Indiana Fever take on Atlanta Dream in the Eastern Conference Finals – WNBA Preview
The much awaited Eastern Conference Finals have arrived and two teams, who have ruled the East so far this season, will now compete for the throne. The teams are Indiana Fever, which has the best overall record in the conference
and Atlanta Dream, who over the course of last one month have picked up their momentum and ended as number three seeds in the Eastern Conference.
Atlanta Dream progressed to the finals after sweeping the first round series against Connecticut Sun. They have now won nine out of their last ten outings now and are pretty high on confidence. Whereas, Indiana Fever making good
use of home advantage thrashed New York Liberty in the semi finals and made their way in the finals.
Cappie Pondexter, who happens to be the leading scorer for New York Liberty was not given any free space to breath and was held to 34 percent shooting in that series, which indicates the strength of Indiana’s backcourt. They will
now need to do the same against Angel McCoughtry of Atlanta Dream, who is a consistent double-double threat. Although she has been a bit off beat in the last few game, but she is a class act and if she picks up her form in the finals, she will be difficult
to stop.
Indiana Fever however do have some aces up their sleeve too. The most lethal weapon they boast is in the form of their sensational forward Tamika Catchings. Catchings has had a break out season and is the odds on favourite to bag
the Most Valuable Player (MVP) this year. They also have a vet like Katie Douglas, who can turn the game on its head on any given night. So going into the game, they won’t be underdogs in any sense of the word.
On papers though, Atlanta Dream look favourites to win the finals. They met Indiana Fever four times in the regular season and ended on top in every game and will have a clear psychological edge when the both teams meet again.
However, it is playoffs time and every time brings on a new brand of intensity. Atlanta needs to come up with a game plan and all the players need to shine if they want to finish on top against Indiana Fever. Relying solely on Angel McCoughtry to deliver is
no longer an option.
The bottom line is that both team have to give it their all. Atlanta need to spread the floor and give their shooters some free looks. At the same time, they have to ensure that Catchings does not find her way in the lane. If they
can do that and provided that Angel finds her groove, the game is all theirs.
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