The Washington Mystics’ 1-1 record in their current homestand could easily be 0-2.
In consecutive games the Mystics have fallen flat after the opening few possessions, allowing opponents to build nearly insurmountable leads by halftime.
While Washington found a way back against the Shock last Friday, there are only so many times you can win with effort alone.
“If you look at the Detroit game, it wasn’t great a game,” said Mystics guard Alana Beard said Sunday after an eerily similar performance and defeat against Indiana. “I think offensively sometimes we get caught up, and don’t execute. In the games that we’ve won, I think we’ve had great execution.”
In the losses, however, turnovers and poor shooting have reigned, due somewhat to fatigue, but also to a lack of focus and attention to the game plan.
“We always have a little bit of a breakdown somewhere in the game where we don’t execute at all,” said center Nakia Sanford. “We’re trying to score and trying to get points to get back in it, but not within our offense that our coaches have planned out. That’s hurt us.”
Although Washington is desperate for rest, it won’t get much with three games in the next eight days before the weeklong All-Star break. The schedule is unrelenting from there, too, with a game every three days for the final five weeks of the regular season.
Silver Stars (9-6) at Mystics (5-11)
» When: Tonight, 7
» Where: Verizon Center
» Radio: 1260 AM
