This Week in the Wubble: August 10 – August 16
Looking back on the week that was in the WNBA
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We’ve somehow reached the halfway point of the WNBA season already, and things are heating up at the top of the standings. Seattle is starting to run away with the No. 1 spot, but the race for the second double-bye is wide open. Let’s run back all the best stuff that happened over the last 168 hours:
The Sun rose and the Sky fell
A week ago, the Sun were 1–6 and the Sky were sitting on top of our power rankings. One week later and the Sun find themselves in a playoff spot while the Sky are on the outside of playoff bye position looking in. Chicago rebounded from a 1–2 start to the week with a 25-point win over the Dream yesterday, but for a team with championship aspirations, playing on day one of the playoffs is not the goal. On Connecticut’s side, despite joining the growing list of Seattle victims in a 95–72 loss yesterday, a three-game win streak to open the week has allowed Curt Miller to breathe a little knowing that his team is out of the basement.
Standings separation
Connecticut and Chicago aren’t the only teams making moves. The Mystics continued their free fall and the Storm and Aces stayed dominant last week, giving the standings some real separation for the first time this season. Seattle looked like a juggernaut in every game last week, going 4–0 and winning by an average of 24 points. The Storm now have a full game and a half on the second-place Aces. Meanwhile, the 2019 champions have slid all the way out of a playoff spot and currently sit in tenth. As we move into the second half of the regular season the tiers are starting to become more clear, and we’re beginning to get a better picture of the teams that will be battling for those coveted No. 2, No. 4, and No. 8 spots.
More high-profile injuries
The week began with the news of Chennedy Carter going down, and on Thursday, Sylvia Fowles left the game with a calf strain after just one minute. The Dream are hoping Carter can return after two weeks, but that missed time coupled with Ionescu’s injury may open the door for a Rookie of the Year dark horse. One potential candidate stepped up big in Fowles’ absence — Crystal Dangerfield dropped 22 points in Minnesota’s first full game since her MVP-caliber teammate went down. The Lynx had no problem with New York in that one, but losing Fowles indefinitely certainly hampers their chances at a playoff bye.
Jackie Young balled out
The 2019 No. 1 pick filled her role well enough last year, but she fell short of the typical production for a top pick. Through five games this season, it was more of the same: 5.4 points, 3.4 rebounds, and 1.6 assists per game on 39% shooting. But in her team’s last five games, the Jackie Young that helped lead Notre Dame to back-to-back championship games has emerged: 15.8 points, 4.6 rebounds, and 2.6 assists per game on a blistering 57% from the field. As defenses continue to do everything they can to take away MVP candidate A’ja Wilson, Las Vegas will need the help of the supporting cast in order to compete for a title. If Young can maintain this level of confidence, good luck to anybody other than Seattle with stopping the Aces.
Brian Agler kept messing with his starting lineup
Dallas has started ten different players — at least two more than any other team — and Agler continued to experiment this past week as he gave rookies Ty Harris and Bella Alarie their first career starts on Friday and Marina Mabrey her first career start on Sunday. The maneuvering is understandable given how young and new the Wings roster is, but it hasn’t quite worked yet. The Wings lost three of their four games last week and are on pace for an 8–14 finish. Agler may stick with his philosophy of trying new things each game for the rest of the season in an effort to figure out what works and what doesn’t heading into a 2021 season that should bring higher expectations.
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Looking Ahead
The Aces may be the only team with a shot at catching the runaway freight train that is Seattle in the standings, but Las Vegas will likely have to beat them on Saturday to hold onto that hope. The top two teams in the standings haven’t faced each other yet, so Saturday’s tilt at 3 p.m. EDT on ABC will give us our first look at what could be a WNBA Finals preview.
Thanks for reading the Her Hoop Stats Newsletter. If you like our work, be sure to check out our stats site, our podcast, and our social media accounts on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. You can also buy Her Hoop Stats gear, such as laptop stickers, mugs, and shirts!
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