INDIANAPOLIS — It would be reductive to say that A’ja Wilson is the Las Vegas Aces. But it would not be completely untrue. There is no player whose individual performance so forcefully dictates that of her team. Wilson has the highest usage rate in the WNBA. Her presence transforms an otherwise weak defensive unit into a competent one. Wilson shapes this offense, and she fuels it, too.
That can make Las Vegas look unstoppable when the four-time MVP is at her best and very much stoppable when she is not. In Game 1 of these WNBA semifinals against the Fever, Wilson had an uncharacteristic 6-for-22 shooting, and the Aces limped to a 89–73 loss. A similar dynamic brewed for much of Game 3 on Friday. Yet it did not end the same way. Wilson went 6-for-20 shooting. But the group around her gritted through a dicey fourth quarter to win this one.
With 25 points from Jackie Young, 16 from NaLyssa Smith and 15 from Chelsea Gray, the Aces beat the Fever, 84–72. The victory put Las Vegas up 2–1 in the series and within one win of returning to the WNBA Finals. It also served as a critical example of how this roster can work even without consistent production from its star.
Of course, it’s a credit to Wilson that a stat line with 13 points, eight rebounds, four assists and three blocks stands out as underperformance. (She entered Game 3 averaging 25.8 ppg and 9.6 rpg in the playoffs so far this year.) But if this was a relatively quiet, inefficient night for her, it was still a display of how much her presence can shape a game.
“It just shows that she’s human,” Smith said. “I mean, the way she’s been playing this season, it’s hard to tell that she’s human… And even though her offense wasn’t where she wanted it to be, her defense was still on. She still had three blocks. She’s still that person that we need on the floor.”
Smith has increasingly become one of those people they need on the floor, too. When the focus in the paint is on Wilson, that opens up more space for Smith, who has shone in these last two playoff wins after an itinerant regular season. She was traded from the Fever to the Wings in February and then from the Wings to the Aces in June. It meant she never quite found her footing: This was the first season of Smith’s career in which she did not average double figures. But she has shown up in force this week against her former team. Smith had 18 points in the Aces’ win in Game 2 before following up with 16 in Game 3.
The change there has not been hard to spot. “Part of posting up is looking like you want it,” Aces coach Becky Hammon said of Smith’s performance in Game 2. “She looked like she wanted it.” That was true again in Game 3. “It’s not necessarily that we call a lot of plays for her,” Hammon went on. “She’s really picking her spots nicely.” More aggressive and more decisive, Smith has been able to work faster and more freely in the paint.
Paired with Young dashing, slashing and driving, Gray facilitating, and Dana Evans speeding off the bench, it made for the most balanced attack yet in these playoffs for the Aces. That is not to say it was their best performance: They led by just one at halftime and fell behind in a choppy third quarter. They were outrebounded and had to benefit from good fortune in the form of key missed free throws by the Fever. But it still felt like both a show of force and a statement of purpose. The Aces do not have to be perfect to win, and they do not have to rely entirely on Wilson, either.
“We have to do it collectively,” Hammon said. “We know we’re better as a group.”
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Aces Show They Don’t Always Need A’ja Wilson to Win .
