The Las Vegas Aces totally expected to face the Atlanta Dream in the semifinals. After their adrenaline-filled 74-73 Game 3 win against the Seattle Storm, A’ja Wilson went for a post-game reaction and was asked, “What’s the mindset as you get ready to take on the Fever?” Wilson had a huge question mark on her face as she fumbled for an answer, “Uh. Oh, they..uh, I didn’t even see the game.” Even if it is a surprise, coach Becky Hammon is ready for the Fever, and she has a special score to settle. 

Becky Hammon threw some shade at Caitlin Clark and the Fever while showing her discontent regarding the new 1-1-1 format. “I think this conversation came up last year, when Indiana didn’t get a game, and they were upset. But for me, people just gotta get, you gotta finish better.” Hammon claimed. Now the Aces HC is facing the same Indiana Fever, partly due to this format change. The Fever gained momentum because of their massive Game 2 win with the backing of the huge Gainbridge crowd. They carried it to their on-road Game 3 and beat the Atlanta Dream in another close game. All things considered, Hammon is not backing down in this rivalry. 

“You dropped two of the three games to them this year, but you haven’t seen them since late July. What excites you about that match-up?” Asked a reporter. Ironically, the only game that the Aces won in the series had Caitlin Clark. A’ja Wilson and Co. lost two games with a net point differential of -37. The Aces were flat on their back, and Hammon knows this. 

She answered boldly, “That they haven’t seen the real Aces yet. Um, they caught us when we were at a bit in turmoil. Um, no, that they whooped us (in) one of those stretches. So, you know what? We’ll buckle in, hone in where we can, and take care of business. But I know everybody’s super excited about tonight, which I am, too. But, like, I gotta get our hard hats on and get these guys prepped and ready for what’s coming next.”

Admittedly, it’s been a season of two halves for the Aces. In the first 22 games, they went 11-11, but turned it around in the next, finishing with a 16-game winning run that stretched to 17 in the playoffs. A’ja Wilson is in top postseason form, averaging 29.3 points, 8.3 rebounds, and 3.3 assists in the series against the Storm. More importantly, she has production around her in Jackie Young, who has averaged 19.0 points,4.0 rebounds, and 4 assists in the playoffs.

As a team, they are scoring 86.3 points and 21.7 assists each game. In the series against the Fever, they scored a measly 71.0 points per game, with Wilson getting the majority at 24.3 points. It was easy for the Fever to defend because there was practically only one threat, as the Aces weren’t creating as much as today (14.3 assists per game vs 21.7 in the playoffs). The Aces have increased their quality enough to ignore their regular-season record and take the Fever head-on. Besides, there will be a lot more inter-player rivalries going around to give them that extra motivation. 

Becky Hammon and Aces Gear Up for Fiery Showdown with Fever

Like we discussed, Becky Hamonn and the Aces are used to being the “higher-seeded team” in round 1. The new format had the higher-seeded teams at a disadvantage compared to the old format, which didn’t fit right with Hammon. The undercurrent of this controversy was that the format change was to give Caitlin Clark’s Indiana Fever a home game because of her popularity. Fever finished in the bottom half both years. While round 1 is in the rearview mirror, the tension still lingers. Along with the coach, her players have a spicy past with the Indiana Fever. 

Nalyssa Smith will face off against her former team in a 5-game semifinal, and she will have something to prove. In 2024, Smith was benched by then-coach Christie Sides in a mid-season game against the Mystics, which the coach called “team business.”Then the murmurs of Smith’s fit around Aliyah Boston and Clark grew as her minutes continued to be limited. Eventually, Smith was traded to Dallas for Sophie Cunningham. Smith went on to be flipped to the Aces after a brief period. While there is no public friction between Smith and the Fever, she will have something to prove. 

Then comes the Odyssey Sims vs Dana Evans match-up. Just a couple of years ago, they had an intense altercation. Sims was playing for Dallas at the time, and Evans was with the Sky. The two got into an intense altercation during a game and had to be separated. The clash spilled to social media. “Don’t ever come for me! PERIOD! I don’t have time to give lil babies my energy,” Sims wrote. “Babe, you fouled out in 9 minutes. Your only stats were 6 fouls & 1 turnover,” Evans replied with a kissing face emoji.

If that was not enough, we have the Aeriel Powers vs Jackie Young. Last year, when Powers was with Atlanta, she got into a heated conversation with Young that ended with both getting technicals. Later, Powers talked about the incident. She commented, “I don’t know if you’d call that a chat. It was a little getting at it. She said I wasn’t like that. And I’m like that.” Powers always brings the energy to each game, and both will have that incident in mind. It’s a five-game slugfest in the making, and nobody’s giving an inch with A’ja Wilson already detailing their game plan to stop the Fever’s most potent weapon.