Commissioner’s Cup?
Nope, the Reese Return takes center stage in the WNBA on Tuesday night, as Angel Reese and the Atlanta Dream visit the Chicago Sky (7 p.m. ET, ESPN).
The disintegration between the Sky organization and their former star is well-trod ground, with both sides moving on to what they thought would be brighter days.
Advertisement
For Angel, that Dream has been realized with Atlanta. The Dream are 7-3, firmly in position to secure a top-four playoff seed. That success has been driven by their defense, of which Angel has immediately emerged as an integral piece due to her energy, effort and emotion.
With a 3-1 start, the Sky had appeared to have successfully pivoted from the Angel Era, importing experienced veterans and perimeter scorers in order to instantly elevate the team into playoff contention. That encouraging start, however, proved to be a mirage. A season-ending injury to Rickea Jackson, while a significant blow, shouldn’t have sent the team on a five-game skid, only broken by a favorable matchup against the Connecticut Sun. After, Chicago was uncompetitive in a loss to the Toronto Tempo, plunging them to 4-7.
Is Angel, now in an Atlanta jersey, going to enter to Chicago to an ovation and exit with a victory? Or, can the Sky greet the team’s former star by protecting homecourt?
Advertisement
Wintrust Arena has not been kind to the Sky, as the aforementioned win over the Sun was their first and only home win. Their defense, which impressed during their inspiring, road-heavy start to the season, has emerged as the culprit. Opponents are scoring over 90 points per game in Chicago, as the Sky register a defensive rating of 109.7. That’s resulted in the Sky being outscored by 43 points across their five home games.
Fortunately for the Sky, the Dream have been better at home than on the road, with their offense faltering away from the ATL. For the season, the Dream have an offensive rating of 102.5 on the road, which has produced an average of 81.2 points per game. Their 3-point shooting, in particular, has been off when away, with the Dream making only 28.8 percent of their road 3s.
Regardless of location, Reese has produced consistently for the Dream, averaging a double-double as she leads the league with 11.7 rebounds per game.
It’s Rhyne Howard who has been the home-vs.-road bellwether for the Dream.
Advertisement
Howard has put up MVP numbers in Atlanta, scoring over 25 points per game on better than 51 percent shooting, including making five 3s per game at a 48.8 percent clip. On the road, Howard’s offense has been extremely average, scoring just 12.2 points per game as she has hit just 31 percent of her shots and 33.3 percent of her 3s. She also gets to the line about 1.5 times fewer per game on the road.
A (thus far) rare Rhyne road heater would all but ensure her new teammate’s return ends with a positive result.
What do you think will happen in Chicago on Tuesday night?
Will Sky fans show their love for Angel? Will she then show her appreciation by treating them to a signature double-double that drives a Dream win? Or, do you expect Angel, pressing for a big game, to experience an off night that could advantage the Sky?
Advertisement
Are the Wings the Lynx’s biggest Cup challenger?
While the Reese Return will command much of the WNBA world’s attention, a game with greater implications is taking place in Minneapolis.
The Minnesota Lynx, atop the Western Conference Commissioner’s Cup standings at 3-0 and a +57 point differential, host the Dallas Wings, currently second in the West Cup table with a 2-0 mark and +31 scoring margin (8 p.m. ET, WNBA League Pass).
Can Dallas not simply spoil Minnesota’s hoped-for perfect return to the Cup, but also prove that they, in fact, are on the Lynx’s level?
When the two teams met in Dallas in mid-May, the Wings hung with the Lynx for over three quarters, until a disastrous defensive close led to the loss that inspired head coach Jose Fernandez’s signature postgame rant.
Advertisement
Since then, the Wings have just lost once, going 6-1. The same is true for the Lynx, now winners of seven-straight games. Overall, Minnesota has the best defense (97.1 defensive rating) and second-best offense (110.9 offensive rating) in the league, giving them a league-leading net rating of 13.9. The best offense? That belongs to Dallas (112.7); the Wings also have the second-best net rating at 8.3.
So, can Dallas muster enough resistance on the defensive end to defeat Minnesota, demonstrating that these squads are comparable? Or, will the Lynx defense lock up the high-flying Wings, showing that separation remains between the two sides?
Tell us which team you think will prevail in this showdown between (maybe?) the best in the West.
