the basket, and a lack of extended plays. But there were a lot of second-chance points for the opposing teams, which will absolutely sink the Fever in the playoffs—and this also starts with Boston.
She will have to quickly set the tone by playing aggressively all while defending the rim. To put this recent lack of success into perspective: the Mercury had 12 second-chance points against the Fever on Tuesday, and the Valkyries finished with 15 second-chance points the game prior. Rebounding and extending plays are necessary components of Boston's game that the Fever will need on full display if they are to have any success and aim to finish with the higher seed.