When the WNBA semifinals resume Wednesday, all eyes will be on who won’t be on the court.
Atlanta Dream guard Allisha Gray has already been ruled out of Game 2 (7:30 p.m. ET, ESPN) against the New York Liberty after hurting a finger in Sunday’s opening game.
And the Las Vegas Aces’ depth is going to be seriously tested as three-time WNBA champion Jewell Loyd is listed as doubtful with a left leg injury for Game 2 (9:30 p.m. ET) against the Golden State Valkyries. Dana Evans (right knee) and Steph Talbot (left leg) are also questionable for Las Vegas.
The No. 2 seed Valkyries and 4-seed Dream lead their respective best-of-five series 1-0 and host Wednesday’s games.
What adjustments will the Dream make without Gray, their four-time WNBA All-Star who is considered day-to-day after Wednesday? ESPN breaks down what Gray’s absence and the uncertainty surrounding Loyd, Talbot and Evans mean for Atlanta and Las Vegas.
Who moves into Atlanta’s starting lineup in place of Gray?
Philippou: Depth hasn’t been a strength of Atlanta’s this season: Outside of DeWanna Bonner (20.8 minutes per game), no one else is averaging more than 15 minutes off the bench. Bonner would make sense to enter the starting lineup: She started the second half on Sunday after Gray was ruled out, playing 18 of the final 20 minutes. Isobel Borlase (10 minutes), Te-Hina Paopao (four minutes) and Madina Okot (two minutes) were the only other players to see time in Game 1 and combined for four points.
But the Dream didn’t really miss Gray on Sunday. Their decisive third-quarter spurt happened without her, and Bonner and Jordin Canada stepped up to combine for 48 points, more than double their combined regular-season average (20.2).
Still, surviving one game without Gray is different from surviving the bulk of a series without her, let alone against a team as tough as New York. A strong two-way player, Gray was Atlanta’s leading scorer in the regular season (19.0 PPG) and in the playoffs (22.0) up until her injury. Her absence puts a lot more pressure on backcourt mate Rhyne Howard, Atlanta’s second-leading scorer, as well as Canada and Bonner to be consistently productive.
How will New York look to adjust?
Philippou: Sunday would have been the ideal time to do this, as the Liberty mostly controlled the first half and led 40-37 at halftime, at which point Gray had been ruled out. But then the third quarter happened, and despite a fourth-quarter rally that cut the deficit to five, New York couldn’t completely get over the hump.
Regardless of the Gray factor, the vibe around Liberty practice Tuesday was that they felt like their meltdown in the third was self-inflicted and then they didn’t quickly get into something offensively to settle themselves down.
Multiple players also said the Liberty thought the Dream were going to do something a little different defensively than they ended up doing -- getting into the passing lanes in the half court and not just in transition -- and “planned too much around that instead of playing our style and offensively doing what we know we can and having them cater [to us],” according to Breanna Stewart.
“[We have to go] back to our principles and making sure that we drive the nail, that we wheel, that we create open opportunities for our teammates, and when we see two, we kick it,” Stewart said. “And from there, it’s pretty easy reads.”
How important is it if Aces guard Jewell Loyd and forward Stephanie Talbot are not available for Game 2?
Voepel: This is a big concern. Loyd isn’t the high-volume scorer she was for many years, but she can still be an effective offensive weapon and defender. In Game 3 of the first round, the Aces beat Indiana by 11 -- the number of points that Loyd scored. She also had three rebounds and two steals in her 35 minutes and contributed a lot to the Aces’ defensive effort against Caitlin Clark.
Loyd started that game because Talbot, who started 43 of 44 regular-season games and the first two playoff games, missed the first-round finale with a leg injury. Talbot also was out for Game 1 of the semifinals, which Loyd again started. Then Loyd suffered a leg injury and missed most of the second half of the 71-60 loss at Golden State. That was the Aces’ lowest point total of the season.
With Loyd now listed as doubtful and Talbot as questionable for Wednesday, the burden is on an already thin roster. Las Vegas lost starter NaLyssa Smith to a season-ending injury in August, but the Aces still finished the regular season strong. Potentially taking away three more players makes it a lot harder.
The Aces rely a lot on their big three of A’ja Wilson, Chelsea Gray and Jackie Young, of course, and they are superstars. But now Las Vegas has to look more to players such as Brianna Turner, Cheyenne Parker-Tyus, Mai Yamamoto and Kierstan Bell.
Andrews: As Becky Hammon watched Talbot and Loyd exit the court after practice on Tuesday, she said she has a game plan A, plan B and plan C depending on who is available to suit up for Game 2. In reality, she has known that depth was going to be an issue for her team this series -- especially because of how deep Golden State is.
Ahead of Game 1, Hammon said, “At some point, I just wish we would get healthy, but it is what it is,” and after the game -- after Loyd was ruled out in the third quarter -- Hammon appeared almost exasperated when asked about the lack of player availability. “You’ve just got to go with who is sitting on that bench,” she said. “We don’t have a lot of time to sulk about it. Nobody feels bad for us. It’s the next woman up.”
Can the Valkyries’ depth be a difference-maker again?
Andrews: The Valkyries’ bench has been the difference-maker all season. Through the regular season, they led the league in bench scoring (35.9 PPG) and assists (7.5 APG) and ranked second in rebounding (12.8 RPG). And of course, Golden State’s reserves feature unanimous Sixth Player of the Year Janelle Salaun. In Game 1 of the semifinals, Golden State’s bench once again proved how deep the team is. Salaun scored just two points on Sunday, and Tiffany Hayes finished with three. Yet the Valkyries’ second unit outscored the Aces’ 27-7.
After Veronica Burton hit the front rim on a 3-point attempt and then airballed her next shot with 7:30 left in the third quarter, Natalie Nakase benched her and put Kaitlyn Chen in her place. Chen finished with 11 points on 4-of-11 shooting. To combat Wilson and the Aces’ size, the Valkyries turned to rookie center Aminata Gueye, who signed with the team on Sept. 20 and heading into the semifinals had played only four minutes in one regular-season game and 10 minutes in garbage time of the Valkyries’ opening playoff game against Dallas. Against the Aces, Gueye finished with nine points and was a huge disruptor on the defensive end.
The Valkyries have an embarrassment of riches when it comes to their depth. The “strength in numbers” slogan that has been well known in Bay Area basketball since it was the mantra of the Golden State Warriors’ 2014-15 NBA championship run could not be truer for the Valkyries, and depth will continue to be a weapon for them through this series.