Content on this page may include affiliate links. If you click and sign up/place a wager, we may receive compensation at no cost to you.
Indiana Fever vs. Connecticut Sun: Game 2 odds and best bets
The Fever will try to keep Caitlin Clark’s impressive rookie season alive for at least one more game after getting blown out in Game 1.
| WHO | Indiana Fever vs. Connecticut Sun |
| WHEN | Wednesday, September 25, 2024 at 7:30 p.m. ET |
| WHERE | Mohegan Sun Arena | Uncasville, CT |
| HOW | ESPN |
Caitlin Clark has had one of the best rookie seasons in WNBA history. She had to overcome some early struggles as she adjusted to the WNBA, but she turned the Indiana Fever into one of the hottest teams in the league over the second half of the season. She will need to put together a similar storyline in her first career playoff series if she wants the Fever to avoid elimination on Wednesday night against the Connecticut Sun. As you will see below, the Sun are 6.5-point favorites at most sportsbooks.
The Sun bullied the Fever on Sunday in a 93-69 blowout win in Game 1 of this series. Indiana hung tough in the early going but Connecticut closed the first half on a 12-2 run and never looked back. Alyssa Thomas had her fourth career postseason triple-double (12 points, 13 assists, 10 rebounds) and Marina Mabrey set a new WNBA playoff record with 27 points off the bench, including 20 in the second half. Clark finished with just 11 points on 4-of-17 shooting (2-of-13 from three-point range) while adding eight assists in her playoff debut.
The Fever entered the playoffs with the fewest combined games of playoff experience (19) of any team in the league. Now that they have one game under their belts, Clark expressed confidence that they can bounce back and win Game 2. If they do, the series would head to Indiana for a decisive Game 3 on Friday night.
Here are the current betting odds for Fever vs. Sun at some of the best online sportsbooks. These odds are current as of the most recent update of this article and are subject to change.
| Market | FanDuel | DraftKings | BetMGM |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fever spread | +6.5 (-110) | +6.5 (-112) | +6.5 (-115) |
| Sun spread | -6.5 (-110) | -6.5 (-108) | -6.5 (-105) |
| Fever moneyline | +225 | +235 | +225 |
| Sun moneyline | -290 | -290 | -290 |
| Over | Over 163 (-110) | Over 163 (-110) | Over 164.5 (-110) |
| Under | Under 163 (-110) | Under 163 (-110) | Under 164.5 (-120) |
Why to bet on the Fever
The Fever had by far the best offense in the league after the Olympic break, sparking their late-season surge. With Clark pushing the pace and distributing the ball, Indiana can beat the Sun by turning the game into a shootout. They were ice cold in Game 1, shooting their second-lowest percentage from three-point range (21.4%) and scoring their third-fewest points. Some of that can be attributed to the Sun’s league-best defense, but not all of it. The Fever also missed plenty of wide-open shots and, if a few of those go down, perhaps Game 1 goes differently.
It’s unlikely that the Fever will shoot that poorly again in Game 2. They’ve got any playoff jitters out of the way, and their backs are now firmly against the wall. That should be a recipe for a much better shooting night from Clark, Kelsey Mitchell, and the rest of the Fever. It was also good news in Game 1 that Indiana limited turnovers, which had been a problem for them during the regular season. They gave the ball away just 13 times against a Connecticut defense that led the league in that category. Protecting the ball like that is more sustainable game to game, so if they can do that again and hit more shots, then Game 2 should at least be a much closer final score.
Why to bet on the Sun
The Sun are an experienced, playoff-tested team that knows what it takes to win closeout games in the playoffs. That experience – 222 combined postseason games entering the playoffs – showed up in a big way in Game 1, and it could have a big impact again in this game. Fifteen-year veteran DeWanna Bonner drew the defensive assignment against Clark and was disruptive all game. Her ability to slow down Clark 1-on-1 was the key to the Sun’s defense, allowing them to avoid double teams and match up with the rest of the Fever’s shooters.
While experience is a big factor in the Sun’s advantage, one of the keys to their success in Game 1 was rookie Marina Mabrey’s lights-out shooting off the bench. Mabrey gives the Sun a player who can match the Fever’s three-point shooters. If the Sun’s defense is not quite as effective as it was in Game 1, then Mabrey’s shooting could be even more important. While we can’t expect another 27-point outburst, it’s fair to expect Mabrey to play a key role in this game once again.
Best bet for Fever vs. Sun: Fever +7.5 (-115, BetMGM)
Sunday’s game felt like an aberration, a game in which an inexperienced Fever squad just went ice cold in a playoff environment against a veteran, defensively dominant squad. It does not feel like a game that portends a repeat outcome in Game 2. We are buying Clark’s confident assurance that the Fever will be much better in the next game, especially their three-point shooting. If that happens, this should be a much tighter game.
Two of the four games these teams played in the regular season were decided by just four points. Granted, both of those games were played in Indiana, but the Fever have strong support in every arena in the league thanks to Clark’s mega-stardom. The Sun have lost five consecutive Game 2s going back to 2022, so there is some history behind a potential Game 2 letdown. There is a case to be made that taking the Fever moneyline is the best bet in this game, but the safer play is simply taking the points.