Becky Hammon Highlights Fever's Physicality Advantage Through Aliyah Boston
Las Vegas Aces head coach Becky Hammon made a strong comment about the Indiana Fever's (and specifically star center Aliyah Boston's) physicality they displayed during the Fever's 109-75 victory over Las Vegas on July 12.
When Hammon was asked about reigning WNBA MVP A'ja Wilson having to work hard to get shots near the rim during the game, she said, "I don't like posting her. I kind of like her in mid-range; I like her in space. To sit there and bang against Aliyah Boston for 40 minutes is really hard on somebody's body, especially when they allow the physicality that they do," per a YouTube video from The Ballers Magazine.
"That team was more physical than us the whole night, on both ends," Hammon added.
The Fever and Boston flexing their physicality advantage has been a common theme throughout this season, especially when Indiana is performing well on offense. There's no question that Boston is one of the strongest and most physical players in the league, and she's excellent about leveraging this size and physicality in the paint.
While A'ja Wilson might have a skill advantage over Boston, and is a more versatile scorer, the fact that Boston's paint presence makes it so Wilson can't live around the rim helps the Fever on both ends. Not only does it make Wilson's scoring arsenal more limited, but it also makes her less of a threat when securing offensive and defensive rebounds.
Boston finished Sunday's win with 19 points and 11 rebounds while being a +16 when she was on the floor. Wilson finished with 20 points and 12 rebounds but was a -13. While +/- is a flawed stat when assessing individual performance, it does a better job of conveying who was more effective in this matchup between Boston and Wilson than their respective point and rebounds totals do.
Boston was also 9-14 from the floor, while Wilson shot 9-23.
Becky Hammon Has Made Past Comments About Physicality When Playing Fever
This isn't the first time that Hammon has mentioned physicality with the Fever. She spoke about the need to be physical when guarding against Caitlin Clark last year and also went on a passionate rant about the physicality that was allowed when the Fever and the Aces played in the WNBA Semifinals last September.
"The physicality is out of control... Most of my assistants come from the NBA, and they're like, 'This level of physicality would not fly in the NBA. There would be fights,'" she said after that game.
Hammon wasn't criticizing the Fever's physicality during that contest, nor was she doing that on Sunday. If anything, she's criticizing how the referees handle this physicality. Regardless, this is an advantage the Fever will want to keep leaning in to both against the Aces and against the league's other teams.
Add us as a preferred source on Google
Grant Young covers women’s basketball for Women’s Fastbreak and Indiana Fever On SI. His coverage centers on league trends and the growth of women’s basketball, both on and off the court. He also creates digital content focused on the sport’s biggest moments and personalities.
Follow GrvntYoung