The Indiana Fever are continuing their march towards the WNBA playoffs. One of the hottest teams in the league, they’re on track to secure home-court advantage for at least the first round of the postseason, a major accomplishment given how competitive the field is. Will the scrappy Toronto Tempo offer any resistance?
The Fever enter as 9.5-point home favorites with -440 moneyline odds on DraftKings Sportsbook. The Tempo are +340 underdogs, with the game total set at 192.5 points.
Let’s dive into a preview, prediction, and pick for this Fever-Tempo matchup.
Fever vs. Tempo Prediction, Preview
This will be the second of three regular-season meetings between these squads. The first matchup was played in June as part of Commissioner’s Cup play, and the Fever won 113-91. Indiana’s stars dominated that matchup: Caitlin Clark had 21 points and 14 assists, Aliyah Boston put up 18 points and 11 rebounds with elite defense, and Kelsey Mitchell poured in 27 points of her own. With a rare scoring outburst from Sophie Cunningham, who had 24 points off the bench, Indiana’s league-best offense rolled right over the Tempo. They lacked the firepower to keep up.
In the second matchup, things have only gotten harder for the Tempo. Brittney Sykes may return to the lineup after a long injury layoff, but is likely to be limited in her minutes. Nyara Sabally, a key contributor all season long, will be out. Maria Conde and Julie Allemand will join her on the sidelines. That makes it awfully difficult for the Tempo and head coach Sandy Brondello to put together a winning formula.
The key for Toronto, as usual, is the backcourt. Marina Mabrey’s scoring upside is enough to pull off upsets all by herself, and if she’s on her A-game, there’s not much that Indiana’s subpar defense can do to stop her. Sykes may have some minutes or usage limit, but her drives can be extremely important against a Fever team with poor perimeter defense. They’re also getting rookie Kiki Rice back, who was absent for the first matchup. If all three can score and provide competent defense against Clark and Mitchell, Toronto has a puncher’s chance here.
For the Fever, the goal is to repeat the same performance. They have the offensive talent to overload most defenses, including Toronto’s. Due to the injury report, the Tempo’s shortage of depth has only gotten worse, another weakness for Indiana to exploit. It’s also a synergistic matchup for them; the Fever want to get out and run, and the Tempo have an air of nominative determinism with their above-average pace. If both teams push the pace and try to score in volume, the Fever will be comfortable; if the Tempo try to slow things down, they’ll be playing outside their own comfort zone. Either way, the Fever will have the advantage in the flow of the game.
Now that we know these teams a bit better, who will pull out the win, and how should we bet on this game?
Fever vs. Tempo Pick, Best Bet
I have a hard time seeing the Tempo matching up with the Fever’s red-hot offense. They don’t have a defensive answer for Indiana’s elite backcourt scoring, and their lack of size makes them vulnerable to Aliyah Boston’s interior scoring. Even if Mabrey can go off, they need a Herculean effort from her to stay ahead of this Indiana team. This should be a resounding road win for the Fever.