Aziaha

James

James was two points short of tying her career high in scoring on Thursday night and she earned her second 20+ point performance of her rookie season. She overwhelmed the Mercury defense with her speed getting out in transition in addition to her ability to slash to the rim. She tied her career high in rebounds using her length to grab the basketball and push the ball in transition. She was in the right place to grab the boards off some of the Mercury’s missed three-pointers which resulted in longer rebounds.

Bueckers led her team in scoring for the Wings’ final game of the season. She shot over 50% from the field in her fourth straight game, hitting a pair of three-pointers in addition to eight shots in the paint all within 10 feet of the basket. She created her offense on and off the ball, including off the dribble driving the ball while cutting off the ball and scoring. Bueckers dished out seven assists in her second straight game. On Thursday night she dished out passes to four different teammates for scores including hitting a cutting Haley Jones on pick-and-rolls, getting the ball out to Aziaha James and Amy Okonkwo in transition and finding Myisha Hines-Allen to exploit a mismatch.

James’s absence from Monday’s game is unsurprising, as she was considered doubtful on the initial injury report. With the Wings down multiple rotation guards, recent signings Christyn Williams and Serena Sundell will continue to log minutes off the bench.

James led the Wings in scoring on Wednesday and tied a career-high in assists along the way. She was productive both inside and outside the paint and even contributed on the glass. Yet, even with how well she played, the rookie guard’s night was overshadowed by a late injury. James injured herself on one of the Wings’ final offensive possessions of the game when, without receiving contact, rolled her left ankle while operating a live dribble before being subbed out at the ensuing deadball. The status of her injury is unknown, but regardless, it puts the already-injury-plagued Wings in a tough position as the end of the season nears.

James will earn her eighth career start on Wednesday as the Wings look to end a five-game losing streak. The rookie guard will start in the backcourt alongside fellow rookie guard Paige Bueckers, who was upgraded to available after being listed previously as questionable with an illness. The Wings and Sun both enter Wednesday’s matchup with nine wins on the season.

Quinerly left the Wings most recent game on Wednesday night against the Sparks in the fourth quarter. She came up hobbling after guarding Kelsey Plum on a drive to the basket and couldn’t put much weight on her left leg. With Quinerly unavailable, the Wings will have to play fellow rookie guard Aziaha James and rely more upon third year guard Grace Berger.

With Arike Ogunbowale out due to a knee injury, Siegrist has firmly established herself as the Wings’ second option behind Paige Bueckers. While she wasn’t super efficient especially within the paint trying to create her own shots due to the length and size of the Sparks’ front court players, Siegrist did most of her damage beyond the three-point line. She spaced well and rookies in Bueckers and Aziaha James found her for wide open three-point makes coming off paint penetration. Since Siegrist returned from injury on August 8, she’s been hitting three-pointers at an over 40 percent clip.

While defending a Kelsey Plum drive with 9:09 left in the fourth quarter, rookie guard Quinerly came up hobbling and had trouble putting any weight on her left leg. Quinerly was carried back to the Wings locker room and didn’t return to the floor. As a result, Aziaha James and Grace Berger earned more minutes and closed the game for the Wings.

While James is back on the injury report with a right foot injury, the probable tag suggests she is on track to play Wednesday night. James has played 19 and 22 minutes in Dallas’ last two games, and the workload should remain the same if she’s cleared to play against the Sparks. Unfortunately, that isn’t enough to make her a reliable option in most fantasy leagues.

While James didn’t hit double-digits scoring, she stuffed the stat sheet in many other different statistical categories. She scored her points mostly on driving layups, out-running the Aces defense in transition. Also, she led the Wings in rebounding. James succeeded finding her teammates in advantageous situations where they either had mismatches or space they had created on off-ball movement.