The Wings were 3-2 during our last update and looked good. Since then, they have lost five straight and are heading towards the bottom of the league. Why?
Well, for one, their recent competition has been better. The Wings played the Connecticut Sun, Las Vegas Aces and Minnesota Lynx, teams that are top contenders for the WNBA title.
This losing streak could be chalked up to tough competition and a bad stretch. However, an unfortunate possibility could be that this is where Dallas is in the WNBA hierarchy. Not every team can be great. Eleven games in, it looks like when Dallas plays top talent, they’re the team dreading the game, while the cream of the crop in the W looks at them like a manageable win.
Fortunately for the Wings, there’s plenty of time and more basketball in front of us than behind. Here are two reasons to believe it is not yet a lost season for Dallas.
Waiting on Satou Sabally
Every team in the history of professional sports can use certain injuries as a reason why they aren’t reaching their best. However, it is fair to say that Satou Sabally’s absence is a huge blow for Dallas. She is a two-time All-Star and was the WNBA’s Most Improved Player in 2023, and with her out, the team is clearly struggling.
The Wings still have their star, Arike Ogunbowale, and she’s playing the best basketball of her career. She’s averaging 26.4 points, 4.5 rebounds and 5.5 assists per game, and if the Wings are struggling with her, imagine where they’d be if she was out.
A better June awaits?
While the Wings are on a downward slide, there is hope for an upward swing in June, as they have a couple of games against the cellar-dwelling Washington Mystics and a four-game homestand. Their next game, however, is another tough one; Dallas hosts the Seattle Storm on Thursday (7 p.m. ET, ESPN).
The Wings have to figure out how to tread water and get near the .500 mark so they can make a run when Sabally returns after the Olympic break and they are, hopefully, fully healthy.