Ironically enough, the man who leads Washington into the playoffs for the fourth time in five years is the last person that took Connecticut there. A three-time winner of the WNBA Coach of the Year award, Mike Thibault has had to earn every cent of his paycheck this season. With the offseason additions of former MVP Elena Delle Donne and WNBA champion Kristi Toliver, Washington finally got the star players they had been wanting for so long. While the roster looks good on paper, the issue has been keeping it intact on the court. With the exceptions of Toliver, starting center Krystal Thomas and starter Tierra Ruffin-Pratt, the Mystics have seen most of their key players miss significant time. Take a quick look: Delle Donne (9 games with a variety of injuries), Emma Meesseman (11 games due to playing with her national team), Tayler Hill (torn everything in her leg just 18 games into the season) and Natasha Cloud (9 games and counting with a hip issue).
Injuries are a part of the game, unfortunately, and teams have to continue to play despite them. Statistically, the Mystics have seen a dip in their numbers but have been pretty steady all season long. Ranking fourth in rebounding percentage (51.4) and third in offensive rebounding percentage (29.6) has been helpful to a team whose shooting efficiency ranks in the middle of the pack. Another number that has been excellent for Washington is their turnover percentage which sits at a clean 15.4 percent, second best in the league behind Connecticut. Assuming health, the Mystics need a slight uptick by all of their players to make a push into the postseason. Delle Done has put up numbers similar to the rest of her career, but Toliver’s field goal and three-point percentages are currently both career lows, as are Meesseman’s since she began shooting three pointers two seasons ago.
When healthy and running smoothly, the Mystics have proven to be one of the most deadly offensive teams in the league. If they can heal up for the playoffs, they will be a difficult out. Tonight’s game is a makeup from late July when the roof in Washington was leaking, and who would have known how big this game would become.