Chelsea Gray is still rehabbing an injury and hasn’t played this season. Fellow guard Jackie Young was ill and not with the team in Sunday’s loss. Coach Becky Hammon was ejected late in the game after two technical fouls.
And the two-time defending champion Las Vegas Aces are getting every opponent’s best shot.
It adds up to a 5-4 record and Las Vegas dropping to No. 7 in ESPN’s WNBA Power Rankings.
The Aces went 1-2 this past week, and it’s the nature of the Power Rankings that teams can move up and down dramatically week to week. The Aces could rocket back up soon, especially if they right the ship this week. They face the Minnesota Lynx, Phoenix Mercury and last season’s WNBA Finals opponent, the New York Liberty (3 p.m. ET Saturday, ABC). The Liberty, winners of seven in a row, replace the Connecticut Sun at No. 1.
Las Vegas star A’ja Wilson — who is the MVP front-runner — said after Sunday’s 96-92 loss to the Los Angeles Sparks that there are benefits to early adversity.
“Yeah, we’re in a lull right now, it doesn’t feel…
