Wings look to bolster playoff bid vs. Dream (Aug 19, 2017)
If the season was to end today, the Dallas Wings would be in the postseason by the skin of their teeth.
Atlanta would be on the outside, looking in for the second time in three seasons.
With only five games left in the regular season, the Wings have a chance to solidify their playoff chances when they host the Dream on Saturday at College Park Center in Arlington, Texas.
The Wings (13-16) come into the game on a two-game losing streak and tied with Seattle in for the eighth and final playoff spot.
Three rookies have had an integral part in the Wings' surge toward the postseason.
Former South Carolina All-American Allisha Gray, the fourth pick in the WNBA Draft, has been a starter in all 29 games her rookie season. She has compiled 13.1 points, 4.3 rebounds and 1.3 assists per game.
When All-Star Skylar Diggins-Smith needs a breather, head coach Fred Williams has not shown any hesitation in letting former Connecticut guard Saniya Chong run the offense.
And Kaela Davis, another ex-Gamecock, has been a defensive stopper off the bench.
"Not many rookies get a chance to play big minutes for a ball club," Williams told the Dallas Morning News. "We're in that situation where we needed all of our youth players to come in and help us out this year."
Diggins-Smith is still the cog that makes the Wings go. She is averaging 18.4 points and 5.6 assists per game. She also has been a perfect mentor for some of the younger Dallas players, especially Chong.
"We connect really well. You can see it not only on the court but especially off the court," Chong said. "We laugh a lot, we joke around a lot."
The Dream (10-19) enter play mired in an eight-game skid and are three full games behind the Wings and Storm. Atlanta also has five games remaining in its regular season. The Dream will need some serious help if they are to make the postseason.
The last time the Dream and the Wings met, Atlanta came away with a 98-78 win on July 9. All five Atlanta starters scored in double figures in that win, including Brittney Sykes who registered 18 points.
The rookie guard remains a bright spot in what has been a dreary second-half for Atlanta. Sykes has recorded five 20-plus-point performances and her 13.1 point-per-game average is second on the Dream only to Tiffany Hayes' 15.9.
The seventh pick in the draft is making a solid case for Rookie of the Year honors, which would be a far cry from where she was two years ago after suffering a second ACL tear.
Hard work and a little luck though paid off. She put the work in during practice, rehabbed the knee and worked on her shot. The result, she came back strong for her senior season at Syracuse and was drafted by the Dream.
"Atlanta is my style of play, Atlanta is my type of place to be," Sykes told wnba.com. "I have family down there, so I wouldn't be alone. It's the perfect set up."
Having Los Angeles Lakers legend Michael Cooper as her first head coach hasn't hurt, either. The Dream's style that allows players to get out in space is just what the doctor ordered for Sykes.
She also has embraced her role as a mentor and role model for those who have faced adversity.
"It's overwhelming sometimes when I get messages on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter from kids or even adults writing me, saying 'You're a great inspiration, you tore your ACL twice. I can't believe you're living the dream,'" Sykes said. "I tear up on some of them because it brings me back to when I wasn't able to play, and now where I'm at, I never take that for granted."
