Aces 94, Sun 86: Vibes are better, but lots of fixable things

It’s clear things are better for the Connecticut Sun than they were a couple of months ago when every game was a blowout, and the other teams could inevitably empty their bench midway through the fourth quarter.

But, then again, how could they not be?


Look, we’re well aware that this is a rebuilding season, but the Sun go up double digits midway through the second quarter and suddenly there’s a non-rookie lineup of Bria Hartley, Marina Mabrey, Migna Toure, Haley Peters, and Tina Charles on the floor. Then Peters commits two fouls and by halftime, the game is tied.


We also know A’ja Wilson will go down as one of the best WNBA players and is in her prime, but it seemed like she was largely uncontested on the glass most of the contest. On a night where Wilson became the first WNBA player to score 30 and grab 20 rebounds in a game, the Sun had 23 rebounds total (Charles leading the way with five). It was Wilson’s seven offensive rebounds that were especially crushing, a couple of those (as they inevitably do) led to back-breaking kick out three-pointers.


It comes a day after Monday’s opponent, Golden State, allowed just four offensive rebounds on 36 misses (and 23 three-point misses) to Los Angeles in a convincing victory. Is the Valkyries’ personnel that much better than the Sun? Or is it just hustle stats? More on that for Monday’s preview, but you’d like a little more killer instinct from somewhere, I guess.


Then again, another key moment came early in the fourth quarter with the Sun trailing by just three, Leila Lacan was wide open for a three-pointer and missed, which allowed the Aces to get out and find Dana Evans, who drilled a three at the other end to make the lead six and Connecticut never got any closer. Rachid Meziane and crew can’t do anything about that. 


What else did we learn Sunday on an historic night for A’ja Wilson?:




 

  1. Aaliyah Edwards' debut was mixed  - The final stat line: 4 points, 4 rebounds and 2 assists in 17 minutes. She did have a couple of unforced turnovers and looked nervous, but you can see her physical strength being an asset, and obviously the Sun could use some rebounders. She is listed at 6-foot-3, but (like Aneesah Morrow) seems a bit smaller, which is going to make it hard for her to play the 5, at least long-term. But she is athletic and is worth a shot to give really good minutes to down the stretch to see how she can improve. Speaking of…. 

  2. Play the kids. Again. - Tina Charles actually only played 29 minutes in this one, and Saniya Rivers finally got back on the floor for 28 minutes and took advantage: 17 points, 4 assists, 3 steals. But Nelson-Ododa and Morrow each had less minutes than Edwards. They’re going to make mistakes, Rivers telegraphed a few passes, Lacan made a couple of poor offensive decisions, and we know Morrow and Nelson-Ododa struggle sometimes, but the team is 5-25, who cares? Mabrey had a great fourth quarter and had her best offensive game in a while: 22 points, but also had 4 turnovers. To be fair, they don’t have a direct replacement for Mabrey right now, but we shall see.

  3. Not all sunshine and rainbows for Wilson -  She did make history, but it did take A’ja Wilson 25 shots to get to 32 points and the Sun did force 6 turnovers out of her (15 in all). If the Sun could have just limited her offensive rebounds, the Aces shot just 8-for-25 from behind the arc, and those 8 or 10 points would have been the difference in the game on a night where Connecticut’s offense was pretty good (1.06 points per possession).


Player of the game:  Saniya Rivers - Coming off the bench isn’t that big a deal if you’re going to get 28 minutes and Rivers took advantage Sunday night. It does seem like being a full-time point guard will be difficult for her and there’s no natural fit for a position, but the way she wreaks havoc on defense and can get out into the open floor, she has to be on the court for the Sun this season, especially with their record.


Inside the numbers : 2 -  Number of free throws attempted by the Sun, with the Aces taking 21. It’s obvious to point to the officials, but some of that is Connecticut not attacking the basket like they need to. And some of that, of course, is Wilson standing near the basket and providing a deterrent.. 


Under the radar: Morrow scored over Wilson and decided to talk at her, which we appreciate the confidence, but that was never going to end well for her in the end. Then Lacan got into a spat with Wilson as well, this one a little more innocent-ish, Lacan is always trying to get over screens, and when Wilson set it, she somehow locked arms with Lacan and then threw her away, getting a foul (and one of her 6 turnovers). But, in general, getting A’ja Wilson mad is not wise.


If you believe in +/- stats (and they’re not perfect, but they’re something): Bria Hartley -16, Charles -15, Mabrey -7. While Rivers +7, Edwards +6, Nelson-Ododa +5. Not everything, but it is a data point.


Quotable:  “It’s a tough loss because I do think this game was winnable. We scored a lot of points, but we didn’t start the game like we were supposed to. We didn’t use the post players enough, and didn’t play with enough aggressiveness, so we ended up with only two free throws” - Rachid Meziane


Next up: Monday at Golden State, 10 p.m. EDT



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