The next morning: Dana Evans was not on her way in the first half to be the hero of the Aces game 1 victory of the WNBA WNBA finals

Las Vegas – The confrontation of this year’s WNBA finals between Las Vegas and Phoenix Mercury already had stories in abundance:

• The ACES continue their destination streak, after a 16 -games winning streak to close the regular season with the consecutive and wire series wins on the Seattle storm and Indiana fever, respectively.

• Mercury achieving the final rare of the construction finals of year 1, eliminating the final participants of last year (New York Liberty and Minnesota Lynx) in consecutive rounds to do so.

• The search for A’JA Wilson for the Triple Crown (Corona T’riple, so to speak) to win MVP, defensive player of the year and a championship in the same season.

• Alyssa Thomas, a perennial MVP and candidate for DPOY, in search of her first ring and has to knock out Wilson, who won her first title against Thomas and The Connecticut Sun in 2022, to do so.

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If game 1 on Friday was an indication, we will be incredibly Fed as basketball fans, because that was an incredible game, full of drama and topshy. The ACES were able to ensure an 89-86 victory, but made 12 leadership changes and many schematic adjustments along the way.

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In the opening edition of The Morning After, we will see an important topic that stood out of game 1 before emptying the notebook with smaller but important observations. This will be the format for each game in the future.

Let’s get, okay?

The general panorama: Dana Evans in the ‘center’ of attention

Evans wins the best billing behind a historical performance from the bank. She accumulated 21 points, notably knocking down five of her six attempts of 3 points and four robberies. According to WNBA PR, Evans became the first player in History of the final To make five three and accumulate four robberies in a game. It was huge in the last quarter, playing all but 13 seconds of the final box (Kiah Stokes will get it soon) while drilling three triples and also accumulates a key theft.

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However, this was not always in the pace of being the story of a hero. The first half, while it was closed in score, was incredibly rickety for the Aces and Evans specifically. She was, figuratively and literally, the center of attention. On the one hand, their combination of appropriate impulses and bridges helped keep the Aces afloat while their stars seemed to find their way. On the other hand, Mercury was implacable by attacking Evans, particularly with inverted ball screens.

Normally, Evans and other guards have the task of navigating on ball screens and working hard to stay attached to their clashes, while a great support offer behind them. El Mercurio, as they have done throughout the season with Thomas to the helm, turns that dynamic by having the screen of his guards for Thomas. That meant that Wilson, which normally changes between falling into the coverage or switching of screens completely, had to navigate Screens, while Evans had to run central coverage.

According to Geniusiq’s follow-up data, the teams, on average, generated 0.88 points for travel possession with a Pick-And-Roll during the regular season. During the playoffs (excluding game 1 on Friday), that brand fell slightly to 0.86 points per possession. In the first half of game 1, the Pick-And-Rolls led by Thomas that involved Evans as a screen defender generated an absurdity 2 points per possession – Indeed a guaranteed cube.

Among the spacing configuration, the mercury often filled the corners and made sure that a wing was “clear” so that Thomas had more space to operate, and huge screens established by the rookie guard Monique Akoa Makani, the Aces struggled to contain the action. After the game, Wilson pointed out how difficult it is to prepare for such a drastic change in the role and confrontation, but is willing to feel uncomfortable to get the victories.

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“Having to protect Nneka (Ogwumike), then having to protect Aliyah (Boston), now having guard, those are three different players that you have to protect very differently, so he put me in a funky position,” Wilson told Yahoo Sports.

“I don’t go down the screens, I don’t get on the screens. That’s not … I’m a great one, I don’t do that,” Wilson said with a smile. “But in this (series), I could have to do it. I’m going to fasten and see how I can be comfortable in my awkward situation, but my guards always support me, so I don’t worry about it when it comes to that.”

Chief coach Becky Hammon also recognized how difficult the Pick-And-Rolls led by Thomas they faced, which led to some subtle adjustments to their coverage in the second half. In particular, Evans played closer to the level of the screen in the second half, cutting part of the space that Thomas used to accelerate for the units in the first half.

Here is a snapshot of the first half:

And here is one of the fourth quarter:

Remove that initial space felt important. Evans took another step by “jumping” Thomas’s handle on some occasions, even forcing a jump ball since the Aces were recovering at the beginning of the last quarter. Throughout the night, you can feel additional energy and confidence of Evans every time you could stop; He stood out especially in the second half.

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“Honestly, I really have progress with my defense,” Evans said, answering a Kareem Copeland question of the Washington Post. “When I can get theft, push the ball and see something easy, get a tray, then I know: ‘Very well, I feel good.’ I have to let my defense dictate my offensive;

How the ACEs choose to deal with mercury by putting Evans in action, and if the mercury will change its approach at all to its mismatch, it approaches the game 2 on Sunday.

Other conclusions

• While Evans changed its depth when the screen defender in the second half had an impact, another great piece for the change of the second half of the Aces was his decision to play in the area. They went to Gambit 11 times in the second half by monitoring of Geniusiq, with the Mercury generating 0.67 points per possession on those trips. Hammon mentioned his frustration with the base defense of the team as the main motivator for the shift, but also pointed out that the team did a better job by turning to the threats of 3 mercury points, paruraded in the middle of the floor with more consistency and protect Evans from being involved in so many invested pick-Androls as she was in the first half. Tibbetts said his team made a lot of “standing” against the area, and that his presence contributed to a second quieter half of the Kahleh Copper star (19 points in the first half, two points in the second half).

• I thought that Mercury did a very good job by rummaging in the cushions and the masters of the ASES size during most of the night, particularly in the first half. Sabally had it early before succumbing to fault problems, and there were times when Thomas and Dewanna Bonner were able to draw double teams against the country. It is important that mercury is not also Focused on mismatch and the risk of losing his flow in the process, something about what I asked Tibbetts after the game, but there is much good that they can draw to game 2.

• The ACES would not have been in a position to make an increase in the second half, if it were not for Loyd’s appropriate shots. She scored 18 postseason points, with 13 of those who arrived in the first half. I especially enjoyed the flash screens in which the Aces were mixed to counteract part of the aggressive roaming that mercury were doing.

• The most valuable inaugural prize of thirteen or fourteen seconds, affectionately known as Mvtfs, goes to Stokes. She was absolutely nails in the defensive position of the Aces game. Previously in the game, the mercury was sprayed in appropriate slippery to the basket to counteract the automatic slip of the balls of the ball. Contrast with that to the final possession of the game, when Stokes cools and explodes a sliding of Thomas with a switch, then changes on copper and contains without dirty. That is what “stay ready so you don’t have to prepare” it seems, all of you.

• I will simply notice that Mercury won almost 16 minutes of Natasha Mack for eight points. Its detection, rebounds, defenders and apparent masters of lobes are important. I would like to see more of her.