The Las Vegas Aces Aren’t The Same As Previous Seasons
Storm vs Aces Preview: Seattle's Defense Will Prevail
The Las Vegas Aces are back-to-back WNBA Champions. But they don’t look like it this year. The Aces are just 6-6 on the season and have lost four of their last five games, including an earlier loss to the Seattle Storm, 78-65.
That loss to the Storm was at home, where the Aces managed just 65 points. Las Vegas will welcome the Storm one last time in the regular season, hoping for a different result.
Meanwhile, Seattle is 9-5 and has won three of their last five games. Most recently, the Storm took a road loss to Phoenix. They’re now onto their third road consecutive road game tonight. So far, they’re 1-1 on this trip.
Despite Seattle’s better record, the oddsmakers aren’t concerned with Las Vegas yet.
- The Aces are -240 on the moneyline and -6 against the spread at home. Meanwhile, the total for this game is set at 170.
Check out our Storm vs Aces preview for one of the three WNBA games on the slate.
🏀 Storm vs Aces 🏀
Day/Time:
Records: Storm (9-5)/Aces (6-6)
Location: Michelob ULTRA Arena
Streaming: NBA TV
Storm vs Aces Preview & Betting Trends
Not only are the Seattle Storm 9-5 straight up, but they’re also 9-5 against the spread. Most of their games have also been lower-scoring, as they’ve hit the Under in eight of 14 games this season.
The Las Vegas Aces have been overvalued. While they’re 6-6 straight up, the Aces have gone 3-9 against the spread this season. Still, they’ve hit the Over in seven of 12 matchups this season.
In the one earlier meeting this season, the Storm defeated the Aces, 78-65, as 7.5-point underdogs. The total also went Under 167.
Our WNBA predictions for tonight’s game are below.
Is Jordan Horston The X-Factor?
The Seattle Storm have made a huge turnaround this season. They’ve watched Ezi Magbegor and Jewell Loyd develop and added financial flexibility by trading away the No. 4 pick of the 2024 draft for free agents like Skylar Diggins-Smith and Nneka Ogwumike.
In addition, Jordan Horston has also developed into a key piece for the Storm this season. Although she’s only averaged 6.2 points and 4.1 assists per game, Horson has contributed 1.7 steals and is one of the best defensive players in the WNBA. She’s coming off the bench and has been a major reason for Seattle’s success this season.
Jessika Carter Lands With The Aces
The former Mississippi State center, Jessika Carter, has signed with the Las Vegas Aces. She spent six years with Mississippi State, despite four head coaches in that time.
In addition, she was drafted in the second round by the New York Liberty in this year’s draft but was waived before the season started. Now, she’ll get a chance with the Aces. It’s unclear how many minutes, if any, she’ll get. Keep that in mind when making your WNBA picks.
Will Las Vegas Turn Things Around?
The Las Vegas Aces haven’t had much adversity over the last couple of seasons. They’ve been the best team in the WNBA and have won back-to-back championships. But all good things must come to an end at some point.
This season could be the point. After all, the Aces are only 6-6 and currently in the middle of the WNBA standings. Yet, Las Vegas is still the No. 1 offense in the WNBA, scoring 86.8 points per game.
The Aces are 5th in net points and first in possession per 40 minutes. They’re also 5th in margin per 100 possessions.
Las Vegas has scored 1.10 points per scoring attempt and has added .96 pints per play. These are both above-average numbers. Ultimately, the offense isn’t the issue led by multiple champions and Olympians.
The defense has been the issue. Las Vegas has allowed a 44.5% field goal percentage and has given up 39.3% from downtown. That three-point rate from opponents is the worst rate in the WNBA this season.
Additionally, Las Vegas has allowed .95 points per play and has given up an effective field goal percentage of 51.6%. This is one of the reasons the Aces brought in Carter at center. They’re looking to find any way to defend better this season.
The Storm are one of the league’s best defenses. Jordan Horston, again, has contributed defensively at a high level. She’s helped the Storm limit opponents to a 46.6% effective field goal percentage. Meanwhile, the team has held opponents to 45% from inside the arc, which leads the league.
That said, the Storm have also added 83.8 possessions per 40 minutes and have a higher net points per game of 4.4 than the Aces.
This game should come down to defense, with both teams having the ability to score consistently. The Storm have the better defense. To close out our Storm vs Aces preview, let’s back Seattle against the spread at +6 (-110). The Aces WNBA odds tomorrow could fall when looking at the WNBA odds board.
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