Fever Starting Lineup Stands Out as Silver Lining After Wings Loss

The Indiana Fever's starting five has been stifling opponents.

Aug 16, 2026; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark (22) and forward Makayla Timpson (21) react against the Atlanta Dream during overtime at State Farm Arena. Mandatory Credit: Colin Hubbard-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The Indiana Fever were due for a dud. The Fever are amid a brutal schedule stretch consisting of five games in eight days on the road, complete with a trek across the map.

That dud came against the Dallas Wings on the third game of said trip, after the Fever played in Atlanta against the Dream, went up to Toronto to face the Tempo, and then headed back down south to face Dallas with no extra day in between any games.

Of course, the loss still stings since it cost the Fever ground in the standings and could ultimately impact their playoff positioning. But there was a silver lining to the struggles. Because even in a poor performance, the team's starting lineup won its minutes. This continues a trend since Makayla Timpson has been moved into that unit.

Indiana was on a five-game winning streak since making the change to the starting five, which of course ended at the hands of the Wings. However, in the 19 minutes that Timpson, Aliyah Boston, Lexie Hull, Kelsey Mitchell, and Caitlin Clark shared the floor together, the Fever had a +28 net rating. They outscored Dallas by 6 points in those minutes, in what turned out to be a six-point loss.

Given the aforementioned stretch the Fever are in, it makes sense if coach Stephanie White might choose to ease the workload on her key players, but despite the loss that starting combination is clearly working.

Fever Starting Five Has Dominated

The sample size is not yet enough to draw sweeping conclusions, but the Fever's starters have dominated their minutes.

Some of that is common sense, given Clark, Mitchell, and Boston have been the most potent scoring trio in the history of the league this season. Hull has struggled with her shot, but does bring hustle and energy to the floor, and Timpson has provided a boost defensively and on the boards as she continues to improve as a finisher on the other end.

To this point that group of five has played 104 minutes together per WNBA.com. In those minutes they have a 113.1 offensive rating and an 83.5 defensive rating, good for a 29.6 net rating (points scored per 100 possessions minus points allowed per 100 possessions). They have outscored opponents by 64 points in those 104 minutes.

The Fever have a 114.9 offensive rating overall, which is the best in the history of the league. But the starters' offensive numbers are better than every other team aside from the Minnesota Lynx, and the difference there is only tenths of a point. Meanwhile, the Fever's overall defensive rating is 108.1, which is 9th. The defensive numbers for their starters would rank first, easily.

Surely the stats will come down a bit as the group plays more together and even if they excel, the Fever won't win every game, as the loss to the Wings showed. Still, the play of that combination bodes well for what Indiana hopes to achieve this season.