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I know, I know. It's preseason. The games don't count. However, these games also could help us see where a team could be headed if some projected starters, especially younger ones, are playing well. That's what we saw today.
Tulsa Shock 76, San Antonio Stars 75: Diggins continues her scoring rampage
Last Friday, we were talking about Skylar Diggins' performance. Today, Diggins showed that it was no fluke. She scored 30 points, on 11-21 shooting from the field. This tweet below shows just a little more insight on Diggins' performance.
@SkyDigg4 with 30, including the game winning FTs, as @TulsaShock gets past @SAStars, 76-75. @kaymac_2123 with 17 in defeat. @ndwbb big day!
— 46 WHME Sports (@46Sports) May 6, 2014
I fully anticipated that this game wouldn't have been a cakewalk for the Shock, since the Stars would have more familiarity.
As the 46 WHME tweet mentioned above, Stars guard Kayla McBride led her team in scoring, with 17 points, and did so on 5-of-10 shooting, and made 3-of-5 three point shots, much better than her performance last Friday. Becky Hammon and Sophia Young-Malcolm however still had a subpar performance...
Shock guard Odyssey Sims, the second overall pick in the 2014 WNBA Draft had her professional debut today, and she scored 13 points off the bench.
I don't want to call the Shock championship contenders, and it's really early, but if Diggins can play at a level close to how she did in the preseason, it should not be a shock to see this team make the Playoffs.
Washington Mystics 80, Indiana Fever 63: Two Monumental Basketball Team Wins in Two Days
Like the Tulsa Shock, many people believe that the Washington Mystics figure to be a bottom-ranked team in the East this season, myself included to be honest. But we may have to start rethinking that assumption as well if this game is a sign of things to come.
Monique Currie led all scorers with 18 points, and made every shot she took, both from the field and the free throw line. In addition, Tianna Hawkins and Bria Hartley also scored in double digits with 10 points each.
Since this game wasn't on TV, another key stat here is from the assist column. The Fever only had six total assists with two players who even had an assist. The Mystics had 15 total assists, with six players who had at least one assist each. Granted, the Fever didn't have Shavonte Zellous and Tamika Catchings playing in this game, while the Mystics played everyone, but still, when you see a stat like that, there probably wasn't sufficient ball movement, and teams that only have six total assists for a game just aren't going to win that often.
Were any of you at these games and have more insights? Let us know in the comments below!