“We just don’t want to have a satisfied locker room because we’re not there yet. All we did was do what we’re supposed to do. We’re supposed to take care of our home court,” said Becky Hammon after the Las Vegas Aces’ Game 2 win against the Phoenix Mercury. Despite having a 2-0 lead in the WNBA Finals, the Aces head coach is not allowing herself to get comfortable. After all, it is the first year the WNBA Finals are a ‘Best of 7’ series, which will now head to the PHX Arena for the next 2 games. Therefore, Hammon will most likely look to mix things up, which might not necessarily be a good thing, as it would add to a major concern revolving around A’ja Wilson and co.

After Game 2, ‘The Athletic’s senior columnist, Marcus Thompson II, discussed the Finals alongside co-workers Ben Pickman and Sabreena Merchant. During the same, Sabreena highlighted that the Las Vegas Aces, according to her, “has not been the most consistent team during this postseason.” She agreed that it’s a weird thing to say about a roster that ended the regular season winning 16 games in a row. However, since their playoff series against the Seattle Storm, “they’ve been very up and down since then.”

“It’s not their offense, it’s their defense, right? And like it wouldn’t have been unexpected to me for the Aces to have like a slight defensive hiccup to start this game and they did, but they just fixed it really really quickly, right? Um, Becky Hammond said just using a lot of timeouts in their first quarters, right? They sort of flip the switch in the second quarter defensively. They only allow 10 points from the Mercury,” Sabreena added.

“Um, so like, I…. I’m with you (pointed at Ben). I didn’t think that their offense was going to be any worse than it was in game one. But like I thought maybe their defense might have a little bit of a lag, but it didn’t. And I think that’s really the key here is that they were just so locked in on that end of the court.”

Ben Pickman highlighted the same reasoning in the later part of the discussion. As the trio was discussing what to keep hope about in regards to Game 3, Pickman said, “Game to game, we see a lot of changes, right? And we see each game and…. Becky Hammon acknowledged this each game is its own story”.

As mentioned, the Aces squad has mostly remained consistent on the offensive front. However, on defense, things have been somewhat opposite. The first indication of the same occurred when Becky Hammon switched to a zone defense in the latter part of Game 1.

The Mercury were ahead for more than 27 minutes during that matchup, and had a lead of 9 points at one point in time. The zone defense looked to optimize the pace and skill. Becky Hammon’s strategy worked, as Mercury head coach Nate Tibbetts recalled that “They went zone, kind of made us stand a little bit. I thought we had some good looks. Give them credit for mixing up their defense; that was a good adjustment.”

However, for Game 2, the emphasis was placed more on individual players doing their thing. Chelsea Gray kept players like Satou Sabally at bay. She anticipated potential Mercury drives and forced 3 steals and 3 blocks. It was yet another clever adjustment by Aces coach Becky Hammon that proved why she’s a two-time champion and WNBA Coach of the Year. The ‘man-to-man’ defense strategy allowed Las Vegas’ aggressiveness to reportedly skyrocket, as the team forced 11 turnovers, blocked 6 shots, and held Phoenix to just 10 points in the 2nd quarter.

Trying out something new can have its advantages, since rival teams are often left confused and don’t know what to anticipate. However, unless the team’s players are locked in on the new strategy, then the same could easily backfire on them. In light of this analysis, the Las Vegas Aces should be careful not to change their defensive plays by a lot. Then again, maybe they can be flexible about the same. After all, more than the defense, it is the presence of a few key players that makes coaches worried about the 2x WNBA champions.

Nate Tibbetts And Former WNBA Coach Highlight A’ja Wilson and 2-3 Others As Threat

After Game 3, Phoenix Mercury head coach Nate Tibbetts spoke to the media. During the Q&A session, he revealed that he certainly loses sleep thinking about the Las Vegas Aces. He highlighted the reason behind it by saying, “Well, four Olympians help”. Later, Tibbetts added that “Yeah, they just…. They got great players. They’ve been through it together. They’ve won championships, they’ve got a Hall of Fame coach. None of this stuff is, like, they’ve been through all of this”.

Tibbetts’s remarks came around the same time former WNBA coach Carolyn Peck joined ESPN’s ‘The Wrap-Up’ show for a discussion. During the segment, Peck highlighted that there is a difference between the big three for Vegas and the big three for Phoenix. She elaborated on that by saying, “I think the biggest difference is that they have finals experience. Like, they’ve been through the war. They’ve won two championships together. And I think that really showed up”.

On the offensive side, one thing that has remained consistent is A’ja Wilson leading the offensive charge, and another player aiding her in pushing the team’s overall score high above their rivals. A’ja Wilson and Dana Evans each scored 21 points in Game 1. Jackie Young and A’ja Wilson dropped a combined 60 points in Game 2, allowing them to mark the 2nd most points made by a duo ever in the Finals, right behind the 65 points Jewell Loyd and Breanna Stewart recorded in 2020 with the Seattle Storm.

The ‘Big 3’ of the Aces, aka A’ja Wilson, Jackie Young, and Chelsea Gray, who also boast Olympic Gold Medals, left a memorable mark in Game 2. Jackie Young took the scoring lead with her 32 points, while also setting a WNBA Finals record 21-point 3rd quarter. Chelsea Gray filled the box score with her own 10-point and 10-assist double-double, plus eight rebounds. Out of Vegas’ 91 points, 70 were made by the trio.

Therefore, the Phoenix Mercury won’t get the chance to counter the Aces’ defense when dealing with the offense itself will be a draining task. Even with the home crowd motivating them, it remains to be seen how Alyssa Thomas and co will fare.