Both The Wings and The Sun have opened the new season 0-4, yet their causes for losing have differed. One thing we know is that offenses can become ignited in these types of matchups.
Meziane after his most recent loss: “I usually say something positive about my team, but right now it’s hard. A lot of things to correct. Our defense was terrible today… terrible, terrible.”
The Wings last season posted the fastest PACE in the league, and remain Top 5 to kick off this season – though that can more be attributed to other squads playing faster, rather than DAL slowing down. However, DAL’s speed has not been paired with a disciplined paint defense, as they allow the most fastbreak points this season. You may not guess it, but Tina Charles is the Sun’s leader in percentage of points from fastbreak. Charles is coming off a 5-20 shooting night, and we have yet to see a player shoot 15 or more times and fail to crack 20 points vs DAL.
Meziane: “Tina, she wasn’t good, missed a lot of layups. In general how we played as a team today… was the wrong way. We don’t have superstar players, everytime we play 1-1 we cannot be efficient, so why? To answer your question… no, we do not have offensive players“
No holding back on the former MVP nor Marina Mabrey, who was expected to lead this team in scoring output in 2025. Whether Meziane’s words fuel her or not, Mabrey also gets to pull motivation tonight as she faces her old squad. Mabrey averaged just under 15 shots per game vs DAL last season,
Saniya Rivers and Olivia Nelson-Ododa make up two of the most exciting pieces of CON’s young core. With just 23 MPJ, Nelson-Ododa is leading the team in Player Impact Estimate at 16.5. However, her minutes remain shockingly inconsistent. Posted up 28 minutes against Minnesota, to which she saw just 7 1H minutes the following game.
CON Defense has been porous at the rim, where the 2nd most FGM per game, behind only Las Vegas. This may not be a big issue from them today, as DAL’s frontcourt has yet to feature consistent scoring pieces.
Paige Bueckers still trying to do all she can for this team.