Brittney

Sykes

Due to a lower right leg injury, Sykes will not be available for Washington’s first matchup of the season with the league-leading Lynx. Regarding production and leadership, not having Sykes is a significant issue for the Mystics. Jade Melbourne, who played 18 minutes off the bench in Sunday’s overtime win over the Wings, should figure more prominently in the rotation, and there may also be additional minutes for rookie Lucy Olsen.

Sunday’s performance was Sutton’s best of the season, as she recorded highs in points and three-pointers. The Mystics’ guard did not miss a shot from the field against the Wings, scoring in double figures for just the fourth time this season. In Sutton’s previous three games, she totaled 16 points on 5-of-13 shooting. Her performance against the Wings was well-timed, as fellow starter and Mystics’ leading scorer Brittney Sykes (8/1/4) shot 1-of-8 from the field. Sutton’s showing on Sunday does not make her a must-add in fantasy leagues, but she’s worth tracking for now.

Sykes stuffed the stat sheet for the Mystics, mixing up hunting her own shot making while facilitating at a high level. Her comfort finding Shakira Austin in advantageous spots on the floor kept the Mystics in the game when other facets of their offense were hard to come by. On Friday night Sykes took 11 free throws, and she continues to maintain her status as the player in the league averaging the most attempts and makes per game. The only free throw Sykes missed on Friday night was with 0.1 of a second left in regulation, a free throw that could have tied the game up and taken it to overtime.

Austin was a matchup nightmare for all of the Dream’s front court players. She’s more athletic than both Brittney Griner and Brionna Jones, but then she’s also so much taller and longer than both Nia Coffey and Naz Hillmon. Brittney Sykes and Austin’s chemistry came alive on Friday night as the pair connected on six total field goals. Austin showed off her face-up game and mid-range jumper as she was able to use her long arms to over extend over smaller defenders. Austin’s 28 points are a new career high and her 10 rebounds make this performance her first double-double of the season.

Sykes rebounded from a nine-point outing in Washington’s 33-point loss to Atlanta by pouring in a new season-high against Chicago on Tuesday. The high-scoring effort came by way of efficient shooting and elite three-point production — her four makes also marked a high for the season. And in addition to the points, the veteran guard’s trio of steals on Tuesday amounted to more than she’s collected in her four previous games this month. The Mystics rely heavily on Sykes to be their offensive engine, and that won’t change going forward. If she can keep racking up steals and consistently contribute from beyond the arc, she’ll leave a lot of fantasy managers extremely happy.

The Mystics shot 29.5 percent from the field in Sunday’s 89-56 loss, with Sykes making just two of her 10 attempts. While the veteran guard has scored at least 20 points in four of her last six appearances, the two exceptions have been notable. In Washington’s June 5 loss to the Liberty, Sykes scored seven points on 2-of-9 shooting. With the Mystics rebuilding, the team does not have much margin for error, meaning they need a high-scoring Sykes when playing against the WNBA’s best teams.

Iriafen had a field day attacking both the smaller Haley Peters and less defensively inclined Tina Charles in the first quarter. She scored eight of her 12 points taking it to the Sun’s two starting bigs. When Aaliyah Edwards checked into the game in the second quarter, Iriafen’s scoring was limited. Again this is the Mystics’ dilemma: they have three talented young players who all play the same position. Shakira Austin can play the center, but she’s also been played at the power forward spot. In the third quarter, however, when Brittney Sykes scored 17 of her 28 points, Iriafen made sure to impact the game without scoring. She set meaningful screens that allowed for Sykes to get downhill.

Citron played within herself on Sunday afternoon even if that meant she didn’t hit a shot from deep. She showed off her ability to handle the ball and score on coast-to-coast drives, to pump fake and score past a Tina Charles’ closeout and to cut and score without the basketball in her hands. Playing within herself for Citron also means facilitating at a high level. The rookie created both of Brittney Sykes’ three-point makes which both were wide open looks following failed defensive rotations for Connecticut.

Sykes scored her season high on Sunday and continued to be on a tear getting to the free throw line. The 14 made free throws were also a season high. Sykes leads the entire WNBA in free throw makes, free throw attempts per game and has the highest percentage of points coming from the line at 40.1 percent. Sykes made her greatest impact in third quarter, responsible for 75 percent of the Mystics total third quarter points via both own scoring and facilitating. While Sykes’ performance fueled the Mystics, she continues to struggle hitting mid-range shots, not the most efficient looks in the course of a game.

In addition to fellow rookie Kiki Iriafen, Citron too extended her double-digit scoring streak to nine games. An adjustment that Mystics head coach Sydney Johnson made in their second matchup against the Liberty was putting Brittney Sykes on Sabrina Ionescu. Citron was Ionescu’s primary defender in the first matchup and that led Citron to having a less efficient game and having less energy in the tank to serve as the Mystics’ secondary facilitator. With Sykes on Ionescu, however, Citron returned to her efficient self, stuffing multiple areas of the stat sheet. She shot 50 percent from the field in addition to playmaking and getting on the the glass.