WNBA: Can the Connecticut Solar rating sufficient to win a championship?

Of their 11 video games for the reason that Olympic break, the Connecticut Solar are 7-4, a strong document that the majority groups would join, however, in context with their 12-1 begin to the season, beneath the usual anticipated from this squad. On Sunday, Connecticut prevented their first three-game dropping streak of the season, defeating the Sparks 79-67 in Los Angeles.

Previous to Sunday, the Solar had struggled to place the ball within the basket of late, scoring 64 and 67 factors, respectively, in consecutive house losses to the Seattle Storm and Las Vegas Aces. The cliché is, “Protection wins championships.” However for the Solar’s top-ranked protection (94.5 defensive score) to ship the franchise’s first title to Uncasville, the workforce should set up a baseline stage of offensive consistency. Can they make that occur?

Two potential gamers stand out as significantly determinative: Marina Mabrey and Alyssa Thomas.

Mabrey, Mabrey not

The midseason acquisition of Marina Mabrey was meant to alleviate Connecticut’s offensive woes. And it’s working. Form of.

Within the 11 video games Mabrey has performed, the Solar have an offensive score of 100.7 when she is on the courtroom, the perfect mark on the workforce. She can also be tops in plus/minus, with the Solar outscoring opponents by 57 factors in her nearly 300 minutes in a Connecticut uniform. The scoring-focused sixth participant position, briefly, has suited her properly.

Nonetheless, it’s potential the effectiveness of the Solar’s offensive assault has develop into too depending on Mabrey’s effectivity. Contemplating she is a streaky scorer, that may be a harmful proposition for a workforce with championship ambitions. Mabrey has shot 40 % or beneath from the sector in 5 of her 11 video games with the Solar. That’s not essentially shocking. But, Sunday’s recreation—in opposition to a Sparks workforce that’s formally eradicated from playoff rivalry—was the primary time the Solar scored greater than 70 factors when Mabrey has turned in a subpar capturing efficiency. Connecticut additionally had misplaced three of the 4 prior video games when Mabrey’s shot was not falling.

This information doesn’t imply the losses are Mabrey’s fault; that’s removed from the reality. Reasonably, the Solar must develop dependable offensive alternate options in order that the workforce can obtain scoring success even when Mabrey isn’t on a heater.

The AT concern

Within the halfcourt, producing constant offense by way of different means has develop into a problem due to Alyssa Thomas. Sure, she is “The Engine,” the hard-charging coronary heart and soul of the Solar. On Sunday, she turned in a basic AT triple-double, her third of the season. Thomas captained Connecticut with 12 factors, 11 assists and 10 rebounds. The Solar additionally gained her minutes by a game-best 22 factors.

Earlier than the sport in opposition to lowly Los Angeles, Thomas was too usually wanting like an offensive legal responsibility. Opponents’ growing willingness to sag off her in halfcourt possessions—realizing she has two torn labrums and won’t shoot—has develop into a obtrusive drawback that stunts the Solar’s assault. Thomas, in flip, resorts to driving headlong right into a crowded paint or transferring the ball to reset the possession, which then requires the Solar to seek out an offensive possibility with a shortened shot clock. Earlier than Sunday’s recreation, Connecticut had been outscored in her minutes for the reason that Olympic break. Likewise, the Solar’s offensive score was a team-low 95.5 throughout Thomas’ post-break courtroom time. Whereas Sunday’s win rectified these statistics, it doesn’t imply that the underlying points have been solved. (As our Sparks’ professional Edwin Garcia just lately wrote, “[T]he Sparks are solely taking part in as a result of they must.” So, overly weighing video games in opposition to LA, particularly for groups with title aspirations, appears unwise.)

In transition, Thomas stays a terror, rapidly turning defensive stops into offensive scores by way of her propulsive playmaking. However within the crucible of the postseason, transition alternatives are likely to wane, placing higher precedence on producing halfcourt offense in opposition to a set protection. Thomas continues to be a constructive participant, and sending her to the sideline, actually, isn’t a wise answer. Nonetheless, to realize their targets, head coach Stephanie White and firm must proactively handle the halfcourt offensive limitations that include Thomas’ many (many, many) positives.

5 video games stay for the Solar to experiment and evolve, starting with one other recreation in opposition to the Sparks in LA on Tuesday, Sept. 10 (10 p.m. ET, League Move). After that, they meet the Mercury in Phoenix on Friday, Sept. 13 (10 p.m. ET, ION) earlier than ending off their four-game highway journey in Vegas in opposition to the Aces on Sunday, Sept. 15 (6 p.m. ET, CBS Sports activities Community).