Hoops Happening: Tiffany Hayes of the Atlanta Dream wins her third Player of the Week award this season

She’s speedy with her feet, quick with her hands and eagle-eyed with her court vision — a veritable blur to the competition, requiring a new nickname for six-year Atlanta guard Tiffany Hayes: The Dream Haze.

Hayes heats up Atlanta

In a 20-point battering of the Lynx on Sunday that allowed Minnesota to win only one quarter (the third, by 4 points), Hayes was the game-high scorer with 28 points — ahem, Maya Moore-type numbers, in this new era of WNBA dominance.

Hayes’ 28 were also a season-high and included six three-pointers.

For the week of July 30 through August 5, Hayes ranked first in the Eastern Conference in scoring, with 21.7 points per game, and she propelled her team to a 2-1 record for the week, helping her Dream team to keep second place in the standings.

Atlanta will have official claim to a playoff spot if they can get the win tonight over a hungry Las Vegas Aces team doing everything possible to reach eighth place in the standings.

Hayes adds this week’s award to her growing collection for the 2018 season: Player of the Week in the East for weeks ending June 10, July 22 and August 5, and Player of the Month for July.

In the West, Candace Parker earned her second Player of the Week award this season on high-scoring, double-double play and a 2-0 record last week. In her most recent outing, Parker hit a major milestone: 5,000 career points.

Last night in the league

Jasmine Thomas (Sun), Kristi Toliver (Mystics) and Hayes (Dream) were key to the Sunday wins. Here’s the recap from Albert Lee.

Breanna Stewart had yet another MVP performance in a dominant Settle win over Liberty on Monday.

Next up on the court

Tuesday features four monster matchups and three of them will be televised nationally on NBA TV and Twitter. Stay tuned for previews!

Where things stand

As of games played through Monday August 6, the Storm continue to have a tight grip on the top spot, with the Dream 3.5 games behind. The Dallas Wings are clinging to the final playoff spot, with a 14-14 record, but the Aces are just 1.5 games behind them. The 2017 WNBA champion Minnesota Lynx are just one 1 game ahead of the Wings, in seventh.

WNBA.com

League leaders

Points

• Liz Cambage, 22.8
• Breanna Stewart, 22.8
• Diana Taurasi, 20.6

Rebounds

• Sylvia Fowles, 11.6
• Liz Cambage, 9.6
• A’ja Wilson, 8.3

Assists

• Courtney Vandersloot, 8.4
• Sue Bird, 7.4
• Skylar Diggins-Smith, 6.2

Drink up, link lush!

• Breanna Stewart’s favorite food is whatever championship trophies are made of, but she prefers it lathered in gravy.
• ICYMI: The skies were quite unfriendly to the Las Vegas Aces over the weekend, to the point that flight delays became a serious player health issue. The game was delayed an hour and eventually cancelled.
• Miss any games over the weekend? Here are recaps for Saturday and Sunday.
• Need a deep dive into the ultra-competitive playoff race? Here you go.
• In news of the most Seattle thing ever, Sue Bird is working with Pearl Jam to help the city’s homeless population.
• Washington Mystics will host a #BeYou empowerment series at Capital One Arena on August 17. Tickets are just $25 and include entry into the game.
• Phoenix Mercury sign Devereaux Peters to another seven-day contract.
• Chelsea Clinton will make a special appearance at the Phoenix Mercury’s home game against the Washington Mystics on Tuesday August 7.
• Bid on game-worn Mercury Rock the Pink jerseys through August 12.
• ICYMI: The Mercury quietly released The Chase, Episode 2, a few weeks ago.
• Woman of Inspiration Holly Rowe will receive the Margot Dydek Award at the Connecticut Sun’s home game on August 12.
• And the Sun are hosting a jersey auction, too! Bid responsibly.
• Jr. NBA World Championship will feature 300 young hoopsters from 35 countries, further proving the power of sports to unite rather than divide.

How to #WatchThemWork all season

Shine brighter. * flicker flicker *