Coach Dunn reports both Douglas and Pohlen are out tonight. #FeverFinalsinstagr.am/p/Q-AS5GoF51/
— Indiana Fever (@IndianaFever) October 19, 2012
When asked for an update on Pohlen's status, Fever coach Lin Dunn-"Right now I'm approaching Game 3 thinking she won't be available,"
— Stanford FBC (@stanfordfbc) October 19, 2012
This was probably expected given the nature of their injuries, but the combination of Katie Douglas and Jeanette Pohlen leave the Indiana Fever's guard rotation extremely thin.
We've already been over the impact of Douglas' absence at length, but Pohlen was been their primary reserve at guard in Douglas' absence. She had played 12.5 minutes per game during the playoffs, but has averaged about 18 minutes per game in the last two games without Douglas available.
Losing Pohlen means that the Fever are left with Briann January, Erin Phillips, and Shavonte Zellous - their three starters - as their entire guard rotation. Karima Christmas is the other perimeter option but hadn't played for the entire playoffs until getting about 3 minutes in Game 2 on Wednesday.
The question for the Fever might be whether they rely more heavily on bigger lineups - with Jessica Davenport or Tammy Sutton-Brown getting more minutes - or try to slide Christmas into the rotation to give their guards a breather. Either way, things certainly haven't gotten any easier for the Fever.