LAS VEGAS — Rich in the experience of having done this before, the defending champion Las Vegas Aces are in no rush to make any major lineup decisions ahead of their Ring Night season opener against the Phoenix Mercury on May 9.
Boosted by the additions of three more veterans and two rookies, coach Becky Hammon will likely use the first few games of the campaign to try and figure out the perfect starting five balance.
After two pre-season outings, we know in which direction Hammon is leaning. Newcomer Stephanie Talbot got the nod in both the 94-78 win over Japan and the 101-84 defeat at Dallas on Sunday.
A savvy forward, Talbot lined up next to A’ja Wilson and NaLyssa Smith in the frontcourt and posted 8 points on 2-6 FG in 19 minutes against the Wings. Three-time champion guard Jewell Loyd dropped to the bench after starting against Japan — though she played the most minutes (28) of all Aces.
Having preached defense all off-season, Hammon would not have been pleased with how her team opened their final tuneup game before the season officially commences.
The Aces fell behind the young Wings 35-20 in the opening frame and were never able to claw their way back into the game after receiving the punch. Hammon wasn’t thrilled, but that’s what these games are for. To figure things out. She is not new to this.
“Defensively, we’re going to be a work in progress,” Hammon said during the Aces’ national Zoom media availability on Monday. “We’re still early in training camp. But the good thing is that I have a team that knows what it takes and what it looks like.
“Now, it’s just about building those habits and being consistent. And being the team that takes pride in every possession. We want to have that sense of urgency on every possession.”
Wanting to establish that defensive identity from the get go may well eliminate Loyd from starting contention — at least for now.
Known as more of a bona fide scorer, Loyd shone in a ‘sixth woman’ role in the Aces’ championship run last year.
The former Seattle Storm star came straight into the Aces’ first five after being traded in a deal that involved Kelsey Plum going to the Los Angeles Sparks last January. However, Loyd fully heated up once Hammon made the lineup tweak.
Loyd averaged 10.4 points per game and shot 36.3% from the field and 35.4% from 3-point range in 25 games as a starter in the regular season. In the 19 games that she came off the bench, her scoring volume and efficiency skyrocketed — prompting Hammon to roll with Loyd in that role in the playoffs.
Loyd poured in 16.2 points per game on 50.9% FG and 43.6% 3PT shooting splits the rest of the regular season.
And though her scoring numbers decreased in the post-season — averaging just under 10 points per tilt — Loyd still logged starter minutes (over 29 per game) and shot an excellent 40% from beyond the arc.
Loyd leading the second unit is clearly something that works and not something that Hammon intends on changing before the Aces tip off their second title defense in the last three years.
“We haven’t talked about anything,” Loyd said during the Aces’ media day last week when asked about her role going into the season. “It’s really just about getting in the groove of training camp. It’s revving up. We haven’t talked about anything yet.”
There have been no updates on that front this week. But it feels as though everything is still on the table as Hammon knows that she has a lot of talent at her disposal and that the right formula will need to be cracked sooner rather than later — if the Aces want to avoid the same rough start to their campaign as they had a year ago.
“We have a very deep roster,” Hammon said. “I feel like the new players have picked up on our system fairly quickly. It’s also helpful that I have a lot of vets that can point people in the right direction, so I don’t have to do that much (system) coaching. There are a lot of coaches on the floor on our team, which is nice.”
Hammon wants her team to defend better this year while continuing to utilize her patented space and pace playbook on offense. With that, newcomers Brianna Turner and Chennedy Carter emerge as potential candidates to start games soon.
Turner is a proven defensive specialist and Carter, although a prime contender to be an energizer bunny off the bench for the Aces, is the type of guard who fits playing a fast-paced brand of offense like a glove.
The Aces have the rest of this week to iron out as many creases as they can before the games start counting. Hammon said that it’s always harder to do that when you have a target on your back. However, she believes that she has a group of players that wants to be great just as much as she does.
The first step to going back-to-back is to keep obsessing over the little details. Hammon says that is the difference between good and great teams.
The second step is playing for each other night in and night out. That is the Aces’ next point of emphasis.
“We have elite talent, but we have to turn that talent into a team,” Hammon added. “A team that runs for each other, that does all the dirty work for your partner to have success on the court. We always want to play unselfishly. We want to give our teammates room to play and get stuff accomplished.
“Pace is also always super important. That’s number one. Getting out and running, spacing, and making other teams have to guard us full court.”