The Indiana Fever went 1-1 in their first two preseason games, beating the New York Liberty and suffering a 95-80 loss to the Dallas Wings. Both games highlighted one issue the Fever haven’t figured out yet: rebounding.
They lost the rebounding battle in both games—by a relatively small 27-34 margin against a massive Liberty team and by a concerning 26-45 deficit against the Wings. Dallas grabbed 12 offensive rebounds compared to the Fever’s 5, and Indiana struggled to close out defensive possessions.
The Fever played both games without Aliyah Boston, who averaged 8.2 rebounds per game last season, so it’s fair to expect the Fever to be a better rebounding team when she is back in the lineup. Still, losing the rebounding battle so badly against a Wings team that didn’t even have Jessica Shepard yet raises some concerns about the depth around and behind Boston.
Several Fever players need to step up their rebounding
Myisha Hines-Allen and Damiris Dantas were solid rebounding-wise against the Wings. They grabbed seven and five boards, respectively, in just under 20 minutes on the court. Other than that, the rebounding was poor all around.
Monique Billings, the Fever’s biggest free agency addition, only grabbed three rebounds in 22 minutes of playing time. Makayla Timpson finished with two rebounds in 23 minutes on the court. Billings is one of the tallest players on the team, and Timpson is the most athletic forward the Fever have. They need to get their hands on more rebounds than that, especially when Boston is out.
5’9” Aziaha James outrebounded every Fever player except for Hines-Allen, showing up Indiana’s frontcourt players and guards alike. No Fever guard recorded more than two rebounds. Starters Caitlin Clark, Sophie Cunningham, and Kelsey Mitchell combined for three rebounds in a combined 47 minutes on the court.
Health will make all the difference
While the Fever’s lack of rebounding against the Wings was concerning, we’ll have to wait to see the team healthy to judge how much of an issue it really is. Getting Lexie Hull and Aliyah Boston back will make a significant difference on the boards.
That still doesn’t ease any concerns about the Fever’s rebounding if Boston happens to miss some time due to injury, though. It’s a long season, and she’s been dealing with a leg issue since Unrivaled. She may aggravate it during the regular season or sustain a different injury. If that happens, who will step up on the boards?
Maybe the lack of rebounding from Billings and Timpson against the Wings was just a result of preseason urgency—neither is really in much danger of losing her roster spot, and Stephanie White said after the game that she thought her team had lacked urgency on the court—and they will be much more impactful in the regular season.
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