The Las Vegas Aces (19-8) entered Thursday’s game against the New York Liberty (16-12) three games back of Minnesota for the WNBA’s top playoff seed. But the Aces have the worst defensive rating amongst the current playoff teams. With the trade deadline looming at 12 p.m. PDT on Aug. 2, and the Aces handcuffed by their salary cap situation, it’s not something that will likely be addressed with personnel changes.

Las Vegas is currently carrying nearly $276,000 in dead cap salaries and are over the hard cap, meaning they’d have to trade a substantial contract to add a player and get under the salary cap. Jewell Loyd’s $800,000 deal could bring back something, but getting an upgrade over her would be unlikely, despite what should be a team-friendly contract for the next two years. She’s their fifth-best defender and top 60 in defensive win shares, and Loyd’s posted the fifth-best offensive rating amongst current Aces. Las Vegas might benefit from getting bigger, especially if Napheesa Collier stays in Minnesota and plays alongside All-Star Natasha Howard. That might not happen, though.

The Athletic’s Annie Costabile identified Collier, the MVP runner-up the past two seasons, as a potential trade chip given her expiring contract and the arrival of rookie and MVP candidate Olivia Miles. If Lynx president and head coach Cheryl Reeve can’t reach a deal with MVPhee on an extension by Thursday, the Lynx could very well flip Phee for frontcourt depth (like Cameron Brink?) and first-round picks. 

When asked how she would feel about Collier leaving the league-leading Lynx, Aces’ head coach Becky Hammon said, “Well, I wish she’d come to Vegas, but she’s not coming here. Talk about another one that’s great and always going to be in those MVP conversations. Look, I don’t get too into the chatter. Until a deal is made and done – in ink…some of these things are just talk, and I’ve got other things to worry about than chatter.”

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The Lynx NEED to win a championship this year after having the best regular-season team this year, last year and the year before that. Collier couldn’t do it the past two seasons, but with the addition of Miles, they’ve been unstoppable – even with Collier out after offseason surgeries for much of the year. They outscored the Toronto Tempo 31-14 in the third quarter on Thursday and won 104-72. As constructed, they are overwhelming, featuring a starting five of All-Stars either this year or last.  

The Aces will get their first shot at the Collier-led Lynx in Las Vegas on Saturday, Aug. 15. They barely survived the Olivia Miles-led Lynx, 100-97, back on June 13. If Las Vegas fails to improve its roster, the defense will have to improve immensely to hang with the best team in the WNBA by a mile. Minnesota boasts an 11.2 net rating – the next closest is Indiana at 7.5. Las Vegas is fourth with a net rating of 6.2.

The good news is that Las Vegas took down a playoff team in the Liberty on Thursday night, 104-99. The bad news is New York has been injured and sliding down the standings since winning the Commissioner’s Cup Championship. The Liberty are 4-6 in their last 10 games and now occupy the eighth and final playoff spot. 

Jackie Young hit three treys to force a Liberty timeout with 6:41 left in the first and the Aces up 14-12. Young then hit Chelsea Gray for an open three to make it 19-18. Young was 6-for-7 with 15 points and an assist early in the first quarter. She’d finish with 29 points on 7-for-11 shooting and went 12-for-12 at the free throw line.  

The Aces led 52-44 at halftime, but turnovers by Vegas and offensive rebounds by the Liberty got New York back in it. It was 58-54 with 7:46 left in the third quarter. Hammon challenged a foul call on Gray during a fastbreak layup and won to keep it a four-point game, which ended up being important because Gray picked up her fourth foul with 2:48 left in the third.

A’ja Wilson hit a straightaway trey to make it 76-66 with under a minute left in the third. NaLyssa Smith hit a layup over three defenders to push the Aces’ lead to six. She returned to action after being out last game for an undisclosed reason. Gray took a rough charge on Jobquel Jones to keep it 65-61 – a gutsy play given her foul trouble – but the call was confirmed after the Liberty challenged.

Breanna Stewart knocked down a step-in three from straightaway that made it 81-76 Aces with Gray ready to check back into the game with 8:30 remaining. Stewart then made it a one-possession game with a short jumper over Smith, but Wilson knocked down a pair of free throws to bring her third-quarter scoring total to 19 on 8-of-10 shooting. She finished with 33 points on 11-for-22 shooting from the field and hit 10 of 11 free throws. Wilson also had 10 rebounds, six assists and two blocks.

Another baseline jumper from Stewart made it 83-82, and Stewart hit another jumper in the paint through a foul for a chance to tie it with 6:21 left. She missed the free throw, though, finishing with 26 points and 11 rebounds on 10-for-20 shooting. Gray then picked up her fifth foul defending Stewart in the post, but she came back on the other end to hit a floater that made it 90-87 with 4:30 left. 

Wilson’s second block led to a layup to push the lead to five. Gray hit a three on a well-executed sideline inbounds play to make it 95-87 with three minutes left. Sabrina Ionescu threw the ball away with 90 seconds left, costing New York a chance to cut it to one possession, but Vegas gave the ball right back, and Stewart got paint points to make it a two-point game. Wilson took Jonquel Jones off the dribble to the post for an and-one, and it was 98-93 with less than a minute remaining. 

Gray took an elbow from Ionescu that was called a blocking foul on Gray. After a review, the call was upheld, keeping New York’s hopes alive. The refs might’ve missed one on a turnover by Wilson on the ensuing possession. Wilson was walking back to defend as if she knew she was last to touch the ball before going out of bounds. Young made it 100-95 with a pair of free throws, and hit two more to ice the game.

It was just the third win in 13 tries against the Liberty for Coach Hammon since the 2023 WNBA Finals. New York is the only team Hammon does not have a .500-plus record against in her career.