At the moment, there’s no denying that Caitlin Clark and the Indiana Fever are one of, if not the most exciting team in the WNBA. This squad is well on their way to a postseason berth after earning themselves a spot in the playoffs for the first time since 2018.
Despite their scorching hot streak, however (they’ve gone 8-2 since returning from the month-long Olympic break), things are about to get much tougher for this team once the postseason begins.
This is exactly what WNBA icon Rebecca Lobo recently pointed out as she hit Clark and Co. with a timely reality check heading into the WNBA Playoffs.
“I think, obviously, they’re not only in the postseason,” Lobo said during the Monday, September 9, episode of “NBA Today” on ESPN. “I think they can win a first-round matchup depending on who they play.
“… But the big concern for Indiana, of course — and you heard Caitlin Clark and Aliyah Boston joking about it on the podium — is they don’t have any playoff experience. They’re starting lineup has a combined zero games of playoff experience. Their entire roster has only nine games of playoff experience.
“So that’s the question: when they get into those moments, how will they handle going up against those upper teams that have been there combined 200 times?”
Indiana Fever forward Aliyah Boston (7) celebrates with Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark (22)
Grace Hollars/IndyStar / USA TODAY NETWORK
Lobo has no doubt that the Fever will make some noise in the postseason. In fact, the WNBA Hall of Famer believes that they’re capable of pulling off a first-round upset.
If the playoffs started today, the No. 6 seed Fever would face off against the third-seed Connecticut Sun, who as Lobo pointed out, Indiana has already defeated this season.
At the same time, however, Lobo is questioning Indiana’s ability to step it up in the latter rounds when they potentially go up against teams that have been battle-tested in the playoffs. Lobo suspects that the Fever’s lack of experience could be what ultimately leads to their downfall.
Then again, Clark and the rest of the Fever have surprised both fans and pundits alike over and over again this season. If anyone’s capable of shocking the league in the postseason, it would probably be Caitlin Clark and the Indiana Fever.
