The Las Vegas Aces could make more history

History is against the defending champions right now as the Las Vegas Aces fall to 0-2 against the New York Liberty. No team has ever come back from down 0-2 in the WNBA playoffs. The team lost their first game, 77-87, and the second game, 84-88. These were tough battles that had the Aces struggling a bit. However, if there is one team that could make a comeback, it would be this one.

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What went wrong in game one

The Aces were unable to shut down Breanna Stewart, who scored 34 points on 12-19 from the field and 2-4 from three. She was the dominating factor in the paint and will continue to be during the rest of these playoffs. Las Vegas needs to find a way to close her out in the paint.

It will be heavily on A’ja Wilson to try to close out Stewart in the center vs. center matchup. These two stars are the heavy hitters for the team. Another major factor is how Chelsea Gray performs. She didn’t do much in game one putting up only four points and one assist. Gray typically averages almost five assists per game.

Kelsey Plum put up a great performance in game one with 24 points and four assists. Jackie Young also came through with 17 points. However, once again, it was a matter of defense that led to the loss. Sabrina Ionescu scored 21 points, and Jonquel Jones scored 13.

What went wrong in game two

Here, the Aces showed a bit more explosiveness on defense, holding Stwart to 15. Ionescu was still able to put up 24, but keeping Stewart below 20 was huge for them. This time, the problem was on the offensive side.

Plum only had a six-point night, which can’t happen against this scoring machine. Gray did have a better night with 14 points and seven big assists. However, to win, it will take Plum and Gray both to contribute at least 12+ points. If this doesn’t happen, there will be almost no shot of the Aces winning.

Outside of Plum, the rest of the starting five were on top of things. They also had Tiffaney Hayes having a 10-point night off of the bench. The problem is while the rest of the Aces bench had zero, Kayla Thornton had nine, and Courtney Vandersloot had 12 for the Liberty off the bench.

How the Las Vegas Aces win game three

As mentioned, no team has ever come back from a 0-2 deficit in the playoffs. However, the Aces aren’t just a random team. They’re the back-to-back champions. They did have a bit of a bumpy season this year, but beating the Liberty three games in a row is doable for them.

It’ll be a matter of defense. Yes, Plum and Gray need to contribute heavily to the scoring column in the next game but keeping Stewart down is the biggest thing they can do. They can let Ionescu be the big-time scorer for the team; she’s had plenty of off nights and isn’t as reliable. They absolutely can’t let Stewart get hot.