Aces host Minnesota Lynx in game key to playoff seeding

It didn’t instrumentality agelong for Aces manager Bill Laimbeer to code the value of Wednesday night’s crippled against the Minnesota Lynx astatine Michelob Ultra Arena.

“The crippled of the twelvemonth is Wednesday. We cognize that,” helium said Sunday, moments aft a 92-84 nonaccomplishment to the Chicago Sky. “We conscionable enactment ourselves successful a presumption with nary borderline for error.”

Las Vegas has worked each twelvemonth to gain favorable seeding successful the WNBA playoffs. Favorable meaning the No. 1 oregon No. 2 seed, which carries an automatic treble bye into the WNBA semifinals and an wrong way to the WNBA Finals.

But with 4 games to play to play, the Aces are successful information of squandering their positioning. That is, if they suffer to Minnesota.

The Aces are the No. 2 seed, nursing a 1.5-game pb implicit the Lynx, whom they’ve mislaid to twice. If they suffer again connected Wednesday, Minnesota would power its destiny and could unafraid the No. 2 effect by winning the remainder of its games via the head-to-head tiebreaker it’s already cliched.

A victory, though, would springiness Las Vegas a 2.5-game edge, though the Seattle Storm besides lurk arsenic a contender for the No. 2 seed.

“We’re going to person to lucifer their physicality,” Laimbeer said Tuesday regarding the cardinal to victory. “They’re a precise carnal hoops team. They play hard-nosed defence and overplay a batch of stuff. … They don’t bushed themselves. They spell retired there, they conscionable bash their happening implicit and implicit and implicit again.”

The Aces archetypal fell 90-89 to the Lynx connected June 25 earlier losing 77-67 connected July 9 successful their penultimate crippled earlier the Olympic break. They were astatine afloat spot the archetypal clip around, though All-Star halfway Liz Cambage didn’t play successful the rematch.

Cambage won’t play Wednesday, arsenic she works her mode done the league’s wellness and information protocols aft a affirmative COVID-19 test.

With oregon without Cambage, Minnesota is 1 of the fewer teams with the unit to vie successful the lane with the Aces. At 6 feet, 6 inches, halfway Sylvia Fowles anchors the overgarment connected some ends and remains 1 of the WNBA’s champion players. All-Star guardant Napheesa Collier plays wrong out.

Former Aces defender Kayla McBride is enjoying a beardown play successful her archetypal twelvemonth with the Lynx.

Two-time reigning Sixth Woman of the Year Dearica Hamby whitethorn beryllium backmost from her ankle injury, per Laimbeer. She missed the past 2 games and is questionable Wednesday.

Either way, “we’re going to person to beryllium truly carnal with what we person and hopefully debar foul occupation and play our game,” Laimbeer said. “We similar to determination and chopped and run. Against Minnesota the archetypal 2 times, we haven’t done that. We played halfcourt, knockoout basketball. That’s not our game.”

Contact newsman Sam Gordon astatine sgordon@reviewjournal.com. Follow @BySamGordon connected Twitter.