When the Las Vegas Aces took over the Chicago Sky on Sunday, fans were surprised to see Megan Gustafson on the starting five. Gustafson has played 27 games for the Aces, starting in just one of them. Though her contribution isn’t much, she has helped the Aces’s star A’ja Wilson play in the forward position, whereas Gustafson takes the role of a center. However, when Gustafson doesn’t play then Wilson plies her trade as a center while Alysha Clark plays as a forward. Fans recommend that instead of bringing Gustafson, the head coach Becky Hammon can continue playing Wilson as a center and instead replace one of the guards by including Kate Martin in the starting five. That would give Wilson her favorite position in which she has been performing well and include Clark while resting either of their two guards.

But as some fans support this idea, there are also admirers of the Aces who reject the proposition, arguing that Martin has only started in one of the games this season and therefore she doesn’t have much experience. Today, Essentially Sports evaluates the starting lineup to see if Martin could start in the upcoming game against the Dallas Wings, which is scheduled only a few hours from now on Tuesday.

Can Kate Martin start?

Going for a three-peat, the Aces currently stand at the fourth place in the league’s table with 18-11 stats. Though they were favorites to win the championship title this season, New York Liberty has executed its plans more than any other team. In the remaining 11 games, the Aces will have to prove their dominance if they want to be taken seriously for the Championship title. Hence, a little alteration with their starting five could surprise their opponents and also prove lethal for them.

Martin has started in only one game that too in June when the Aces had squared off against the Los Angeles Sparks. In that game, Martin scored a decent 13 points and helped her team lessen the trail as the Sparks trumped them by a 96-92 margin. What’s commendable is that even as a guard Martin had 4 rebounds and coupled with 3 assists, which makes a strong case for her to be a part of the starting five.

Since Wilson is the team’s leading scorer and rebounder, Martin can chip in as a third or fourth player. She can be a facilitator for Wilson who would need to push herself if the Aces is to press the button for their offensive game and win by blowout margins. In such cases, Martin would be better, since she knows that she doesn’t have to assume an alpha role and can adjust easily. However, what takes away her credibility is that she doesn’t have much experience in starting.

The downside to starting Kate Martin

The low side of starting Martin is that either Kelsey Plum or Chelsea Gray will have to be benched and not be included in the starting five. While this might help in rotating since Hammon can wisely choose different players in crunch situations, this also means that there might be a problem with the team dynamics, considering Gray and Plum are considered being better players than Martin.

Plus, Gray has not only been playing the role of a facilitator till now but also knows how to transform easily into an alpha whenever the situation demands, especially in cases where Wilson and Plum are screened. This is something that the WNBA fans are still to see in Martin. And hence, it goes against her.

Therefore, Martin can start, but only if Hammon is sure that she will bring all that Gray brings to the table. Otherwise, it would be wiser to rotate Martin later in the game while keeping her benched initially. Perhaps, before the Aces take on the Wings today, Hammon will consider all her options. And hopefully, make the right decision. Because in the end, it should help the Aces approach the playoffs in a daunting manner.

Stay tuned for more such updates and join us for the exciting second episode of the “Dual Threat Show” as our host BG12 sits down with Georgia Bulldogs star and Mountain West All-Freshman Team Selection, Asia Avinger.