How Sun shut down Caitlin Clark, Fever to open playoffs

The Connecticut Sun looked like the experienced, veteran squad they are, and the Indiana Fever‘s offense struggled against the team with the top defensive rating in the WNBA. The result was a 93-69 blowout victory for Connecticut on Sunday in the Fever’s first playoff game since 2016.

In contrast, the Sun are making their eighth consecutive playoff appearance, after advancing to the WNBA Finals in 2019 and 2022. Forward Alyssa Thomas has been with Connecticut that entire stretch, and on Sunday, she had her fourth career playoff triple-double.

The Sun shut down Indiana guards Caitlin Clark and Kelsey Mitchell, who both averaged 19.2 points during the regular season. Connecticut put veteran DeWanna Bonner on Clark — a matchup the Sun didn’t use in their four regular-season games against the Fever — and it set the tone for the game.

Clark went 1-of-9 from the field in the first half, including 0-of-7 against the 6-foot-4 Bonner as the primary defender. The Fever trailed 46-38 at halftime, and things just got worse in the second half.

How did the Sun dominate the Fever, and what does it mean for this best-of-three series?

How did DeWanna Bonner disrupt Caitlin Clark in the first half?

Charlie Creme: Bonner’s length bothers most offensive players she faces, and it seemed to impact the 6-foot Clark. It was a good coaching decision by Stephanie White, as there’s no question Bonner was solid defensively.

But I’m not ready to declare Bonner the magic potion for the Sun against Clark. Clark didn’t shoot the ball well against anyone Connecticut threw at her (six defenders in all in the first half) despite having good looks, even against Bonner. Clark finished 4-of-17 from the field, and two of those field goals — a 3-pointer and a layup — early in the second half came with Bonner guarding her.

Connecticut’s strategy of using multiple defenders and different looks is really what impacted Clark’s tough shooting performance. No doubt White will employ something similar in Game 2 (7:30 p.m. ET Wednesday, ESPN).

Michael Voepel: This is what Bonner does: She uses her length, experience and savvy. Bonner played in her first WNBA Finals as a rookie in 2009. Clark was 7 years old at the time. Bonner was the No. 5 pick in a successful 2009 draft class that had nine players compete at least 10 seasons in the WNBA. Bonner is the last one still in the league, in her 15th season. Her championships came with the Phoenix Mercury in 2009 and 2014.

While it was the first time this season Bonner was assigned to Clark, there’s no type of player — from point guards to centers — that Bonner hasn’t guarded over the years. At 37, she just had the best defensive win shares total of her career: 3.1, good for fifth in the WNBA behind MVP A’ja Wilson‘s 3.8.

Charlie is right: Clark didn’t shoot well, period, regardless of who was guarding her tightly or if no one was. Clark and Mitchell were a combined 4-of-23 from behind the arc. How out of character was that? Clark led the WNBA this season in 3-pointers (122), and Mitchell ranked fourth (109). But you have to credit Connecticut’s defense for disrupting the Fever’s rhythm and never letting them get comfortable.

Meaningful midseason trades are rare in the WNBA. How big was Marina Mabrey on Sunday?

Creme: Mabrey was the X factor in the Sun’s win. The trade to acquire her on July 17 was as brilliant as it is rare to see such a midseason move like this. The Sun’s biggest hole was a true perimeter shooting threat, and has Mabrey filled that. She has been a double-figure scorer in all but two games since arriving in Connecticut, but Sunday’s outing was her best game. Her 27 points were the most off the bench in any WNBA playoff game, and she was the catalyst in the decisive late third quarter and early fourth quarter. Mabrey’s four 3-pointers from the 6:33 mark of the third until there was 6:38 left in the fourth averaged 26.5 feet. The Sun’s lead ballooned from six points to 18 during that span.

Voepel: It was clear Mabrey was ready to leave the Chicago Sky at midseason and wanted the move. Connecticut was the perfect place for her, both in terms of skill set and personality. Mabrey plays with an old-school competitive edge that fits with Bonner and Thomas. And her perimeter shooting and versatility as a shooting guard or a point guard are valuable.

Mabrey was the last of Notre Dame‘s five starters from the Fighting Irish’s 2019 national championship runner-up team to be drafted, taken at No. 19 in the second round by the Los Angeles Sparks. She was traded the next year to Dallas and spent three seasons with the Wings before being traded in 2023 to the Sky. The Sun are her fourth team in six WNBA seasons, but they are the ones who really seem to fit her the best.

What must the Fever do in Game 2 to avoid getting eliminated?

Voepel: The Fever aren’t a great defensive team. But at their best, they defend well enough to really get their transition game revved up. That’s when they can take off like a runaway train. We didn’t see that Sunday.

Of course, it’s a basketball truth that the worse you shoot, the harder it can be to defend. And that’s especially the case for a team that derives so much energy from when they’re having fun on offense. Sunday’s game was no fun at all for the Fever. But they have tended to respond well to playing poorly in a game, and they know it’s all on the line Wednesday.

Creme: The easy answer is to make more open shots. Indiana’s offense ran well (Clark had eight assists and tied a season low with just two turnovers) and created openings. The Fever just didn’t shoot well, especially Clark and Mitchell. If those two aren’t making jump shots, Indiana won’t beat the better teams in the league. Indiana entered the game as the WNBA’s best shooting team at 45.6% but shot 40.3% on Sunday. The especially dismal 6-of-28 from 3-point range was the Fever’s true undoing, with Clark and Mitchell combining to shoot 17.4% from deep.

Indiana also will have to do more defensively. The Sun shot 49.3% from the field and made half of their 18 3-point attempts. Contrast that with the teams’ last meeting, an 84-80 Fever win on Aug. 28, when Connecticut went 8-of-24 from deep. Mitchell was outstanding and efficient in that previous contest, scoring 23 points on 8-of-14 shooting. Indiana will need that kind of performance from its co-leading scorer in order to avoid elimination.