Break goes Sun’s way
Delle Donne, Atkins questionable for Mystics in Game 3
UNCASVILLE — After practice Saturday afternoon, Connecticut Sun coach Curt Miller said his team was not only preparing as if league MVP Elena Delle Donne would play in Game 3 of the WNBA Finals on Sunday, but he was highly confident that she’d be back in action.
About 30 minutes later, Mystics coach Mike Thibault cast doubt on Miller’s assumptions and disclosed that Delle Donne wasn’t the only Mystics’ starter who may not appear. Thibault told the media that guard Ariel Atkins was also questionable and that he and the team were preparing to play without them.
“I’m not counting on them playing,” Thibault said. “I know Curt thinks I’m making this stuff up. I wish I was.”
Delle Donne only played three and a half minutes of Tuesday’s Game 2 before leaving the game to be treated for a back spasm. An MRI on Wednesday revealed that she has a herniated disc that is pinching a nerve. Atkins, whose injury was previously undisclosed, also is dealing with back spasms after bending over to grab something and being unable to stand back up on Thursday night.
With the series tied 1-1, Game 3 is scheduled for a 3:30 p.m. tip and will be broadcast nationally on ABC.
Both players made the trip to Connecticut, Thibault said, and were receiving treatment.
While Thibault said Delle Donne has made some prog
ress, he said she is “not at the point, as of today, to play basketball” and hasn’t done anything athletic all week.
Regardless of whether Delle Donne and/or Atkins are healthy enough to play, the Sun know they have their hands full with Washington, which boasts an efficient offense and the deepest bench in the league.
Without Delle Donne in Game 2, Washington’s bench accounted for roughly 60 percent of the team’s points, led by 23 from Emma Meesseman and 16 from Tianna Hawkins. Aerial Powers also scored 11 and accounted for all the Mystics points in a 7-0 thirdquarter run that brought Washington within two of the Sun, a game Connecticut won 99-87.
If Atkins is out or limited, S h a t o r i Wal ke r- K i mbrough, who averaged 6.7 points in 17.1 minutes per game during the regular season, will also factor more heavily into Thibault’s front-court rotation.
Even without Delle Donne in Game 2, the Mystics were able to come back from down 14 to tie the game early in the fourth quarter.
“Same mentally regardless,” Connecticut’s Jonquel Jones said of the preparation. “Obviously [Delle Donne’s] a huge part of what they do and a huge part of their success, but at the end of the day, they’re such a good team even when she’s not on the court. Look at the people that are coming off the bench. Look at what Hawkins was able to do to us when she came off the bench in terms of stretching the floor and shooting threes. And the game was still close when she wasn’t out there.
“At the end of the day, we have to be able to execute regardless of who’s on the court for them and understand that it’s going to be a dogfight because it’s a championship.”
The Mystics are also accustomed to playing without key players, given Delle Donne’s injuries last season and this year, and Meesseman’s absences due to international competition.
“Nothing changes in our preparation,” Miller added. “We understand how talented their bench is.”
Despite the Mystics’ plethora of offensive weapons, Miller is pleased with his team’s defensive improvement between Games 1 and 2. They allowed fewer three-pointers (the Mystics scored 10 in Game 1 versus seven in Game 2) and sent Washington to the free throw line less frequently (the Mystics went 17-for-21 in Game 1 compared to 12-for-13 in Game 2).
While the Mystics had little problem scoring without Delle Donne on Tuesday, shooting 47.2 percent from the field, their defense was what suffered the most. Between Delle Donne’s absence and the Sun’s commitment to run their offense through Jones more so than they did in Game 1, Jones exploded for a careerhigh 32 points and 18 rebounds. Alyssa Thomas and Courtney Williams also scored 21 and 22 points, respectively.
Most significantly for Jones, half of her points came from putbacks off offensive rebounds.
“We’ve got to continue to put the ball in her hands, that’s not only inside but outside,” Miller said. “But we have to adjust as other teams adjust, if they send quicker double teams, or if they’re committed to double teaming maybe her shot attempts don’t look the same from night to night. But we’ve got to continue getting her touches and play through her.”
Jones was much more limited in Game 1, with only three shot attempts in the first half and ending the evening with eight shots, and zero offensive rebounds, overall — but that was with Delle Donne playing. If Delle Donne can’t play on Sunday, it will mostly be up to Meesseman, Hawkins, and LaToya Sanders to protect the paint.
“We just got to lock down on the defensive end,” the Mystics’ Natasha Cloud said. “We can’t let her get easy post-ups, we got to three-quarter her, try to make her entry passes a little bit harder.”
Part of that commitment will be to keep Jones, and Thomas, off the glass. The Sun outrebounded the Mystics 41-27 in Game 2, leading to 28 second-chance points. Thomas has had three double-digit rebounding games this postseason, snagging a dozen against the Mystics on Sunday.
“That’s been focus for our posts,” Cloud said. “It doesn’t matter if you guys get the ball, just get [Jones] out of there so we can get it.”