The Indiana Fever and New York Liberty face off in their ninth game of the WNBA season inside the bubble at IMG Academy on Thursday.
The Indiana Fever have had all kinds of issues this season and coming into this game they have lost three of their last four games. In the last game they really struggled all over the court. The Fever’s defense gave up 98 points while their offense could only manage 79 and that led to a blowout loss. Candice Dupree was the best player for the Fever in the last game putting up 20 points, six rebounds, and two assists. On the season the Fever are averaging 84.1 points while giving up 88.6 points per game.
The best player for the Fever this season has been Kelsey Mitchell who is averaging 19.1 points while shooting 46.5 percent from the field. Dupree has also been good putting up 15.4 points while shooting 48.6 percent from the field.
On the other side of this matchup is the New York Liberty who have struggled inside the bubble winning only one game. In the last game against the Los Angeles Sparks, the defense let them down giving up 93 points and with their offensive struggles so far this year, they haven’t been able to make up for that.
The only game the Liberty won their offense scored only 74 points, but the defense stepped up giving up only 66 points. On the season the Liberty are averaging 73.8 points per game while giving up 86.1 points per game. Star rookie Sabrina Ionescu is still out for the Liberty and that has been a big hit to their offense. The best player that will be on the floor on Thursday will be Layshia Clarendon who is averaging 13.3 points and 5.1 assists per game.
These are two teams who have been great this year, but in terms of talent the Indiana Fever are the better team and they are going to get the job done. The Liberty’s offense will struggle and that will be the difference as the Fever will cash your ticket.