Top 3 Games to Watch — All-Star Week Edition!
We’ve officially reached the halfway point of the season, and the All-Star break is only days away! We still have a few regular-season games early in the week, as teams battle for position heading into the second half. After Wednesday’s action wraps up, however, the attention of the basketball world will turn to the Mandalay Bay Events Center for the long-awaited All-Star festivities.
Here are the results from last week’s games:
- Dallas Wings 64, Phoenix Mercury 69
- Las Vegas Aces 66, Seattle Storm 69
- Los Angeles Sparks 78, New York Liberty 83
Her Hoop Stats Games to Watch
Seattle Storm (12–8) at Las Vegas Aces (12–6)
Tuesday, July 23, at 10 PM ET — ESPN2, TSN
Tune in half an hour early for this one to see the first-ever televised WNBA All-Star draft! Washington’s Elena Delle Donne and Las Vegas’ A’ja Wilson make their selections at 9:30, followed by a star-studded matchup on the court. Half of the All-Star starters will be in action in the final event at Las Vegas before the big weekend. This is a rematch of one of last week’s games of the week, when Seattle gutted out a three-point victory over the Aces. Las Vegas will have to manage this time around without Wilson, who was injured on Sunday, but they will also get home court advantage.
There are plenty of story lines in this one, but keep an eye on the backcourt matchup of Seattle’s Jewell Loyd vs. Las Vegas’ Kayla McBride. Loyd played limited minutes in last week’s game in a return from injury, but will hopefully be full speed for this week’s go-round. The former Notre Dame teammates will both be starting in the All-Star game for the first time, and both rank among the top five guards in points per game. Don’t sleep on the frontcourt battle either— Seattle’s Natasha Howard leads the league in total scoring, and Las Vegas’ Liz Cambage leads all centers in player efficiency rating.
Washington Mystics (11–6) at Minnesota Lynx (10–9)
Wednesday, July 24, at 1 PM ET — NBA TV, Fox Sports GO, Monumental, SN1
Earlier this season, the then-first-place Connecticut Sun lost five straight games to fall behind Washington in the standings. Then the same bug bit the new league leaders, as the Mystics promptly dropped three in a row. They have since righted the ship with back-to-back victories over the weekend, but keeping that momentum going won’t be easy — the Mystics haven’t won at the Target Center since Kara Lawson was in uniform. They will also present a tough test for Minnesota, however, as one of just two teams with a winning road record.
Another thing to look out for in this game is Sylvia Fowles’ block total. If she records at least three, she will become the fourth player in league history with 600, following Margo Dydek, Lisa Leslie and Brittney Griner. After setting a WNBA record with her 158th double-double on July 14th, reaching the blocks milestone would cap off a historic month for the Lynx legend.
WNBA All-Star Weekend
Skills Challenge/Three-Point Contest: Friday, July 26, at 7 PM ET — ESPN All-Star Game: Saturday, July 27, at 3:30 PM ET—ABC
Okay, technically it isn’t just one game, but did you really expect us to leave any part of All-Star Weekend off of our Games to Watch list? The Skills Challenge is back after a 12-year hiatus and the Three-Point Contest has been shifted to Friday night to create a two-event, one-hour ESPN special. Factor it into your Friday night plans and watch some of the league’s best showcase their skills to kick off the weekend.
The main event — the All-Star game itself — will come your way on Saturday afternoon. Fans, coaches and media members have spoken, and the rosters are set! Delle Donne and Wilson swap coaches for a day, as Bill Laimbeer leads Team Delle Donne against Mike Thibault and Team Wilson. Don’t miss this Sin City spectacle as the top players in the world collide in Vegas!
If you like this content, please support our work at Her Hoop Stats by subscribing for just $20 a year. All stats are compiled from stats.wnba.com and basketball-reference.com and represent games played through July 22, 2019.
