The Indiana Fever aren’t planning to switch up their entire system when the playoffs start. However, according to Sophie Cunningham, that doesn’t mean they won’t be looking to make the Las Vegas Aces feel like they’re playing a different team every few possessions.
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As Indiana prepares to head into the playoffs against the Aces, Sophie Cunningham offered a glimpse into the Fever locker room. During the latest episode of her No Hesitation podcast on YouTube, she was asked by co-host Drew Hanlan about what adjustments the team could be looking to make, and Cunningham highlighted a more deliberate approach to attacking their opponent.
“Let’s change up how we run two of our sets so we can get not our first set action but we’re really looking for the second and third, like you can manipulate how they’re playing us,” she explained.
“I think the W season… it’s also a very short season, and you don’t have time to mess around, and that’s why these playoff standings, we could be anywhere from four all the way to eight, right? So you got to approach pretty much every game and you want to win. As competitors, you’re trying to win every game, too… NBA, correct me if I’m wrong, like sometimes they rest players; sometimes it’s kind of like this where, in the WNBA, you don’t have time for that.”
The approach Cunningham described is essentially a requirement against a team as experienced as the Aces. Las Vegas, the defending champions, have extensive playoff experience and are going into the postseason hot after closing the 2026 season on a seven-game winning streak. Indiana needs much more than just its regular-season blueprint to beat them.
However, that doesn’t mean throwing away what has already worked for them, especially because they have already shown their normal game can trouble the Aces. The Fever enter the playoffs seeded sixth, while the Aces are holding strong at third. While this remains true, the Fever have won two of their three games against the Aces this season, both in dominant fashion.
The first of these came on July 5, when the Fever took home an 84-68 win, then blew them out by an even bigger margin a week later, finishing the game 109-75. That’s a combined margin of victory of 50 points.
Even during their defeat, it took a lot for the Aces to take the Fever down. In the August matchup that the Aces won 86-84 in overtime, the Fever were up by as much as 20 in the first half and needed Chelsea Gray to hit not one, but two buzzer-beaters – first to send the game to overtime, the second to take the win.
On top of that, the Aces are a familiar foe for the Fever. Last season, the Fever went down to Las Vegas 3-2 after a hard-fought semifinal series. That series saw the Fever play without Caitlin Clark, and as a result, an overtasked Kelsey Mitchell attempted to back up the offense. Though it was eventually unsuccessful, the Fever did manage to slow down four-time MVP A’ja Wilson through Aliyah Boston, something they are sure to try again.
Notably, though, is Boston’s status, which could be cause for worry. During the Fever’s final regular-season game against the Minnesota Lynx, Aliyah Boston exited early due to a flare-up of a previous lower-leg injury, something head coach Stephanie White described as a precautionary measure. Boston is the primary defensive anchor for the Fever, providing elite rim protection as well as rebounding. She currently leads the Fever in steals, blocks, and rebounds. Losing Boston in the crucial playoff stage could cause a frontcourt collapse for the Fever.
Regardless, with Indiana coming into the matchup with the league’s best offensive rating at 96.7 based on a perimeter-centric attack from Clark and Mitchell, the true X-factor for the Aces remains their perimeter defense. If they can slow down Mitchell like they did last season, the matchup should be a lot easier for them.
For now, all fans can do is wait until Game 1 tips off in the Michelob ULTRA Arena in Las Vegas on September 27. Sophie Cunningham has already made clear that she doesn’t think the answer to beating the Aces is a dramatic overhaul. Only time will tell if Indiana can augment their offense and defense enough to make Las Vegas react.