July WNBA schedule analysis

As the calendar turns to July, several WNBA teams will already be at or rapidly approaching the midway point of their regular season schedules. The schedule has been compressed this year, cramming 34 regular season games for each team into just 94 days. WNBA teams will be playing the same amount of games in a window of time about three weeks shorter than most years to accommodate the FIBA Women’s World Cup, which begins in late September.

We’re taking a look at the schedule each month to help you keep a close eye on how some difficult stretches could impact your favorite team’s playoff chances and the playoff picture at large. (In case you missed it, here are our schedule breakdowns for May and June.)

The playoff picture will begin to develop in July. Teams currently at the bottom can quickly jump into that race with a winning streak, and teams already near the top can begin to separate themselves in pursuit of a top-two seed.

We will also know who the All-Star Game coaches will be after July 13th’s slate of games. The head coaches of the two teams with the best records in the league will coach at the All-Star Game at the Target Center in Minneapolis.

Running through July’s schedule, team-by-team:

Atlanta

Games this month: 11

Back-to-backs: none

Notes: Tiffany Hayes went down with an ankle injury June 16 in Indiana. Including that game against the Fever, the Dream have lost three of four after a 6-4 start. The Dream do play seven of 11 at home in July. Atlanta has five games in nine days in the middle of the month (ouch), hosts Seattle after two days off, then flies to Los Angeles for a big Tuesday night matchup prior to the All-Star break.

The Dream still boast the league’s best defensive rating but are dead last in offensive rating at 89.7. There is context that ought to be brought to light in addition to the Hayes injury. Brittney Sykes missed five games with a foot injury, and her shooting is due to perk back up. And though Angel McCoughtry is back, she has returned to a much different roster that includes seven new teammates.

Chicago Sky

Games this month: 12

Back-to-backs: none

Notes: The Sky went 1-6 in their seven games without Stefanie Dolson. The calendar has not been kind to Chicago for the last 14 months. It hasn’t been their fault that their veteran core of Dolson, Courtney Vandersloot and Allie Quigley (shooting 46.7 percent on five threes per game by the way) hasn’t been on the court for as many regular season games as possible.

There have been reasons for Sky fans to celebrate and to be optimistic for what’s in store. Start with Diamond DeShields, who pops right off the screen on both sides of the ball. Gabby Williams is playing big minutes, making impact plays on defense and showing glimpses of what she can become as a driver when she kicks it into high gear. Cheyenne Parker has been a rock for Amber Stocks, giving quality minutes off the bench at both big spots.

Connecticut Sun

Games this month: 11

Back-to-backs: none

Notes: Strange draw for the Sun — four games in seven days on the road to start the month, three days off, four-in-seven, two days off, three-in-five, All-Star break. Get well soon, Alyssa Thomas.

Chiney Ogwumike has done her part offensively to help buoy the Sun offense with Thomas (shoulder) out of the lineup. Per Synergy, Ogwumike has scored 1.136 points per possession on post ups and is shooting north of 70 percent on both cuts and rolls to the rim.

And after spending the majority of the month not doing much other than fouling, Jonquel Jones looked more like the player we saw in 2017 on Wednesday against the Fever (5-6 3PT, 5 offensive rebounds, five assists). Jones was popping out beyond the three-point line more often and even got involved in some dribble handoffs with her teammates to use her shooting ability to put more pressure on opposing defenses.

Dallas Wings

Games this month: 12

Back-to-backs: 1 (7/19 v. WAS, 7/20 @ CHI)

Notes: Dallas will be navigating a much tougher slate in July, relatively speaking, after playing just nine games in June. They’ve turned over 25 percent of their roster since opening night and now have all three of Leticia Romero, Cayla George and Teana Muldrow available and ready to play. The Wings lost Karima Christmas-Kelly, a team captain and key all-around contributor on the wing, for the remainder of the season (knee surgery).

Aerial Powers (quad) has returned, and the continued growth of Kayla Thornton will give Fred Williams options to continue to find the right balance with his lineups. Williams still has the flexibility to go big when he wants to. Tuesday night in Los Angeles, the Wings started the second half with a lineup of Skylar Diggins-Smith, Kayla Thornton, Azura Stevens, Glory Johnson, and Liz Cambage.

Indiana Fever

Games this month: 10

Back-to-backs: none

Notes: The Fever have a five day break between two three-in-five stretches to start the month, then will play four-in-seven heading into the All-Star break. Victoria Vivians has shot the ball well of late (17-for-35 from deep in her last six games). This will be an important stretch for Kelsey Mitchell to look to do more damage around the basket.

