The incredible scenario that could keep the Indiana Fever out of the WNBA playoffs

Jeremy Beren

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The incredible scenario that could keep the Indiana Fever out of the WNBA playoffs image

Rick Scuteri-Imagn Images

The Indiana Fever on Tuesday night ended a three-game road trip with an 85-79 loss to the Phoenix Mercury. Amidst a heated chase for playoff positioning, the Fever went 1-2 on their West coast swing, narrowly defeating the Los Angeles Sparks before losing to the Golden State Valkyries and the Mercury at PHX Arena.

With three games remaining in the regular season, the Fever (21-20) is in a precarious position. Indiana has fallen to the #8 seed and would face the WNBA-best Minnesota Lynx in the first round of the playoffs if the season ended today. But after losing in Phoenix, the Fever's playoff-clinching scenarios got very weird.

MORE: The Indiana Fever may just have been exposed with a week left in the season

The Indianapolis Star crunched the numbers and discovered that, even if the Fever win out and finish with a 24-20 record, Indiana could still miss the postseason if Los Angeles (19-20) wins its five remaining games. 

Even after losing to the Fever last Friday, the Sparks own the season tiebreaker and would be seeded higher if both teams reached the playoffs.

However, the Fever has other clinching scenarios over the next week.

Indiana's magic number is four -- the Fever makes the playoffs with any combination of wins or Sparks losses adding up to four. Indiana will make the playoffs if it ties Seattle's final record or finishes ahead of Golden State. Any multi-team tie involving the Storm would see the Fever return to the playoffs, as Indiana swept the season series 3-0.

Of the Fever's three remaining games, two of them -- home against Chicago and on the road against Washington -- are against teams that are eliminated from playoff contention. That should breed confidence that Indiana can get back to the postseason -- where the injured Caitlin Clark may be positioned for a dramatic return to action after nearly two months out.

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Jeremy Beren

Jeremy Beren is a freelance WNBA writer with The Sporting News. A Phoenix native, he is a graduate of Arizona State University's Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication, and he has a decade’s worth of sports journalism experience. Jeremy's work has appeared in publications such as Marca, SB Nation, Athlon Sports and Vice Sports. He currently lives in Fayetteville, Arkansas.