Chicago Sky vs Indiana Fever: Injury Report, Starting 5, & Prediction as Angel Reese Looks to Avenge Season’s First Loss

Saturday night is an important chance for Angel Reese and the Chicago Sky to redeem themselves after that rough loss to the Indiana Fever. Last time, they got crushed by 35 points. They had to watch Caitlin Clark and their rising rivals dominate them. To make it worse, the Fever had just picked up Brianna Turner, who was with the Sky last season. So not only did Chicago get blown out, but they had to see a former teammate helping do it to them.

The Fever will be stepping into the United Center fresh off a 9-pointer win against the Mystics. Where they redeemed themselves from the 29th May’s Caitlin Clark-less loss. She is still not available, but the Fever seem to have found their way around even without their star performer. Sky, on the other hand, appear to be equally strong with their consecutive victories (5 and 11 pointers) over Wings. It can get hard to pick one when both prospects are reflecting decent chances. So let’s break it down…

Injuries and Predicted Starting Lineup

The Chicago Sky:

Injury report 

Moriah Jefferson: Out ( leg injury)

Predicted starting lineup

Angel Reese Kamilla Cardoso Courtney Vanersloot Kia Nurse Ariel Atkins

The Indiana Fever:

Injury report

Caitlin Clark: Out (left quadriceps strain) Sophie Cunningham: Out (ankle injury)

Predicted starting lineup

Aliyah Boston Kelsey Mitchell Sydney Colson Lexie Hull Natasha Howard

Will Angel Reese and the Sky redeem themselves?

The Indiana Fever are rolling into this game with some serious momentum. Even the stats back it up. ESPN Analytics gives them a 58.3% chance to win, and after that 93-58 demolition last time, it’s easy to see why. The Sky completely fell apart in that game. Fever’s Kelsey Mitchell dropped 24 on them that night, and she’s still leading the team in scoring at 17.4 PPG, without Caitlin Clark.

Aliyah Boston has been a force too. She is stuffing the stat sheet with 8 rebounds, nearly 4 assists, and almost 2 blocks a game. Meanwhile, the Sky just haven’t found their rhythm. Angel Reese is grabbing boards like crazy (12.3 RPG leads the league), but that hasn’t fixed their shaky offense or their tendency to collapse defensively. They’ve taken some ugly losses.

Like the 21 pointer to the Sparks, 25 to the Liberty. Moreover, even their one recent win over Dallas was a shaky five-point escape. Now they’ve got to face the same Fever team that embarrassed them by 35. Not exactly a confidence booster you know? On the flip side, Indiana has been tightening things up. Sure, they have had some close losses to top teams like New York and Connecticut, but they are playing with way more chemistry now.

Mitchell, Boston, and Lexie Hull have all showed up when needed. Even with Clark and Sophie Cunningham out, the bench has held its own, thanks to Aari McDonald. Compare that to Chicago, whose second unit has been a weak spot, and it’s clear that the Fever have the edge. However, the Fever coach Stephanie White might not join the team on their trip to Chicago.

And her status for tomorrow’s game is TBD. But who will step up in her absence? Well, according to Peterson’s tweets, “First assistant coach Austin Kelly would be the acting head coach if White is unavailable, I’m told. The Fever also have Karim Christmas-Kelly and Briann January as assistants.”

The Sky could use this opportunity to bring way more fight this time, or it’s gonna be another long night for them in their home arena.

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