Injuries all around as Sun head to Atlanta

Ogwumike may return to the Connecticut lineup tonight

A WNBA general manager could assemble a quality team around the players listed on the injury report for tonight's Connecticut Sun at Atlanta Dream game.

Connecticut said Thursday that post Chiney Ogwumike (knee) was “probable”, while forward Alyssa Thomas (shoulder) is “doubtful.”

The Dream reported that guards Tiffany Hayes (left ankle) and Brittney Sykes (right foot injury) were both “questionable”.

That foursome have a combined average of 52.8 points, 23.7 rebounds and 9.3 assists. So, yeah, it's been hard times for both teams.

The Sun (7-4) are on a three-game losing streak. Thomas has missed the last two games, Ogwumike one. Atlanta (6-6) has lost its last two. Hayes was injured during the third quarter of the first of those losses, a 96-64 beating at the hands of the then-winless Indiana Fever on June 16. Sykes has missed the past five games, too.

Slow starts have also been a constant during Connecticut's losing streak. It's trailed by at least 11 points after the first quarter in each of those three games, a drastic change given it scored 101-or-more three times in their first four games.

Adding to the Sun's woes is that tonight is the start of another multi-game road trip over a short period of time. It plays at Indiana on Sunday, and the Washington Mystics next Tuesday.

The trip may end Tuesday, but Connecticut has to race back home to host Indiana next Wednesday. And then it leaves again to play four games in seven days out west (July 1-7).

The Sun will play fewer home games (six) through its first 19 than anyone else. Atlanta and the Phoenix Mercury are the closest with eight each.

The lone upside to Connecticut's injuries is that it's forced its bench to be more productive. Morgan Tuck scored 20 in her first start in last Saturday's 89-72 loss at Phoenix. while Brionna Jones came off the bench and scored a career-high 17.

Atlanta gave the Sun their first loss back on June 5 (82-77 at Atlanta). Wing Angel McCoughtry, a perennial Connecticut tormentor, scored a career-high 39 in Tuesday's 79-72 loss at the New York Liberty. n.griffen@theday.com

CONNECTICUT SUN AT ATLANTA DREAM 7 p.m., McCamish Pavilion (NBCSB)