The No. 2 overall pick showed in an early-season four game stretch that she could make teams pay for giving her even the smallest of windows to fire away from beyond the three-point — both in transition and in the pick and roll. Mitchell shot 18-for-38 from deep in that stretch, but she also got to the free throw line 22 times. More run for Hind Ben Abdelkader could do some good; putting another shooter on the floor could open things up more for Mitchell.

Las Vegas Aces

Games this month: 8

Back-to-backs: none

Notes: Coming off a 13 game month, the Aces have a much more enviable draw in July. They’ll get two or more days off before six of their eight games. Moriah Jefferson is back on the practice floor. You’d figure it’s only a matter of time before she makes her season debut, and this is a good month for it. With more rest days between games, the speedy floor general could be in a position to have a big impact immediately upon her return.

Los Angeles Sparks

Games this month: 10

Back-to-backs: none

Notes: The Sparks got off to a great start in June by winning three of four to close out a five-game homestand. Though Nneka Ogwumike (back) was forced to miss several games, Candace Parker (who missed time with a back injury earlier in the season) still managed to deliver several dominant performances at the end of the month. Additionally, Riquna Williams has been on fire from deep to give the Sparks a big lift of the bench. With the news of Cappie Pondexter’s release, that perimeter shooting from Williams is certainly something they could get used to in Los Angeles.

Minnesota Lynx

Games this month: 10

Back-to-backs: none

Notes: The Lynx start the month with two home games sandwiched between trips to Dallas and Chicago as part of a four-in-seven stretch. Four of their final six in July will then be at home as the city of Minneapolis gears up for the 2018 All-Star Game. Minnesota, currently riding a five-game win streak, has gotten a big boost from Cecilia Zandalasini, who has been excellent (16-for-28 FG, 6-for-12 3PT during the five-game win streak) on the wing on both ends.

New York Liberty

Games this month: 10

Back-to-backs: none

Notes: The Liberty dropped to 4-10 Thursday night after Elena Delle Donne drilled a three-pointer at the buzzer. New York will look to bounce back from that one on the back end of a back-to-back at home against the Sky. We’ll know a lot more about this team’s playoff chances after a four-in-seven stretch just before the All-Star break. The second game in that span is an early afternoon matchup in Dallas. Heading into the break they’ll get another crack at the Lynx, who blew them out June 16 at the Target Center. (Note: Marissa Coleman has missed the last two games with an ankle injury.)

Phoenix Mercury

Games this month: 9

Back-to-backs: none

Notes: Faced with perhaps the most grueling slate in the month of June, the Mercury started things off with an eight-game win streak. Phoenix can’t rest on that, though, because they finish the month with a road back-to-back against the Fever and Mystics. The Mercury have a three-game homestand to look forward to heading into the break, including a fun Saturday night showdown with the Lynx. Diana Taurasi continues to lead the way playing more with the ball in her hands, Briann January has connected on 22-of-40 three-point attempts, and Leilani Mitchell has made six of her last 16 after a bit of a slow shooting start.

Seattle Storm

Games this month: 11

Back-to-backs: none

Notes: The Storm will host Washington, Los Angeles and Dallas for a week-long three-game homestand before hitting the road for their next five to close the month. Seattle, now with all 12 players healthy once again, will look to keep pace atop the league standings. Jewell Loyd has cooled off some after a blistering start to the season:

Loyd’s six games in May: 48.3 FG% (43-for-89), 48.6 3PT% (18-for-37), 5.3 FTA/gm

Loyd’s 10 games in June: 36.2 FG% (47-for-130), 25.5 3PT% (14-for-55), 3.2 FTA/gm

Breanna Stewart rounding into form from beyond the arc has helped mitigate that, and the presence of Natasha Howard now paired with Alysha Clark allows them to lean more on their defense — a point of emphasis for new head coach Dan Hughes.

Washington Mystics

Games this month: 10

Back-to-backs: 1 (7/7 @ LA, 7/8 @ SEA)

Notes: The Mystics have gone to battle plenty of times already without their full complement of players. Elena Delle Donne missed four games, LaToya Sanders missed five, Natasha Cloud missed three, and now standout rookie Ariel Atkins is out for the time being after entering the league’s concussion protocol, per Ava Wallace of the Washington Post.

Washington has kept pace atop the standings, and Mike Thibault’s squad now has Tayler Hill (ACL) back in the mix. Even if Atkins is forced to miss more than a couple of games, a confident Hill and Shatori Walker-Kimbrough bring the shooting and defense needed to give them quality minutes on the perimeter.

Links I like

Adding to the must-listen list of podcasts for WNBA fans from last month, be sure to check out both the written content and podcast over at No Comets.