Will scheduling cost Aces a title chance?
Natalie Esquire and Owen Pence reflect on Becky Hammon's comments about the Las Vegas Aces schedule and load management. They also dive into the Mystics performance as playoffs near.
Video Transcript
The scenario is a little bit different for the Las Vegas Aces, but the defending champs, once solidly in, in second place, have moved to third with the Indiana Fever right on their heels, and the Indiana Fever have the tiebreaker over the Aces.
So they have to be very, very, very careful not to, you know, slip, and they just came off of a really, really tough five-game, road, road stretch where, you know, they, they only won two games during that five games.
And then their next four games are really tough, too.
They have, like we mentioned, the Mystics, they're playing them tonight.
They're on a seven-game win streak.
They're gonna play the Mystics again.
They also have the Fever, who, and they, and they play the, the Minnesota Lynx again, next weekend.
And, you know, like, you might say, "Oh, the Fever, whatever, no big..." Not the Fever, the, the Dream, no big deal, because they always beat them.
But at some point, the Dream are gonna be due for one, right?
Like, they just cannot beat the Aces.
And I don't know if it's gonna happen here, but those are all tough.
That's just a tough, even though they're at home now, that's still a tough stretch of games.
And the, the Washington Mystics, even before this season, Owen, they were always kind of a tough matchup for Vegas.
They've always given Vegas a hard time, so let it be clear that, that that's not gonna be an easy matchup even if they, they do win it.
So their, their schedule gets much more reasonable after their next four games, but they're still in a really rough part of their schedule right now, like I said, with the Indiana Fever on their heels.
It's been a ludicrously difficult schedule for Las Vegas coming out of the All-Star break, and everyone has their ups and downs in terms of scheduling, but this has been especially brutal, the combination of this road trip, the caliber of opponents they've been going up against.
And then obviously this back-to-back in which Becky Hammon, a- as we're going to get to, rested the top three players on the roster on the second half in New York.
I think I, I'm not ready to press any sort of panic button here.
Before these last two losses against Minnesota and then against New York, Minnesota, best team in the league, New York, they rested their top three players.
Before that, they'd won four out of their last five, seven out of their last 10, and, and this feels to me more like scheduling than anything else.
I do think there are obviously deeper issues with this team, kinda the same issues we've discussed over the years with the Aces, their lack of depth, the perimeter defense being very shaky at the moment.
They certainly aren't inspiring a ton of confidence.
I think this Washington game will tell us a lot.
And as you brought up, the fact that they don't have the tiebreaker against Indiana is really a problem for them, and puts a lot of emphasis on their remaining, I believe, 11 games.
Because if they drop to four, they're on the same side of the bracket as Minnesota, and you have to face the best team in the league in the semifinals, not the finals.
So that is, is the, the real incentive for Las Vegas to turn it around here pretty quickly, as they return home.
Yeah, absolutely.
I, I wanna come back to that, but let's hear from Becky Hammon, because like you said, she rested her players on Sunday.
A lot of talk around that for a national TV game.
So let's hear from Becky, and then we'll, we'll follow up.
I mean, you've been around this league for a while.
You've been in the NBA for a while.
Can you remember anything like this and what it meant to, obviously you have to bench three stars to that, rest them today?
Well, I think, you know, this is, this is part of, I mean, everybody has a brutal schedule at some point.
I don't even think they do this in the NBA, though, where it's less than 24 hours.
You can check, but I'm pretty sure that's not even legal, on the NBA side.
I- you'd have to look up, look it up, but I don't recall.
But with the time change, it, it ends up being that.
But we're gonna always err on the side of health and safety for our players.
I'm not gonna put them in any kind of jeopardy to, to get hurt when we've been expending a lot of energy and traveling a lot of, miles back and forth, crisscrossing the country.
So, it is what it is.
I know these are big match-ups, and these are what people wanna see.
But you should ensure that it's fair.
You know, Owen, Becky Hammon is from the school of Pop.
Gregg Popovich, that is.
And I have to believe that, yes, I do believe this was strategic for a variety of reasons to rest their players, but I also believe she wanted to send the league a message, and I think part of what she was saying in that press conference was that.
Because the Aces also had a back-to-back earlier in the season for a game against the Indiana Fever that was actually on NBC, and they played, but it ended up being a blowout.
And you just have to know that's not the Aces' best effort, and people can say what they wanna say and that the NBA plays back-to-back games, but there is a reason the WNBA is a shorter season than the NBA.
They are women.
They are women, and I'm not trying to say they're not very talented athletes, but there's a reason why their games are not as long, right?
They're not exactly the same leagues.
And so, you know, they collectively bargain to have more games, and this year there's 44 games, and it's a season where they're gonna break in the season for the FIBA Cup, so things may even be a little bit more condensed like it would be in an Olympic year, right?
And so I understand that the league has to figure that out and work around.
That's not all their fault.
