Aces 98, Liberty 81: Champs for a reason
The champs show the upstarts how far they have to climb
The first time Luke Skywalker confronts Darth Vader he gets his hand chopped off. The first villain Spiderman ever fights is the Chameleon; by the end of it, the public’s convinced Spidey’s the villain. Italy started both world wars on the losing side before switching teams. Michael Jordan’s Bulls lost to the Pistons in five games, then six the next year and seven the year after before finally besting them. No video game boss worth their salt gets beat the first time you fight them. Wanna be a hero? Get ready to taste blood. Yours.
The New York Liberty announced their ambitions with an offseason for the ages and a 10-3 start to the season. Last night was their first match-up with the defending champion Las Vegas Aces. If the Libs are gold, the Aces are platinum. Adding three Hall of Famers to a losing team gets you a contender. Adding a Hall of Famer in Candace Parker and a starter from two title-winners in Seattle in Alysha Clark gets you on the short-list of greatest WNBA team ever. Vegas became the third team in league history to start out 14-1 while handing New York their worst loss of the season. They’re the champs for a reason. For a few.
The Aces know they’re going to get their opponent’s best effort every night. They’re ready for it. The arena was rocking before the game even tipped off.
Las Vegas is renowned for its firepower, with good reason. They’re a de facto All-Star team. Where else would you see a two-time MVP center drive and kick to a two-time MVP forward in the corner who swings it to a wide-open All-Star who was the top pick in her draft class?
Both teams start five former All-Stars, but like wine and good cheese, starters improve given time to mature. The Aces, other than Parker, have played and won together. The W’s current Death Lineup is them throwing out Parker, A’ja Wilson, Chelsea Gray, Kelsey Plum and Jackie Young. Consider how good the Liberty starting five have been in ripping off 10 wins from 14 games despite still getting to know one another. Then consider they were outscored by the Aces’ starters 78-49.
If you had to point to a scene for the crime it was the third quarter, when a seven-point gap at half ballooned to 20 as Wilson and Young alone outscored the Liberty. But while the Vegas offense is brilliant enough to blind Oppenheimer, they’re also the W’s second-rated defense. Courtney Vandersloot could surely attest to this; her six turnovers shook the Lib’s orchestrating ostinato from steady line to helter skelter dot. The Aces turned 17 Liberty turnovers into 22 points.
But this game wasn’t decided in the third so much as it was decided last year, and the year before that and before that. One franchise wants what the other has. The Liberty aspire; the Aces inspire. Rome wasn’t built in a day. The champs are the champs for good reason. It’s gonna take getting knocked down more and getting back up even more before New York can get where it wants to. Still, when seeking a turnaround, there’s no better medium to work with than time. Remember: Blockbuster was once the big bad, and Netflix the upstart wanna-be.
