Skylar

Diggins

Wheeler was the Storm’s best shot maker on Thursday night as she made six shots, the most across the entire Storm team. While she also wasn’t the most efficient, she tied Nneka Ogwumike for the most points scored from the Storm of the night. Wheeler was most effective getting downhill since she missed most of the three-pointers she took. Although her most important shot came with 19.3 seconds left in regulation where she hit a 12-foot jumper to give the Storm a one point lead. Skylar Diggins got the ball to Wheeler once again with 4.4 seconds left in regulation while the Storm was down just a point, but Wheeler missed a 15-foot jumper losing the Storm the game. Just like Diggins, Wheeler registered assists to five different teammates which included Ogwumike, Diggins, Gabby Williams, Ezi Magbegor and Dominique Malonga.

Diggins was inefficient from the field only hitting just over 30% of her field goals. She missed six shots at the rim which is usually where she’s most effective. Diggins scored the ball beyond the arc, taking five three-pointers and making three of them. She had a chance to win her team the game with 12.4 seconds left in regulation. She got the ball at the top of the key and drove past Jackie Young and A’ja Wilson. She was met by Jewell Loyd right on the block but decided to pass the ball to Wheeler who had a more hot hand rather than trying to drive the ball to the rim through contact. Diggins also had six assists and found five different teammates in Ezi Magbegor, Nneka Ogwumike, Erica Wheeler, Brittney Sykes and Gabby Williams all for scores.

Neutralizing the pick-and-roll tandem of Diggins and Nneka Ogwumike is atop the scouting report for any opposing team, and the Aces did that with significant effect in Sunday’s series opener. However, both were excellent in Game 2, which is why the series is headed back to Las Vegas for Game 3. Diggins was efficient on Tuesday, shooting 50 percent from the field and recording nearly twice as many assists as turnovers (four). The veteran point guard was at her best in crunch time, shooting 5-of-7 from the field in the fourth quarter, including a short jumper that gave Seattle a three-point lead with 4.2 seconds remaining. She’ll need to come through with a similar effort on Thursday if the Storm are to advance.

The Aces defense was so tuned into what Diggins does that she struggled to score the ball. She was held scoreless in the first half, but then got more aggressive in the third quarter when she scored all of her points. She hit two three-pointers, and cut well off the ball to score at the rim twice on passes from Gabby Williams and Ezi Magbegor. It was a challenge for Diggins to find her grove and chemistry with Nneka Ogwumike as she only had one assist to her star power forward. She only had two in total with the second one going to rookie Dominque Malonga who hit 25-foot three-pointer with around two minutes left in the third quarter.

While Diggins wasn’t super efficient shooting the ball, she still found ways to put pressure on the rim and score when her team needed it especially during the second quarter. The Liberty’s defense forced Diggins into six three-pointers, which isn’t the ideal shot profile for Diggins. Amid the lopsided scoring performance, she facilitated the ball at a very high level, notching up seven assists. Diggins hasn’t had under five assists in a game since August 17 against the Mercury. Friday night’s game against the Liberty was Diggins’ 98th career game with seven or more assists, which is now seventh all-time in WNBA history.

Burke came alive in the second half for the Liberty especially when her team struggled to score points in the paint. She set her season scoring high in a half with 13 points and did so mostly on drives right to the basket which set the Storm’s defense on their heels. Burke was also super impactful defensively, disrupting drives from Skylar Diggins including a key stop at the rim with 1:42 left in regulation. Initially ruled a foul on Burke, head coach Sandy Brondello challenged the call and won. Burke finished with a +17, which led her team on Friday night and was her highest plus/minus tally of the season.

Diggins was one of Seattle’s best offensive weapons on Monday. She shot efficiently both inside and outside the arc, on high volume, to finish as one of two Storm players with at least 20 points. The veteran guard also finished as one of her team’s leaders in assists and collected a couple of defensive stats to make for a productive night as it relates to fantasy basketball. The Storm are now tied in the loss column with the Sparks and are holding onto the eighth seed. They’ll continue to lean on Diggins down the stretch of the season to help retain that final playoff spot.

While Diggins did not have her best night shooting the basketball, the Storm guard offered solid value in the assist and steals categories. Over her last two games, she’s had seven steals, her most productive two-game stretch in that category this season. While Diggins’ scoring has been inconsistent recently, Seattle has still won five of its last six. And she’s offered value in more ways than scoring, meaning that fantasy managers have not lost much from a value standpoint.

Diggins did many things well on Thursday. At the top of the list was her ability to score at a high level — the veteran guard was the only player on the Storm to reach the 20-point mark, which she accomplished by way of efficient shooting and major production from the three-point line. She was also impactful as a passer, but stood out even more on the defensive end as she tied a season-high in steals. Altogether, Diggins’ performance was massive for the Storm, given their place in the WNBA standings with two weeks left in the regular season. Fantasy managers should expect her to continue to play a big role down the stretch, which could lead to more big performances.

While Diggins struggled to score the basketball at an efficient clip on Sunday afternoon, she made sure to facilitate the basketball at a really high level. Her 11 assists, five of which were to Nneka Ogwumike, took advantage of an inexperienced defender in Mystics power forward Kiki Iriafen. Diggins drew in the Mystics defense multiple times to then find Ogwumike wide open for a bunch of above the break three-pointers. The Diggins-Ogwumike pairing also helped the Storm win the game at the final second. Diggins found Ogwumike right at the free throw line for tough fadeaway jumper to help put the game away at the final buzzer