For the Indiana Fever fans of the world the game 1 of the playoffs against defending champions Las Vegas Aces was a bit of a reality check. The first quarter was competitive, but it really looked like Indiana was struggling to keep up with the frenetic offense of the Aces. By halftime the Fever were down by 15 and it really didn't look like it could possibly be turned around. By the end of the 3rd quarter and 8 more points added to the gap, it was clear that the Aces were going to emerge victorious and they did, 102 to 85. You could easily argue that the lead would have been even more had Las Vegas not stepped off the gas in the 4th, which they clearly did.
This is where things got really interesting though, because in front of a crazy and sold out crowd back in Indiana, the home court advantage was really electric and Indiana didn't just win, but they looked like they were in control for most of the game.
Something important to keep in mind about WNBA games is that the first round of the tournament the series are best of 3 so a loss at home would have meant the end of the season. By winning this game by 10 points in front of an absolutely passioaate crowd, the Fever have forced game 3 in the series against the odds. Speaking of odds, the Fever were 5.5 point underdogs for the home game and they are 4.5 point underdogs for game 3.
It wasn't always this good of a feeling during the game 2 though, because despite getting the crowd all worked up in the first 15 seconds where Caitlin Clark scored a 3-pointer to start the game up, the rest of the first quarter was all Aces and they ended the quarter 26-18. Thankfully, the Fever found their rhythm in the second quarter outscoring the Aces 30-17.
They never looked back from that point
A couple of interesting things happened before the halftime buzzer: Caitlin Clark became the first person in WNBA history to have a double-double before halftime (10 points, 10 assists) and she also threw up during the game after running to the locker room. She claims she was really gassed after giving it her all in the game, which is what you are supposed to do when you are the highest paid professional women's basketball player of all time I suppose.
This bodes really well for the Fever and also for the WNBA at large. In the past (since Caitlin became part of the W) viewership of the playoffs drops off dramatically once the Fever are eliminated.
The league still will not admit the fact that CC is basically carrying the popularity of the league even though these sorts of facts are undeniable and you also have other evidence such as her signature shoe selling out in hours after it was released a few days ago.
CC finished the game with 27 points, 15 assists, and 7 rebounds. It is important to note though, that she also had 5 turnovers and 6 personal fouls. Many Caitlin haters like to point out that she has one of the highest rates of turnovers of any player in the WNBA but I guess that is what happens when you are making such amazing assist attempts for an entire game.
In just 3 hours, the Fever are playing in Las Vegas for the game 3 and for all the marbles. They are not expected to win this game but hopefully, for the sake of ratings and watchability as far as the sport is concerned, they will pull off yet another victory and move on in the tournament.
Although at this point it does seem very unlikely there are two things that could happen that would really get this playoffs fired up and interesting. If Indiana and Dallas win we would see Caitlin Clark up against Paige Bueckers, who is a similar style player that is one year younger than CC and is constantly compared to her. Then, even more unlikely is that both the Indiana Fever and Atlanta Dream end up in the finals where Caitlin and her old arch nemesis Angel Reese would be back against one another.
We have to face reality though and see that Indiana didn't become the 6 seed because of nothing. They are not the best team in the league and are in all likelihood will be eliminated tonight. I am keeping my fingers crossed and I am sure the league operators and the TV networks that carry the games are as well. If Caitlin and Co. get sent home, most of the fans are going to tune out for the remainder of the tournament.