But if you want these games to be good games, to be competitive games, right, even if the CBA does allow for you to schedule a game 22 hours later, and in this case it ended up being just shy of 24 hours, it was- It was 12- it was 1:00 PM when they played on Saturday versus Minnesota, but they had to travel one time zone to the East Coast, and then they played 12:30 Eastern.
So just shy of it being a full 24 hours.
But even then, when you consider the teams they've had this entire road trip and all of the travel, you know, like, I actually don't think another team has had a schedule this crazy as the Aces.
And so while we can say every team faces it, I don't actually think anyone's has been extreme as the Aces.
And, like, this was a thing in the NBA for a while.
Sometimes they'd penalize teams.
The Warriors did it too.
Steve Kerr's done it, also from the school of Pop.
And eventually we've seen the NBA, while they haven't changed the collective bargaining agreement language, they have moved towards making sure that, like, if they're gonna have Boston playing the Lakers, they have, like, a night off in between sometimes because they're, they're pushing it and, you know, advertising it as this big match up.
And I think the WNBA's gonna have to start taking that into consideration.
I couldn't agree more.
I absolutely loved this move from Becky Hammon in every way.
You invoked the school of Pop, which is so spot on.
The man won five championships as the head coach of the Spurs, and a big part of that, one thing he always understood, was we need our players fresh for the biggest games in the playoffs.
You looked at the minute totals of their best players over the years, and they were never leading the league in minutes.
The Aces haven't had that luxury because they haven't had a roster built as deep as some of those Spurs teams.
And yet, still, Becky has always made it a really, really important part of her coaching philosophy to rest players when they need it.
And especially with someone like Chelsea Gray, who suffered a really brutal injury in 2023, is still the point guard, is still amazing, but has never been quite to that peak level that she was before her injury.
Especially with someone like Jackie Young, who we saw in 2024 post-Olympics had a foot issue, had been playing a lot of minutes, and the cumulative wear and tear rendered her way more ineffective than usual down the stretch and in the playoffs in 2024.
I don't think they were winning this game even if they play A'ja, Chelsea, and Jackie.
And so to give those three a little bit of a rest on Sunday, on Monday entering a game against Washington, who is another team that will absolutely grind you down, plays some of the best defense in the league, is the best rebounding team in the league.
Becky realized that we're gonna have to sacrifice one of these games here.
These are, these are two of the best teams we're playing in the league back to back.
And, and, and the 24 hour thing, less than 24 hours is ridiculous.
The last thing I'll say, I was at a wedding in Cincinnati this weekend, and when I looked at the schedule and saw that the Liberty were playing at 12:30 in the afternoon on a Sunday, I was perplexed.
It was, okay, it must be a, a, an ABC issue where they've got another You know, the classic WNBA excuses of, well, this was the, the fault of our, you know, broadcasting partners or whatever.
And i- in reality, it's like, no, you, you, you have to take a little bit of, of the onus, and, and responsibility for that because th- it's, it's, it's not okay.
And this is what's gonna happen, is you're gonna have a sold out crowd at Barclays Center, 19,000 people who paid to see Breanna Stewart and Jonquel Jones and Sabrina Ionescu play A'ja Wilson, Jackie Young, and Chelsea Gray, and instead they got a 40 point blowout that, that happened because the schedule is what it is.
Yeah, for sure.
And you, you mentioned, like, the fans, and Becky said, "Look, I know the fans wanna see them play."
And so she did acknowledge that, but, you know, just said, like, she's always gonna have to go towards the health of the players.
Like, this is not what they want.
And you know it's not what they want, what the players want.
And even to the extent the team they were playing, Jonquel Jones spoke at length about, you know, like, look, they have to do what's best for them.
And but also the Liberty were sort of disappointed because they wanted to kinda see where they gauge and how they, you know, play against the Aces.
And it honestly, it wouldn't have been a fair gauge because regardless, the Aces were coming off a back to back.
And, and, and so But I bring that up to say, like, while I do think overall the prioritization was load management, there's a little gamesmanship in there for Becky to, like, not let the Liberty get another win over the Aces, right?
And so she'll never say that, but I'm sure that's also, like, a factor.
The Aces have already beaten them once this year, so you guys know that both teams can beat each other.
And, you know, just sort of let that be.
And so, look, w- we'll see, but I definitely think we're gonna hear and see this more going forward.
And so I, I do think the league and its broadcast partners are just gonna have to think about their approach to, you know, how they do this if we wanna see the best players and see the most competitive games, you know?
And I know people are bringing up Minnesota playing the next day, but they did not have to travel to do that.
Their game was actually later than the Aces.
They were not in the middle of a five-game road trip, right?
So it's, it's, it's, it's still factors that were better.
And for whatever reason, whether you blame this on Becky Hammon and/or the difference in coaching philosophies, but Cheryl Reeve is willing to go a little bit more into her bench and, and, and, and th- that team is just not as top-heavy and not as reliant on, like, their three biggest stars as the Aces are.
