NFL
By: Brock Vierra
When the star player of the WNBA is in tears as A’ja Wilson was during the Las Vegas Aces press conference, things need to change and they need to change now. To look at a player who just put up 21 points, 9 rebounds, and 3 assists in a losing effort to the New York Liberty, a player who is averaging a double-double through 12 games, a player that has led this organization to back to back titles end her night in tears, there is a clear problem and the inability of the Aces to rectify such a glaring issue is not only basketball malpractice, it’s nearly criminal behavior.
Aces lack depth
The Aces fell to the Liberty, Saturday afternoon 90-82. The Liberty, led by four All-Stars including Brianna Stewart, Sabrina Ionescu, Betnijah Laney-Hamilton, and the star on Saturday night Jonquel Jones put on a show. They shot 42.9 percent from three and made nearly half of their total shots. Things might have been worse if All-Star Courtney Vandersloot played but she remains away due to personal issues.
Jones, the star center for the Liberty put up a clinic. A career-high 34 points may be the headline people are talking about but she shot a ridiculous 12/16 from the field. To add insult to injury, Stewart and Ionescu both had a double-double. Vegas was right there with New York but a five-minute scoring drought in the third not only vanquished a 6-point lead but turned that into an 8-point deficit that the Aces could not overcome.
The Liberty outrebounded the Aces 37-31, outshot the Aces from the three-point arch 42.9 percent to 32.4 percent and the Liberty outscored the Aces 12-4 off of fast break points. The Aces also committed 10 more fouls than the Liberty.
The loss can be chucked up to fatigue, on the court failings, and front office failures. Long story short, the Aces are tired. They have employed an 8-player rotation in 2024 and they have paid dearly for it. The loss marks the Aces’ fourth in their last five games, giving them a 6-6 record on the season. The inability of this front office to not only handle Candice Parker’s departure but also the absence of Chelsea Gray has directly led to the issues that currently plague the team.
Slapping Kate Martin into the rotation is a feel-good story. It’s not sound basketball management. There’s a clear deficit in her game and that deficit led her to being a second-round pick. I’m not saying this to be mean, I’m keeping it real. Martin may be a current and rightfully deserved social media darling but she is still a player in need of proper development. She’s not at the caliber needed yet she operates as the team’s sixth woman. She’s shown flashes but this is too much to put on her shoulders at such an early point in her pro career.
In the post-game press conference, while fighting through tears, Wilson exclaimed “I wanna be great for my team, I wanna be great for this franchise” while in the same speech claiming she has “eleven women in that locker room that she needs to pull greatness from.” A passionate speech made in response to being asked how she looked back on Saturday’s play.
Something I felt wasn’t right wasn’t accurate was what head coach Becky Hammon had to say. “We don’t have an edge.” That was completely accurate but her reasoning shook me. “And we have not had it since day one in training camp and I’ve felt it and I’ve tried to address it but we just, we’re not that hungry.” Woah. This was made even more clear with Wilson’s vocal agreement but I have to ask, if there was no edge, why did the Aces start the season 5-2? Did full energy play a factor like fatigue is playing now? Why was there no edge with multiple returning starters? How big of a presence is Chelsea Gray in that locker room?
I think there are deep, internal issues that the team has done a good job masking from the media. This is where legacies are defined. GM Natasha Williams needs to make a move and she needs to make it now. I feel she has a joker up her sleeve.
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