Top 3 Games to Watch — July 15–21
Last week saw a change in the top of the standings: With the Washington Mystics and the Connecticut Sun struggling through losing streaks, the Las Vegas Aces made the most of their opportunity to claim the league’s top seed. This coming week may have just the opposite impact, with the shifts happening toward the bottom of the standings.
Before we get to this week’s list, here are the results from last week’s games:
- Minnesota 73, Chicago 72
- Phoenix 64, Connecticut 79
- Las Vegas 85, Washington 81
Games of the Week
Dallas Wings (5–11) at Phoenix Mercury (7–8)
Wednesday, July 17, at 3:30 PM ET — NBA TV, FOX Sports Arizona, FOX Sports Southwest
A nationally televised game against a struggling but tough Connecticut team was the perfect stage for Diana Taurasi’s comeback. The result? Taurasi disappointed, shooting just 0-for-4 in 16 minutes — and the Mercury lost. Still, that wasn’t the best indication of Taurasi’s form once healthy. This week, the WNBA’s all-time leading scorer will look to remind fans of her scoring prowess against the Wings, who have lost all seven games on the road this season. In those games, opponents averaged 81.3 points per game, marginally better than Phoenix’s scoring average (73.4).
Watch out for the offensive trio formed by Taurasi and the league’s current top two scorers, DeWanna Bonner (19.4 points per game) and Brittney Griner (18.8). On the other side, Dallas is led by Rookie of the Year contender Arike Ogunbowale. The sharpshooting guard is on a roll, scoring at least 20 points in three of the last four games.
Las Vegas Aces (11–5) at Seattle Storm (10–8)
Friday, July 19, at 10 PM ET — NBA TV, JOEtv (KZJO-TV)
The Aces are finally living up to their preseason billing as a championship contender. After claiming the league’s top seed, they pushed their winning streak to five with a win over the Delle Donne-less Mystics. Now, the Aces will look to wrap a four-game road trip in Seattle, where they narrowly edged the Storm, 60–56, in the two teams’ last meeting. After all, this game will feature five of the 10 All-Star game starters.
If you’re a fan of good defense, this game is for you: Las Vegas (90.9) and Seattle (94.1) rank first and second, respectively, in defensive rating, an estimate of points allowed per 100 possessions. But there’s also plenty of offensive talent shared by the two sides. Seattle forward Natasha Howard ranks fourth in scoring average (17.4) this season, while Las Vegas’ A’ja Wilson follows with 16.4 points per game.
Los Angeles Sparks (9–7) at New York Liberty (7–10)
Saturday, July 20, at 3 PM ET — NBA TV, FOX Sports Go, Spectrum SportsNet, TSN
With four players missing time to compete in the EuroBasket tournament that ended last week, the Liberty have relied on Tina Charles a lot this season. The center is averaging a 31.1 percent usage rage — which is to say, she’s more involved in her team’s play than Russell Westbrook was for the Thunder this past NBA season. So it hasn’t helped that she’s shooting a career-low 37.2 percent from the field, despite her 17.9 points per game. Now with a trio of EuroBasket-ers back, New York will look to get into the playoff picture. (The team announced Kiah Stokes will not be returning for personal reasons.)
In the meantime, the opposing Sparks have been red-hot, having won five of their last six games — wins that came over some top-tier teams, including Las Vegas and Washington. While the Liberty are attempting to move into the playoff race, the Sparks will be trying to prove that they are more than just a middle-of-the-table team. Should the frontcourt powers of the Ogwumike sisters and Candace Parker finally get consistent minutes together, they’ll be more than capable.
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 represent games played through July 15, 2019.
