Jose Fernandez’s lineup and rotation decisions have been the story of the Wings’ season early on. First, he decided to bring Azzi Fudd off the bench, starting Odyssey Sims next to Paige Bueckers and Arike Ogunbowale. She also only took two shots in her debut, which frustrated many who thought the number-one pick deserved a bigger role.
Fudd’s role has grown steadily, and she may actually start sooner rather than later. But there are still other lineup and rotation issues to sort out. Alanna Smith hasn’t been great so far, and Fernandez started Awak Kuier over her in the second half against the New York Liberty, but condemned the word “benched” afterwards.
Four-time WNBA champion Sheryl Swoopes has another gripe with Fernandez’s rotations.
“We still haven’t talked about Aziaha James, who I think also deserves more minutes,” Swoopes said when she broke down the Wings’ guard depth on The Women’s Hoop Show.
Aziaha James’s minutes have been up and down
Aziaha James can help a good team win. She’s lightning fast on her way to the rim and she is a strong perimeter defender. She showed that when she recorded 10 points, 2 rebounds, 2 assists, and 1 block against the Fever in just 16 minutes and finished tied for the second-best +/- with Arike Ogunbowale. It’s not just that one game either. James was also the most reliable player in the development pool in Unrivaled this winter.
Nevertheless, James’s minutes have fluctuated. She played 15 and 11 minutes in losses to the Dream and Lynx, before not even logging ten minutes in wins over Washington and Chicago. Then, she played 18 minutes in another loss to the Dream and just four against the Liberty.
After the Wings’ loss to the Lynx, Maddy Siegrist was asked about what her role on this iteration of the team was. She said, “I don’t really know.”
Even though she hasn’t said it publicly, James seems to be in a similar situation. With Fudd coming in and taking up big minutes at the shooting guard spot, one has to question what the Wings’ vision for James is.
The Wings still have a lot to figure out
Jose Fernandez is a first-time head coach in the WNBA, and this Wings roster looks much different from last season. So, finding the right lineup chemistry and rotations will take some time. But it’s never good to hear players say that they don’t know what their role is.
So far, Fernandez has been heavy on matchup-based rotations, playing players who are performing well in a given game for very long stretches. Four players played over thirty minutes against the Liberty, and only two others even cracked the ten-minute mark. That approach causes rotations to change game by game, which naturally leaves some players, like Siegrist and James, without a clear-cut role.
Add us as a preferred source on Google