Aces to play first home game Friday in nearly 2 years
It’s been 605 days since the Aces last played at Michelob Ultra Arena. On Friday, they’ll finally be home.
Center Liz Cambage, for one, is excited.
“Vegas goes hard. Our Vegas fans are different,” she said. “The house is lit from pregame to postgame. We’ve got the best DJ in the league. We’ve got the best intro. We’ve got the best fans. We’ve got the best crowds.”
The Aces will begin their 16-game home slate against the Los Angeles Sparks and will play four of their next five games within the friendly confines of Mandalay Bay. They last played here on Sept. 24, 2019, losing 94-90 to the eventual WNBA champion Washington Mystics in Game 4 of the WNBA semifinals.
That game was played before a rowdy crowd of 5,465. But this one Friday will feature no more than 2,000 fans, the limit as announced last week by owner Mark Davis, who recently revealed that as a reward for their loyalty during the coronavirus pandemic season ticket-holders are going to receive full refunds this season.
Given the limited size, Las Vegas coach Bill Laimbeer said he isn’t expecting the home crowd to play much of a role this season.
“It’s a start. … We’re used to playing on neutral sites. It’s another game, and it’s another game we want to win,” said Laimbeer, explaining that he hardly noticed the fans in Seattle who attended the team’s first two games against the Storm.
“You’re not going to have a normal home-court advantage,” he added. “It’s almost like playing at a neutral site at times. … Overall, it’s generic. Hopefully we’re going to be a little bit louder than Seattle was. But four of five at home, I don’t think it really matters where we play the game right now. … That’s how we’re going to approach it.”
For what it’s the worth, the Aces have been markedly better at Michelob Ultra Arena than they’ve been on the road since the franchise arrived in Las Vegas in 2017. They were 8-9 at home in 2018 compared to 6-10 on the road. Their 13-4 home mark in 2019 was the fourth best in the WNBA. They finished 8-9 on the road.
It won’t be quite the same atmosphere this year. But hey, at least it’s not a bubble.
“Hopefully our fans are loud and we can hear them,” Laimbeer said.
Contact reporter Sam Gordon at sgordon@reviewjournal.com. Follow @BySamGordon on Twitter.
Game Day
Who: Aces vs. Los Angeles Sparks
When: 7:30 p.m. Friday
Where: Michelob Ultra Arena
TV: CBS Sports Network
About the Aces (1-1): They'll play their first game Friday without guard Kelsey Plum, who is away from the team to participate in Olympic qualfying with USA Basketball. Laimbeer said Thursday that rookie guard Destiny Slocum will likely see some playing time at the point. So will third-year guard Jackie Young, who played the point as a rookie but has moved off the ball the last two years.
Young is coming off one of the best outings of her career: 21 points and 10 rebounds Tuesday in a win over the Seattle Storm. Slocum hasn't yet played this season but is highly touted out of Arkansas.
About the Sparks (0-1): Former franchise player Candace Parker is gone, having signed with the Chicago Sky. So is All-Star point guard Chelsea Gray, who runs the point now for the Aces.
But perennial MVP candidate Nneka Ogwumike is back. She had 18 points and eight rebounds in the opener last weekend. Sister Chiney had 12 points and six rebounds.
Point guard Kristi Toliver runs the show, posting 11 points in her debut as Gray's replacement.
