Brianna

Turner

Dantas has been in the league’s concussion protocol since Indiana’s first practice preparing for the postseason and has missed the entirety of the Fever’s ongoing playoff run. With Dantas unavailable, Brianna Turner has played consistent rotation minutes off the bench, with rookie Makayla Timpson receiving a slight boost to her playing time.

Dantas missed the first two games of this series and will also sit out Thursday’s finale. Her absence leaves the Fever light on frontcourt depth off the bench, with Brianna Turner picking up the slack. She played 20 minutes in Tuesday’s victory, finishing with four points, six rebounds, one assist, two steals and one blocked shot. Makayla Timpson’s playing time has increased slightly, but Turner is the player fans should focus on for Game 3.

Dantas’ injury is just the latest in a season filled with bad luck for the Fever regarding health and player availability. The veteran forward has served as a depth piece in the frontcourt, offering floor-spacing ability. In her absence, Brianna Turner and Makayla Timpson could see more opportunities off the Fever’s bench in their Game 1 contest against the first-seeded Lynx.

Bibby is out for her third straight game as she continues to deal with discomfort and soreness in her left knee. While head coach Stephanie White initially thought this was going to be a short term injury and holding her out this past Friday was out of precaution, Bibby has remained out. Prior to Tuesday night’s game, White told reporters that she hopes Bibby will be back in practice by the end of the week. But until then, the Fever will have to deploy defensive big Brianna Turner, stretch big Damiris Dantas and rookie Makayla Timpson especially since the Storm have a larger front court.

After Bibby didn’t play in the Fever’s Friday night game against the Lynx at home, she will miss her second straight game on Sunday night. Bibby didn’t travel with the team to Minneapolis and head coach Stephanie White noted the reason she stayed back in Indianapolis was so that she could do more rehab and keep the swelling down. Without Bibby, Damiris Dantas will take on some of her minutes in addition to Brianna Turner when the Fever need a more defensive-minded substitution.

Bibby was a late scratch prior to Friday night’s game against the Lynx. Fever head coach Stephanie White told reporters during a pregame press conference that Bibby was dealing with “soreness” and that they are holding her out as a precaution. White didn’t know the severity of the injury yet, but will learn more tomorrow. While Bibby’s injury doesn’t change who the Fever are starting against the Lynx, more will be expected out of rookie Makayla Timpson coming off the bench in addition to veteran forward Brianna Turner who hasn’t seen much time on the floor this season.

Cunningham left the game with 8:04 left in the second quarter after Sun guard Bria Hartley collided with her right knee on a drive to the basket. After the collision, Cunningham was jumping up and down and holding her knee, then she fell to the ground clutching that same right knee in a lot of pain. With Cunningham out for rest of the game, the Fever have turned to wing Lexie Hull — who started the second half in Cunningham’s place — forward Brianna Turner and stretch big Chloe Bibby to soak up Cunningham’s minutes.

After averaging just over nine minutes per game with the Sky last season, Turner may have a slightly larger role with the Fever. However, 21 of the 42 minutes she played during the preseason were logged on Saturday, and Indiana remains without veteran forward Damiris Dantas. Turner will likely compete with Dantas for rotation minutes off the bench, which limits the fantasy ceilings of both players. The Fever open their season on May 17 against the Sky.

Ejim was dominant during her final two seasons at Gonzaga, winning WCC Player and Defensive Player of the Year honors. In 35 games as a fifth-year senior, she averaged 20.7 points, 9.3 rebounds, 2.5 assists, 1.3 steals and 1.0 blocks while shooting 53.1 percent from the field and 78.4 percent from the foul line. The 6-foot-1 Ejim, who represented Canada in last summer’s Olympics in Paris, left Gonzaga as one of the most accomplished players in program history. Unfortunately, making the Fever roster will be challenging, as frontcourt veterans DeWanna Bonner, Natasha Howard and Brianna Turner are already in the fold.