Unrivaled: How Rhyne Howard and Vinyl can be even better

Last time they took the court, Vinyl finally secured their first win, with an Unrivaled-record 40 points from Dearica Hamby ensuring a convincing victory over Hive.

The emphasis, however, is on finally because Vinyl, arguably, should be 3-0, as they fumbled halftime leads against Laces and Rose in somewhat embarrassing fashion. In their opener, Vinyl was held scoreless by Laces in the fourth quarter. Then, they allowed Chelsea Gray to activate Point Gawd mode and lead Rose to a comeback win.

But to avoid more collapses, including in their game against Breeze on Saturday night (8:45 p.m. ET, truTV), Vinyl must maximize their advantages. And fortunately for Vinyl, they have a lot of advantages.

Vinyl entered this weekend’s game tied with Phantom for the most efficient offense in Unrivaled, with both clubs averaging 1.10 points per shot attempt. Their efficiency is driven by their elite 3-point shooting, with Rhyne Howard responsible for much of Vinyl’s behind-the-arc effectiveness.

Even as one might nod along when Lisa Leslie urges Howard to not settle for 3s and instead attack the basket, Howard’s 14-for-29 performance from 3 represents a convincing rebuttal. Furthermore, Rhyne’s 48.3 3-point percentage suggests she should increase her 3-point volume to beyond the nine 3-point attempts per game that she currently is averaging, which already is the second-highest in Unrivaled.

As a team, Vinyl leads Unrivaled with a 43.6 percent 3-point resume, with Rae Burrell’s above-her-head 3-for-5 effort balancing out Erica Wheeler’s subpar 4-for-12 start.

Although noted for her midrange mastery, Courtney Williams, currently at 50 percent on 3s, should be putting up more than one per game. By establishing herself as a credible threat from behind the arc, she can create more space to get into her preferred midrange pull-up game. At the end of Vinyl’s loss to Rose, Williams’ forays inside the arc resulted in miscues when she was crowded by multiple defenders. A good outside shooter, she can avoid such circumstances by unleashing 3-pointers that stretch out the opposing defense. Williams’ shooting also can open more avenues for Dearica Hamby to do damage around the basket, in addition to creating openings for Howard.

And Howard, despite her stellar shooting, still would be smart to heed Leslie’s call by taking advantage of such openings with a more aggressive drive game that earns her easy points from the free throw line. For a high-usage offensive player, Howard’s free throw attempt rate is quite low. Her issue, rather than settling for 3s, is not applying her physical gifts and powering her way to the rim when she does venture inside the 3-point line.

Welcoming, not evading, contact will help Howard and Vinyl earn extra points. (A perfect 2-for-2 from the line so far, the prospect of a $50K prize should provide Rhyne with the extra motivation needed to draw lots of fouls and get to the line). As efficient as their offense is, Vinyl is leaving points on the board by averaging the second-fewest free throws per game, with only Hamby consistently collecting trips to the line.

A solid defensive club, polishing up an already-effective offense can put Vinyl in better position to close out games, starting on Saturday night against Breeze.

Can Lunar Owls show some progress against Mist?

Improvement also is the priority for Lunar Owls.

Last game, a 12-point loss to Laces, was a step in the right direction. The eventual return of Skylar Diggins, who has missed the first three games with a lower extremity injury on her right leg, should inspire further progress.

Even if approaching last season’s success is out of the question for these Owls, becoming a night-to-night competitive club is not.

Diggins’ return not only will remove some of the offensive responsibilities from Marina Mabrey and Aaliyah Edwards, who are overburdened as extremely high-usage options, but also make the rest of the roster more viable, particularly Rebecca Allen and Rachel Banham. Diggins can create drive-and-kick opportunities, with her paint touches producing open 3-pointers for Allen and Banham, who thus far have not been able to consistently access the most valuable aspect of their offensive games.

Recognizing that the season-long loss of Napheesa Collier puts them at a talent deficit, Lunar Owls want to shoot a lot of 3s.

So far, too many of those are coming from Mabrey, who is shooting 28.6 percent on a league-leading 11.7 attempts per game. Banham has taken 11 totals 3s, with Allen shooting just eight. Their percentages, however, are encouraging, with Banham at 36.4 percent and Allen at 37.5 percent. If Skylar can create more 3s for them, as well as more catch-and-shoot, rather than off-the-dribble, looks for Mabrey, Owls can hope that the power of 3-point variance can carry them to a victory or two.

Diggins developing a pick-and-roll partnership with Temi Fagbenle would also benefit Lunar Owls. Providing Fagbenle with an offensive role would also allow the club to take better advantage of her rebounding prowess. She’s playing less than nine minutes per game, yet averaging almost six boards.

Whether or not Diggins debuts on Saturday night, a matchup with a Mist squad coming off their first loss is far from ideal (7:30 p.m. ET, truTV).

Not only will Mist be motivated, but the variety of ways in which Mist can score—from deadly two-woman actions between Breanna Stewart and one of Allisha Gray, Veronica Burton and Arike Ogunbowale to Gray’s 3-point sharpshooting to Ogunbowale’s isolation stylings to Burton’s strong drives to Stewie working in the post to Li Yueuru’s soft touch around the basket—could cause lots of problems for a Lunar Owls’ defense that has given up an average of 86 points per game.

But as Hive showed against Rose on Friday night, no outcome is guaranteed in Unrivaled.