Dallas has got to do something, this just isn’t working omg. To be the highest paid player on the team and be shooting 20% is nuts.
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These are Arike’s numbers over the last 7 games. I’m making this post after a win because if she drops 20 points next game, everyone will forget how bad this stretch has been.
27 minutes per game while shooting 24% from the field is insane. This isn’t just one bad night — it’s a 7-game sample.
The bigger issue is the context: a max contract player, on a new two-year deal, giving this level of production and efficiency is a serious problem for the Dallas Wings.
Everyone knows Arike is talented and can explode for big scoring nights, but the inconsistency has become impossible to ignore. For a team trying to build around this new core, this situation is becoming a real problem.
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Saw this TikTok and he described it perfectly. Why do we only play at the level of the team we’re competing against. When we’re playing Connecticut Sun we’re as good as the number 15th team in the league.
Then suddenly when we’re playing Aces or New York Liberties we’re playing as good if not better than such strong teams.
What do you guys think??
Hear me out. You can agree or disagree: there is an Arike problem in Dallas. She’s not the most efficient (due to her being a volume scorer) and at her best she can probably shoot at 40% from the field. She's a 38-39% shooter from the field from what I can see. If Dallas needs her to score 20+ PPG, she can do that, but it’ll take her many attempts to do so (usually 17-19+ shots) and that takes away from everyone else. Paige can do so on 13-15 shots per game making the same or if not more shots. Arike's current slump requires her to shoot herself out of it, but I don’t think Dallas can afford for her to take that many shots. She’s no longer the 1st option, especially when you have someone as efficient as Paige who can score the same amount on way fewer shots. Arike also doesn’t offer much defensively. She’s very talented and I definitely think she could be a better fit on another team who needs someone like her. But her style doesn’t really fit alongside Paige or Azzi. Her style worked previously because she was the engine to the team, but now that isn't the case.
Potential trades can be with the Connecticut Suns– a team who needs someone like Arike. They need someone taking 15-18+ shots, as their leading scorer is currently averaging 10.5 ppg. They can benefit from someone like Arike deeply. The Suns can give Dallas Kennedy Burke (a defensive guard/foward) and maybe Saniya Rivers or some
draft capital. Kennedy Burke will be a win-win for the Wings as she requires low usage to be effective. So it's a win for both franchises.
Following the Wings' victory in Hartford against the Sun, Paige Bueckers and Azzi Fudd have now "taken the court in Connecticut a combined 131 times — and have recorded 125 wins", according to The Day (the New London, Connecticut paper)
But Paige doesn't think it's her last game in the Constitution State:
>Bueckers is trying to be optimistic about the whole ordeal. She'll be hitting up her old coach, Geno Auriemma, to see if he can pull any strings and get the Wings back in the Nutmeg State.
>"It could not be my last," Bueckers said with a toothy grin. "I try to think about it that way. I don't know, maybe we can have an exhibition-type game at Gampel on-campus. Just throwing that in the air, maybe for next year."
>But if Auriemma has any say in the matter, Bueckers, or "Dennis the Menace," as he's affectionately dubbed her, won't be back on campus anytime soon to give him another headache, so she isn't putting all her stock into that just yet.
Paige also shared what she thinks of Connecticut going without a WNBA team:
>Bueckers, in perhaps an attempt to woo the league into giving Connecticut another franchise down the road, spoke highly of the culture the Sun faithful have cultivated in the state at the end of her pre-game media availability.
>"Connecticut is a women's basketball state," Bueckers said. "It's amazing to see the support and it's amazing to see, being back here, what it means to so many people to have women's basketball in this state. It's awesome to be here."
Full article at https://theday.com/news/905733/bueckers-and-fudd-reflect-on-playing-in-connecticut-im-so-grateful-for-it/
Wings fans, would we want an exhibition game in Connecticut? Or do we not want to form that sort of connection with UConn? I think it's a real question, and I can see both sides. (Also unclear if UConn would want it.)
My thought was more that the Wings should do an exhibition in conjunction with the Basketball Hall of Fame and hold it in Hartford, which is 25 minutes down the road from the HOF. So it's still in Connecticut and would draw a bunch of UConn fans to support the Wings, but it wouldn't officially be tied to the university.
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Forgive the miserable quality of the pics, if you please. I was re-watching the Sun game, and I wanted to give our most underrated and underplayed player her flowers for a moment.
This is the outcome of two separate Yueru screens on possessions in the fourth. And while these are the most visually stunning because a player is down, if you watch the fourth quarter back, you'll notice right away how many times a Yueru screen makes solid contact with a player.
Man, it opens up so much. Good screening is worth its weight in gold. I think most on this subreddit know how good a screener Li is, but I still wanted to appreciate her for doing the dirty work.
Here's to hoping Li finally worked her way as a regular rotational piece (this simply will not happen for reasons that confound me). Regardless of what comes, thanks, Li!
Paige, as usual, saved.
Arike is going through a really rough stretch of games right now. It’s getting hard to watch.
Azzi — they changed her role and started using her more on-ball. Well, it doesn’t hurt to try, but that adjustment takes time, and I’m not sure Dallas will have that time with her.
Lan — played really well.
Li — whenever she plays, it’s pretty clear how much this team is missing a true tall center. Even if sometimes she comes in looking a little disconnected.
Awak — I honestly don’t know. Someone mentioned she’s playing out of position, so maybe that’s the reason.
Lead the wings in points, rebounds and assists tonight!
I need to work on Sunday, so I will be missing the game. However, I am free on Saturday, and Wings will warm up in the court on Saturday afternoon. Anybody thinking of going to the stadium and wait for Wings bus that carries the team to come?