LAS VEGAS \u2014 The ink had barely dried on the printed box scores detailing a loss to the top-seeded Minnesota Lynx, but Las Vegas Aces coach Becky Hammon already had a smile on her face. \u00a0<\/p>\n
With the defeat, the Lynx came out of the regular-season series between the pair of WNBA championship contenders with a 2-1 edge \u2212 each result determined by less than 10 points.<\/p>\n
After the 92-87 loss on Aug. 15, none of that was cause for concern for Hammon. \u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI thought we gained some good information going forward,\u201d she told reporters<\/p>\n
As NaLyssa Smith sat next to Hammon at the podium, the Aces center couldn’t help but laugh as her coach’s grin grew wider.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI got my wheels already thinking here,\u201d Hammon added. \u201cIf we have to matchup with them again, we\u2019ll do some things differently.\u201d \u00a0<\/p>\n
That glee in finding the answer is what makes the Aces so interesting entering the playoffs. Las Vegas has a postseason pedigree that\u2019s been developed through winning three WNBA titles in four years. Hammon and her crew are always adjusting. That constant tinkering is why analysts assert the playoff Aces are an entirely different team, one that could \u2212 as the No. 3-seed again \u2212 go back-to-back again.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI know we’ll be prepared. We’ll be ready,\u201d Hammon told USA TODAY after one of those practices. \u201cWe have competitors at the end of the day. So, in the draws, I don’t think anybody wants us.\u201d \u00a0<\/p>\n
Becky Hammon hold plays for the postseason<\/p>\n
During the second week of the FIBA break, Hammon and her players were hard at work on defense, drilling rebounding and honing in on pickup points. \u00a0They played pickup to improve their conditioning and build chemistry. They worked to acclimate Kalani Brown, the team\u2019s emergency pickup after Smith went out for the season with a knee injury. \u00a0<\/p>\n
But potentially most importantly, they worked on schematic things Hammon has never asked them to do in a game. Opponents can never be too sure what Hammon might do in the postseason. Neither can her players. \u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWe definitely hold things. Even sometimes adjustments. Like I said, we’re always information gathering. \u00e2\u0080\u00a9And we’re information gathering for the postseason, not so that we can win every regular-season game,\u201d Hammon told USA TODAY. \u00a0<\/p>\n
That much was on display after Hammon and the Aces opened their 2025 WNBA Finals series with the Phoenix Mercury by surprising Nate Tibbetts and his team with a\u00a0zone defense in Game 1 that set the tone for the Aces to win the championship in a sweep. \u00a0<\/p>\n
Hammon and her clipboard are liable to make changes like that on either side of the ball. It\u2019s a process that starts as soon as preparation for the season begins. \u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cIn training camp, she’ll put a play in, but then she won’t use it until the end of the season,\u201d Aces forward Kierstan Bell told USA TODAY. \u201cThere\u2019s a lot of plays that she hasn\u2019t gone over yet, a lot of defenses that she hasn\u2019t gone over yet. You don\u2019t want nobody stealing your playbooks early on. Sometimes you just gotta keep it in the boat. And run it at the right time.\u201d \u00a0<\/p>\n
Hammon is constantly quizzing her players to ensure they\u2019re keeping every play or scheme in their mind, even if it’s one they\u2019re not using.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
“She understands that you never want to see a play for the first time in a crucial situation \u2212 mind you, that also will happen, because we do have a veteran team,\u201d guard Jewell Loyd told USA TODAY with a laugh.\u00a0<\/p>\n
With the game on the line, Hammon can pivot because she has a trust with her players forged from experience.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have a group that’s been together.\u00a0Jack(ie Young) Chelsea (Gray), A’ja (Wilson), Jewell, Dana (Evans), they all have a really good grasp on a lot of our junk defense and the kind of things that we’re trying to do,\u201d Hammon said. \u00a0<\/p>\n
For Evans, there\u2019s an extra layer of confidence in Hammon, even if things come down to the wire in the huddle.\u00a0 \u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cOne thing about Becky; if you tell her, \u2018Can you please draw that again? I missed that,\u2019 She will draw it as many times as you need. She’s very patient with us,\u201d Evans told USA TODAY. \u201cThat\u2019s why we\u2019re not scared to (adjust).\u201d \u00a0<\/p>\n
As Evans described Hammon as a \u201cdifferent animal\u201d in the postseason, the same could be said for Aces players.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Aces players ‘flip a switch’ in the playoffs<\/p>\n
There\u2019s a saying many coaches lean on when they\u2019re trying to motivate their team to treat every moment of on-court performance like the final second of a tied game:\u00a0\u201cYou can\u2019t flip a switch!\u201d \u00a0<\/p>\n
That adage doesn\u2019t apply to the Aces.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThese guys can. They are definitely capable of flipping a switch, which most coaches hate,\u201d Hammon said. \u00a0<\/p>\n
That\u2019s why fans have come to expect an annual championship parade regardless of how bad the Aces look in the regular season.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The Aces looked terrible and still won it all after taking a pivotal 53-point loss to the Lynx last year. This time around, Las Vegas didn\u2019t have to close the regular season on a historic 16-game win streak to secure a desirable postseason seed. But that doesn\u2019t mean the team won\u2019t need more from its players when the postseason begins. \u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen you’re trying to have a championship run, you have to kind of elevate your game. You have to get it done. You have to pay attention to the details,\u201d Loyd said. \u00a0<\/p>\n
Evans, a hero in the playoffs for the Aces last year, believes the Aces can rise to the occassion again. \u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI feel like everybody just turns it up a notch and we all just really just lock in. During the season, you have to distractions, you\u2019ve got people coming to see you, you\u2019ve got people in and out,\u201d Evans said.\u00a0\u201cBut we know how important this is. It\u2019s like tunnel vision. Everybody is really locked into what we need to do.\u201d \u00a0<\/p>\n
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: The Aces have a playoff switch. Becky Hammon says they can flip it.<\/p>\n
Reporting by Callie Fin, USA TODAY \/ USA TODAY<\/p>\n
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"LAS VEGAS \u2014 The ink had barely dried on the printed box scores detailing a loss to the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":860110,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[73],"tags":[309980,99,434],"class_list":["post-860109","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-wnba","tag-portland_fire","tag-sports","tag-wnba"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/860109","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=860109"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/860109\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/860110"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=860109"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=860109"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=860109"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}