Wings Season On The Line

By John R. Posey, USN

Arlington, TX--The Dallas Wings host the surging Las Vegas Aces in the battle for the final WNBA playoff spot. The season is on the line for the Wings who have lost nine straight coming into tonight's game.

Both team have 14-18 records though Dallas can move on if they defeat the Aces. Dallas controls the tiebreaker with a 2-0 season series lead over the Aces.

At one point this season, the Wings had the second best record in the WNBA before the complete collapse.

So what happened to a team with two All-Stars and a host of first round draft choices? Here's my take on matters after covering the team in person 29 times over the last two seasons:

1) The Wings poor perimeter defense has caught up with them. Players, too often, were out of position leaving opposing players wide open for jumpers and layups. The Wings rank 11th in opponents' three point % (35.4%). Only the Phoenix Suns are worse.

2) The Wings rank dead last in shooting the three ball only sinking 30.5% of their treys.

3) The Wings rank eighth in FG%. Every team ahead of the Wings in the standings shoots a better % from the field. The Wings don't have a player who can consistently hit the outside shot.

4) The Wings relieved Coach Fred Williams of his duties last Saturday after he got into a heated argument with team President & CEO Gregg Bibb. It happened six games too late. Williams had lost the team before the All Star break. His substitution patterns left pundits scratching their heads. Glory Johnson came off the bench for most of the first half of the season. Aerial Powers was taken out of the rotation and had a DNP next to her name the last four games before she was traded to the Mystics for Taylor Hill. Many thought the trade was personl. Williams also tried to over-control the Wings offensively. All-Star PG Skylar Diggins-Smith had to go over and get direction from Williams after every opponent free throw. He also spent way too much trying to control the Wings when they were running offense. He also was too quick to put players on the bench after a mistake. Williams had a tense relationship with the media and things got worse as the losing streak lengthened. He lost control of his locker room.

5) The Wings have wasted back-up point guard Leticia Romero. Romero had a stellar career at Florida State and plays for the Spanish National team. The Wings signed her early in the season, but have hardly used her. She is tough, smart and has a very good jumper.

6) The Kaela Davis experiment. Kaela was a 2017 first round draft pick out of South Carolina. She had a productive rookie season coming off the bench. This season she started a number of games early. She then was demoted and had several DNP games. Davis left the team for personal reasons for a short period. When she returned, Williams began using her to play back-up point guard despite her having no experience. Davis didn't get off the bench in the Wings' last game. You can't turn a player into a point guard on the fly mid-season.

7) Injuries have contributed to the Wings slide. Skylar Diggins-Smith missed two games due to an injury. Liz Cambage just returned after missing two games due to a neck injury. Glory Johnson is questionable for tonight's game with a cervical strain.

8) The losing streak has exposed a glaring weakness on the Dallas Wings roster. Dallas has no guard that can defend small, quick guards. Gray and Diggins-Smith are talented but they are consistently beaten off the dribble and opposing guards then penetrate and break down the defense.

9) The Wings still aren't good at passing into the post. Too many times, they throw the entry pass to Cambage too late or tip off, with their eyes, they are going into the post. The result often are turnovers that lead to fast break points.

10) The Wings need to make a concerted effort to get Allisha Gray and Skylar off early. Too often during the losing streak, they have virtually no shots at the half. They then rush their shots late in the game. The starting guards shot a combined 7-28 against their last time out. Last season, they were the number 1 & 2 offensive options. It seems they are not sure where they fit in.

11) Team chemistry seems to be off. The body language in huddles isn't positive.

The Wings can turn the season around with a win tonight, however, there are some long-term fixes needed for 2019.