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Sunday presented a winnable game for the Dallas Wings as they faced the Washington Mystics at home.
However, expectations of success in Dallas this season have often led to disappointment. This game was no exception. Despite dominating in the first half and leading by as many as 14 points, the Wings fell apart in the second half, losing 91-78.
Mystics rookie Kiki Iriafen had a career-high 23 points and grabbed 10 rebounds. The Wings got another solid performance from Paige Bueckers as she scored 17 points, but it wasn’t enough for Dallas to win.
Now, the Wings are tied for the longest losing streak in the WNBA at five games and counting. While there was still some hope they could turn things around after the All-Star break, those hopes are now essentially dead in the water as they sit at 8-24 and in 11th place in the standings with 12 games to go.
During this current stretch of defeats, there have been a few big reasons why the Wings haven’t been able to win.
When it comes to putting the ball in the net, the Wings haven’t been doing it. On average, they’ve been scoring 78.8 points per game, good for ninth in the league. That’s not enough to win many modern basketball games, unless you have one of the best defenses in the WNBA.
The advanced stats also demonstrate Dallas’ offensive struggles. During these last five games, they’ve had an offensive rating of 99, which is also ninth in the WNBA. The true shooting percentages are even worse. Dallas has a 50.8 percent true shooting percentage; only the Sky and Sun have been worse. Considering that both of those teams are also out of the playoff picture, that’s not the company you want to be associated with.
The defense has been even worse
Not only have the Wings not been scoring, but they’ve also shown less resistance than a turnstile defensively.
Opponents have been shooting lights out against Dallas. During this losing streak, teams are shooting 42.9 percent from 3-point range against the Wings. Overall, opponents are shooting 48.9 percent from the field. Both of those numbers are the highest shooting percentages in the league.
It’s no surprise then that their defensive rating is 110.3, which is 11th in the WNBA. With DiJonai Carrington now traded, it’s going to be even harder for a defensive improvement to happen for the Wings.
Due to the passion people have for basketball, what matters can get overcomplicated. In the end, this sport is simple: score as much as you can and prevent the other team from doing the same. On both sides, the Wings have been failing, and it’s why it doesn’t matter if they play a good team like the New York Liberty or a mediocre one like the Mystics—the result has been the same.
With just a dozen games to go and the Wings so far from the playoffs, what should they do next?
Well, it’s time for two things: tank and assess talent. Unless they win virtually every single game the rest of the way, the playoffs are out of the picture in Dallas. So, why not “improve” your percentage of lottery balls and make sure you have the best odds at a top pick?
Beyond that, the franchise also has to make some big decisions on how they will go forward in the Paige Bueckers era. Arike Ogunbowale is a free agent, so they have to determine if pairing her in the backcourt with Bueckers, and paying her a big contract, is the best option for the future. They’ve also just traded for Diamond Miller, so they need to assess what they have in her and how they could potentially utilize her next year. With two expansion drafts also coming up, Dallas, like every other team, also has to consider which players they will prioritize protecting, and these last games can be glorified tryouts for that.
Beyond lottery odds and talent evaluation, the only thing left for Wings fans is to hope Bueckers has some fun games, while keeping their fingers crossed that no one gets hurt the rest of the way.
It’s the WNBA and some teams will ultimately end up in the basement. For the Wings, that’s where they’ll be, but if they play their cards right with what’s left of the season and in the offseason, they can crawl their way back to relevance quite soon.
