Despite what you may have read elsewhere, the WNBA playoffs are indeed still going on without Rookie of the Year Kaitlin Clark. Clark's Indiana Fever were swept in the first round after being targeted by DeWanna Bonner of the Connecticut Sun.
But there's still plenty of reason to be concerned, with Game 3 of the Minnesota Lynx and Suns' semifinals tied at 1-1 on Friday night, which also features the New York Liberty and Las Vegas Aces. .
Chief among them is that this could be the last stop for Aja Wilson and the Aces and their pursuit of a three-peat.
Since the now-defunct Houston Comets won their first four Finals led by the all-time great trio of Cynthia Cooper, Tina Thompson and Cheryl Swoopes, No team in the WNBA has won three consecutive championships. Becky Hammon was a player on the New York Liberty team that won the Comets their fourth straight title in 2000 and is now the coach of the Las Vegas Aces. The team has been very frustrated with their performance in the last two short games.
Hammon was prone to ripping guard Kelsey Plumb during a timeout during Brooklyn's 88-84 loss to Liberty on Tuesday.
“That's why it's hard to win three in a row. Let's be honest,” harmon says. “For the past eight months, the whole league has been angry and my players have been doing commercials and this and that, and it's some weird celebrity, and you get distracted. That's why it's hard. Because human nature is going to Distracting.
The Aces currently trail 2-0 in the five-game series and face elimination when they return to Las Vegas for Game 3 on Friday. Come back from 2-0 deficit to win five games-game series.
In reality, the Aces had little chance of winning. They try to trace history, but history is not on their side.
The good news is that they are the team that has Aja Wilson and the New York Liberty do not.
This may be enough.
Consider that Wilson was named the unanimous league MVP this season, the first to do so since Cooper debuted in the WNBA in 1997.
Consider, too, that the South Carolina product — now a three-time MVP and two-time Olympic gold medalist — is having a season that's unprecedented in the sport. Wilson leads the WNBA in points (26.9), blocks (2.6), field goals made (10.1), free throws made (6.1) and defensive rebounds (9.8) per game. The 6-foot-4 seventh-year forward also leads the WNBA in win shares (10) and PER (34.9).
Wilson is also the only player in WNBA history to average at least 26 points and 11 rebounds per game. Other players have gotten a lot of attention this season, but Wilson is a transcendent talent in the WNBA, doing things that no one else has ever done.
But Wilson also needs help. She lost her first game to Plum last Sunday, scoring 24 points in an 87-77 loss to the Aces, while Jackie Young also scored 17 points. In the second game, Wilson scored 24 points, 7 rebounds and 4 assists, while no other Las Vegas player shot better than 50%. Plum did struggle, shooting 2-for-9 from the field and committing three turnovers.
Most importantly, the Aces need to improve their defense. Their total points allowed to Liberty reached 175, the most they have allowed in back-to-back games since losing two consecutive games to the Bobcats in late August.
With their backs against the wall, anything that happens for the Aces on Friday night will be must-see.