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Fans Believe Aces 'Ducking' Caitlin Clark, Fever Playoff Series Amid Lineup Decision

Some fans are making bold claims about the Aces' reasoning for resting their best players on Thursday.

Grant Young

Sep 13, 2024; Indianapolis, Indiana, USA; Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark (22) celebrates while on defense Friday, Sept. 13, 2024, during a game between the Indiana Fever and the Las Vegas Aces on Friday, Sept. 13, 2024, at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis. The Aces defeated the Fever, 78-74. Mandatory Credit: Grace Smith/USA TODAY Network via Imagn Images
Sep 13, 2024; Indianapolis, Indiana, USA; Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark (22) celebrates while on defense Friday, Sept. 13, 2024, during a game between the Indiana Fever and the Las Vegas Aces on Friday, Sept. 13, 2024, at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis. The Aces defeated the Fever, 78-74. Mandatory Credit: Grace Smith/USA TODAY Network via Imagn Images / Grace Smith/USA TODAY Network via Imagn Images

Heading into the WNBA's 2024 regular season final slate of games today, there are just a few playoff matchups that still need to be decided.

One of them is whether the Atlanta Dream, Washington Mystics, or Chicago Sky will secure the eighth and final playoffs spot. And another is whether the Connecticut Sun or Las Vegas Aces will lock the No. 3 seed in.

As it stands, the Sun currently hold the No. 3 position. But if they lose against the Chicago Sky today and the Aces defeat the Dallas Wings, then Las Vegas would take the 3-seed.

Whichever team assumes the No. 3 spot will face the 6-seeded Indiana Fever, which is spearheaded by rookie sensation Caitlin Clark.

Yet, it has been announced that the Aces are resting all four of their top players (A'ja Wilson, Jackie Young, Chelsea Gray and Kelsey Plum) against the Wings Thursday.

While this is a normal thing for a veteran team to do, some fans on social media are convinced that Vegas is trying to lose Thursday's game (and the resulting No. 3 seed) on purpose so they can avoid facing Clark and the Fever.

"a team with 5 olympians ducking a rookie in the playoffs 😭😭😭😭😭," X user @wsgcaesar wrote.

For context, all four of the aforementioned Aces players competed for Team USA at the Paris 2024 Olympics, while Aces forward Megan Gustafson also played for Team Spain in Paris.

"The Las Vegas Aces say they prefer to face the Seattle Storm over the Indiana Fever in the first round. Vegas will rest their star players and forego a chance to be the 3rd seed," added @WNBAStormChaser.

To be clear, there's essentially zero chance that the Aces are resting their top players to avoid the Fever; especially given that they're 4-0 against Clark and Indiana this season.

This is what most fans are replying to the above comment, including X user @natfluential who wrote, "Considering that they just beat the Fever in a mini series, pretty sure the only thing on their minds is getting rest for their players."

Regardless of the Aces' reasoning for this rest, the first round of the WNBA playoffs is sure to produce some captivating matchups.

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Grant Young
GRANT YOUNG

Grant Young covers Women’s Basketball, the New York Yankees, and the New York Mets for Sports Illustrated’s ‘On SI’ sites. He holds an MFA degree in creative writing from the University of San Francisco (USF), where he also graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in Marketing and played on USF’s Division I baseball team for five years. However, he now prefers Angel Reese to Angels in the Outfield.

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