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MA ForpelESPN.com
Las Vegas — usually Las Vegas Aces Coach Becky Hammon is no screamer. She’ll certainly get her point across, but if she can do it with even the measured tone of voice she’s known for, that’s her preference.
However, in some situations (in this case Game 1 of the Best of 5 WNBA Finals), a different approach may be required. Ace won the final game for the first time in franchise history, Connecticut Sun Here at 67-64 on Sunday, they did just that in the second half aided by halftime torching from their coaches.
“Oh, I was on fire,” Hamon said of his conversation with No. 1 seed Ace in the locker room. True to form, they just step up and do it.
“In real life they don’t even yell. But there’s this strong feeling that they have to play a certain way and if they don’t do it, they get annoyed. But at the end of the day, they know it.” They’re smart. They get it.”
Aces earned another dynamic duo performance from season MVP Aja Wilson When chelsea grayWilson has 24 points, 11 rebounds and 4 blocked shots, while Gray has 21 points and 3 assists.
Gray also charged late fees. Her offense wasn’t the only thing that caught her attention in the WNBA playoffs. Hamon called it an afternoon play.
Gray and Wilson were asked to restate what Hammon said to them at halftime, but both declined.
“We have kids watching,” joked Gray, to which Wilson added, “You mean you didn’t hear?”
“She relied on us to play our style defensively,” Gray continued. That’s the edited version, I can’t tell you everything.”
Hammon summarized: Ace didn’t score points in the paint-and-rebound battle, hustle his points, or make it difficult for the Sun to score transition points or second his chances.
“You can go down the list — we didn’t do any of those,” Hamon said.
Credit also goes to No. 3-seeded Connecticut, who knocked out defending champions Chicago in a five-game semifinal series.The Sun won his MVP for 2021 jonkel joneswith one of the most relentless players in the league Alyssa ThomasBoth are strong, determined forwards.
“Messy” has become a buzzword around the sun this WNBA postseason. This is due to his ability to use physical prowess to separate other teams from what they do best. But Sun is nothing like the 1970s Philadelphia Flyers’ Broad Her Street Bully. He played rough to overcome his lack of talent against other teams. The Sun has many unique talents. But with Sky and Ace he’s facing two very good offenses in a row, Connecticut hoped to physically wear them out.
For the most part it worked in the final series against Chicago. But while the Aces are not a deep team, no one has yet managed to run them out this season.
That said, the Sun players didn’t look disappointed with their play on Sunday, aside from missing out on a win.
“That means we have to have a lot of confidence after this game,” said Thomas, who led the Suns with 19 points, 11 rebounds and five assists. “It was a three-point game and we had a chance to draw.
“There are some things we can improve on. Of course we can shoot more, but overall it was a difficult game.”
Both teams had star players who struggled on 9-1 shots, canceling each other out.the sun’s Dewana Bonner Ace’s Kelsey Plum I had six. Bonner’s final mistake came from her efforts to tie the game in the final seconds.
“It was an ugly match,” Plum said. “As a competitor, I want to help my team win. That’s one of the ways I’ve been doing it all season. I have.”
But Hamon pointed out that even the offensively uncharacteristic Plum contributes in other ways. Dearika HumveeHe started most of the season before being sidelined with a knee injury in August.
“I think Plum’s defense in the end was really exciting. She played hard,” Hamon said. “Her shot didn’t drop and she found another way to influence the game. After all, that’s what you have to have, that kind of mentality.”
“Dialika, I agree. In the first half, something I didn’t catch came out, and it completely changed the face of the game.” [in the second half]First of all, it’s professional, but just ready to go.her mentality is more physical [play] mentality. That’s what we needed and that’s what we told them. “
