With Chelsea Gray Out, the Aces Need Kelsey Plum’s Killer Instinct Now More Than Ever

Plum’s energy and adaptability will be crucial for Las Vegas in Game 4 without its star ‘Point Gawd’ playing.

Kelsey Plum is a dog (or dawg), that’s well documented at this point, with her signature bark punctuating the postseason. The Aces guard has bite too, averaging 26 points and 3.6 assists through the opening three games of the WNBA Finals. In her side’s Game 3 loss to the Liberty, Plum kept Las Vegas within striking distance despite New York’s burgeoning momentum, putting up a game-high 29 points, sinking five threes. Her prolific night at Barclays Center—a gym the Aces have struggled in all season—kept Las Vegas’s gears moving, salvaging some of her team’s kinetic energy from their Games 1 and 2 blowout wins.

Now the Aces will need Plum more than ever in Game 4, with star point guard Chelsea Gray out with a foot injury and Kiah Stokes sidelined as well.

“It’s hard to adapt. A lot of people don’t have the ability to adapt, whether that’s mentally or physically, but I think I pride myself on figuring it out,” Plum said.  :: Wendell Cruz/USA TODAY Sports

“It’s not going to be one person that attempts to try to fill that gap, it’s going to be the team,” said Plum at Tuesday’s practice shortly after the lineup news broke. “This team has responded all year. We’ve been through a lot. We’ve been hurt, sued, arrested. You name it we’ve done it. I am confident in our group. We’ve gone through a lot of adversity, we’ll be ready.”

How will the Aces line up without Gray? “Shuffle KP over. Jackie [Young] will get some duties. Maybe we see [Sydney Colson],” said Hammon after Game 3, before Gray’s Game 4 status was confirmed. “But we do it by committee. I don’t think there is any one person that is going to step up and fill her shoes. It’s going to be a next woman up type of scenario.”

It’s not as if Plum hasn’t already shown up for her team, or is a shrinking violet in terms of leadership. But with a seismic shift to the team’s make-up and with a championship on the line, Plum will need to step up in a new way. Lucky for her and the Aces, Plum is no stranger to evolution.

“I feel very comfortable where I’m at in my role and there’s some games that look different than others on this team and it just depends on how the other team is playing us so you don’t know what role you’re going to play that night,” said Plum ahead of Game 3. “It’s hard to adapt. A lot of people don’t have the ability to adapt, whether that’s mentally or physically, but I think I pride myself on figuring it out.”

The 2021 Sixth Player of the Year has seen her duties evolve, especially under coach Becky Hammon, who encourages her team to shoot far more threes than her predecessor did. Plum’s 2023 postseason offensive production is up from the regular season, as well as from last year’s playoffs, averaging 19.8 points per game while shooting 42.9% from beyond the arc through the Aces’ eight games. After a breakout two years that saw Plum hoisting a WNBA trophy in ’22, as well as a 3x3 Olympic gold medal in ’21, the 29-year-old has only continued to lock in, seemingly buying into the culture Hammon has curated in Las Vegas. Hammon credits Plum and Young’s work together over the offseason for the Aces’ palpable chemistry, which the coach says is even “tighter this year.”

Hammon admitted that she coaches Plum the hardest of all her players, a consensus opinion shared by the Aces coaching staff, but also praised the star guard for her tenacious work ethic. The Las Vegas coach revealed that Plum is often the first player to practice and the last one to leave, echoing a common refrain from her teammates. Plum’s mettle shows up on game day too, as one of the most outwardly competitive players in the league. Her killer instinct has been infused with improved decision-making—something Plum has dedicated time to honing—which has proved a winning combination in the heightened postseason atmosphere.

While Plum was a bright spot on a struggling Aces offense Sunday night—Las Vegas shot 33.3% from the field and 31.8% from three—she offered her critique of the team’s performance, not letting herself off the hook. “I think we were stagnant,” said Plum. “When they’re able to load up and kind of swarm the ball it’s really hard to get good looks. I felt like we didn’t do a great job of moving the ball, moving our player and playing off of close-outs, which is what has given us success the first two games.”

Las Vegas’s rhythm was certainly off, with the team lacking their signature ball movement from the series’ opening two home games. The Aces logged only 13 assists on 69 attempts Sunday, compared to 31 assists on 70 attempts in Game 2.

Without its floor general in Gray to dictate the pace in Game 4, Las Vegas will need to rely on Plum to direct the team’s explosive offense. No team wants to chance a Game 5, but after a long season and an emphatic start to the Finals, the Aces can’t afford to let this seasoned and capable Liberty squad gain any more confidence.

Plum has been clutch for Las Vegas throughout the Finals, making timely buckets while motivating her teammates with her singular dogged mentality. Now, in the most unfortunate of scenarios, Plum will be called upon to meet the moment not only in making plays but also in lifting her team in the face of a tectonic shift and tremendous loss.