Myisha

Hines-Allen

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.

Hines-Allen did a little bit of everything for the Wings on Sunday in Los Angeles. Although she shot inefficiently, she was one of two Dallas players to score at least 15 points. She tied a team-high in assists, made one of the team’s five three-pointers, and led the Wings in rebounding. In the end, Hines-Allen earned her third double-double of the season as she continues to close her eighth WNBA season with productive play.

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.

Considered questionable on the initial injury report released by the Wings, Hines-Allen has been upgraded to available for Thursday’s game. She’s been part of the starting lineup as the replacement for the injured Luisa Geiselsöder, and that should remain the case against the Valkyries.

Hines-Allen was initially questionable for Thursday’s game, so the status upgrade is a sign that she’s on track to play. With Luisa Geiselsöder (shoulder) out, Hines-Allen will likely be in the starting lineup if the Wings clear her for Thursday’s game.

Injured during an August 27 game against the Sun, Geiselsöder will miss a second consecutive contest with a right shoulder injury. Myisha Hines-Allen moved into the starting lineup for Dallas’ loss to Atlanta two days later and will likely retain that role.

In the minutes where Brionna Jones really struggled to begin the game, Dream head coach Karl Smeskso deployed back-up center Brittney Griner to play in her place and steady the Dream offense. Griner has at least six inches on Myisha Hines-Allen in height so she was able to exploit that matchup in ways that Jones struggled to. Griner scored 9 of her 11 total points in the first half on looks right in the paint. Griner also had two assists, two dump down passes to Allisha Gray and to Naz Hillmon. Both assists came off well timed off-ball movement from Gray and Hillmon as Griner brought the defense into the paint and found her teammates where the Wings defense wasn’t.

Hines-Allen established herself scoring the basketball by being able to take her defenders off the dribble and to the basket for easier scores. Later in the game she hit a three-pointer with 1:41 left in the third quarter to get a previous Dream lead that was as wide as 13 points back down to 7. Hines-Allen’s shooting became cold in the fourth quarter, however, as the Wings were trying to make a final push. She missed a trio of three-pointers in addition to mid-range jump shot and a tough fadeaway inside of the paint.

Okonkwo continued her tear scoring the basketball. In just her third WNBA game ever she’s scored in double digits in all of them. Okonkwo became the third undrafted player in the WNBA’s past 20 seasons to average at least 11.3 points per game over her first three games in the league. She had her best quarter in the third on Friday night where she scored 7 of her 11 total points. Using her advantage as a 6'2" guard, Okonkwo pulled down six rebounds for the Wings, tying her with Myisha Hines-Allen as the team’s leader in rebounds on Friday.

Bueckers matched her career high in assists on Friday night, recording 10 of them in addition to earning her second career points-assists double-double. Bueckers found four different teammates including Maddy Siegrist, Myisha Hines-Allen, Amy Okonkwo and Grace Berger. She found Siegrist in transition, which has become par for the course. Okonkwo, Hines-Allen and Berger had open driving lanes that Bueckers was able to find. When it came to her scoring, Bueckers attacked the basket and scored most of her points inside the paint, although she hit two shots in the mid-range, her speciality as a scorer. She scored both on and off the ball, driving with the ball in her hands while running around with Rhyne Howard trailing her during Wings quarter court possessions.