Riding high on their regular season victories, the Indiana Fever have made it to the playoffs for the first time since 2016. However, as the stakes went high, the Fever were jolted in the first game by the Connecticut Sun during Round 1 by a 93-69 margin. While the Indianapolis-based franchise might be going back to their film rooms and studying their mistakes, the WNBA legend Sheryl Swoopes has a harsh reality check for Caitlin Clark & Co.

In Tuesday’s episode of ‘The Queens of the Court’ podcast, Swoopes reflected on where the Fever went wrong, candidly labeling them a young team. “Listen playoffs are different. Playoffs are very different. But I would say this: they’re young, haven’t been here. Aliyah Boston I thought was a bright spot for the Fever. You finish with 17 points and 11 rebounds. You got one game under your belt, you go back, you watch film,” Swoopes stated.

The 2012 WNBA Champions have made it to the playoffs for the first time since 2016 and are far away from what they were as a team at the beginning of the decade. As of now, the average age of the starting five is around 24 years. The youngest of them are 22-year-olds Aliyah Boston and rookie Clark, drafted in 2023 and 2024, respectively. Meanwhile, the oldest player in the starting five is Kelsey Mitchell, who made her WNBA Playoffs debut on Sunday. Therefore, compared to the Sun, the Fever are relatively young to handle pressure during big games. But that does not mean that Swoopes did not have advice for the Sun.

“I will say this I think Connecticut again they played really well and Alyssa Thomas is gonna make sure, everybody on this team knows and remembers we have lost game 2 in the playoffs before. Don’t want that to happen,” Swoopes enumerated.

Talking about the Uncasville franchise, the Comets legend took note that they had lost to the Dallas Wings during game 2 of the WNBA playoffs in 2022. While the Sun did advance to the Finals that year, nonetheless they were dealt hard blows by the Wings after a convincing blowout win by a 93-68 margin in Game 1. Hence, the Hall of Famer was clear that she wanted them to put their heads down and prepare for the upcoming game.

“The other side I still think the Fever they’re absolutely gonna show up. They’re g0nna show up on Wednesday because the first half was a gate, the Connecticut didn’t run off until the second half. I still think this is a good series but experience, talent, hunger, veteran leadership, you absolutely gotta give it to Connecticut,” Swoopes concluded.

Coming back to Game 1, the 4x WNBA Champion reminded everyone that while the first half went well for the Fever, it was the second in which they faltered. During halftime, the Fever trailed by only 8 points, a gap that widened as the game neared its end. During the fourth quarter, when Indiana were desperate to make a comeback, the Sun gave them a huge lead by a 25-12 margin, courtesy of their bench player and fresh trade Marina Mabrey. Thus, as per Swoopes, the Fever can win Game 2 if they concentrate on the positives.

As for the Sun, they have an experienced team. Their roster has played a combined second-highest 222 post-season games. Plus, they have talented stars like DiJonai Carrington, DeWanna Bonner, and Alyssa Thomas who have assumed leadership roles in the team, and according to Swoopes need to be applauded. Meanwhile, many people opined that the Fever lost the game due to an early injury to their star rookie.

Caitlin Clark on whether her ‘black eye’ affected the game

When an enthusiastic Indiana took the court against the Sun on Sunday, they didn’t expect a difficult loss. The Fever, though took the lead by scoring the first points, soon trailed. Trying to make a comeback, their spirits were dealt with huge blows near the end of the quarters as the gap only widened. Many fans opined that this was due to a poor three-point scoring from Clark who was poked in the eye by the Sun guard Carrington.

The game had barely started when Clark looked to give a pass to her teammate, Boston. But the only problem was that Carrington had noticed the point guard’s move and was up to steal the ball. Hence, when the AP ROTY gave the pass, Carrington, in an attempt to block her, poked her in the eye, making her fall to the floor. Though the 22-year-old was given time to recollect herself, Clark couldn’t get going with her three-point scoring. Out of the 13 attempts, Clark could only score 2 of them. All this put additional pressure on the team, as it couldn’t recover from her abysmal performance. However, the No. 22 didn’t blame the eye wound for her paltry display.

Taking cognizance of the popular narrative, Clark rubbished all such rumors. “I don’t think it affected me,” she opined while talking about her black eye. She did have a few good shots that didn’t land, and she ended the eye claims by opining that she “felt like I battled and tried my best: took care of the ball, and… better than I usually do.”

Hopefully, the Fever after Swoopes’s intervention will know how to improve their game. And perhaps, that will be visible during Game 2 of the WNBA playoffs on Wednesday. Till then, the Indiana loyalists can wish that their team makes the most of this opportunity, and bring the playoffs back to the Gainbridge Fieldhouse after eight long years.