Sophie Cunningham Unveils WNBA Plan on How the Fever Can Peak in Playoffs Without Caitlin Clark

After months of struggling and hovering around a .500 record, the Indiana Fever finally made the playoffs after their win against the Washington Mystics. But as they prepare for the postseason without Caitlin Clark, there is a concern about how they would fare against other title contenders. This concern is valid as well. Without their two-time All-Star, the Fever have qualified as the sixth seed with a 24-20 record.

Clark, who fought through multiple injuries and averaged 16.5 points, 8.8 assists, and 5 rebounds per game, saw her season come to an end finally through a right groin problem. Without their primary scorer and playmaker, the Fever will have to punch above their weights in order to compete against the likes of the Minnesota Lynx, the Las Vegas Aces, or even the defending champions, the New York Liberty.

All those teams have superior rosters that the Fever will struggle to defeat especially in the absence of CC. However, Sophie Cunningham does not think so. Cunningham, who has started 13 games this season, believes seeding simply does not matter as much.

Speaking on the latest edition of Show Me Something podcast, she said, “You could have the best record in the regular season and like literally lose in the first round if that team doesn’t have experience. Like experience is what wins playoffs and championships. It’s always good if you have like young bucks who are killing it too but if you have experienced players on your team that’s I don’t know what it is, but it’s like you have those playoff experiences, it’s just you know how to handle the momentum swings, you know how to handle the runs. It’s hard to explain, but when you’re in it, it’s freaking real.” 

In WNBA’s history, there has been just one instance of a team 6th seed or lower has gone of the win the Championship (Chicago Sky in 2021). However, what gets lost in the seeds is the experience factor. And that is exactly what the Indiana Fever and Sophie Cunningham is banking on. As things stand, they would face off against the Atlanta Dream, as the No. 6 takes on the No.3 seed. However, the Valkyries have another game against the Lynx and can leapfrog the Fever to push them to the seventh seed.

Giving her own preference for who the Indiana Fever should face, Sophie said, “Our first round, I think we’re either playing Minnesota, Vegas or Atlanta. So those are in, Vegas has been on a freaking hot streak, and Minnesota has been on a hot streak. I would like to play Atlanta. I think we match up best with them. but we have Kelsey Mitchell, we have AB, we have shooters out there. Again, it’s playoff experience. And so, I think Atlanta has maybe the least amount of experience if I’m not mistaken, and I think our team does. So, I think that’d be our best chance.”

Though Kelsey Mitchell and Aliyah Boston have just four combined playoff appearances, the team around them has plenty of playoff experience. One silver lining coming from all these injuries is that their replacements all have plenty of playoff experience. Odyssey Sims has played in 34 career playoff games, Aerial Powers has played in 21, and Shey Peddy has appeared in 14. And let’s not forget Natasha Howard. The veteran forward has appeared in 53 career playoff games so far. She has already come clutch for the Indiana Fever with an MVP-worthy performance in the Commissioner’s Cup final.

As long as Natasha Howard is in her zone and Kelsey Mitchell is in her MVP mode, this Indiana Fever team has the capability to beat anyone. Even without Caitlin Clark.

Who Should the Indiana Fever Prefer to Face in the First Round?

With the regular season almost gone, the playoff seedings are almost decided. Teams that have already finished their regular season are waiting eagerly to know who they will be up against in the first round. One such team is, of course, the Indiana Fever. As things stand, the Indiana Fever can have one of three opponents: the Minnesota Lynx, the Atlanta Dream, or the Las Vegas Aces. While all of them are certainly going to be tough match-ups, who should the Indiana Fever want to face?

The first possible opponent for the Fever is the top seed, the Minnesota Lynx. In their matchups this season, there have been positives and negatives for the Indiana Fever. The positive, they defeated the Lynx in the Commissioner’s Cup final and were even able to hold Napheesa Collier to one of her rare poor games this season. However, they then proceeded to lose their next two matchups. They did win their last regular-season game against the Lynx, but there is a big asterisk next to that win. Napheesa Collier did not play that game.

The next possible opponent is the Las Vegas Kings. Despite being the second seed, the Aces lost their season series against the Indiana Fever. However, all their meetings came very early in the season. At that time, the Aces were struggling immensely and A’ja Wilson was yet to get into her MVP mode. Moreover, since August 3, the Aces have embarked on a rare 15-game win streak. So, getting past them would be a tall task.

And finally, we come to the Atlanta Dream. This season, the Atlanta Dream and the Indiana Fever split their season series. But, just like in the case of the Las Vegas Aces, their games also happened pretty early in the season. Since then, the Fever’s roster is vastly different. But, as Sophie Cunningham explained, the Fever do hold an edge when we talk about playoff experience. Another factor that could help the Fever is their matchup at the center position.

Fever have one of the best centers in the league in Aliyah Boston and Atlanta’s big signing Brittney Griner has not quite worked out this season. If Aliyah is able to dominate the paint, things could get a lot easier for the Indiana Fever. But, if they are able to make it count or not, we’d only have to wait to know.