Can anybody stop the Aces? That’s the question Women’s National Basketball Association fans have been asking for a while now. It isn’t simply that the defending champions have won eight straight contests and sport a stellar 24-2 slate matched only by the 1998 Comets since the league set up shop 27 years ago. It’s that they’re running roughshod over their supposed competition in so doing; they’re first on offense and a smidge below the top on defense, resulting in a plus-15.5 points differential — two and a half times more than the second-running Liberty. Little wonder, then, that they’ve already clinched a playoff berth, never mind that they still have 14 regular season games to navigate.
To be sure, there were indications from the outset that the Aces would be among the handful of bona fide contenders for the crown. After all, they didn’t just bring back essentially the same roster that won them the hardware last year; they augmented it, most prominently taking in former Most Valuable Player awardee Candace Parker to underscore their talent advantage. And, don’t forget, their brain trust is led by reigning Coach of the Year Becky Hammon, set to be enshrined in Springfield next weekend. In short, it would take a superteam to even come close to challenging them.
Significantly, that credible opposition was supposed to have been formed by the Liberty in the off-season. Following a successful recruiting binge that netted them heavyweights Breanna Stewart, Jonquel Jones, and Courtney Vandersloot, initial prognoses had them sharing the marquee with the Aces. From the get-go, however, it was clear that they, too, could be playing catch-up ball. As good as they have been, with a 20-6 record that is by far the best in the history of the pioneer franchise, they remain more like a collection of great talents on a squad than a great squad of collected talents.
Unless and until the Liberty are able to find the cohesiveness that marks collective success, they will find their ceiling to be much lower than that of the Aces. For all their obvious firepower, they suffer from occasional lapses in concentration. It’s not that they lack effort, even on defense; it’s that they are not able to translate it to wire-to-wire ascendancy. It’s why they’ve had difficulty putting supposed patsies away, and why they either get to squander big leads or need to climb back from big deficits much too often for comfort. They’re getting better, but, with the postseason drawing near, it’s fair to ponder if they still have enough time to sharpen their weapons to the degree they need.
So, yes, the Aces are headed for a repeat, and, yes, they’re focused on their ultimate objective. They realize they have to keep putting in the work, and are acting accordingly. And if the rewards keep coming, it’s because they deserve them.
Anthony L. Cuaycong has been writing Courtside since BusinessWorld introduced a Sports section in 1994. He is a consultant on strategic planning, operations and human resources management, corporate communications, and business development.
