Aliyah Boston dismissed injury concerns among fans with an update on her health ahead of the Fever’s road game against the Washington Mystics on Monday. Boston spoke with Indy Star Sports reporter Chloe Peterson during the practice session before the game.
The Fever center is listed as questionable on the injury report because of a lower right leg injury. She suffered the injury in the third quarter of the Fever’s 75-83 loss to the New York Liberty on Saturday.
Boston was forced to leave the game and was listed as questionable on the initial injury report. However, she rejoined the game a few minutes later, finishing with 13 points, nine rebounds and three blocks.
“Feeling great, feeling better,” she said when asked about her health during the shootaround.
“I was just making sure I was warm all around,” she said on her return in the New York game on Saturday.
Aliyah Boston has been one of the best players for the Fever so far in the season. She has a huge presence when on the court that allows Indiana’s primary scorers, Kelsey Mitchell and Caitlin Clark, to get good looks. She is averaging 15.9 points, 7.6 rebounds and 2.3 assists per game.
“Not off the hook”: Fever insider flames Aliyah Boston for finishing struggles
Aliyah Boston had a poor shooting night in the Fever’s loss to the Liberty. She shot 6 of 15 from the field and 1 of 3 from downtown. Coach Stephanie White took a firm stance, emphasizing the team’s failure rather than pointing fingers during the postgame presser.
However, Fever insider Tony East went after the Fever center in a YouTube video on Sunday.
“She struggled with some finishes in this game,” East said. (Timestamp: 1:34) “I don’t know if I hand-tracked the exact number, but it certainly felt like 11. Boston is not off the hook for those struggles. She was not finishing as well around the basket. The three-ball has become a story for her this year, and I think she only made one in this game.”
Boston’s poor shooting night can be blamed on her reaggravating her right leg injury, but it doesn’t account for her overall drop in field-goal percentage this season. The Fever center’s shooting has gradually gone down from 57.8% in her rookie season to 50.0% this season.
As a center, Aliyah Boston will need to improve her game in the paint if she wants to compete against elite bigs like A’ja Wilson and Jonquel Jones.
Edited by Avi Shravan