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By Matthew Couden
Contributing Writer
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The Las Vegas Aces rested star players A'ja Wilson, Jackie Young, and Chelsea Gray on Sunday for their road game against the New York Liberty.
That kept the team's three top scorers out of action as Las Vegas, the WNBA's defending champions, took on the underdog role against the eighth team in the current WNBA standings.
Ahead of the matchup, Aces head coach Becky Hammon called out the challenging schedule that WNBA players are facing, suggesting it's something the NBA doesn't do.
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"Everybody has a brutal schedule at some point. I don't even think they do this in the NBA, though, where it's less than 24 hours. You can check, and I'm pretty sure that's not even legal on the NBA side," Hammon said, referring to her team playing a back-to-back in under 24 hours.
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Las Vegas had to travel to New York for Sunday's afternoon game after a 98-87 road loss to the Minnesota Lynx on Saturday afternoon. Gray played 36 minutes against Minnesota, while Wilson and Young each logged 33 minutes on the hardwood.
Wilson currently leads the league in scoring, averaging 26.3 points per game, and her 9.7 rebounds per game rank third among WNBA players. She's also leading the league in blocks, averaging two per game.
Chelsea Gray and Jackie Young are fourth and fifth-best in assists per game in the WNBA, averaging a combined 13.8 per game. Not having these three players on the court definitely impacts Las Vegas' chances of winning a game.
They still have plenty of talent without the trio, including NaLyssa Smith. Veteran guard Jewell Lloyd, 32, has shown she can achieve strong scoring performances. Lloyd dropped 19 points last month in an overtime win against the Chicago Sky.
Meanwhile, the Liberty last played on Wednesday, Aug. 5, and had its top stars available for the matchup.
As of this writing, the Aces are behind the Golden State Valkyries and Lynx for third place in the WNBA Playoff Standings. The Indiana Fever are right behind them for the third spot, and a Las Vegas loss certainly helps Indiana's attempt to catch up.
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