So, when they started the year 6-6, there were concerns. There was also an explanation; their starting point guard, Chelsea Gray, was recovering from an injury and missed those first 12 games. She came back, and the Aces won 11 of their next 13 games going into the Olympic break.
However, the Aces came back from the break and proceeded to lose four of their first six games. They weren’t playing consistently on either side of the ball and struggled to string the two phases of the game together. So, in some surprise moves, Becky Hammon shook things up. She changed the starting lineup and forced one of the team’s star players to take a game off. Also, the team’s MVP candidate changed her pregame fit to help her worry less about the outside stuff.
Here’s a breakdown of the Aces’ search for more consistent play in the final stretch of the regular season:
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Changing the starting lineup
Kiah Stokes had come into the year as a key contributor for the Aces and had started every game of the season. That was until Aug. 23, when Hammon said pregame the team was going to change the starting lineup on a game-by-game basis to best match up with their opponent. That night, Alysha Clark got the start, and Stokes came off the bench.
“I’ve talked to the team, and we’re going [on] a game-by-game basis. We thought we would be a little bit better smaller today, and I thought it was good for the most part,” Hammon said. “Right now, we’re just going based off matchups, our starting lineup is fluid, because it’s about winning games right now. It’s not about waiting two, three minutes into the game and then making changes or adjustments. We’re starting to win every game and be present in every moment, and we’re gonna go with the matchups that work best that night. But, it’s my job to push, it’s my job to figure it out.”
The next two games, Megan Gustafson got the start for the Aces instead of Clark or Stokes. The two games after that, Clark got the start next to the Aces’ four Olympians. Hammon had started Stokes every game since Candace Parker got hurt last season, except for Game Four of the Finals last year when she was hurt. She had praised Stokes for her defensive effort and ability to rebound. However, it’s no secret that Stokes isn’t a big scorer, and the Aces as a whole have struggled this season on defense.
The main factor for this change was to help the Aces start games better. They’d had many slow starts in games this year, especially on the defensive end, which forced them to dig themselves out of big holes. It has also given them flexibility to match size or speed based how their opponent that day likes to play. Hammon has been very consistent with her starting lineups, barring injury, in her two-plus seasons in Las Vegas. So having three different starting lineups in the last five games is a new development for the Aces.
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Resting Young
Jackie Young has really blossomed as a player under Hammon, having back-to-back career years the last two seasons. She started the year hot and was passing the ball well, filling in at the point guard spot while Gray recovered from her injury. She wasn’t as efficient of a scorer as last season but was still putting up good numbers.
However, in her first six games back from the Olympic break, Young had struggled mightily. She was averaging just 11.9 points per game, well below the 18.5 points she was averaging before the break. She had two games in single digits after having just three over her first 23 games of the season. She had one game with 26 points but other than that, she scored 17 or fewer in every game. So, Hammon did something quite drastic: She benched the 2022 Most Improved Player of the Year.
“I mean, for Jackie, she wanted to play. I wouldn’t let her, because sometimes these athletes you have to help save them from themselves at times,” Hammon said. “I know she had some aches and pains, and I just thought the rest, because she really didn’t get any over the break. Then when you come back already kind of dinged up a little bit, it starts to compound. So, I made an executive decision to sit her. She’s not happy. She’s still not happy with me, but that’s all right, we’ll get through. There just isn’t another time to get her rest. So, I felt like this was the only time where, you know, we get the two days after Dallas, she gets today, and she’s gonna get tomorrow, to try to get some of her burst back. She’s hurting. And I just said, sit.”
The decision to bench Young was Hammon’s call, but she felt sitting her on Aug. 30 against the Dream was the best option to get her star wing some rest. She knew Young had some minor injuries she was working through and felt the rest would do her a lot of good, albeit to Young’s chagrin. The rest seemed to have helped as she scored 11 points and dished out a career-high 14 assists in Sunday’s win at Phoenix.
“I feel good. Excited to be back on the court,” said Young. “I hate missing games, but we got the win today. And that’s all that matters. Just trying to take one game at a time and put together a full 40 minutes and execute the gameplay. … I’m just trying to make the right play, make the right reads.”
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A’ja Wilson and her white t-shirt era
Wilson has been the Aces star since the first game of the season tipped off. She has put up record-breaking numbers but cares more about the wins than anything else. So, she’s tried anything she can to help her team find consistency throughout this up-and-down season. With the Aces struggling since they came back from the Olympic break, Wilson has changed her pregame fits.
“I have to want to put on clothes. And right now, where I am, I don’t feel like it,” Wilson said. “Right now, my main focus is just getting wins and putting them together and stringing them together. So, if we start getting a couple wins under our belt, I might pop out a little show, a little something, but right now I am digging in the bottom of my t-shirt drawer, and I’m putting on a shirt and I’m dipping out, but that’s pretty much it. I’m really just not digging the old tunnel walks right now.”
Since the Aces lost their first game after the break to New York, Wilson has worn nothing but white t-shirts and either sweatpants or shorts as her pregame outfits. In those games, Wilson has put up season highs in points, rebounds and assists. She also had a game-winner against Chicago and had two games scoring more than 40.
All these changes may seem small. However, for all these new things to take place in a span of just a week while the Aces were in the middle of a tough stretch, shows they are trying anything to figure things out. It may have worked, as they’ve won back-to-back games by double digits going into Tuesday’s matchup with the Sky. When they played the Sky a week ago, Gustafson got the start, so don’t be surprised to see another lineup adjustment.
Overall, the changes seem to have already taken some effect for the team, but they are going to need to continue to improve their play with just eight games remaining before the playoffs, seven of which are against teams currently in the postseason picture.
“That’s two really good defensive efforts in a row for us,” Hammon said after the win against Phoenix Sunday. “That’s really what we’re just looking for, is that consistent effort on the defensive end. And we know, we’re going to make shots on any given night, but the one thing that can always travel with you is the defense. It’s something that I really challenge them on, and they’re really digging in at the end of the day and playing that end the floor. We know what the deal is, our defense has to give us a chance to win games. And I think their lock-in factor, just possession by possession has been really good these last two days, meaning they’re present, active in every possession. Every possession was hard for [Phoenix], and that’s really what we’re looking for.”
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