Becky Hammon highlights major deficiency for Aces, forcing her to play 4 guards

On Saturday, Las Vegas Aces head coach Becky Hammon highlighted a major inadequacy in her lineup. She fielded four guards during the season opener, as the Aces faced the reigning champions, the New York Liberty, at the Barclays Center. Hammon revealed her team lacked a proper number four, which cost her team the game, as they lost by a score of 92-78.

During her post-game presser, the head coach was asked about her rotation, which saw her field four guards at one point. Highlighting a major deficiency in her roster, she replied:

"I mean, we knew we were going to be small, we have no Crystal Bradford, Meg's out (Gustafson), I mean, we don't really have a four. A'ja was our only four. I had two fives and a four," Becky Hammon explained. (14:14 Onwards)

Becky Hammon's comments stemmed from the Aces' lack of forwards in her team. The Aces started with A'ja Wilson and Kiah Stokes in the lineup, and both are natural centers. The latter was on the court for 18 minutes and was replaced by guards Tiffany Mitchell and Dana Evans. This left the Vegas franchise with four guards on the court, which was a deficiency during the game.

The Las Vegas Aces have two forwards on their roster, Kierstan Bell and Crystal Bradford. However, Bell is more accustomed to playing as a three, while Bradford was suspended from this game. She will be available for the next game, as the Aces will hope to integrate her into the starting five as soon as possible.

Being the first game of the season, there is plenty of time to make amends. The Aces had a bright start but eventually lost by 16 points as Breanna Stewart's 25 points sealed the victory for the NY Liberty.

Becky Hammon expresses her thoughts on her team's "disappointing" opening night display

The Las Vegas Aces began their WNBA 2025 season with a trip to the Big Apple. Facing the reigning champions in their backyard, the Aces were put to the test early on and started well. The first quarter ended with the Liberty holding a one-point lead, but things quickly went south in the second half as the Aces were behind by 14 points at the break.

Becky Hammon expressed her thoughts about this "disappointing" display, as she urged her team to defend better:

"We just have a lot of work to do. I mean, plain and simple, the defense was disappointing, really disappointing. We didn't execute schemes, I thought we were soft," she said. (11:17 onwards)

The Aces will travel to Connecticut on Sunday, as they face the Sun in their second game of the season.

About the author

Arian Kashyap is a basketball journalist at Sportskeeda with over two years of experience at Essentially Sports and Spice Bite and a Bachelor's in Physical Education and Sports Sciences.

Arian's favorite team is the Miami Heat and it’s mainly down to Dwyane Wade being his favorite player of all time. Arian loved how explosive Wade was as a player and he had all the attributes, whether that be shooting, defending or passing. Arian really liked how he won titles both with and without a dynasty behind him.

Arian has also worked with Bhaichung Bhutia Football Schools and was the manager for a Delhi-based women’s team called Garwhal Untied. Garwhal won the Delhi league and were runners-up during his tenure.

Arian has judged essay writing competitions for the Commonwealth Students Welfare Group of India in 2023 and was a part of the U-14 team for the Bhaichung Bhutia Football Schools academy that qualified for the AIFF Round in 2023.

When not working or watching sports, Arian likes riding his motorcycle and reading.

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Edited by Dipayan Moitra