"But the Fever won their first-round series on the road, and have pushed four-time MVP A'ja Wilson and the Aces to a Game 5 tonight. The obvious question is how, and while part of that answer can be credited to Kelsey Mitchell becoming James Harden, the Fever's successful run has as much to do with their physical brand of hoops."
"She doesn't have the range of Jonquel Jones or A'ja Wilson, the handles of someone like Napheesa Collier, nor the dominant rim protection of Ezi Magbegor or Brittney Griner. Every top-tier WNBA team of the past few years has relied on a multifunctional big. As great as Boston is at the meat-and-potatoes aspects, like grabbing rebounds and finishing at the rack, it would have been fair to be mildly skeptical of her as a championship-level anchor."
"Through a hard-fought first-round series against the Atlanta Dream and an even tougher semifinals against Vegas, Boston has been fantastic on both ends. The Dream's strength is their size, yet Boston dominated Brionna Jones, who had nearly as many fouls (12) as rebounds (14) in the three-game series. Boston has not exerted the same sort of statistical dominance over Wilson in the semis-it's rare that anyone does-but she has more than held her own against the MVP."
The Indiana Fever reached Game 5 of the WNBA semifinals despite missing Caitlin Clark, Sophie Cunningham, and other key players. The team advanced by winning a first-round road series and by combining Kelsey Mitchell's scoring surge with a physical, defensive identity anchored by center Aliyah Boston. Boston has produced consistent All-Star numbers (about 14.5 points, 8.5 rebounds, 1.1 blocks per game) and has dominated size matchups while holding her own against A'ja Wilson. Boston's rebounding, finishing at the rim, and two-way presence have flipped skepticism about her championship-level impact into confidence.
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