What if Chelsea Gray can’t play for the Aces in Game 4?

NEW YORK — Maybe all of this will be for nothing. Perhaps Chelsea Gray’s apparent foot injury isn’t as bad as it looked when she limped down the tunnel late in the fourth quarter during Game 3 of the WNBA Finals.

Maybe the Aces’ “Point Gawd” — spelled with however many As and Ws as preferred — can pull off one final miracle.

But what if Gray, the 2022 Finals MVP who’s been so integral to the Aces’ success the past two seasons, can’t suit up for Game 4 at the Barclays Center Wednesday? Coach Becky Hammon already admitted the Aces can’t replace Gray with just one player.

“It’s going to be a next-man-up type of scenario,” Hammon said Sunday. “Next woman.”

Gray’s status for Game 4, and to a larger extent the rest of the series, remains unknown. The 2023 second-team All-WNBA guard exited Game 3 with 4:15 remaining and never returned. The Aces were scheduled for a light shootaround Monday, but canceled it less than an hour before it was expected to start.

Injury reports are due from both teams by 2 p.m. on Tuesday.

The Aces coach certainly has some decisions ahead about how she’s going to handle Gray’s potential absence. Some of those choices are fairly straightforward, as Hammon acknowledged following Game 3.

If Gray isn’t available, All-Star guard and 2022 first-team All-WNBA selection Kelsey Plum will get the start at point guard, Hammon announced Sunday. All-Star and 2023 second-team All-WNBA wing Jackie Young will move up from small forward to the shooting guard spot.

“We do it by committee,” the Aces coach said.

Hammon’s fairly positionless style of play makes these moves easy adjustments, and likely just means Plum and Young will handle the ball more than they normally do when Gray plays. Plum averaged 4.5 assists per game in the regular season, while Young is averaging 4.7 assists in the playoffs.

Moving Plum and Young up in the lineup clears the way for reigning Sixth Player of the Year Alysha Clark to step back into the starting five. Hammon didn’t announce who was going to start if Gray is absent, but the two-time champion is the only reserve player the Aces have trusted with big minutes in this series.

Clark has been a full-time starter dating back to the 2015 season before coming off the bench this year. She was a crucial part of the Seattle Storm’s 2018 and 2020 championships, where she was teammates with New York forward and 2023 MVP Breanna Stewart. Clark is averaging 7.9 points and shooting 37.5 percent from 3 in the playoffs.

“Everybody steps up and does a little bit more,” Hammon said.

The real question is who gets the Aces’ bench minutes. Hammon’s been reluctant to play her reserves, even going back to the semifinals against the No. 4 Dallas Wings.

Second-year wing Kierstan Bell was summoned to replace Gray after she was injured and played one minute and 12 seconds before Hammon hooked her to bring back starting center Kiah Stokes. Bell recorded one foul and was minus-2 in the short stint.

Hammon’s other major option off the bench is Sydney Colson. The veteran guard originally made her name as a tough, hard-nosed defender and emerged as a legitimate rotation player near the end of the regular season. She hasn’t been called upon much in the playoffs, but is more than familiar with big postseason moments.

Colson forced the pass by then-Chicago Sky guard and current New York All-Star Courtney Vandersloot which led to the Hamby Heave during the 2019 WNBA semifinals, the first signature moment in the Aces’ Las Vegas history.

“Maybe we see Syd,” Hammon said. “Syd likes to get in there and mix it up every now and then.”

Contact reporter Andy Yamashita at ayamashita@reviewjournal.com. Follow @ANYamashita on X.