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Elena Delle Donne gets a bobblehead, but knee remains a concern

By Jenn Hatfield

WASHINGTON, DC - MAY 6: Washington Mystics' Elena Delle Donne speaks to the media during the Washington Mystics Media Day at the Entertainment & Sports Arena on May 6, 2019 in Washington , D.C. (Photo by Ricky Carioti/The Washington Post via Getty Images)
WASHINGTON, DC - MAY 6: Washington Mystics' Elena Delle Donne speaks to the media during the Washington Mystics Media Day at the Entertainment & Sports Arena on May 6, 2019 in Washington , D.C. (Photo by Ricky Carioti/The Washington Post via Getty Images) /
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Some unwelcome news ahead of Washington’s opener

It’s been a big week for Washington Mystics forward Elena Delle Donne off the court: the Mystics announced a bobblehead giveaway in honor of their star player, and she was featured in video episodes by Bleacher Report and HBO. However, it looks like Delle Donne may not have a chance to make her presence known on the court right away this WNBA season. The Washington Post’s Ava Wallace reported on Wednesday that Delle Donne is questionable for Saturday’s season opener against the Connecticut Sun due to a jammed left knee.

The injury news likely sounds all too familiar to Mystics fans, who watched Delle Donne fight through an injury to the same knee in the 2018 postseason. It is also part of a rash of injuries to some of the league’s biggest stars in recent weeks, most recently to Seattle point guard Sue Bird. Mystics head coach Mike Thibault said he would make a decision on Delle Donne’s status for Saturday’s game by Friday.

If Delle Donne can’t play on Saturday, the Mystics will be awfully short-handed to start the season, as guard Kiara Leslie is out until at least August with a knee injury and guard Aerial Powers is still recovering from a left gluteal injury suffered on May 10.

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However, the 2019 Mystics are arguably better prepared to withstand the absence of Delle Donne than they were last season because of the return of forward Emma Meesseman, who skipped the 2018 WNBA season to focus on playing for the Belgian national team. Meesseman, a former WNBA All-Star who averaged a double-double in the 2018 FIBA World Cup, will likely start alongside center Latoya Sanders if Delle Donne is out of the lineup. The Mystics also have good frontcourt depth, with reserves Tianna Hawkins and Myisha Hines-Allen more than capable of playing extended minutes.

The news that Delle Donne could miss the Mystics’ first game came hours before the team announced a Delle Donne bobblehead giveaway on August 14 as part of the promotional schedule for the 2019 season. Other highlights include the Pride Celebration (June 29), Military Appreciation Night (July 13), 2000s Night (July 30), and the Block Out Cancer Game (August 18). In addition, the team will give away Mystics wallets at its home opener – the team’s first game at the brand-new Entertainment and Sports Arena – on June 1.

Off the court, Delle Donne has had more to celebrate this week. On May 15, she was featured in Bleacher Report’s “Take It There” with Taylor Rooks video series, and on May 20, HBO aired a segment called “Love and Basketball” on Delle Donne’s relationship with her sister Lizzie, who is blind and deaf and has cerebral palsy. Fans can watch the trailer for “Love and Basketball” on YouTube or access the full segment with an HBO subscription.

In other Mystics roster news, the team cut guard AJ Alix and forward G’mrice Davis earlier this week, trimming the roster to 13. Washington must make one more cut by May 23, and the decision will likely come down to Kim Mestdagh or Shey Peddy, both guards with overseas experience. Mestdagh shot a excellent 42% from behind the arc for the Turkish team Cukurova in 2018-19, but one downside of keeping Mestdagh is that she, like Meesseman, is a member of the Belgian national team, so both players would miss time for the FIBA EuroBasket tournament, which runs from June 27 through July 7. Peddy was a Mystics training camp invitee in 2013 and spent the 2018-19 season playing for TTT Riga in Latvia.

Washington returns an incredible amount of talent from last season, when it made the WNBA Finals. However, as the Mystics finish their preseason, one of their biggest questions will be whether they can stay healthy enough to challenge for a WNBA championship again in 2019. In particular, having Elena Delle Donne healthy will be critical, so we’ll have to continue to monitor that troublesome left knee ahead of Saturday’s game and throughout the season.

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