Concluding their 2024 regular season, the Las Vegas Aces are setting to play against the Dallas Wings. But there has come a small twist in the arrangement. Turns out, the face of the franchise, A’ja Wilson, and the Olympian guard Kelsey Plum, will not be playing in today’s game. The two have been listed as doubtful for the upcoming matchup, and have taken up some time to catch their breaths before the playoffs.

This season, A’ja Wison has been giving a peak performance while leading the league with 26.9 points, the highest ever for the league. She is also carrying the team with astronomical averages of 11.9 rebounds, 1.8 steals, and 2.6 blocks. On the other hand, Kelsey Plum is currently one step behind Wilson on the Aces roster as the second-best scorer (17.8 ppg). So, when they have so much responsibility for the team on their shoulder, why won’t the two be playing the final matchup of the season against the Wings?

Why will A’ja Wilson and Plum not take the floor tonight?

Set to conclude the regular season, the Aces are prepping to host the first two games of the 2024 WNBA Playoffs First Round beginning this Sunday. Meanwhile, A’ja Wilson and Kelsey Plum have decided to sit the final regular season game out.

The reason behind this decision is not an injury. They just need rest, a breather before the playoffs, so that they can perform better. Last week, Wilson wasn’t playing in their final regular season showdown with New York due to a right ankle injury she had suffered in the game before that against Connecticut.

However, the Aces still pushed hard, with Plum scoring 25 points and 6 assists. Ever since they have been back from the Olympics, Wilson and Plum have been playing 15 games straight while putting out an incredible performance through those outings.

On one hand, the former Gamecock has recorded 8 double-doubles with two 30+ point games and two 40+ point games. Moreover, she is now the only WNBA player to have recorded 1000 points in a single season, a unique career-defining feat.

As for Plum, the season has been all about maintaining the growth that led her to two WNBA titles and an Olympic gold medal. Besides Wilson, the guard’s scoring has majorly contributed to the Las Vegas’ victories throughout the season.

Wilson and Plum not playing tomorrow has triggered a change in the lineup mechanics as well. Besides these two, Chelsea Gray, Jackie Young, and Kierstan Bell too have been listed for game-time decisions. Hence, the expected lineup for the game includes rookie Kate Martin, Sydney Colson, Tiffany Hayes, Alysha Clark, and Kiah Stokes.

So how the Aces have planned to handle this pressure?

Las Vegas adds to its reinforcements

Although the starting lineup appears to have taken a complete shift for the upcoming game, the Aces bench is not that flimsy. In the recent matchup with New York, the Las Vegas coach Beck Hammon commended the whole bench to step onto the court in the third quarter.

What happened then? The Aces kept coming. “Our bench coming in, the ball moved and good things happened. They got stops, gave us a chance to crawl back in there, stick our nose in where they didn’t think it was going to be today,” said Hammon after losing the season series to the Liberty. Moreover, the Aces have recently signed a third-year pro-Queen Egbo- for the remainder of the season.

Now, the playoffs stand to begin on September 22 at the Michelob ULTRA Arena. However, the Aces’ stance in the playoffs is still to be decided, whether they are a 3 or 4-seed team. Also, the complete postseason scenario will be taking a proper shape after tomorrow as all 12 teams will be in action for that one last regular season game.

The Aces, holding up at a 26-13 overall record, will be hosting the Wings, who are at a 9-30 overall record. If Las Vegas takes over Dallas alongside Connecticut losing to Chicago, the scenario will certainly push the Aces into the 3rd seed, which means they will be hosting the Indiana Fever in the first round. Otherwise, they will remain in the 4th seed and will go up against Seattle.