3 Important Numbers for the Las Vegas Aces Halfway through the Season
The Aces lie on the brink of the playoff picture as it stands. As they kick off the second half of their season tonight, they must improve as a whole. The team has taken a step back, but perhaps we can shine a light on what they season has become.
.500
.500 - Your dead on average in many WNBA statistics. The Aces sit at 11-11 right now, which is a .500 record. When you dive into their team stats, they are average is just about every category. Of 14 WNBA teams, here is where they lie in many categories: 7th in Win%, 9th in PPG, 10th in FG%, 8th in 3PT%, 10 in RPG, and 7th in Turnovers. It is no secret that they are playing average basketball, and that will not cut it. A'ja Wilson and company will have to get things together to stay a playoff team not get swept by the Liberty or Lynx.
2
2 - The longest win streak they have had all season. The Aces have struggled to get any momentum rolling on their season. Despite constant high scoring efforts for A'ja Wilson and Jackie Young, they are a very up and down team. On the other side of the column, they have also only lost 3 games in a row once this season. Las Vegas has clearly shown ability to win, now they just need to get on a streak. A 4-5 game winning streak would do wonders.
18.2
18.2 - The amount of bench points per game by the Aces. This ranks them at 10th/13 in the WNBA. When you view the leading scorers in each Aces game thus far this season, it glares obvious that they score in big ways. Between Jackie Young and A'ja Wilson, they had 9 games where at least one of them scores 25+ points. In a league where 80 points is about the average, that means usage is over 30%. The Aces appear to not play much team basketball, but they let it run through Wilson and Young.
On the other hand, they are 6-3 in those 25+ point affairs, so the counterargument says that Becky Hammon knows what she's doing with her stars. Nonetheless, basketball is a team game and the Aces lack the depth to play enough of it.
Thomas Carelli is a sportswriter based on Northern New Jersey. He is a massive New York Jets and Mets fan, but that is not where is sports fandom stops. He loves to watch and play golf, all things football, baseball, and much more. If he can watch it, he will. Thomas graduated from William Paterson University in 2018 with a Bachelor's Degree in Sport Management. He spent 4 years working at a local golf course, volunteered past PGA events, and spent some part-time experience with the New York Jets events team. His passions for sport runs deep and his articles show for it.