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On Sunday night, the Las Vegas Aces and Los Angeles Sparks will play in their regular-season openers. Both teams made significant changes in the offseason to address their needs.
The Aces will host tonight’s game and were the champions of the offseason after acquiring Liz Cambage form the Dallas Wings. She will pair up with A’ja Wilson, last season’s Rookie of the Year to form one of the WNBA’s most intimidating duos. Cambage’s addition has also swayed the WNBA’s General Managers to a point where they believe that the Aces will win the 2019 WNBA Finals — though we here at Swish Appeal disagree.
Though the future is bright for the Aces, they will probably have to wait for Cambage’s debut. She is doubtful for Sunday night’s game because of Achilles tendinitis, according to Sam Gordon of the Las Vegas Review-Journal. Before anyone starts to panic, Cambage says that she feels good and Head Coach Bill Laimbeer noted that he planned on sitting her out as a precautionary measure.
The Sparks have made significant changes of their own. Derek Fisher is now the team’s new head coach. Chiney Ogwumike has reunited with her older sister Nneka after an offseason trade. And they are returning the bulk of their 2018 roster that won the 2016 WNBA championship and made two Finals appearances in the last three years. This game will be a great way to kick off Sunday evening.
Here’s how to watch:
Game information
Las Vegas Aces vs. Los Angeles Sparks
When: Sunday, May 26, at 8 p.m. ET
Where: Mandalay Bay Events Center, Las Vegas, NV
How to watch: Twitter, KVCW-TV (MyLVTV) in Las Vegas
Injuries: For the Sparks, Candace Parker is out due to a hamstring injury. For the Aces, Liz Cambage (Achilles) is doubtful.
Featured attraction: This game was originally a battle of star frontcourts, as the Sparks’ sibling duo of Nneka and Chiney Ogwumike would have faced off against the Aces’ duo of A’ja Wilson and Liz Cambage in their regular-season debuts. Both Ogwumikes will still play this evening. But with Cambage likely to sit this game out, Sunday will be an opportunity for Wilson to show how well she developed since last season. Expect the Aces to pull this one out because they have more backcourt depth with Kayla McBride, Kelsey Plum and 2019 first overall draft pick Jackie Young.