How to watch Fever at Lynx: Will Caitlin Clark play in Commissioner’s Cup championship?

How to watch Fever at Lynx: Will Caitlin Clark play in Commissioner’s Cup championship?

The Minnesota Lynx hit July like charcoal under the grill and asphalt under the summer sun. The reigning Western Conference champs are a league-best 14-2, sitting at No. 1 in offensive, defensive and net ratings. They’re also one win away from some in-season hardware, hosting the Indiana Fever in the Commissioner’s Cup finale. The scope of this matchup is contingent on Caitlin Clark, who’s considered day to day with a groin strain.

How to watch Indiana Fever at Minnesota Lynx

Venue: Target Center — Minneapolis

Time: 8 p.m. ET, Tuesday

Streaming: Prime Video

Watching in person? Get tickets on StubHub.

Indiana is 5-4 with Clark on the floor this season. That includes a statement win against the defending champion New York Liberty and a spirited road performance against the Seattle Storm. Her last three performances were unsightly struggles, going just 27.7 percent from the field and 4.3 percent from 3 (not a typo, 1-for-23). Clark’s playmaking and initiating are still in the upper echelon, and the All-Star’s long-range slump should revert in full health.

As they approach the season’s midway mark, though, the Fever are just not where they should be. They have time to get right, but their 3-6 record in clutch games is worrisome. The team has split its last two Clark-less looks, falling to the Los Angeles Sparks and knocking off the hapless Dallas Wings.

With or without their ponytailed supernova, the Fever will need a strong outing from Aliyah Boston. She’ll go to work in the paint against MVP favorite and incumbent Defensive Player of the Year Napheesa Collier, who is putting together one of the most efficient and dominant seasons in years. Boston is averaging more than 21 points and nine rebounds across her last five games, on 60 percent from the field.

Minnesota is a roaring, fang-bearing nightmare for the rest of the league, and the team will be a comfortable home favorites regardless of Clark’s availability. Its plus-14 net rating matches the top title teams of this era, and its perimeter prowess is exhaustive — the Lynx are a league-best 36.3 percent on treys, while opponents are making only 29.1 percent of theirs.

Three Lynx players are up to a full steal per game, while three more are almost there at 0.9. Collier is averaging 1.8 steals and 1.5 blocks to go with her blistering, high-volume 50/40/90 shooting bid. She’s the unquestioned queen of the court right now. Courtney Williams is at 1.5 swipes on all-universe chest-thumping. And Kayla McBride generates takeaways while draining deep 3s (41 percent on a career-high 6.9 takes).

The Lynx won last year’s Commissioner’s Cup, beating the Liberty in what ended up serving as a Finals preview. Collier was Cup MVP. With a win on Tuesday, Minnesota would be the first back-to-back tourney winner since its 2021 inception.

Best player to wear both jerseys: Natasha Howard. She won a title with the Lynx in 2017, and has started every game for the 2025 Fever.

Updated MVP odds

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This article originally appeared in The Athletic.

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