WNBA: When will the Solar, Wings lastly get one other win?

One other double dose of Commissioner’s Cup video games are on deck on Friday evening.

Within the Japanese Convention, the Atlanta Dream journey to Connecticut to tackle the Solar at 7:30 p.m. ET, whereas the Western Convention will see the Los Angeles Sparks go to the Dallas Wings at 9:30 p.m. ET. Each video games might be broadcast on ION.

For the Solar and Wings, the video games’ Cup stakes matter little. Each struggling squads are determined for any type of win. Right here’s extra on the problems in Connecticut and Dallas, and whether or not something would possibly change on Friday evening.

The Dream and the nightmare

Connecticut Sun v Minnesota Lynx — Head coach Rachid Meziane and Marina Mabrey.

Top-of-the-line scoring groups of the league meets one of many worst defending groups within the W. The result of this one appears sure.

In Europe, head coach Rachid Meziane was a paragon of versatility, as he was in a position to construct profitable groups round bigs (Emma Meesseman in Belgium) and explosive wings (Kamiah Smalls in Lille). Now, he appears to be approach over his head in Connecticut. The over reliance on 3-point taking pictures is a high-risk, low-reward technique. The Solar are making 29 p.c of their 3s and are getting outrebounded by roughly 4 boards per sport. Then there’s the protection. Within the first seven video games, their rivals made 40 p.c of their long-range photographs and 52 p.c of their two-point makes an attempt.

This state of affairs, once more, brings us again to the roster choices previous to the season. An skilled level guard like Yvonne Anderson is not any stranger to taking up video games for Serbia, whereas massive our bodies just like the 6-foot-7 Kamila Borkowska and 6-foot-1 Caitlin Bickle might deal with the inside. However for some cause, all three have been lower earlier than the season. Tina Charles, who was changed on the Dream by Britney Griner, is the only vibrant spot beneath the boards.

Atlanta, in distinction, has succeeded in setting up a roster round Rhyne Howard. Quite a lot of gamers, together with Maya Caldwell, who was barely enjoying on the Fever two years in the past and is now averaging 19 minutes per sport, are making contributions that transcend the stat sheet.

The Dream have the fitting combination of gamers, the Solar could also be in search of a commerce quickly with the intention to discover it.

Will the Wings lastly take off?

Dallas Wings v Connecticut Sun — Kaila Charles and Chris Koclanes.

The Solar are heading to the underside, whereas the Wings have been alleged to be bouncing again after final yr’s struggles. But, each groups discover themselves in related positions.

On paper, the Wings appear a yr or two away from being a playoff contender. DiJonai Carrington is without doubt one of the greatest wing defenders within the league, NaLyssa Smith has tons of potential that continues to be untapped, Arike Ogunbowale has been a perennial All-Star and Paige Bueckers (who will miss a third-game on Friday attributable to concussion protocols) is without doubt one of the best rookies in current reminiscence. So, why are the Wings the worst workforce within the W?

Because the fifth-best scoring workforce within the league, you’d assume the Wings would have the ability to edge out a pair extra wins than a complete of 1. Moreover, the Wings are second in tempo, which is comprehensible contemplating the Bueckers-Ogunbowale-Carrington trio on the fastbreak.

But, the Wings have one win due to their defensive struggles.

The Golden State Valkyries, who lack the star energy of the Wings, are enjoying zone protection and doing it nicely, whereas the isolation protection most popular by Dallas head coach Chris Koclanes simply doesn’t work. As identified by our Edwin Garcia, Bueckers’ rising pains and Ogunbowale’s inconsistency additionally clarify Wings’ struggles. Lack of changes are a difficulty as nicely, and if issues don’t enhance, Koclanes could turn out to be the early scapegoat for the Wings’ issues.