And so And the team is not as old.
Or, well, may- but, you know, the Aces are an older team, if you will.
Not old, but you get what I'm saying.
And so- W- we, we will see what happens, but we're talking about the Aces, and we're talking about, you know, this next stretch of games, and we already mentioned it, the Mystics.
They're gonna be playing the Mystics tonight and again later in the week, and the Mystics are the hottest team in the league, Owen.
We might have been a little early last week, or maybe not.
You should always give flowers, but you, you wanted to make sure you talked about how good this Mystics team has been, and they really have been sensational.
Seven-game win streak for the, the Washington Mystics.
They've moved up in the standings.
They're firmly in the playoff picture, and I believe they will stay there, and they are a very tough opponent.
I don't think anyone wants to play this team, Owen.
I do not think anyone wants to play this team right now because they are physical, and they wear you down.
They really do.
This is the, the second best defense in the league by defensive rating.
They are first in rebound percentage, and they're young.
They're hungry.
They have an energy about them.
They have so much fun out there.
They play so together, and it's one of those situations, and I say this with the utmost respect, it's almost like they don't know any better than to just go out and compete and, and try to grind out a victory.
The fact that this team is so good in close games is unbelievably impressive to me because, and we've talked about this earlier in the season, when you think about teams that excel in crunch time, you think about teams that have a superstar, a isolation scorer who gets a clutch bucket at the end of a game.
The, the Mystics don't have that.
What they have is a team that suffocates you on the defensive end, that bludgeons you on the boards, and that scores just enough to win, and they do it by very old school style of basketball by getting the ball into the paint, playing a little high-low with Shakira Austin and Kiki Irafen.
Shakira Austin just won, hours ago, player of the week.
I mean, and, and it's so deserved.
This team has been unbelievably fun to watch.
I wanna s- shout out Sonia Citron 'cause I think she is the one who makes everything hum on both ends.
They desperately need her perimeter defense.
They desperately need her scoring and shooting, and they're really starting to find a groove.
Georgia Amoore's stats aren't jumping off the page at all, but just the fact that she's in the starting lineup and, and provides a little bit of relief from them, for them from a spacing perspective I think has been really important.
They're deep.
They bring Cody McMann off the bench.
She is a nightmare to deal with in transition, another really strong perimeter defender.
And Sydney Johnson is the perfect coach for this team.
I just couldn't be more complimentary of the Washington Mystics.
For sure.
I don't really have anything to add because you, you basically said everything that needs to said.
But the only thing I will say is maybe Sonia Citron is that person for them.
She's definitely come up clutch for them a number of times.
Uh- True and, and I, I'm teasing though.
But, like, as they- as they develop and they become better players, and they also still have some things, I think, to figure out about their roster, but as they do that, you know, she is gonna be that person.
I mean, like you mentioned, her defensive load, an incredible defender.
And so she's already doing that, carrying a lot on offense, and she's clutch.
She, she makes really big plays for them.
And so, this team is fun.
And, look, a lot of those games that they won in the seven-game win streak, six of the seven were on the road.
So, you know, we will have to see, what, you know, they are gonna look like now going on the road to play some games.
But, you know, they, like I said, s- I'm sorry, six of the seven they won were at home.
So we'll have to see what they look like when they go on the road now to play some games, but yeah, I think they I don't know.
I, I, I am not, and I Please forgive me, 'cause I do not want Aces fans coming for me.
But I would not be shocked if Mystics got one of those two games, you know?
I don't think that they will go into Las Vegas and sweep, and I would still put I'm not a betting person, but if I was, I would still put my money on the Vaku- on, on the Aces sweeping both games.
But I would not be surprised if, if Mystics stole one of those games.
I, I agree.
I, I, I would think it's probably a split.
It's really interesting th- you know, if we look ahead to the playoffs, is this sustainable is the question.
The, the Mystics are 14th in the league in offense.
That's the flip side of them being second in defense and first on the boards, is they have the second worst offense in the league, the worst turnover percentage in the league.
Can you win in the playoffs with those metrics?
Maybe not, but guess what?
If they don't, that's okay.
This season is already a, a, a massive win for Washington in terms of building for the future.
And you're right, Sonia Citron is that player in crunch time.
She's not the type of guard that I think about when I think about these isolation scorers who are unguardable in crunch time, but she does have the clutch gene on both ends.
And she's so steady, so calm.
Just the demeanor of this team in general, really fun.
And, and they add Benai Zelini-Hamilton, who's the perfect veteran presence to just be another voice in the locker room as they do enter unchartered waters here, i- in a year where they are going to make the playoffs.
Yeah.
Well, time will tell.
I can't wait to watch the game tonight and see them later this week.
But just shout out to the Washington Mids- Mystics, and their coach.
Like, you know, he should definitely be in the Coach of the Year conversations.
Really fun team to watch.
And, we will see.
It's gonna be, woo, it's gonna be fun in the playoffs.
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