Sports
Defense keeping Mystics alive as one of worst shooting teams in … – NBC Sports Washington
One of the Washington Mystics’ key characteristics this year was going to be their defense. It was going to be what set them apart from the other two new ‘super teams’ in the WNBA and be able to draw them out of any offensive lulls.
Well, for the Mystics that offensive lull is happening at the beginning of the season. And while the defense is one of the best in the league statistically, it hasn’t been able to overcome the team’s shooting issues.
After just six games, the Mystics are dead last in the WNBA in shooting in both major categories. Their 39.3% field goal percentage and 28.9% 3-point shooting are proving to be hindrances no matter how many extra possessions they’re accumulating. They’re averaging just 76.5 points per game as a team (11th) and their offensive rating is dead last at 95.3. Pace, which was a concerted effort to improve in the offseason, is middle of the pack at 80.2 (6th).
Inside the team’s practice facility, there isn’t too much concern about the mere fact of shots not going in the basket. The quality of shots could be better but for now, they just have to grind through it.
There’s a belief that with the roster they’ve put together, historically, shots will start falling. Seven players (Ariel Atkins, Amanda Zahui B., Kristi Toliver, Natasha Cloud, Tianna Hawkins, Shatori Walker-Kimbrough and Myisha Hines-Allen) are shooting well below their career averages from behind the arc. Combined, those seven are averaging over 18 3-point attempts per game. It’s already been proven they can turn it around withAtkins – who started shooting 11.8% from three in her first four games – rebounding by shooting 7-for-14 behind the arc in her last two.
Head coach Eric Thibault used last week’s seven-day gap between contests to find different ways to raise their shooting percentage.
“I think it’s pretty obvious. We got to finish better and we got to make open shots,” Thibault said last week. “And I think, there’s a big difference between drill work and live game, finishing and shooting so trying to create more situations in practice where it’s realistic. It helps now having two games of tape and stats and everything else that you can come with data. ‘Hey, like, we’re missing layups.’ So these little, even a little pre-practice stuff we’re doing and all that, that stuff matters and it shows up in games.”
Much of the lack of offensive production has led to the Mystics’ 3-3 early-season record. The defense is the main reason why they’ve been able to win games with abysmal shooting marks. Washington remains one of the best in class on that side of the ball.
Their defensive stats are as follows: second in field goal percentage (39.9%), second in defending the 3-point arc (29.7%), second in points allowed (75.8 ppg), second in defensive rating (94.5) and third in opponent turnover percentage (16.3%).
All of that is to be expected when the Mystics have three all-defensive team players (Cloud, Atkins and Brittney Sykes), plus budding defensive star Shakira Austin, versatile wing defender Walker-Kimbrough and Elena Delle Donne. The defense is playing at a really high level and it’s something they can hang their hat on in the early portion of the season. Heck, without it, it’s hard to see Washington gutting out any of their three wins.
Now, it’s just waiting for the offense to find its rhythm. And they may not be far off from it.
Beating the New York Liberty on opening night showcased how that elite defense could translate to success on the offensive end. Finding consistency there could be all that is standing in the way of a turnaround.
“I think maintaining our pace and our offensive transition more fluidly,” Sykes explained on how their offense can improve further. “Like we had the spurts of we’ll have, a quarter when we do it really well. And then obviously yes, if there’s a game of runs and things happen, fatigue, all that stuff, but I think for us on that side of the ball, just getting that fluidity on a continuous basis. Because we had it’s not like it’s not there, just get it on a continuous basis.”
Two straight games in Seattle who boast the worse defense in the WNBA could be just the recipe the doctor ordered to get out of this funk.