The Dallas Wings are set to face off with the Washington Mystics tonight, but they will be doing so without No. 1 pick Paige Bueckers. The UConn product has been ruled out for tonight’s game due to a right knee issue.
There is no information available at this point on the severity of the knee issue, but this could be nothing more than precautionary, as the Wings played last night against the Indiana Fever. That game lost some luster as Caitlin Clark missed due to injury, taking away the chance at a matchup between the past two first overall selections. The Fever still produced a 94-86 victory despite the 27 points and six assists that Bueckers provided.
It should also be noted that Maddy Siegrist (knee), Luisa Geiselsoder (national team), Teaira McCowan (national team) and Tyasha Harris (knee) are all also set to miss, while DiJonai Carrington is listed as doubtful with a rib injury.
After some early struggles when making the WNBA leap, Bueckers has settled in and is producing as expected. Through her opening 12 games played, Bueckers is averaging 17.7 points, 5.8 assists and 4.6 rebounds per game.
Despite her success, the Wings hold a record of just 4-13 on the season and sit in second-to-last in the WNBA standings. Knee injuries are always a concern as Bueckers suffered a torn ACL in college, but it should be noted this is the other knee and could be nothing more than the team being cautious with its star.
Looking at the odds for tonight’s matchup, the Mystics enter as six-point favorites and hold -265 odds on the moneyline on DraftKings Sportsbook. The Wings hold +215 odds of pulling off the outright victory with the game total set at 161.
The Mystics were originally three-point favorites before the news of Bueckers’ injury, which is further evidence of her value to this Wings team.
