Aces battling fatigue as they begin 4-game road trip

There are eight games remaining on the Aces’ regular-season schedule. On the surface, they appear to be set up for a nice run into the playoffs.

Only one game during the final stretch — an Aug. 28 matchup against the New York Liberty in Brooklyn, New York — is against a team with a winning percentage above .500 entering Tuesday. The Aces’ final three games are against the Seattle Storm and Phoenix Mercury, both stuck on nine wins in mid-August.

Aces coach Becky Hammon doesn’t see it that way. She believes the team’s toughest challenges lay in front of it.

“We’re definitely getting into the toughest part of our schedule right now,” she said after Saturday’s 78-72 loss to the Los Angeles Sparks.

The Aces aren’t underestimating their opponents, but Hammon also has an understanding of the team’s building fatigue. The defeat against the Sparks was the Aces’ fifth game in nine days. The team got one off day Sunday, before heading on the road Monday

Tuesday begins another grueling stretch for the Aces, with four games in seven days, traveling from Atlanta to Chicago, then on to Washington D.C. and Brooklyn before heading back to Las Vegas.

The Aces (28-4) play the Atlanta Dream (16-16) at 4 p.m. Tuesday at the Gateway Center at College Park Arena in Atlanta.

Hammon said she’s noticed the fatigue impacting her team, particularly their shooting. The Aces made 30 percent of their 3s during their past three regular-season games. They ranked ninth in the WNBA during that span.

Reserve center Cayla George (5 of 10 from 3) and All-Star guard Kelsey Plum (8 of 20 from 3) are the only players shooting better than 33 percent from distance during the past three games.

Add in the Commissioner’s Cup Championship game, where Hammon’s team was a brutal 19.2 percent from 3, and the numbers get worse.

“We can’t make the rim get bigger,” reigning MVP A’ja Wilson said. “We’re not trying to miss, but I guess it’s just one of those things where we’re in a little funk. But I guarantee you, when it starts clicking and we start getting back to our ways, I have no doubt in who we are and how we’re going to approach the next game.”

The emergence of George and reserve wing Kierstan Bell has been crucial for the Aces. Since two-time MVP Candace Parker underwent surgery for her fractured left foot in early July, Hammon has mainly played a six-player rotation — the starting five from the 2022 championship team plus veteran wing Alysha Clark.

The heavy minutes are taking their toll. Saturday, Hammon said the 36-year-old Clark, who was a late scratch with a back injury during the Aces’ 86-65 win against the Dream Aug. 13 at Michelob Ultra Arena, isn’t 100 percent healthy.

Clark, one of the most efficient 3-point shooters in league history, is 3 of 11 in the Aces’ past three regular-season games and went 0 of 5 from 3 in the Commissioner’s Cup.

Hammon knows sometimes shooters miss. She’s more annoyed with the Aces’ selfishness, which she felt raise its head against the Sparks. The Aces coach said there were opportunities to share the ball and keep it moving against Los Angeles that weren’t taken.

“I’m not frustrated we missed some wide-open ones,” Hammon said. “That happens. Nobody’s trying to miss shots. But when I see people trying to get it back in one play, I’ve got a problem with that.”

Contact reporter Andy Yamashita at ayamashita@reviewjournal.com. Follow @ANYamashita on X.