Phoenix Mercury (0-1) vs Indiana Fever (0-1)
When: Wednesday, July 29th at 7pm.
Where: IMG Academy in Bradenton, Florida
TV: NBATV, FEVER.WNBA.COM, / Radio: ESPN Phoenix 620 AM
Injury/Opt Out:
Phoenix: None
Indiana: Lauren Cox (Out, WNBA Medical Protocol), Kathleen Doyle (Out, Right Ankle), Erica Wheeler (Out, WNBA Medical Protocol)
Phoenix -
76.0 - points per game
99.0- points against
44.3 - Field goal %
Indiana -
76.0 - points per game
101.0 - points against
39.4 - field goal %
Keep an eye on:
Skylar Diggins-Smith - being aggressive open's the floor up completely for the Mercury. In Phoenix season opening loss to LA, Diggins-Smith was very efficient shooting the ball, posting 14 points and 6 assists on 5-8 shooting from the field, 3-5 shooting from deep. The problem was she didn't look for her shot enough. She was in my eyes too focused on trying to get Griner going. Diggins-Smith is a complete floor general, she just has to play her game. Take the shot when its there and that will force opposing bigs to have to help, which will make it easier to find Griner in prime scoring position.
Looking Inside: to Teaira McCowan will more then likely be an emphasis for Indiana. McCowan didn't have a good season opener in the least bit. She posted 1 point, 4 rebounds on 0-4 shooting in 14 minutes as the Fever were dominated by the defending WNBA champion Mystics. With Brittney Griner as tonight's match-up, they will need McCowans to match her 10 point, 9 rebound output she had as a rookie, if not exceed it, to keep Griner occupied. McCowans is one of a handful of players that physically can match-up with Griner straight up.
New York Liberty (0-1) vs Dallas Wings (0-1)
When: Wednesday, July 29th at 8pm.
Where: IMG Academy in Bradenton, Florida
TV: CBSSN / Radio: N/A
Injury/Opt Out:
New York: Kia Nurse (Questionable,Left Ankle Sprain), Jazmine Jones (Probable, Right Ankle Sprain)
Dallas: Marina Mabrey ( Probable, Quad)
New York -
71.0 - points per game
87.0- points against
34.8 - Field goal %
Dallas Wings -
95.0 - points per game
105.0 - points against
43.6 - field goal %
Keep an eye on:
Ionescu vs Ogunbowale: will be an interesting match-up. Ionescu is looking to rebound from a subpar debut (in a loss to the Seattle Storm. It gets no easier as she will face ultra competitive second year Dallas Wings guard Arike Ogunbowale. Ogunbowale is a relentless scorer who is averaging 19 points a game while shooting 37 percent from 3-point territory.
Megan Walker: returns to the Liberty after going through WNBA protocol following testing positive for Covid-19. She was able to practice Monday and Tuesday and is likely to get tonight against the Dallas Wings. Walker was the player of the year in the American Athletic Conference for UConn, averaging 19.7 points and 8.4 rebounds.
Youth Movement: is in full effect for both teams. Dallas Wings got some solid production out of their rookies Satou Sabally (11 points, 5 rebounds, 5 assists, 2 steals) and Tyasha Harris ( 13 points, 4 assists) in their season opening loss to Atlanta. Liberty rookies Ionescu (12 points, 6 rebounds, 4 assists), Leaonna Odom (9 points, 3 rebounds) and Jocelyn Willoughby ( 9 points, 4 rebounds) all showed they were willing to compete at a high level in the WNBA. Whichever group of rookies rise to occasion best, will win the game for their respective teams.
Atlanta Dream (1-0) vs Las Vegas Aces (0-1)
When: Wednesday, July 29th at 10pm.
Where: IMG Academy in Bradenton, Florida
TV: CBSSN, MYLVTV / Radio: N/A
Injury/Opt Out:
Atlanta: Kalani Brown ( Out, Illness), Courtney Williams (Out, WNBA Medical Protocol)
Las Vegas: None
Atlanta -
105.0 - points per game
95.0- points against
54.8 - Field goal %
Las Vegas -
86.0 - points per game
88.0 - points against
46.8 - field goal %
Keep an eye on:
Chennedy Carter/ Monique Billings: one, two punch was deadly in a season opening win over the Wings. Billings was DOMINANT!!!! The 6'4 forward/center finished with 30 points, 13 rebounds and 2 blocks on 71 percent shooting from the field. Carter, who came in with a reputation as a certified assassin, showed she can run a team as well. Carter posted 18 points, 8 assists and 5 rebounds. The pick & roll actions with these two is already nearly unguardable. Atlanta face a tough test against the talented Aces tonight .How these two adjust on the fly will tell how far the Dream can truly go this season.
Three Point Shooting: is what hurt the Aces late in the game in a loss to Chicago, despite multiple opportunities to close the game. Despite Angel McCoughtry's monster night ( 25 points, 8 rebounds) and A'ja Wilson's double double (22 points, 11 rebounds) , the Aces struggled to hit shots from deep. Don't expect that to continue, especially with sniper Kayla McBride, who is a career 36 percent 3-point shooter and coming off a season where she shot a career high 42 percent from deep, on the roster.
