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Last Week in Las Vegas Sports (Dec 9 – 15)

Highlights

  • Mark Davis tries to ignore the Antonio Pierce situation
  • LV native Kyle Busch admits 2024 was lousy
  • Aidan O’Connell gives an injury update
  • Former NBA player throws support behind A’ja Wilson as ‘face of the WNBA’
  • NBA Cup semi-finals come to the T-Mobile Arena

Let’s dive into last week in Las Vegas sports (Dec 9 – 15).

#5 Mark Davis refuses to call out Antonio Pierce

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Key point: Raiders’ owner Mark Davis knows Antonio Pierce isn’t working out, but he’s reluctant to admit that to the press.

It’s no secret that the Antonio Pierce era in Las Vegas isn’t going as we hoped. The Raiders are 2-11 heading into their game against the Atlanta Falcons and have had a disastrous season. Mark Davis, however, doesn’t want to get into it.

“I don’t even want to talk about that right now,” Davis said in an interview. “We’re still playing through the season… The one thing that this team has done is they’ve fought hard. In every game, they’re fighting hard. That’s something that you don’t find all the time when things aren’t as good as you want them to be. That’s a positive, the way that this team has responded.”

Despite the team’s hard work, the defense always seems to get run over, and the offense lacks momentum. Pierce is not a good decision-maker, yet he’s supposed to be a defensive-minded coach. His future doesn’t look great.

#4 Kyle Busch comments on”character-building” year

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Key point: Kyle Busch’s poor performance in 2024 is likely a sign that his career is coming to an end.

Kyle Busch is a man who is very much on a downward slope in his NASCAR career. The Las Vegas native hasn’t made the final four since winning the championship in 2019 and missed the playoffs this season for the first time in a decade. Busch also saw his 19 consecutive seasons with a win snapped after coming close several times.

This marks one of the worst showings of Busch’s career and might signal that he’s at the end of his road. That’s the only way to explain his zero wins, five top-fives, ten top-tens, and a 20th-place showing in points. Busch, however, describes it as a character-building season.

“[It was] just not at all what we had hoped it to be after some success last year, especially early in the year, having those three wins and then struggling a little bit on and off,” Busch said. “But then this year, just seemingly not being able to get the monkey off our back. Even having a shot to win late in the day; being close at Daytona, and maybe even closer at Kansas, and not being able to pull through.”

The comments are even more interesting when you consider that Busch is in the final year of his contract with Richard Childress Racing. 

#3 Aidan O’Connell gives update after leg injury 

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Source. NFL

Key point: It looks like Aidan O’Connell is getting over his leg injury. 

The Las Vegas Raiders are in trouble, and their quarterback problems are a perfect example. Gardner Minshew ultimately won the starting job in September but gave mixed performances. This shifted the team’s efforts toward Aidan O’Connell, who is showing progress at the position.

That progress comes at a price after O’Connell injured his leg during a late hit against the Buccaneers on Dec 8. The brutal tackle left him on the ground and forced the NFL to cart him out of the stadium. Desmond Ridder took over duties from there.

“Tests on QB Aidan O’Connell’s knee today revealed a bone bruise,” writes ESPN’s Adam Schefter, “and he would like to try to play Monday night vs. the Falcons.”

The good news is that it doesn’t seem to be a season-ending injury.

#2  Former NBA player weighs in on ‘face of the WNBA’ debate

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Source. WNBA

Key point: Many big names in sports consider A’ja Wilson the face of the WNBA

A’ja Wilson is a lot of things at this point in her WNBA career. She is a two-time WNBA champion, two-time regular season MVP, one-time Finals MVP, and defensive player of the year. Wilson was also Las Vegas’ de facto leader during one of the most dominant periods of their existence. You would imagine this would make her a candidate to be the face of the WNBA. Instead, she is being forced to share the conversation with Caitlin Clark.

One former NBA star recently showed his support for Wilson.

“A’ja has done a tremendous job of being a champion, being an MVP, doing all of these things. And now her visibility has gone up,”  Lou Williams stated. “You’re starting to see her in commercials… I still feel like it’s A’ja Wilson, but you give Caitlin Clark credit. What she has accomplished in her rookie year, and the eyes she has brought to the WNBA.”

#1 Las Vegas hosts NBA Cup semi-finals from T-Mobile Arena

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Key point: Las Vegas hosted the NBA Cup semi-finals. The Milwaukee Bucks and the Oklahoma City Thunder went home victorious. 

Las Vegas hosted the NBA Cup semi-finals at T-Mobile Arena on Saturday, with two high-profile matchups. The first was the Milwaukee Bucks vs. Atlanta Hawks, which determined the finals for the East. This matchup went back and forth throughout the first three quarters, making it must-watch basketball.

Fast forward to the fourth quarter, and the Hawks had a 96-95 lead over the Bucks with only five minutes to go. Everything changed from here, however, when the Bucks got a key rebound with three to go, and Khris Middleton later knocked in two free throws. A few seconds later it was Giannis Antetokounmpo putting the Hawks game on life support when he drained a mid-range jump shot to go up by seven.

The Bucks now move on to Wednesday night’s Finals of the Commissioners Cup.  

The next game in the NBA Cup semi-finals saw the Houston Rockets take on the Oklahoma City Thunder for the last spot in the finals. Both teams kept things competitive in the first two quarters. The Rockets even held a 22-20 point lead in the first quarter and ended the second with a 44-41 lead. 

Unfortunately for the Rockets, the Thunder came into the third quarter with a game plan.  Instead of just keeping pace, they started to pull away.

The Rockets did have a chance to stay in the game until a late foul allowed Shai Gilgeous-Alexander to make three free throws. Those three baskets gave the Thunder an 87-79 lead with only seven minutes left. A few minutes later, Gilgeous-Alexander buried a three-pointer that extended the lead to 11.

Oklahoma now moves on to face the Milwaukee Bucks for the NBA Cup.

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