Li

Yueru

Despite initially being questionable for Thursday’s game due to illness, Hines-Allen played 37 of a possible 40 minutes. The Wings have been decimated by injuries, with the lengthy list of absentees including Luisa Geiselsöder and Li Yueru. Until Geiselsöder can return from her shoulder injury, Hines-Allen will have to log heavy minutes, as Yueru is out for the rest of the season with a knee injury. As a result, productive nights like Thursday are a distinct possibility for the veteran forward.

Geiselsoder finished the third quarter of Wednesday’s game but was replaced by Aziaha James to begin the fourth quarter before later being ruled out. Her injury is just the latest in what has been a rough past few weeks for the Wings, who were already playing on Wednesday without Paige Bueckers (illness), Arike Ogunbowale (knee), JJ Quinerly (knee) and Li Yueru Knee). With Dallas’ season coming to an end soon, it’ll be interesting to see what the injury diagnosis is and how long it potentially keeps Geiselsoder on the sideline, if at all.

Yueru suffered a left knee injury during Dallas’ August 15 game against the Sparks, sidelining her for Sunday’s loss to the Aces. On Tuesday, the Wings announced that the center had been diagnosed with a sprained ACL in her left knee and will not play again this season. While Yueru received more opportunities after being traded from Seattle to Dallas, she was coming off the bench in the games preceding the knee injury.

Once ruled questionable, Wings center Li Yueru did not dress for their game against the Aces on Sunday afternoon. With Li out on Sunday, the Wings will struggle to find good frontcourt depth against A’ja Wilson. Undersized post Myisha Hines-Allen will be relied upon more while Diamond Miller, a larger 6'3 wing, will also be called upon for more minutes off the bench.

Li gave the Wings a huge lift off the bench and had a career night, scoring a career high on Tuesday night. She provided floor spacing, physicality and footwork that Fever center Aliyah Boston struggled to defend. She started the game by drawing Boston out of the paint and hitting two three-pointers that were wide open due to Boston’s slower rotation. The rest of her made field goals throughout the game were all within five feet of the rim. Teammates Diamond Miller and Myisha Hines-Allen fed Li in transition and when she had an advantageous seal in the paint.

With Arike Ogunbowale unavailable on Tuesday night due to right knee soreness, head coach Chris Koclanes decided to play a bit bigger and added forward Maddy Siegirst to the starting lineup. Tuesday’s game will be Siegrist’s fourth start this WNBA season and first since she returned from injury a week ago. With Siegrist starting, expect Myisha Hines-Allen to get substantial run coming off the bench in addition to new acquisition Dimond Miller. If Luisa Geiselsöder gets into early foul trouble guarding Aliyah Boston, Li Yueru should see some extended minutes as well.

Wings head coach Chris Koclanes has made multiple changes to his starting lineup, the most important of which is Bueckers’ return after missing Friday’s loss to the Liberty with a back injury. She’s back in the fold, which pushes Aziaha James to the bench. The other change is notable, with Berger making her first start as a professional. She’s played well since joining the Wings last month and recently agreed to a third seven-day contract. Dallas will go with a smaller lineup on Sunday, with Li Yueru coming off the bench after starting on Friday.

Hines-Allen missed Tuesday’s loss to the Liberty after spraining her ankle during an August 1 loss to the Fever. The veteran forward’s return to practice bodes well for her availability when the Wings host New York on Friday. Fellow reserve Li Yueru played 18 minutes off the bench on Tuesday; her playing time may decrease if Hines-Allen is available.

Despite participating in shootaround on Tuesday, Hines-Allen will not play against the Liberty. Her absence leaves Dallas down another rotation post player, meaning more will be asked of starter Luisa Geiselsöder. In recent games, the Wings have gone small, with Haley Jones starting, which has resulted in fewer minutes for reserve Li Yueru.

With the Wings acquiring Diamond Miller and Karlie Samuelson from the Lynx in exchange for DiJonai Carrington, the team needed to free up a roster spot to complete the transaction. As a result, McCowan has been waived and will be an unrestricted free agent once she clears waivers. The 6-foot-7 center appeared in 17 games this season, all off the bench, averaging 5.6 points and 4.6 rebounds in 12.9 minutes. The Wings will continue to rely on Luisa Geiselsöder as their starting center, with Myisha Hines-Allen and Li Yueru coming off the bench.