Las Vegas Aces vs. Indiana Fever Preview

The Indiana Fever get another early taste of what playoff basketball will be like when they welcome the Las Vegas Aces to town for the first of two weekend games at Gainbridge Fieldhouse. The Fever come into this one at 19-17 after surviving a wild overtime win against the Atlanta Dream, who gave Caitlin Clark and company all they could handle until Indiana prevailed, 104-100.

For the Aces, this game represents a chance to put some distance between themselves and the Seattle Storm, who are currently just a game out in the battle for the fourth seed in the upcoming WNBA playoffs. Las Vegas will be carefully monitoring the status of superstar and heavy MVP favorite A'ja Wilson, who injured her ankle in their last game and was seen wearing a walking boot after the game.

Photo byengin akyurtonUnsplash

Game Details

Fixture: Las Vegas Aces vs. Indiana Fever

Date and Time: Wednesday September 11, 2024 @ 7 PM EST

Location: Gainbridge Fieldhouse, Indianpolis IN

Las Vegas Aces Team Review

The Aces recent road trip is a perfect example of how fragile playoff fortunes can be at this time of year. Last Friday the Aces posted a stirring road win against Connecticut, but the price of that win was the temporary loss of the services of MVP candidate A'ja Wilson.

Wilson tweaked her ankle, and while the injury isn't believed to be serious, she was seen in a walking boot shortly after the game. Any hopes that the injury might turn out to be totally insignificant turned out to be wrong, though, when Wilson missed their game against the Liberty in New York.

Her injury puts Vegas in an intriguing situation. Coach Becky Hammon said the team would be careful with Wilson going forward, but the Aces also need to hold off the Seattle Storm, who face a relatively easy game against the Sparks while sitting just a game behind Las Vegas. Home court will be vital in this 4-5 battle if that matchup holds, so it will be interesting to see when Wilson returns to the lineup.

Indiana Fever Team Review

The Fever have an ongoing interest in that potential 4-5 matchup as well. They're currently sitting in the sixth spot, 2.5 games behind the Storm, but a weekend home sweep of Las Vegas could change their potential playoff situation completely. They're two up on the Mercury, so their current spot seems safe given that Phoenix has gone just 3-7 in its last ten games.

Indiana's wild shootout against Atlanta should keep them focused on this game, though. The Dream are on the outer edge of the playoff chase, but they gave the Fever all they could handle in their OT loss, running up a 16-point lead in the third quarter that forced the Fever to make a furious charge that led to a tight battle all the way to the end.

The key to victory for Indiana was the contributions of the Fever's Big three, with Aliyah Boston, Caitlin Clark and Kelsey Mitchell all posting at least 21 points. That's been their formula for victory lately, but all three will have to come up big in both games if they're going to meet the Vegas challenge.

Who to Watch

Las Vegas Aces

Wilson is the name to watch here for sure. Is she ready to come back, and if she is, how effective will she be? If she's out, the question becomes who will step up and deliver the necessary production to defeat Indiana. Against the Liberty it was Kelsey Plum, who scored 25 and was deadly from beyond the arc with 50 percent shooting, but Vegas only scored 71 in the loss, so Wilson's absence creates a definite scoring void.

Indiana Fever

The Big Three of Clark, Boston and Mitchel are the marquee names here, but the focus will be on Clark and how well she can limit her turnover count. The Fever lost their poise in their last game against a playoff opponent when Minnesota beat them, so that will be on the agenda as well. Things could easily get feisty in this kind of back-to-back now that the playoff stakes are clearly in sight, which is yet another factor to keep an eye on.

This article was originally written by Bob McCullough