The Fever are down Caitlin Clark for the next 2 weeks, which also propelled Napheesa Collier to being a solid MVP favorite (-210). Sydney Colson is slated to start in the meantime.
Funnily enough, Colson started a preseason game against the Mystics without Clark. She played alongside Bonner, Howard, Mitchell and Boston. In the 1H, the potential assists of the Fever team were distributed as so:
(10min) – Colson 7 (2 off inbound)
(14min) – Cunningham 5
(14) – Howard 4
(10) – Boston 3
(12) – Hull 2
(15) – Kelsey 1
Colson with some absurd passing volume. Expect a ton of handoff action for Indiana’s offense, which already is a great way to play Mystics who love to pressure guards high. Kelsey Mitchell thrives off the handoff game, which leaves her with the lowest potentials while receiving the most.
This holds true, as with Clark off the court and with Boston/Mitchell on since start of 2024 season, Mitchell is 2nd to last of this group in AST% at 11%. Hull is 6.3%. Meanwhile, Cunningham leads this unit at 28.6%, yet that is just in 13 minutes this season.
Mitchell does however lead in overall usage at 33.3%, with 19 shots per 30 minutes. The Mystics have surrendered the most OPP 3PA in the league, with Mabrey, Rhyne, Allisha and Chelsea all notching 8+ 3PA.
Shakira Austin (concussion) is “fully expected” to suit up for Washington after a full practice Tuesday, though Sydney Johnson also noted that he wanted to be “really cautious, but she looked sharp at practice”. Shakira has gotten ejected and then concussed in her two games, so we don’t fully know what her full rotation even would be.
Shouldn’t affect Kiki Iriafen, who seems set to continue with 30 minutes per game. Iriafen is facing an IND team that has surrendered the 2nd most OPP RPG, which has included success to opposing bigs:
– Reese 17
– Brionna Jones 12
– Jonquel 12
Jonquel was the only one on that list to primarily guard Aliyah Boston, which Dolson will do today for Mystics.
Indiana’s true defensive weakness has been their perimeter defense, carrying over from last year. They allowed the 2nd most OPP 3PA last season at 25.5, which increased to 28.3 this season (ranking 9th). This damage is stemmed from allowing the most Above-The-Break 3PA, yet when pairing this with IND allowing the 2nd fewest assists, we can assume it’s from self-created looks.
Each team’s top ATB shooter compared to their volume vs IND:
– Nurse 6 3PA (20min), Banham 6 3PA (19min)
– Rhyne 13 3PA, Allisha 10 3PA
– Rhyne 7 3PA, Allisha 5 3PA
– Sabrina 8 3PA
Melbourne leads WSH in this department.