On Sunday, Caitlin Clark and the Indiana Fever will try to bounce back against the Atlanta Dream after they lost a home game to Minnesota.
Only a handful of games remain in the WNBA regular season, and six of the eight playoff spots have been clinched.
Three teams—the Chicago Sky, Washington Mystics, and Dream—will compete for the final two spots.
Below, we break down our Fever vs. Dream picks and prediction!
Atlanta Dream: Pursuit to the Playoffs
Even with an eight-game slide between the end of June and the start of the All-Star break, the Dream can sneak into the playoffs if they can hold off the Mystics — who are one game back with six remaining.
The Dream have dropped five of their past seven, but they posted 107 points in a double-digit win against Dallas in their last outing. It could significantly help their confidence on the offensive end of the floor, considering they rank dead-last in offensive rating and points per game this season.
Injuries have sadly played an enormous part in Atlanta’s underwhelming 2024 campaign.
Two-time All-Defensive selection Jordin Canada, one of the top facilitating point guards in the W, missed the first chunk of the season while leading scorer Rhyne Howard has also missed ten games.
However, both players are back in the lineup and healthy, and this team has the potential to be a disruptor in the first round of the postseason if they get hot at the right time.
Indiana Fever: A Dynamic Duo
The Indiana Fever had won seven of their past eight games entering Friday’s game against the Lynx. Indiana had a solid five-point halftime lead at home before getting slaughtered in the third quarter and eventually, losing by 11 points.
Still, Indiana’s offense has been tremendous recently, ranking first (tied) in offensive rating, first in points per game, and second in effective field goal percentage since the extended All-Star break.
The Fever’s surge has been led by none other than the backcourt duo of Kelsey Mitchell and Rookie of the Year frontrunner Caitlin Clark, who has averaged 24.6 points, 9.0 assists, and 5.9 rebounds per game on roughly a 47/40/93 shooting split.
Mitchell has been equally impressive, posting 25.3 points on 50% shooting from the floor, 45% from behind the arc, and 93% from the charity stripe.
The Fever have clinched a playoff spot and will be dangerous if they keep this momentum entering the postseason.
Dream vs Fever: The Temperature's Rising
As mentioned above, the Dream rank 12th in pace, points per game, and offensive rating this season, which does not bode well against this high-scoring and high-octane Fever team that has shot the lights out recently.
Indiana has been magnificent against the Dream this season, securing a win in all three matchups.
Further, the Fever are 5-1 in their past six home games, with the highest effective field goal and 3-point percentage, and the second-highest offensive rating.
Don’t be deterred from backing the Fever just because of the blip against the Lynx, who might be playing the best basketball in the W since the Olympics ended.
