What’s next for the Washington Mystics?
After making the playoffs for the first time in three seasons last year, the Mystics hope to make the most of what many think could be the last year with their 2019 championship core together.
Defense has been the identity of this team. Last year the Mystics anchored the league’s best defense; however, they were only around average on offense last season. The question is, can this team make a big leap this season despite very little roster overturn?
A healthy Elena Delle Donne is key
At training camp, Mystics superstar Elena Delle Donne announced that she plans to play the entire season, not sitting out games for rest and recovery like she did last season. The Mystics played almost 800 minutes without Delle Donne last season and the offense struggled mightily, posting just under a 97 offensive rating. The league average offensive rating was just under 104 so that really puts into perspective how big the struggles were.
In the playoffs against Seattle, Delle Donne was spectacular, but it wasn’t enough because the Mystics struggled to generate any offense in the minutes she didn’t play. The encouraging part about all of this is that when Delle Donne was on the floor, the Mystics had a 108 offense, which would rank second last…
