After what has been an uninspiring start to the season for Las Vegas with a 4-4 record out of the gates, things got worse. A'ja Wilson left the game against the Los Angeles Sparks in the third quarter and has since entered concussion protocol. This has ruled her out for Friday's game against the Dallas Wings at minimum.
While obviously, the Aces get worse with the reigning MVP not in the lineup, it does present an interesting opportunity for them to get better in the long term.
Aces must reduce A'ja Wilson's responsibility
When you are the MVP of the WNBA, responsibility is something that comes with it. But the amount of weight that has been placed on Wilson's shoulders dating back to last season is frankly unsustainable for any player.
Currently, Wilson is averaging 20.9 points, 9.6 rebounds, four assists, two steals, and two blocks. That is good enough to lead the Aces across every single major statistical category. To emphasize, every single category major statistical category!
While it is no surprise that Wilson is capable of doing this, given how great a player she is, it simply is not going to get the Aces back to where they want to be, which is in the WNBA Finals, winning championships.
We collectively saw over the course of last season that there was burnout from Wilson due to the load that was given to her to try and make this Aces team successful. It did lead to winning the MVP unanimously, but it also led to the Aces bowing out of the playoffs in the second round to the eventual champion New York Liberty.
Jewell Loyd, Jackie Young, and Chelsea Gray must get rolling
Now how do you avoid the definition of insanity by doing the same thing again and again? You have to be able to take as much off of Wilson's plate as you can and let her be great in a more comfortable way.
The Aces have invested everything into the idea of a "core four" since the franchise made the move to Las Vegas. It certainly worked out bringing two rings back to Vegas, but when it doesn't work out there is not much of a fall back.
With Wilson being out, while hopefully not for long, it does provide an opportunity for the likes of Jewell Loyd, Jackie Young, and Chelsea Gray to potentially have their breakthrough moment this season.
Loyd has certainly been the most disappointing of the four so far. She was brought in with the exit of Kelsey Plum but has yet to find any level of comfortability in this Aces offense. So far, she has averaged 9.1 points and 29.9% shooting from the field. Frankly, it isn't good enough.
During this period with A'ja Wilson out, the hope of any Aces fan should be to see that game where Loyd catches fire, finally gets a game where she simply sees the ball go through the net.
If the Aces are able to get her rolling alongside the rest of their four stars, that is the pathway for them to elevate themselves back into the top contender tier with New York and Minnesota. Right now could be the perfect time to get Loyd acclimated, which would greatly improve the Aces' odds to contending once again.