Seeding stakes under the lights: Fever host Lynx in finale
Game Preview — Minnesota (33-9) at Indiana (23-20), Tuesday, 7:30 p.m., Gainbridge Fieldhouse (ESPN)
Playoff ticket punched, but the Fever still have pole position to gain on the final lap. Indiana is locked into 6 or 7:
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Fever win and Golden State loses twice → Indiana rises to No. 6.
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Any other combo → No. 7.
Either seed likely draws Las Vegas or Atlanta; Phoenix remains an outside shot. The one avoid-at-all-costs path—No. 8 and a first-round date with Minnesota—has been dodged.
Probable Fever starters: Odyssey Sims, Kelsey Mitchell, Lexie Hull, Natasha Howard, Aliyah Boston.
Lynx starters: Courtney Williams, Kayla McBride, Napheesa Collier, Bridget Carleton, Jessica Shepard.
Lynx starters: Courtney Williams, Kayla McBride, Napheesa Collier, Bridget Carleton, Jessica Shepard.
Indiana’s keys: keep the turnover conveyor belt moving (27 points off giveaways at Washington), let Boston command the glass and elbow actions, and free Mitchell early threes to stretch Minnesota’s shell. The Lynx bring league-best credentials and an MVP-caliber Collier (23.0 ppg, top-10 boards, elite stocks). Expect a playoff-grade half-court chess match; bench pop from Aerial Powers and two-way shotmaking from Howard could be the Fever’s swing pieces.