Will Alyssa Thomas shoulder the load for the Connecticut Sun against MVP A'ja Wilson and the Las Vegas Aces in Game 4 of their semi-final series?
There has been an overworked joke on WNBA Twitter that expresses shock any time a broadcast commentary team references Alyssa Thomas' two torn labrums. The joke isn't that she has two shoulders that are disconnected, to the point where she can't lift her arms above her head, it's merely about the regularity in which broadcasters feel the need to mention it.
At the risk of becoming the butt of that same joke: did you know that Alyssa Thomas has two torn labrums in her shoulders?!
The labrum is a type of cartilage that helps the shoulder joint stay in the socket and it can become damaged when a shoulder is dislocated. Thomas has had shoulder issues since 2015 and has avoided having surgery to repair anything for fear of having to miss extended time in her career.
Due to the restricted movement, her free throw percentage is atrocious, she doesn't even attempt three-point shots, but still manages to hit more than half her field goals. This season, she was the second leading rebounder in the league as her team dealt with the loss of several players from last year's WNBA Finals team.
In Game 2 of the Connecticut Sun's series against the Las Vegas Aces on Tuesday night, during a defensive possession against A'ja Wilson, Thomas' arm awkwardly jammed into her opponent's back and she immediately crumpled to the floor clutching her shoulder, which had possibly dislocated again.
She wouldn't return to the game and while the Sun stayed with the Aces until the final minutes, Connecticut lacked composure. Wilson went for 29 points, seven rebounds, three assists and seven blocks, and without Thomas to make her life difficult, it all looked very easy for the league's MVP.
Aces head coach Bill Laimbeer praised Wilson to Associated Press' Doug Feinberg: "She kept us in the game on both ends of the floor and won the game for us down the stretch."
Wilson started her WNBA career with one of the best rookie seasons since Candace Parker became the first and only player to win Rookie of the Year and MVP in the same year, but struggled as a sophomore when she was asked to share the paint with one of the best low-post threats the game has ever seen: Liz Cambage.
This year, without Cambage and point guard Kelsey Plum, Wilson is the clear leader and has improved dramatically. She focused on becoming better defensively - an area of weakness during those first two seasons - and her footwork has improved dramatically. She now creates more space, especially as defenders know to force her to a weak right hand, and the improvements led Las Vegas to the top of the WNBA standings.
That's why it was such a shock when the Aces got blown out by the Sun in Game 1.
Extended breaks during the playoffs always spark the rest versus rust discussion. Connecticut had two single-elimination games last week in order to reach the semi-finals, meanwhile Las Vegas received a double-bye, owing to their top seed. They had a full week off from competitive play to relax by the pool in Florida, but they got burned by the Sun in their return to action.
After Thomas went down, the Aces capitalised, and while the Sun forced Wilson to drive right in a closing possession of the tight game, the MVP got the bucket and the foul to secure the victory.
1:18
"We were going to win this game," she told ESPN's Holly Rowe straight after the game. "I didn't want to be down 2-0."
A day later, Sun head coach Curt Miller told the media that Alyssa Thomas was unlikely to be back, and things didn't look good for their prospects of returning to the Finals.
But somehow, Thomas was back, bandaged and taped, in time for tip-off of Game 3.
Within minutes, she crashed shoulder-first into the Aces' Angel McCoughtry and the two fell to the floor. Thomas started to look like The Black Knight from Monty Python and the Holy Grail - she would not give up.
In the tight competition, Thomas' presence gave Connecticut the same lift Las Vegas got from Wilson in the previous contest. A good defensive possession late by the Sun saw the excellent instincts of Thomas stand out as she stole the ball and got fouled while scoring to seal the win.
The Sun are now one win away from winning the semi-finals, despite losing their first five games of the year. They are one season removed from taking the Washington Mystics to five games in the Finals and the roster has had such huge turnover - losing their starting point guard to another team and arguably the best center in the league to health concerns.
3:53
Miller told Sky Sports NBA why they are able to succeed amid such turmoil and turnover. He said: "The chemistry off the court really blossomed and that's a credit to our leadership among the players, and now it has translated to on the court during the second half of the season, and we are playing as well as anyone despite these injuries.
"We believe we are one of the great franchises in the league. We are in a period when it's our time, and the last couple of years it has been our time. You could argue we are the winningest team in the season since 2017, and I think we have won the second most playoff games since 2017 - sometimes we don't always feel like that is the narrative out there.
2:01
"We use that as a chip [on our shoulder], and we are one of the organisations that hasn't won a WNBA championship, but we have got a group that is striving to bring a championship to Connecticut at some point. Can we do it this year? Can we keep trending towards it in the future? We are going to try to have sustained success."
As a seventh-seed in the playoffs, going up against the No 1-seeded Aces, it is fair to say Connecticut's chances were overlooked this year, but Miller's thoughts were backed up by guard Jasmine Thomas, who scored 31 for the Sun in Game 1.
She said: "We have a talented roster all round. With All-Stars and champions, we are not just role players. But also, we are very much focused on us. It gets played out in the media more than what really affects us. We really stay focused on what we are trying to accomplish here as a team and our goals. What people's expectations and opinions are of us doesn't really matter."
With Alyssa Thomas back in the line-up to lead Connecticut, the underdogs now have two chances to return to the WNBA Finals, but she can't shoulder the load alone.
The Sun will need the full support of the All-Stars, champions and role players on her team, because in Wilson, the league's Most Valuable Player, Las Vegas still holds a trump card.
Watch Las Vegas Aces @ Connecticut Sun Game 4 via a free live stream across Sky Sports' digital platforms on Sunday at 6pm; live coverage also available on Sky Sports Arena
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September 28, 2020 at 06:22AM
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WNBA: Will Alyssa Thomas shoulder load for Connecticut Sun against A'ja Wilson and Las Vegas Aces? - Sky Sports
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