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Dallas kicks off a three-game road trip Saturday in Atlanta, as the hot Dream try to beat the decidedly cold Wings for the first time this season and put off their playoff hopes for a while longer. Here’s how to watch the WNBA’s first game of the day.
Dallas Wings (14-15) at Atlanta Dream (20-10)
When: Saturday, August 11 at 2 p.m. ET
Where: McCamish Pavilion | TICKETS
How to watch: NBA TV (national TV), FOX Sports Southeast - Atlanta (local market), FOX Sports Southwest - Dallas Plus (local market)
Injuries: For the Dream, Angel McCoughtry (knee) is recently out for the rest of the season. For the Wings, Liz Cambage (neck) is questionable.
Storylines to follow
Last meeting: Wings 78, Dream 70 (May 26)
The Wings have certainly put themselves in a difficult spot. After a fairly strong showing as the season kicked into gear, a playoff berth but a formality to be bestowed upon them at the appropriate time, the Wings just don’t seem to be the same team anymore, having lost six straight heading into Saturday’s game.
Dallas has the 2-0 season series advantage, facing Atlanta two times in their first four games and winning both meetings, one rather comfortably and one less so. But as it stands here in August, the Dream are currently the two-seed headed into the playoffs, and the Wings have yet to qualify. There’s only one spot left, and it’s still up for grabs.
Although the Dream just lost Angel McCoughtry for the season to a knee injury, they still scraped together a win in their first game without her, beating the Sparks at home on Thursday. The non-traveling rest day should serve them well as they continue to regroup without her.
Meanwhile, the Wings could be out their leading scorer and rebounder Liz Cambage, who left Thursday’s game in the fourth quarter having already put up a game-high 29 points. A head injury left her feeling dizzy after the game and her status for the team’s upcoming road trip is questionable, which is not something Wings fans want to hear as their team is just barely clinging onto the final playoff spot.
The Wings are still in decent position to glide into the playoffs, with two and a half games on the beleaguered ninth-place Aces. But without Cambage, and without the luxury of any type of momentum heading into a crucial road trip, it’s hard to say just how simple that task could be.