Opinion felt fairly split after the Las Vegas Aces essentially traded Kelsey Plum for Jewell Loyd. Plum was the perfect player for this Aces team, someone who could knock down shots and seemed comfortable both on and off the ball. Loyd, meanwhile, basically fell off a cliff efficiency-wise in 2022 and hadn't recovered.
But in a lower usage role, she'd be fine, right? And it's not like the Aces could have said no to this deal — Plum was gone no matter what, so being able to add Loyd into the mix was better than losing Plum to the Sparks for nothing.
It was going to be fine. Loyd would figure out how to work as the third option in Vegas. She'd rediscover her efficiency with less pressure on her shoulders. Playing with A'ja Wilson would revitalize her.
Readers, this has not been the case.
It's been bad.
Really bad.
Jewell Loyd's inability to hit a 2-pointer is killing the Aces
Loyd's actually been shooting fairly well from deep, knocking down 37.2 percent of her 3-point attempts. That's a big part of what Vegas needed her to do, and she's doing it! So, what's the issue?
Well, it's almost like the moment Loyd's feet move inside the arc, her arms forget how to shoot a basketball.
Loyd has been unimaginably bad from 2-point range, connecting on just 20.6 percent of her looks inside the arc. Among 93 qualifying players in 2-point field goal percentage, Loyd ranks 93rd.
She's shooting 28.6 percent at the rim. 28.6 percent on non-restricted area paint attempts. 7.7 percent on midrange attempts. No matter where she's at inside the arc, she's missing shots. Through eight games, Loyd has made seven 2-pointers. I mean...what else is there to say here?
Aces could bench Jewell Loyd, but it might not solve the problems
It's reached a point where head coach Becky Hammon has been discussing bringing Loyd off the bench instead of starting her.
Would that work? Who knows! One issue with benching Loyd would be that the team would likely end up starting...who? Dana Evans would have to play out of position. Tiffany Mitchell actually has a lower field goal percentage than Loyd. Maybe rookie Aaliyah Nye could start, but that also feels risky.
But the numbers also suggest that having Loyd on the floor is better than having her off the floor. Per PBP Stats, the Aces have a +0.19 net rating with Loyd on the court and a minus-10.12 net rating with her off the floor. To me, that says much more about how the team can't trust its guard depth than it says anything positive about Loyd.
Vegas was one of the preseason favorites, the top team outside of the Aces/Lynx tier, but the team is just 4-4 on the year and ranks 10th in net rating. Having Loyd on the floor has been better than having Loyd off the floor, but her massive shooting struggles have limited the team's upside.
Just for comparison, look at the on/off numbers last year for Plum. The team had a plus-7.69 net rating with her on the floor and a plus-4.49 net rating with her off the floor. Not only did she raise the team's ceiling in a way that Loyd isn't doing, but the team had enough bench depth to manage through times when she was on the sidelines. This Vegas team doesn't have the luxury of the second, but Loyd doesn't give them enough when she's out there to make them true contenders.