Aces’ bench gives them spark in WNBA bubble

During training camp, Aces coach Bill Laimbeer couldn’t find enough bodies to have a full practice. But since the regular season began, he’s had a different problem — trying to find enough minutes to go around for all the quality players he has.

It’s an enviable position for any coach. Only being able to start five players means Laimbeer has plenty of firepower to bring in off the bench.

“That’s why we’re structured the way we are,” Laimbeer said. “We have enough scoring in the starters with A’ja (Wilson) and (Kayla) McBride and (Angel) McCoughtry. I don’t need other scorers in there (to start). It’s better for them to come off the bench and bring the energy.”

When the Aces go to their bench and bring in their Energy Team of Dearica Hamby, Danielle Robinson and Jackie Young, the pace often increases and opponents find it difficult to keep up. Add the shooting of Sugar Rodgers, who has made four 3-pointers in three games this season, and the Aces have scored 34.8 points per game off the bench, which would be a WNBA record for a season.

The Aces will try to continue that march toward history when they meet the Connecticut Sun at 5 p.m. Thursday.

Hamby was the WNBA’s Sixth Woman of the Year a season ago, and her numbers across the board are either almost the same or better this year. She’s playing the second-most minutes on the team (27.9) and is eighth in the league among players with at least 10 games in field goal percentage, shooting 54.9 percent from the floor.

Laimbeer compared Hamby favorably to Vinnie Johnson, his teammate with the Detroit Pistons who he called “one of the best sixth men of all time and said Hamby is unique in that she never tires like a “freak of nature.”

Hamby uses that ability to be a disrupter, which showed most notably when she authored one of the plays of the year last season, a steal and nearly half-court heave that went in for a 93-92 win over the Chicago Sky in the second round of last year’s playoffs.

“I have starter minutes and a starter mentality,” Hamby said. “For me, sixth woman embodies something different. I think it’s the player that does the little things, whatever it takes for the team to win. They bring energy. They do the things they might not get recognized for.

“I take pride in that aspect of the sixth woman, and I love it.”

When Laimbeer started Lindsay Allen at point guard and brought Young off the bench it was a bit of a surprise, since Young started every game as a rookie.

But she’s flourished in her new role, raising her field goal percentage from 32.2 to 45.8. She scored 15 or more points six times, including a career-high 20 in Tuesday’s loss to the Phoenix Mercury.

“I’m just coming in and being aggressive, trying to get to my spots on the floor and knock down open shots,” Young said. “And I think it’s about playing good defense, get stops and go in transition.”

When they get out in transition, few can match the extra gear of Robinson. The ninth-year veteran, who is in her first season with the Aces, has been a perfect fit for their up-tempo system and plays under control despite the fast pace.

She’s averaging 3.3 assists with only 1.3 turnovers per game. She set a WNBA record for assists in a half for a reserve when she dished out nine in the first half against the Sun on Aug. 20.

“I’m trying to lead whenever I get on the court,” Robinson said. “Do what I’ve been doing and making sure we’re getting in our sets, playing well defensively and just making sure I’m leading.”

Contact Jason Orts at jorts@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2936. Follow @SportsWithOrts on Twitter.