Hard to draw too many conclusions about the Fever in this one since they were missing two of their expected top five or six rotation players in Mitchell and Samuelson. As a result Clark seemed to play off ball a lot of the night. Wheeler actually looked pretty good to me but I think eventually we’ll see Clark get the keys to the offense more than she did tonight. Can’t really hold that missed final shot against her, they lost too much time getting the ball to her and it was well-defended.
Smith can do a lot of different things. She missed some shots she’ll make most nights. Boston didn’t have a good game at all although there aren’t many WNBA frontcourts that’ll be harder to deal with physically than Brown/McCowan/Howard. More concerning to me was that the Fever didn’t seem to look for her often which was an issue at times last year as well.
Indiana has some nice complimentary pieces, Hull has found her role and Berger looked comfortable if quiet. I think Saxton and Correa are pretty clearly Indiana’s two cuts.
For the Wings:
Dallas has a lot of potential, obviously even more so once they get Sabally back. Brown looks great physically, she’s much leaner and moves better. I’ve always thought Natasha Howard was one of the most underrated players in the league. She makes any team she’s on better.
Arike was pretty cold tonight (although 9-24 is not at all far off from her career averages) but has always had an insane clutch shotmaking ability. I still think Dallas’ success will hinge on her ability to either be more efficient or shoot less when she’s not hitting.
Brown — whoa! Wasn’t familiar with her game at Cal but she was super impressive. I think she has to make the team after that.
All in all, fun game and good intro to the season.
apnews.com
www.si.com
