Seattle scorched by Vegas starters, lose 85-74
Seattle scorched by Vegas starters, lose 85-74
"We just couldn't buy a basket." Coach Quinn said after the game.
(Las Vegas, Nevada) - In what could be a preview of an excellent playoff series later this year the Seattle Storm went head-to-head with the Las Vegas Aces in a battle of early-season bragging rights to see which team is the best in the Western Conference and possibly the entire WNBA.
The Aces staked their claim to that with an impressive 85-74 victory over the Storm. Las Vegas used a 26-18 first quarter to start the game and an even better 27-15 fourth quarter to finish it off.
“Tough one on the road. We had a good effort from our bench. We shot a lot of shots, we didn’t make a lot of shots. We got outrebounded by a ton. But at the end of the day, this is a growing process for us. We have to go back to the drawing board and improve in a lot of ways. I’m proud of the effort and the way we battled. Just some timely miscues defensively and we just couldn’t hit some shots down the stretch” Coach Quinn said to the media after the game.
The Storm were led by their two superstars Breanna Stewart and Jewell Loyd. Stewart led the team with 21 points and eight rebounds. Loyd finished with 19 points including nine of the team’s 15 points in the final quarter.
However, the big story of this game was the lack of production from the rest of the team.
Especially the other three starters - Gabby Williams, Sue Bird, and (to an extent) Ezi Magbegor. The other three starters besides Jewell and Stewie scored just a combined 11 points. Eight of those came from Ezi. Bird only had three points the entire game and Williams was held scoreless on 0-7 FG shooting.
Las Vegas Aces
Their starters were incredible this game. Becky Hammon made some adjustments this year and inserted both Dearica Hamby and Kelsey Plum into the starting lineup. Both Hamby and Plum have won the 6th Player of the Year Award in previous seasons under former Coach Bill Laimbeer. Coach Hammon has moved their talents into the starting lineup creating what is arguably (is it even arguably?) the best starting five group in the WNBA along with perennial MVP candidate A’ja Wilson, All-Star guard Chelsea Gray, and former number one overall pick Jackie Young.
The first and fourth quarters of the game were primarily the Aces’ starters against Seattle’s and in those two quarters, Seattle was outscored by 20 points. When looking at all four quarters the Aces’ starting five outscored them by 28 points (79-51). All five of their players scored in double figures.
I talked to Coach Noelle Quinn after the game about that disparity and to discuss the challenge of guarding them defensively because it really felt like it was “Pick Your Poison” with all the talent the Aces have in their starting lineup.
“They do have a lot of options and so do we. I don’t want to discount what we have. Yes, they’re playing at a high level - all of them. Their intensity, their energy, that they all bring. They all pose a threat on the floor at all times. We were aggressive with Plum early on and she only had two points at the half but ended the game with 18. So just understanding the resilience this entire team has. They’ve been playing together for a long time in a different system but they continue to do the things they’ve done to be successful within this league. It is tough, but I feel the same way about my team” Coach Quinn told me.
I asked Jewell Loyd a similar question about the difficulty of shutting them down.
“I think with our (defensive) schemes they struggled a little bit. We held them to 13 points in the second quarter. Once we were undisciplined in our schemes we got out of that a bit. They got going at the right time. We didn’t. It’s just us learning and being more disciplined with what we’re trying to do defensively. That’s on us.” Loyd added.
A’ja Wilson won her duel against Breanna Stewart scoring 20 points and pulling down 15 rebounds. Jackie Young had 19 points, Chelsea Gray had 12, and Kelsey Plum finished with 18 points and a team-high seven assists. Plum also scored 14 of her 18 points in the 4th quarter as the Aces closed out the game. Dearica Hamby was just as impactful, putting up a double-double of 10 points and a new career-high 19 rebounds!
Between Hamby and Wilson, they had a combined 34 rebounds which were more than Seattle’s entire roster (30 rebounds). The Storm missed Mercedes Russell a ton in this game. It also reminds me of how important Natasha Howard was to the team’s success between 2018-2020. Breanna Stewart is a very good defender but her thinner frame makes it difficult to match up against players like Sylvia Fowles, A’ja Wilson, Brittney Griner, etc.
Even though the Storm’s bench outscored the home team’s reserves 23-6 it ultimately didn’t matter because of how dominant Vegas was with their top-five unit. And it wasn’t just on the offensive end.
Defensively, the Aces limited the Storm to just under 36% FG shooting (27-76) and 32% (11-34) from beyond the three-point arc. They outrebounded Seattle 45-30 and held a 42-16 edge with points in the paint.
