The Aces lost for the fifth time in seven matches the other day, and head coach Becky Hammon was fuming in the aftermath. She certainly had reason to rant, what with the setback coming at the hands of the supposedly lowly Wings and despite a record 42-point outing on just 22 shots from presumptive Most Valuable Player A’ja Wilson. And while she noted how they lost, she had few answers for what they need to do moving forward in order to arrest the side. “We didn’t defend, we fouled, and we didn’t rebound. And we shot the three terrible again. So it’s a bad combination,” she said, underscoring the obvious.
Not that the Aces haven’t been trying to rekindle the spark that led them to their second WNBA championship in three seasons last year. Hammon’s protestations notwithstanding, the effort has been there. Unfortunately, the outcomes haven’t; in particular, the vaunted three-guard attack of Jackie Young, Kelsey Plum, and Chelsea Gray — as with Wilson, all Olympians — has been firing blanks more often than not. Meanwhile, they’ve been significantly worse on the other end of the floor; the Wings’ output the other day was the third during their losing skein in which their opponents broke 90.
If there’s any silver lining, it’s that the cloud of futility hasn’t prevented Wilson from shining. In fact, she’s having her best campaign by far since being chosen first overall by the Aces in the 2018 draft. The flipside is that her outstanding showing is borne off the increased load she has carried. It has made for extremely predictable hoops, hence their slate of futility in recent memory. And it isn’t just their inability to take the measure of such noted powerhouses as the Liberty and Lynx. It’s their failure to upend the likes of the Wings, Sky, and Sparks as well.
To be sure, the Aces should make the playoffs with plenty to spare. That said, there can be no discounting the value of momentum, especially in the face of the WNBA’s relative parity. Even assuming they get to keep homecourt advantage in the first round, the shortness of the series — a best-of-three affair — stunts the capacity of the cream rising to the top and increases the possibility of an upset. Will Hammon figure out how to get the best of her charges anew? Is it even in her to change her substitution patterns and allow for variety? If insanity is doing the same things over and over again, but expecting different results, then she’s staling her claim to it.
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.
