The Las Vegas Aces have looked more vulnerable than vaunted amid their quest for a third straight WNBA title.
Losers of five of its past seven, Las Vegas (18-12) already has dropped twice as many games this year as it did during its 34-6 regular season in 2023.
The Aces will look to shed their recent struggles when they host the skidding Atlanta Dream in Las Vegas on Friday night.
It appeared the Aces had found their stride when they shook off a slow start to win 10 of 11 games and vault to 16-7 on July 14.
Shoddy defense, however, has contributed to Las Vegas’ 2-5 stretch since. The Aces have surrendered at least 87 points in four of those five losses, including a 93-90 setback at the lowly Dallas Wings (8-22) on Tuesday.
“At some point, people have to take accountability,” Las Vegas coach Becky Hammon said. “You have to be up in pick-and-roll. You have to block out your man. You have to go help the bigs.
” … When you know exactly what the other team needs to do and you can’t handle it, that’s concerning.”
Tuesday’s loss spoiled a 42-point outburst from A’ja Wilson, who is closing in on her third MVP award.
The seventh-year center leads the WNBA in scoring (27.1 points per game) and is second in rebounding (11.7 per game).
Wilson tallied 28 and 33 points, respectively, in the Aces’ first two meetings this season with Atlanta (10-20), which has lost three straight following a three-game win streak.
The Dream led by four points late at Seattle on Wednesday before going scoreless over the game’s final 1:39 to lose 85-81. Atlanta missed its last three shots and committed two turnovers during that span.
“I have to do a better job down the stretch of the right playcalling to make sure that we don’t have the mistakes that we had down the stretch,” Dream coach Tanisha Wright said.
Tina Charles bundled 19 points with 17 rebounds and 10 assists against the Storm on Wednesday to record the first triple-double in franchise history.
The 12th-year pro is averaging 14.6 points, 9.1 rebounds and 2.3 assists for the Dream this season.
Atlanta hosted the teams’ first two meetings this season. The Dream won 78-74 on May 31 and the Aces prevailed 84-70 on July 12.
–Field Level Media