Game Breakdown
Jewell Loyd got the Storm going with a three and Breanna Stewart added another two before A’ja Wilson went to work scoring six consecutive points for the Aces.
Both teams were running up and down the court at a blistering pace and this favored Las Vegas. Seattle was a bit out of control and didn’t connect on the shots they did have. The Aces were able to draw fouls that led to them going on a 10-0 run. Stewie stopped the run with a three.
The Storm were not connecting on their shots shooting just 35% (7-20 FG) while the Aces were much more efficient shooting 58% (11-19 FG) in the first period. A lot of that was due to Vegas getting easier shots in transition and from offensive rebounds.
Stewie connected on another shot, scoring nine points in the first quarter. Jantel Lavender followed it with a three to cut the Aces lead to five at 20-15.
Vegas went on a 6-0 run before Epiphanny Prince knocked down a three and was fouled where she completed the four-point play.
Las Vegas had a 20-2 edge with points in the paint after the first quarter and led 26-18 after one.
Ezi Magbegor had a big defensive block on Dearica Hamby rejecting her and knocking the ball off of Hamby and out of bounds.
Sydney Colson knocked down a corner three for Las Vegas to put them up 29-20. Jewell was able to draw a foul and connect on two free throws and Ezi was able to battle for an offensive rebound and score down low cutting the Aces’ lead to five again at 29-24 which led to Becky Hammon calling a timeout for her team.
Loyd was able to connect on a three but the Aces were able to respond with an A’ja Wilson basket and another from Chelsea Gray. Every time Seattle cut it to around five the Aces would extend the lead back up to around 10. This was a common theme throughout this game.
Jackie Young drilled another three to put Las Vegas up 39-31. Young has really continued to improve as she enters her 4th year. It almost looked like Young might be a bust as a former number one overall pick through her first year or two lagging well behind other players in her draft class like Arike Ogunbowale and Napheesa Collier. But she’s been very successful over the past couple of years and she continues to get better each year.
The Aces led 39-33 at the midway point. Seattle’s shooting was extremely poor in the first half as they shot under 31% (12-39) compared to Vegas at 46% (16-35). Las Vegas also outrebounded Seattle 25-16 through the first two quarters.
Sue Bird got the Storm going with a corner three to begin the third period. She’s now made a three-pointer in 30 consecutive games. Sadly, that would be her only points of the entire game.
Stewart started to get hot knocking down a couple of three-pointers in the quarter. A’ja Wilson responded with a three of her own. That’s a new wrinkle to her game and something we’ll likely see more of now that Becky Hammon is coaching the team instead of Coach Laimbeer.
Slowly but surely the Storm were able to whittle down the Aces’ lead. They finally tied the game at 52-52. Vegas went back up 55-52 but it was the Storm’s bench led by Epiphanny Prince and Briann January that allowed Seattle to retake the lead 59-58 at the end of the third quarter.
Seattle outscored Las Vegas 26-19 in the third period. It was the Storm’s best quarter by far and most of the success came from the team’s bench.
Coach Quinn kept the bench in to begin the 4th quarter and it may have been a mistake as Becky Hammon brought back all her starters and they immediately went to work. Jackie Young drilled a three, followed by another three from Kelsey Plum. Dearica Hamby also provided continuous hustle by getting offensive rebounds. The Aces quickly regained the lead 68-61 on a 10-0 run.
Vegas used a 17-7 run to take a 75-66 lead midway through the 4th quarter. Their starters were just better than Seattle. Despite Seattle’s bench outplaying Vegas’ it didn’t really matter because the Aces’ starters were just elite in this game.
It looked like the Aces would run away with it but Jewell Loyd helped surge another run. Loyd scored nine points in the quarter and helped the Storm cut the deficit to just four points at 76-72. That’s as close as Seattle would get.
The team made some costly turnovers late in this game and the Aces were able to capitalize.
Chelsea Gray drilled a three before the shot clock buzzer went off to close the game out in the final seconds.
Additional Analysis
A Real Rivalry?
I asked the question on Twitter prior to Sunday’s game. “Do you consider the Las Vegas Aces to be a major rival of the Storm?”
The poll is still ongoing for a few more hours but the fans voted 64% YES to 36% NO.
