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The Dallas Wings continue to limp toward the end of the regular season. Eliminated from playoff contention and needing room to grow, they’ll travel to Atlanta Friday night seeking an upset against a Dream team that looks as if they are a perennial contender to make a deep postseason run.
The Wings’ injury report and odds, however, don’t do them any favors. Dallas (9-30) will be without Paige Bueckers and seven of her teammates, making the Western Conference’s basement dweller a guaranteed underdog.
Sports Illustrated’s Iain McMillan expects a rough night in Atlanta, and rightfully so.
McMillan initially had Bueckers as a player prop, but with her absence, Dallas will need a depleted lineup to step up in a big way. It’s easier said than done, however, as the minutes decrease will be rather obvious by the time the game begins.
Even so, it won’t be enough to spring a huge upset as the Dream (24-14) attempt to steer the ship forward after dropping a trap game of sorts to the Las Vegas Aces (22-14) earlier this week in a relatively significant upset across the league when examining the pretenders from the contenders.
“In no way can I back the Wings in this spot, who are banged up and are doing nothing but looking forward to the end of the season at this point. Meanwhile, the Dream have been playing fantastic basketball and now rank second in the league in Net Rating at +7.1,” McMillan wrote.
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McMillan pointed out a major discrepancy that will ultimately hurt the Wings once the game gets underway.
“This is a game between one of the best defenses and one of the worst, so I’d be surprised if the Dream doesn’t dominate on their home court,” McMillan wrote. “I’ll lay the number with Atlanta.”
Dallas is on a six-game losing skid with its last win coming against the Indiana Fever on Aug. 12. A full rebuild is in motion in Dallas, and it’s clear Bueckers is the one who will need to carry the torch forward as the face of the franchise once 100 percent healthy for the last bit of this season into the offseason.
Nevertheless, though, sweating a double-digit spread doesn’t seem to be the smart play here as the Wings sit as an 11.5-point underdog at home.
Tipoff is set for 7:30 p.m. ET, and the game can be seen on WNBA League Pass (blackout restrictions apply).
