WNBA: Beneath Sydney Johnson, the Mystics are a brand new, successful group

After a completely sudden 2-0 begin, the league’s gravitational forces have slowly pulled the Washington Mystics right down to the imply.

Nevertheless, a 3-3 begin is miles higher than final yr’s 0-12. Behind the headline-worthy play of rookies Kiki Iriafen and Sonia Citron, the Mystics are enjoying simply adequate to construct choke-able leads—after which choke them away. That’s higher than nothing, however a cushty 83-77 win over the Indiana Fever on Wednesday evening will hopefully development Washington again in direction of the win column.

About these leads…

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Let’s get the dangerous out of the way in which.

Towards the Connecticut Solar, the Mystics blew a five-point lead with lower than 5 minutes remaining. They blew a nine-point lead in opposition to the Golden State Valkyries. Worst of all, they blew a 12-point second-half lead, which stayed near double digits within the waning minutes of the fourth quarter, in an epic collapse in opposition to the Las Vegas Aces. Their struggles with sustaining leads is an paradoxically excellent illustration of the Mystics intersection of youth and expertise. They’re gifted sufficient to construct formidable leads in opposition to veteran-led rosters. They’re younger sufficient to utterly blow stated leads as quickly as they really feel the strain.

Jade Melbourne dedicated one of many cardinal sins for younger gamers on the finish of the Vegas recreation. Tie recreation, Mystics ball, 20 seconds left. The shot clock was off, which means that the Mystics can maintain for one shot and, worst involves worst, go to additional time on a miss. Melbourne as an alternative drove with about 10 seconds left, bought blocked by Kiah Stokes, reward wrapping the ball, together with seven seconds, to the Aces. For latest Ace star Jewell Loyd, that was greater than sufficient time to get off a game-winning 3. These sort of errors might be a part of the Mystics journey, and on the very least it’s higher that they occur now quite than later.

No, we’re not going to cease speaking in regards to the rookies

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As talked about earlier than, the Mystics engine is fueled by two rookies who’re having historic begins to their skilled careers.

Citron leads all rookies in factors per recreation whereas capturing an unreal 47.6 p.c from 3 on over 4 makes an attempt per recreation. Her total capturing splits lie at 53/47/89. If she someway maintains that effectivity and makes actually another free throw, she could be the second WNBA participant to ever be a part of the elusive 50/40/90 membership, becoming a member of Washington legend Elena Delle Donne. She has 38 extra video games to go, however that’s undoubtedly a narrative to observe in the intervening time.

Iriafen, who solely trails Citron by two locations on the rookie scoring leaderboard, is averaging a double-double with 13.8 factors and 11.2 rebounds per recreation. She’s second in the complete league in rebounds, a feat that may really feel extra astounding if not for Angel Reese’s record-breaking rebounding final yr. In contrast to Reese’s rookie season, Iriafen hasn’t been combating effectivity. She has the occasional regrettable miss, however capturing over 50 p.c from the sector isn’t simply satisfactory—it’s spectacular for a rookie. Her last faculty marketing campaign at USC left areas of concern about her capability to self-create scoring appears to be like within the publish, however this model of Iriafen is best than any model we noticed at Stanford or USC.

I don’t say this evenly: Citron and Iriafen appear to be the way forward for the Mystics.

What may enhance?

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One of the optimistic issues that could possibly be stated in regards to the Mystics is that they’re 3-3, all of their losses have been by two possessions or much less and so they have gamers who aren’t almost enjoying as much as their very own requirements. If sure names can discover some sort of spark, they could possibly be enjoying even higher than their already-impressive type.

Stefanie Dolson, who was an offensive engine for final yr’s group, has had a noticeably absent impression. She’s right down to lower than 5 factors per recreation and infrequently looks like an entire afterthought in head coach Sydney Johnson’s offense. Mystics followers had been actually hoping that the youthful forwards would eclipse Dolson sooner or later, however Dolson simply doesn’t appear to be herself proper now. Let’s be utterly clear: Dolson will not be enjoying dangerous basketball. It’s truly admirable that she’s keen to surrender her personal offensive load within the curiosity of Iriafen—one thing that can completely pay dividends for the Mystics future. Nevertheless, if her lack of impression begins to appear everlasting, she looks like the most probably departure for the Mystics on the commerce deadline. As a floor-spacing heart, she is of premium worth on this league, and coaches of contending groups completely ought to regulate her standing.

Aaliyah Edwards and Shakira Austin make up the remainder of Washington’s inconsistencies, however solely due to accidents. Austin has been plagued with the damage bug all through her profession, and it looks like the brand new Mystics employees is ensuring they don’t make something worse by speeding her again onto the court docket. Edwards is equally being eased again into play, though her historical past doesn’t counsel any lasting damage issues. Edwards and Austin each performed over quarter-hour on Wednesday in opposition to the Fever, which is an encouraging signal that they’ll be again to their regular minutes quickly. Austin put up 13 factors, two steals, and two blocks. Each gamers are hungry to get again on the court docket, and may bolster the Mystics depth considerably.