The Indiana Fever play a shorthanded Minnesota Lynx on Tuesday night. This comes after the Lynx ruled out rookie sensation Olivia Miles for the game with a calf injury. The 23-year-old guard was initially listed as questionable for Tuesday’s matchup, but the Lynx ultimately decided to sit her out at Gainbridge Fieldhouse.
Fever head coach Stephanie White was asked about this unfortunate development during her pregame press conference. The former WNBA Coach of the Year acknowledged that her team will face a much different Lynx side with Miles sidelined.
“I mean, it changes a lot, certainly, because she’s the head of the snake,” White said of Miles at the 0:30 mark.
“So it changes coverage, it changes who their primary ball handler is, probably the actions that they run. We’ve gotta just be prepared for that.
“For us, on either end of the floor, though, it cannot change our mentality. It cannot change the sense of urgency that we’re talking about playing with on both ends of the floor.”
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Miles is the heavy favorite to win Rookie of the Year this season. She is also a distant second to A’ja Wilson in the Most Valuable Player Race.
The 5-foot-10 guard is averaging 19.8 points, 4.7 rebounds, 6.0 assists and 1.3 steals across 40 games this season. She’s led Minnesota to a league-best 32-10 record. The Lynx are looking to secure the No. 1 seed heading into the playoffs.
The Fever, meanwhile, entered Tuesday’s contest with a 27-15 record and fifth in the standings. They aim to finish in the top four in order to secure home-court advantage in the first round of the postseason.
The Fever and the Lynx will meet again on Thursday for their final regular-season game. At this point, Miles’ status for that one remains up in the air.
As of this writing, the Fever are up big in Tuesday’s matchup. Indiana leads Minnesota 57-34 at the half.
