INDIANAPOLIS — Damiris Dantas will remain out for the Indiana Fever‘s second playoff game against the Atlanta Dream on Tuesday, according to the team’s injury report.
Dantas suffered a concussion during a Fever practice Thursday and has been in the protocol since then. While Fever coach Stephanie White said Sunday that she hoped Dantas would be available for Tuesday’s game, there is no set timeline for how long it takes a player to progress through a concussion. It depends on the person, the severity of the concussion, and how fast they can go though the stages to return to play.
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“She’s gonna she’s a big, important part of what we would do in the series, so hopefully she’ll able to be able to progress,” White said.
The Fever desperately missed Dantas’ size and ability to space the floor in Game 1, especially against such a big and physical team like Atlanta. The Dream outflank the Fever in size in nearly every position group, with Brittney Griner (6 foot 9) and Bri Jones (6-4) in the post and Naz Hillmon (6-2) and Rhyne Howard (6-2) in the backcourt. Indiana is a smaller team by far, especially after bringing in multiple hardship players midseason.
Dantas, standing 6-4, could’ve helped fortify the frontcourt, giving some crucial depth for Aliyah Boston and Natasha Howard. Dantas is also the only Fever frontcourt player who can consistently make 3-pointers (a career 33% clip), which would’ve helped space out the floor and give both Howard and Boston more room to work in the paint.
“It certainly impacts us, having her ability and physicality defensively,” White said. “It also affects us offensively because of her ability to space the floor. I mean, she’s really started to find it again from the 3-point challenge … it’s gonna be a challenge without her.”
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The Fever are going into Tuesday’s game on the brink of elimination. Atlanta won the first game of the best-of-three series, 80-68, and will advance to the playoff semifinals with a win on Tuesday.
Should the Fever win, Game 3 would be Thursday in Atlanta, time to be determined.
Chloe Peterson is the Indiana Fever beat reporter for IndyStar. Reach her at capeterson@gannett.com or follow her on X at @chloepeterson67. Get IndyStar’s Indiana Fever and Caitlin Clark coverage sent directly to your inbox with our Caitlin Clark Fever newsletter.
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Indiana Fever’s Damiris Dantas concussion out for Game 2 of WNBA Playoffs
