The Indiana Fever clinched their spot in the 2026 WNBA playoffs after the Portland Fire lost on Friday night. They're still struggling as of late, having dropped their last two games. It's been a long road trip for the Fever, who fell to the New York Liberty 109-102 on Saturday night.Their five game road trip will conclude on Sunday in Chicago against the Sky. Indiana, despite having clinched a playoff berth, fell to fifth in the WNBA standings. The Atlanta Dream now occupy fourth place following Indiana's loss to New York. The top four teams by season's end hold homecourt advantage during the first round of the playoffs.Despite 20+ point outputs from their big three against the Liberty, the Fever were abysmal from the free throw line. They went a whopping 11/22 on free throws, truly unacceptable for a team aiming to make a deep playoff push. It could be due to the long road trip, but great teams don't make excuses. There's also been players that have contributed absolutely nothing. Lexie Hull has had a rough season and it showed up again on Saturday, as she posted zero points in 12 minutes. Monique Billings has been a disaster, providing just four points off the bench and missing two free throws.The Fever quite literally have to flip the script immediately, as their next matchup is in less than 24 hours. Here's how to watch Indiana take on Chicago to close out their road trip:When: Sunday, August 23Time: 7pm ETWhere to watch: Peacock, NBCIndiana can't fall victim to late season collapseYes, the playoff berth has been clinched. That doesn't mean the Fever can become comfortable with where they're at and take the foot off of the gas. Saturday night was another avoidable loss due to the little things. It's frustrating knowing that Indiana could be higher in the standings if they harped on the fundamentals in just a few more games this season. Three of their final six games are against playoff teams: the Washington Mystics and consecutive meetings with the WNBA-best Minnesota Lynx.The Fever can't afford to go into the playoffs with no momentum. For a team that was just one win away from reaching the WNBA Finals last season, they need to step it up now to avoid a devastating collapse that could deem this season a failure.Add us as a preferred source on GoogleFollow