This season is not turning out to be the reset and refresh button the Dallas Wings wanted to hit. Sure, they weren’t jumping aboard the playoffs train, but a 1-7 start hardly screams hopeful. Add Paige Bueckers’ injury leaving a glaring void to that, and you may have coach Chris Koclane staring down a one-year tenure. Yet, the team is not losing its spirit. Standing with the league-worst record, the Wings know what the game demands of them now.

After 6 losses, a 2nd win seemed all but confirmed for the Wings while playing Dallas. They had managed an 11-point lead by the third quarter, and DiJonai Carrington had her opponents know she was on a mission. But fueled by Ezi Magbegor’s jumper just then, Seattle got going and never stopped until a 77-83 win was theirs. Things may be going downhill for the point guard-less Wings — Bueckers and Tyasha Harris both on the injury report — but Myisha Hines-Allen is calling for her team to remain strong. 

“I think it’s just showing up to work with the right mindset,” she started in the post-game conference. “ I know we talked about, like, chemistry before, but I think, like, that’s going to come with us playing in these close games right now because once—I mean, we weather this storm and no pun intended—once we weather this storm, like, it’s going to get us where we need to be.”

Despite this abysmal start, it’s still not all over. Teams have come back from worse. Just last year, the Indiana Fever made it to the playoffs after a 1-8 start. Coincidentally, they had the No.1 pick, too. What Dallas needs is for the puzzle pieces to fit. New management, new coach, and only 3 returning players– chemistry building has been the real task for the team, and it shows with just 61.9% points coming off assists. Coach Koclane admits the team needs it during close games the most. 

“Just a togetherness. Just a camaraderie that they’re building there in that locker room,” he said, when asked about the one necessity in not blowing out the close games. But if they really want to build on their game, the Wings are also going to need to focus on one end of the floor.

Dallas has fared comparatively well offensively, ranking 5th with a rating of 102.6. Bueckers, Carrington, and Arike Ogunbowale have ensured it remains so. But defensivesly, Hines-Allen is aware of the lapses. 

“I think that comes down to the defensive side. We’re seeing that we can score the ball; we’re not getting enough stops, especially in crunch time, the four-minute mark, like we have to learn how to, you know, get stops here, so I think that’s going to be an emphasis for us,” she added. 

The Gabby Williams-led squad shot 48.4% from the field and recorded 13 points in transition. Despite trailing for the better part of the game, the Storm flipped the script with an 18-2 run in the final frame. The Wings have now got to return with conviction and defend with purpose. 

What can the Dallas Wings actually achieve this season?

It hasn’t been pretty but the Wings never expected it to be smooth sailing. In the midst of a rebuild, Coach Koclane-led side has plenty to explore. And if there’s one way they can still recoup this season, it’s by changing this one aspect of their play– stepping up in the final minutes.

This season, the Dallas Wings have already been faced with five such game situations and are 0-5 in those games. They’ve only scored an average of 3.2 points while in that clutch game window and are shooting 22 percent in that time frame as well. They could be 6-2 right now instead of 1-7 on the season if they had capitalized on their situations better. 

One could attribute it to their inexperience. Dallas now stands as the second youngest squad in the league with an average age of 24.89. Ogunbowale, by far, brings the most experience– 6 years. But she isn’t exactly having the best year. The star guard is averaging 16.1 points and 3.8 assists this year, which is drastically lower than 22.2 points and 5.1 assists last campaign. If the veteran steps up and the team builds that synergy, Dallas can still turn things around. The needs and ask are clear, about time the Wings picked up.