Breaking down WNBA Teams at the one-third mark of the season
Taking a closer look at how well teams have performed so far at the one-third mark.
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The 25th WNBA season is well underway and teams have started to reach the one-third mark of their WNBA schedule. Some teams have played exceptionally well while others have struggled in the early part of the WNBA season. While the season is far from over, we have enough data to see how they stack up in 2021. Tuesday, we took a look at the six teams that reached ten games played the fastest. Today, we’ll examine the remaining teams. All numbers cited in this article are through games completed Tuesday night.
Dallas Wings (5-6, 6th place, 5.0 Games Back)
The Dallas Wings have been a surprise team so far in 2021. They are currently just under .500 and are right in the midst of the playoff standings. They have had some excellent wins and been competitive in their losses. In fact, their worst loss this season has only been by seven points while last year they suffered six double-digit defeats. Arike Ogunbowale continues to play well while Marina Mabrey has stepped up and is in the conversation for the Most Improved Player Award behind her 16.9 points, 5.7 rebounds, and 3.3 assists per game. After both Satou Sabally and Allisha Gray missed some time due to national commitments, the Wings are not at full strength. The Wings play with a ton of confidence and it shows in their play and in their performance so far. The Wings currently average 85.5 points per game which is third-best in the league. Their defense still needs work as they give up 83.2 points per game which is ninth in the league.
Phoenix Mercury (5-6, 7th place, 5.0 Games Back)
The Phoenix Mercury has had mixed results so far. They’ve had games where they’ve looked great and had some games in which they struggled to score. Of course, a majority of their season has had Diana Taurasi sidelined with injury. In her absence, both Skylar Diggins-Smith and Brittney Griner have stepped up. The Mercury average 78.6 points per game which is tenth in the league and well below their 86.1 points per game in the Wubble. They need to work on their offense moving forward and Taurasi’s eventual return should help tremendously. Phoenix’s defense is in great condition, as they give up 80.8 points per game which is sixth in the WNBA. The Mercury is still going to be a formidable team once they are back to full strength.
Washington Mystics (4-6, 10th place, 5.5 Games Back)
The Washington Mystics have held their own through one-third of their schedule so far. Without the injured Elena Delle Donne and Alysha Clark out for the season, they have managed to stay in the playoff chase. Tina Charles is having a fantastic WNBA season so far and very much looks like an MVP candidate with her league-leading 24.0 points per game. Ariel Atkins continues her strong guard play as she is scoring 18.0 points per game. Myisha Hines-Allen has also helped the team as she is averaging 14.7 points per game and 7.6 rebounds per game. At first, the Mystics got off to a rough 1-3 start with all the losses by at least ten points, but slowly but surely they have come back to the pack. The Mystics are currently averaging 81.5 points per game which is sixth in the league. They are giving up 82.6 points per game which rank seventh. They are holding steady until Elena Delle Donne can make her return from injury.
New York Liberty (6-5, 4th place, 4.0 Games Back)
The New York Liberty got off to a hot start in the WNBA season before they lost four of their last five games. Still, the Liberty is over 0.500 despite this rough patch. They started off strongly behind the play of Sabrina Ionescu. Ionescu started the season off in style, scoring in double figures in six of her first nine games. Betnijah Laney is averaging 20.5 points per game and 4.0 rebounds per game. Rookie Michaela Onyenwere is the front runner for the Rookie of the Year award because she is making the most out of her minutes. She is averaging 10.2 points per game and had a game in which she scored 29 points versus the Atlanta Dream. The Liberty currently averages 81.7 points per game which is sixth in the league. Their defense, however, is a different story. The team gives up 84.8 points per game which rank tenth. They will need to clean that up if they want to remain among the top eight teams in the WNBA moving forward.
Minnesota Lynx (4-6, 11th place, 5.5 Games Back)
The Minnesota Lynx got off to a rough start in the season as they lost their first four games. They then won three straight games and have alternated wins and losses since. They are currently sitting near the bottom of the WNBA standings and have been hit with an unbelievable number of injuries. Rookie Rennia Davis is out for the season with a left foot stress fracture prior to the season. Jessica Shepard is out indefinitely with a mild adductor strain. Natalie Achonwa is out indefinitely with an MCL sprain in her right knee while Aerial Powers is out indefinitely with a UCL tear in her right thumb 10 minutes into her first game back after missing more than two weeks with a hamstring strain.
Despite the injuries, Napheesa Collier is doing all she can. She is averaging a career-best 17.6 points per game and 6.1 rebounds per game. Sylvia Fowles is having another great year averaging 16.5 points per game and 8.7 rebounds per game. The Lynx are currently averaging 81.5 points per game which is sixth in the league. The team gives up 82.7 points per game which rank eighth. If they can get to full health, they have the talent to rise up the standings.
Los Angeles Sparks (4-5, 8th place, 5.0 Games Back)
*Note - The Los Angeles Sparks reached their 10th game late Wednesday night. This only includes games played through Tuesday night*
The Los Angeles Sparks have generally alternated pairs of wins and losses in their season so far. It has been up and down but that is to be expected after they lost their franchise player Candace Parker to Chicago in the off-season. They also lost another of their stars in Chelsea Gray to Las Vegas as well. Nneka Ogwumike is now the true face of the franchise in a way she’s really never been before with Parker beside Ogwumike for her entire career. However, both Nneka and Chiney Ogwumikeare currently dealing with injuries, and each player has only played a few games so far. In their absence, scoring has become really difficult as the Sparks score 74.2 points per game which is last in the WNBA. A surprising note is that the team gives up 78.3 points per game which rank second. They’ll need to hang their hat on defense to stay in the playoff chase.
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