Kelsey Plum admits she’s been “frustrated” with her shooting during the 2022 postseason.
Through her seven previous outings, Plum posted 17.0 points, 4.1 rebounds, and 3.1 assists per game on 39.0 percent shooting from the field and 26.1 percent from beyond the arc.
“I’ve been a little bit, you know, frustrated with how I’ve performed throughout the whole playoffs,” Plum said, “so I’m just glad that they’ve been carrying it, and I decided to join the party.”
A’ja Wilson on what she told Kelsey Plum before the game:
— Khristina Williams (@Khristina) September 14, 2022
“I told her she needs to get her shit together.”
Any hooper with the kind of pedigree Plum has will tell you that the lid comes off the basket, eventually. Shooters shoot, after all, and you miss 100 percent of the shots you don’t take. That type of mentality Plum undoubtedly had helped the Washington product find her swag back on Tuesday, just two days after she scored just single-digit points for the third time in her playoff career.
“I told [Plum] she needed to get her s— together,” Wilson said. “At the end of the day, that’s what she needs to do. Make sure she understood that we need her to make shots, and I know it sounds harsh, but KP is a pro, and she went out there and took care of business. I think she understands that we believe in her, and like I said in the last press conference, I have ways that I talk to my teammates to get them to understand where I need to be and where we need to be. Yeah, I cussed her out.”
Plum Dawg 🤝 Big Guard@Kelseyplum10 // @dearicamarie pic.twitter.com/4RiymkdIkT
— Las Vegas Aces (@LVAces) September 14, 2022
The Aces’ 85-71 Game 3 win featured Plum rediscovering her shooting stroke. The 2022 All-Star MVP dropped 20 points and seven assists on 7-13 shooting from the field and 1-6 shooting from beyond the arc, including 11 points in the third quarter. Plum, A’ja Wilson (26 points and 10 rebounds), and Chelsea Gray (21 points, eight assists, and three steals) combined to score 67 points in Game 3.
“A’ja cussed me out before; that’s all I needed,” Plum joked while being interviewed postgame by Holly Rowe of ESPN.”It’s about time I joined the party; they’ve been carrying us all week, so it’s good to hit some shots, but we got one more.”
Las Vegas will look to complete their sweep of Connecticut on Thursday in Mohegan Sun Arena.
