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The much-anticipated matchup between the Las Vegas Aces and Seattle Storm in the semifinals of the 2022 WNBA playoffs got underway Sunday, but not in the manner that most expected. Seattle's decorated big three of Breanna Stewart, Jewell Loyd and Sue Bird led the way en route to a dramatic 76-73 victory that gave the Storm a 1-0 lead and homecourt advantage . 

While Stewart's all-around performance, Loyd's clutch shot-making down the stretch and Bird's perfect playmaking were all key factors, the Storm's ability to shut down A'ja Wilson may have been the deciding factor. They held the potential MVP to eight points on 3-of-10 from the field -- her lowest scoring total of the entire season, and her second-worst shooting performance. 

How were the Storm able to keep one of the league's most talented players in check, and what can the Aces do about it moving forward? Let's take a closer look. 

The main takeaway from Game 1 is that the Storm simply decided Wilson was not going to beat them. Easier said than done, of course, but the Storm were able to pull it off. Every single player was keyed in on Wilson and as a result, she was rarely allowed any space or time to think. 

Just a few minutes into the game, Wilson comes off a curl to get the ball at the free throw line and Tina Charles is already standing there on the catch. As Wilson faces up, Breanna Stewart has gotten through the screen and the Storm's help defenders have shrunk the floor so she settles for a jumper. 

Later in the first quarter, it's the same story. The Aces try posting Wilson at the elbow, but when she faces up all she sees is a wall of Storm defenders and Stewart right in her face. This time she tries to spin into a fadeaway that Stewart blocks. 

Now that we've established the Storm's overarching game plan, let's take a look at some more specific reasons they were able to frustrate Wilson. 

The Kiah Stokes/Dearica Hamby problem

Late in the regular season, the Aces decided to move Kiah Stokes into the starting lineup for Dearica Hamby. A few games later, Hamby went down with a knee injury that has kept her sidelined ever since, which means Stokes has not only remained with the starters but taken on a much bigger role. 

While Stokes has her positive qualities, she causes some issues for the Aces on the offensive side of the ball, especially against a great defensive team like the Storm. These two possessions are all you need to watch. 

First, Tina Charles sinks in to sandwich Wilson in the post and make it impossible for her to get the ball. To do so, she leaves Stokes wide open in the corner -- a wise move considering Stokes is 26-of-114 from downtown in her career. As expected, Stokes misses. 

It's one thing to ignore a bad 3-point shooter; it's another to ignore an opponent when they're 15 feet from the basket. But that's just what Charles did the next time down the floor. Stokes catches the ball at the free throw line and is lining up a wide-open jumper, yet Charles still ignores her in order to throw a forearm shiver at Wilson. 

Stokes made the second shot, but the point remains. She doesn't have the ability to consistently punish the Storm for ignoring her, which allows her defender to send extra help to Wilson. The problem for the Aces is they don't have many options while Hamby remains sidelined. 

Rookie center Iliana Rupert is a better shooter than Stokes, and the Storm respect her more than Stokes. Perhaps Rupert gets a few more minutes, but it's hard to see her playing significantly more than she already did in Game 1. Hammon, meanwhile, does not trust anyone else on the bench besides Riquna Williams, a 5-foot-7 guard. Going super small with Wilson at the five surrounded by four guards would juice the offense but would leave the Aces in real trouble defensively; it's notable that Hammon did not try this in Game 1. 

Hammon said prior to Game 1 that Hamby is still a week or two away from playing, which rules her out for Game 2 at the very least. Games 3-5 could be in play, but there's no guarantee she'll be ready in time. 

On the Aces' second possession of the game, they tried to run a simple dribble handoff between Kiah Stokes and Jackie Young, but Stephanie Talbot was attached to Young's hip and read the play to perfection. She jumped in for a steal and went the other way for a layup. 

That type of pressure was a staple of the Storm's defensive effort in Game 1. Sometimes it resulted in turnovers; more often, it simply prevented the Aces from ever finding a flow. While the Storm's pressure primarily affected the Aces' guards, it also played a role in slowing down A'ja Wilson by making it more difficult for her to get the ball. 

Here's an example in the second quarter. Chelsea Gray tries to get the ball into Wilson in the post, but Jewell Loyd is in her face with high hands and Talbot is fronting Wilson. Gray then swings the ball to Stokes for a high-low look, but Breanna Stewart is on Stokes immediately and flies out to deflect the pass. 

Later in the game, the Aces run a pick-and-roll with Gray and Wilson. The Storm switch, which means Wilson is being guarded by the much smaller Loyd. However, Gray is unable to get her the ball right away because of Stewart's length and pressure. When Gray eventually does make the pass it's a lob, which allows Tina Charles to arrive and trap Wilson on the catch. Wilson no longer has an advantage and misses a tough shot. 

The Aces will not win this series with Wilson scoring single digits and shooting 30 percent. So how do they respond to get Wilson better looks against one of the best defenses in the league? There are lineup changes to consider, such as giving Iliana Rupert more of Kiah Stokes' minutes or going super small with Wilson at the five. 

Regardless of the lineup situation, getting Wilson into more clear-out isolation situations would help. This possession late in the second quarter was a perfect example. Wilson gets the ball in the mid-post and the rest of the Aces move to the opposite side of the floor which makes it very difficult to send help. With time to go one-on-one, Wilson cooks Stewart with a nasty up-and-under. 

The Aces will also need their guards to be better. Because the team likes to space the floor, Wilson spends many possessions spotting up around the perimeter and became a reliable 3-point shooter under Becky Hammon. Her opportunities for catch-and-shoot looks were severely limited, however, because the Aces' guards weren't able to get into the paint and get the Storm in rotation. On one of the few occasions that they did, Wilson got a wide-open 3-pointer. 

Seattle has the best one-on-one defender against Wilson in the league in Stewart and an elite supporting cast. They cannot expect to hold Wilson to single digits every game, but they can expect to make her life difficult. The extent to which they're able to do so the rest of the way will determine who wins this series. 

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