FSM Essential Recap: Aces vs Sparks - Game 13 - 2022

FSM Essential Recap: Aces vs Sparks – Game 13 – 2022

Franchise Sports Media

Las Vegas Aces (11-2)  |  Los Angeles Sparks (5-8)

 

 

After five days between games, the Las Vegas Aces went into a star-studded Crypto.com Arena and handed the Los Angeles Sparks an 89-72 loss. The Aces dominated from the opening tip to the final horn. Here are three positive takeaways from the game.

 

TAKEAWAYS

Aces chose the right center: 

After a disappointing three-year run (two seasons since Liz Cambage missed the Bubble), it was time to split up the A’ja Wilson-Liz Cambage pairing for good — precisely what happened in the most recent offseason. The Aces‘ front office signed Wilson to a two-year, $398,422 contract that runs through 2024, as they (the organization) and Cambage agreed to part ways. Liz ended up inking a deal during the free agency to play in Los Angeles, somewhere she had long desired to be.

Fast-forward to May 23rd and the two centers met as opponents for the first time in years. The Aces ran the Sparks off the Michelob ULTRA Arena court, and Wilson played very well. And somehow, it got worse for Cambage and the Sparks on June 11th when the two matched up for a second time.

In what felt like a statement game of sorts, A’ja Wilson played her very best game of the 2022 season, pouring in 35 points, 11 rebounds, two steals, and four blocks in the wire-to-wire 89-72 win. No Spark, neither Ogwumike sister nor Cambage had any answers for Wilson. And while this is far from a comparison between the two players, I think the Aces should be feeling good about their investment.

 

Lots of rest, very little rust:

Las Vegas had gone five days since last playing a game. Yet, there was seemingly no rust when the starting five stepped on the court Saturday night. One could point to the fact that the Aces fell behind 18-13 over the first half of the first quarter, but that felt like it had more to do with a hungry Los Angeles Sparks team playing with a new head coach and in front of a large home crowd than it did with the Aces being rusty.

And on the topic of rest, coach Hammon‘s squad was able to get a little bit towards the latter part of the game despite being down a couple of key players. A’ja Wilson (33) and Kelsey Plum (37) were the only two Aces to play more than 30 minutes on Saturday night. It’ll be important that Hammon keeps the main players as fresh as possible, given how depleted their bench is. The more blowout wins, the better.

 

The defense was in peak form:

When coach Hammon speaks after games, she always mentions how much of the team’s success rides on their defense. She ranks it as the highest priority on a game-to-game basis. So she’ll surely get some good sleep seeing how downright excellent the defense was on Saturday. Here are a few key stats:

• The Sparks shot only 36.6 percent from the field, which was their third-lowest of the season.
• Vegas held Los Angeles to a season-low 26 points in the paint, limiting Liz Cambage to just six points on 3 of 6 shooting.
• L.A. scored only four second-chance points throughout Saturday’s game.

 

KEY PERFORMERS:

A’ja Wilson (Aces) – 35 PTS, 11 REBS, 4 BLKS, 2 STLS

Dearica Hamby (Aces) – 20 PTS, 8 REBS, 3 STLS, 3/3 3PT

Kelsey Plum (Aces) – 17 PTS, 8 ASTS, 2 STLS

Nneka Ogwumike (Sparks) – 16 PTS, 9 REBS, 2 STLS, 2/4 3PT

 

Las Vegas will have three days off before it heads to Dallas to try and extend its winning streak to three games. The Aces will take on the Wings on Wednesday, June 15th, and you can catch the game live at 10:00 am PST. Check back with us after the game for a recap and analysis.

 

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-Cole Huff– Franchise Sports Media