NEW YORK — Chelsea Gray rolled down the sidelines on her scooter as the Las Vegas Aces warmed up for practice at Barclays Center on Tuesday. In her hand was a small speaker, rather than their usual large bluetooth boombox, attempting to fill a space expecting to hold another 17,000-plus fans in a sellout for Game 4 the next night.
“I didn’t know our speaker was hurt, too,” Gray said, wheeling back and forth between groups of players for mini bursts of musical accompaniment.
Stokes said she felt she might be able to go for Game 4, but was waiting on information from doctors to hear a prognosis on pain she experienced after the game. Gray, whose left foot was in a boot and had the scooter, said she’ll be able to see about her Game 5 status when they return to Vegas. Back home at Barclays Center with a new fighting mentality, the Liberty controlled Game 3, but never fully pulled away enough to be content in a game between two teams that can score in droves, as Hammon has said repeatedly. The Aces trailed by six with 4:49 to play when Gray sustained the non-contact injury guarding Breanna Stewart near the elbow. The sweep was there for the taking.
“All I’ve said is we just need to continue to be who we are. That’s it. We continue to be who we are,” Hammon said. “This group has been forged out of adversity. They weren’t put together based on super-team expectations. They sucked for a long time. They’ve been through those thin years. They’ve earned this moment. They’ve earned this opportunity. Now it’s just on us to go grab it.”
“Her mind and her voice, the way she makes adjustments and what she sees out there is crucial for us,” guard Kelsey Plum said. “She’s not going to be out there doing it herself, but she’s going to be echoing to someone who can not try to fill her shoes, but attempt it.” The Aces will also be heavily hampered defensively with the injuries. Stokes, their 6-foot-3 center, is the Aces' defensive backstop and said ahead of the seriesif it means keeping it away from 2022 league MVP A'ja Wilson. Wilson won a second consecutive Defensive Player of the Year award last month and shared the moment with Stokes because of her defensive help.
“It’s gonna be definitely difficult, but it was gonna be difficult regardless, even if me and Chelsea were 100% good to go,” Stokes said.
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