The Indiana Fever hoped its first playoff home game in nine years would have a different vibe. Instead of being a high seed and counted among the WNBA championship favorites with a roster helmed by superstar Caitlin Clark, the Fever will be trying to survive, as Indiana gets set to host Game 2 of its first-round series with the Atlanta Dream on Tuesday night.
On Sunday, the Fever lost 80-68 to the Dream, as Atlanta pulled away in the second half for a crucial Game 1 victory. Another win for the Dream on Tuesday ends the Fever's season -- and will lead to questions about what might have been, had Indiana been healthy.
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The Fever are playing this series without Clark, Chloe Bibby, Sydney Colson, Sophie Cunningham and Aari McDonald, all five players having already been ruled out for the season through injury. Veteran forward Damiris Dantas remains unavailable too as she moves through the WNBA's concussion protocol; she will miss Game 2 as the series shifts to Indianapolis.
Fever head coach Stephanie White hoped Dantas, 32, would be available to play in Game 2. The former first-round pick is a reliable 3-point shooter, and Indiana made only two 3-pointers in the Game 1 loss. But Dantas, who suffered a concussion in practice last Thursday, may well be done for the year if the Fever cannot secure a home win on Tuesday night.
Dantas played 38 of the Fever's 44 regular-season games, emerging as a solid contributor off the bench for White. The former first-round pick averaged shot 26 percent from 3-point territory and averaged 4.6 points in 11.6 minutes per game.
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