To me, it does seem like Las Vegas is one of the Storm’s biggest rivals at this point. Phoenix will always be Number One because of the GOAT debate and friendly rivalry between Sue Bird and Diana Taurasi. The fact those two teams and players have battled it out back and forth for nearly 20 years will be hard to top. Also, the fact that the Storm have four championships and the Mercury have three, so both franchises have had extreme success in the league. Both teams have also had memorable playoff games against one another. Phoenix holds the overall edge but Seattle has eliminated the Mercury during their run to the 2010 and 2018 WNBA titles.
Besides Phoenix, who is the number two rival? Is it the Minnesota Lynx? The LA Sparks? Or is it now the Las Vegas Aces?
I think a big reason the Aces could become one of the Storm’s biggest rivals is that just as we had Bird and Taurasi, with the Aces we now have A’ja Wilson versus Breanna Stewart. Stewart was drafted in 2016 and Wilson in 2018, both post players that were #1 overall picks and have both already won MVP awards very early in their careers.
I spoke to Stewart after the game about that and if she felt the Aces were one of the Storm’s top rivals.
“I mean look at all the talent on the floor when the two of us play! They’re turning into our rivals, between Vegas and Phoenix. We know it’s going to be tough every single night. Credit to them, they played really well. It was their home-opener, there was a lot of excitement, a lot of motivation for them to get the win, and it’s on us to have a quick turnaround and get ready for Phoenix” Stewart told me.
Since 2018 (A’ja Wilson’s rookie season) the teams have played 15 games including the playoffs and this first game of 2022.
In 2018, Seattle went 2-1 against Vegas in the regular season.
Game 1: 105-98 W
Game 2: 101-74 W
Game 3: 89-77 L
In 2019, Seattle went 1-2 against the Aces in the regular season.
Game 1: 60-56 L
Game 2: 69-66 W
Game 3: 79-62 L
In 2020, the Storm went 0-2 in the regular season but swept the Aces in the Finals 3-0 - for a 3-2 record overall.
Game 1: 82-74 L
Game 2: 86-84 L
Game 3 (Playoffs): 93-80 W
Game 4 (Playoffs): 104-91 W
Game 5 (Playoffs): 92-59 W
In 2021, Seattle once again went 1-2 against the Aces.
Game 1: 97-83 W
Game 2: 96-80 L
Game 3: 95-92 OT - L
In 2022, the Storm are currently 0-1 against the Aces.
Game 1: 85-74 L
Total since 2018: 15 games (12 regular season games, 3 WNBA Finals games)
Regular Season Record: 4-8 (W/L)
Playoff record: 3-0 (W/L)
Overall record: 7-8 (W/L)
Las Vegas is a HORRIBLE matchup for Sue Bird
Sue Bird is still a top point guard in the WNBA but there’s no sugar-coating it, the Aces team is a horrible matchup for her. Defensively, there is no easy option for her to match up with. At age 41, Bird is between 12-17 years older than the three guards Las Vegas runs with. She is not able to keep up with the speed and offensive moves of Kelsey Plum or Chelsea Gray. And she is too small to guard Jackie Young who uses her height and strength to bully Bird when they’re paired up against each other.
Bird spent most of this game on either Jackie Young or Kelsey Plum. The two of them combined for 37 points. Maybe it was because of the effort and energy used to try and stop those two but from an offensive standpoint, Bird was not effective at all. Shooting just 1-5 FG and tallying just three points in this game. There was a game last season against Vegas where she didn’t score at all which is likely the last time she was held scoreless.
She did have a team-high seven assists but also committed four turnovers including a couple of uncharacteristic ones late in the game that helped Vegas put the game away.
Hopefully, Sue will be able to put forth a better performance the next time these two teams meet. But I do feel that this is a matchup she’s always going to struggle with because of the players she has to go up against.
Jersey Count
Seattle wore their white and green Heroine jerseys for the first time this season and lost to Las Vegas. Last season they actually had their best record of any jersey combination while wearing the Heroine jerseys finishing the 2021 season 9-4 while wearing their Whites.
Records per jersey type this season:
Rebel: 1-0
Explorer: 0-0
Heroine: 0-1
Overall Record: 1-1
Up Next
The Storm face the Phoenix Mercury in a Home and Away series. First on the road in Phoenix, Arizona on Wednesday, May 11th at 7:00 PM (Prime Video) and again on Saturday back at Climate Pledge Arena at 12:00 PM noon on ABC. Both of these games will be Commissioner’s Cup games. The Storm are currently 1-1 in the CC games this season so hopefully, they can pick up two more victories this week.
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Photo Credits to Neil Enns/Seattle Storm/WNBA Photography Teams.