Stephanie White’s Game Plan Puts Becky Hammon on Notice Ahead of Game 5

After dropping two straight to LV, nobody gave the Fever much of a shot in Game 4, but Indy had other plans. With a balanced attack that kept the Aces scrambling on defense, the Fever flipped the script and handed Vegas a stunning loss. Sure, A’ja Wilson poured in 31 points, but it wasn’t enough to cut through Indy’s relentless rhythm on both ends of the floor. But make no mistake, they’re not finished yet. With Game 5 looming, Stephanie White’s got a plan ready to punch their ticket to the Finals!

And that plan is nothing other than judgment. The Indiana Fever head coach isn’t going to use this weapon in Game 5 for the first time; she already used it to grab the Game 4 win, especially to stop the “gears.” Fifth-year guard Dana Evans has been known for bringing a unique pace and shiftiness to LV, as her ability to change speeds makes her a tough cover. White already knew it; she saw Evans spark a 10-2 run in the fourth quarter that helped LV earn an 84-72 win and a 2-1 advantage in the series. But this time, with the Fever on the brink of elimination, White made sure they survived. How?

Well, the head coach herself put it best when she said, “She’s been getting to the paint every time that she’s out there, and that’s part of it, but I think also just giving them a different look. It’s always about trying to find, not necessarily always advantages, but trying to find disruptions. Some of our ball screen coverages, they’ve been able to pick apart some of the actions they’ve been able to take advantage of, and so we wanted to stop their movement, and we wanted to get them a little bit stagnant, so we sprinkled it in, kind of like what they did to us in Game 2.”

So, it all unfolded with the opening of the second quarter when Indy dropped into a zone with Brianna Turner surprisingly stationed up top. But it wasn’t a random switch; it was a calculated move. Evans had been slicing through the paint possession after possession throughout the series, and man coverage hadn’t been enough. So White threw out a wrinkle, not to dominate but to disrupt. And it worked.