Week 1 struggles for the Fever, Mystics

Okay, the Indiana Fever look BAD. Like reallllly bad. BUT, woosah, everybody. The Fever are going to be alright. Their brutal opening schedule is doing them no favors. However, this is a young team that still needs some time to figure it out, especially on the defensive end.

With Caitlin Clark directing the ship from the point guard spot, it won’t be long before Indiana is dropping buckets all over the league. Clark’s high basketball IQ is flashing in real time and once she and her teammates get their offensive timing down, it’s going to be a show.

RELAX.

Without Elena Delle Donne, the Washington Mystics look … puzzling. No, really. They have actually played very well in spurts but look completely lost in others. Magically, they have held their own for all of their games, but inevitably, the Mystics have these nearly inexplicable defensive fourth-quarter collapses.

There’s also something else to worry about now — injuries. It plagued Washington all last season, and now fans will have to keep an eye on starters Brittney Sykes (ankle) and Sharika Austin (hip).

The Sparks’ new draft picks, Cameron Brink and Rickea Jackson, look right at home. Also, add Dearica Hamby to the Most Improved Player candidate list, because she has been HOOPING. She dropped 20 points against the Atlanta Dream and 29 points against the Aces, her former team, while shooting 75-percent. WHEW.

Did I mention that Layshia Clarendon dropped the second triple double of the week?! There’s a whole bunch of ballers in L.A.

Sending thoughts and condolences to the Dallas Wings. There’s no Satou Sabally, Natasha Howard or Jaelyn Brown right now — all are out with injuries. Somehow the Wings have stayed afloat with some big shots from Arike Ogunbowale (and some timely buckets from the rest of the team).

Arike’s game isn’t exactly pretty right now. She’s having to put up a ton of shots — just over 25 a game — to account for the volume that Satou Sabally would typically dish out. But, if there’s a clutch bucket to be had, my money is on Arike, and I’m not thinking twice about it.

The addition of Nneka Ogwumike and Skylar Diggins-Smith looked really good in the offseason — on paper. But, after losing two games to the Lynx, the Storm look a bit disjointed offensively. They haven’t quite nailed how to make Jewell, Skylar and Nneka look like Earth, Wind and Fire on a basketball court. (Sorry for the cheesy references. But you should expect a whole lot of double entendres and weather-related puns this season.)

Thankfully, I’m not in the least bit worried about the Storm. (They haven’t even added Nika Muhl yet, who is still sorting through visa issues and hasn’t made her much-anticipated rookie debut.) This is a long season, and I still consider the talent they have on the roster as landing in the top half of the league. Don’t hit the panic button yet.

Whatever new head coach Teresa Weatherspoon has said to Angel Reese, we need to know. DROP THE SECRETS, T. SPOON. Reese had solid outings aginst the Wings, including a near double-double on May 18th.

It’s actually super impressive because the Wings have some of the tallest bigs in the WNBA, and teams struggle to defend multiple players who are above 6-foot-5. It seems Reese is settling in very nicely, and once Kamilla Cardoso returns from her shoulder injury, the Sky’s front court is going to be a PROBLEM.

The Atlanta Dream have some criminally underrated pieces, and in case anyone forgot who 2022 Rookie of the Year and two-time WNBA All-Star Rhyne Howard is, she dropped 25 points to open the season, and came right back out with 21 points and nine rebounds.

Add Howard’s prowess to 2012 MVP Tina Charles, Allisha Gray (big AL, not the little one) plus Cheyenne Parker-Tyus, and the Dream are brewing something special. Once this squad includes offseason acquisition Jordin Canada — who is out with a hand injury — into the mix, everybody better watch out.

Despite losing to the Aces in their season opener, the Phoenix Mercury showed me a couple of things: Diana Taurasi is still Diana Taurasi, and Kahleah Copper is and has always been a certified bucket. Copper came over the in offseason with Natasha Cloud as premiere free agency finds, and OH. MY. GOSH. It’s paying off early.

Copper put a hurting on the Atlanta Dream. She dropped 38 points against the Dream over the weekend, and barely broke a sweat. I’m joking, but somebody tell me if you’ve seen Kahleah Copper and Wonder Woman in the same room.

Holy Minnesota Lynx, Batman.

So, I’ll be the first to admit. I did not have the Lynx beating the Storm TWICE in one week on my bingo card. But my gosh, they are playing some sneaky good basketball thanks to veteran leadership from Napheesa Collier and Alanna Smith.

Smith, who is new to the Lynx this season, has been shooting the lights out the gym. She had 22 points and eight rebounds in her Minnesota debut, and followed that up with a 16-point performance during a game against the Storm on May 17 that nobody wanted to win. (There were 51 total turnovers between the two teams. YIKES.)

It’s rare to insert two new starters into a lineup and have instant success, but DiJonai Carrington — an early candidate for Most Improved Player — and Ty Harris are fitting right in. Carrington’s averaging 18 points and Harris dropped four three-point buckets during the Sun’s much anticpated opener over the Fever.

Additionally, DeWanna Bonner, Brionna Jones and Alyssa Thomas are stone cold. Bonner is now fifth on the WNBA all-time scoring list, Jones hasn’t missed a beat after returning from injury and Alyssa Thomas’ MVP campaign kicked off early with a triple double. The Connecticut Sun are rolling.

I don’t know what human being made Breanna Stewart made in the state of Indiana, but you might want to apologize sometime soon. Stewie absolutely wrecked the Fever in back-to-back games, and what’s worse, so did the rest of the team.

Whew, boy. Three’s were falling from all over the place, and Sabrina Ionescu even faked out Caitlin Clark at one point. (Just filthy stuff, truly.) Anyways, the Liberty are in peak form early in the season, which is a good thing because the last time we saw them, they were fighting for their lives as they watched A’ja Wilson and the Aces bury their title hopes.

Stop me if you’ve heard this before: The Aces are Ace-ing.

What does that mean? Oh nothing, just that the Aces are absolutely unraveling teams without their best ball handler on the court. Chelsea Gray, who is so critical to how they create production offensively, is still out with a left foot injury sustained during the Finals.

However, Las Vegas has managed just continued to wreck teams like nothing ever happened, and it’s truly impressive stuff. Despite some good challenges from the Phoenix Mercury and the Los Angeles Sparks, the Aces just find a way.

I mean even the rookies are doing amazing. Kate Martin is living her best life, and you can’t tell me differently.