Angel Reese’s 21st career double-double against Phoenix Mercury might have left her fans impressed, but not everyone’s buying the stat-line hype. The Atlanta Dream star closed the game with 14 points, 10 rebounds, 4 assists and 1 block. Seemingly an invaluable contribution to the Dream’s 96-82 win vs Mercury. However, a closer look reveals clear gaps in her game. And WNBA analyst Ben Daniel did not shy away from putting Reese’s Wednesday night performance further under the microscope.
Watch What’s Trending Now!
What started with Daniel’s remarks about the low attendance in Dream vs Mercury transitioned into a rather harsh criticism of Reese. “Angel Reese has taken the WNBA back to the stone age by herself,” he said. As per the info available on ESPN, 3,575 fans attended the Wednesday night clash. Ben Daniel, however, believes this to be the reported number and claimed the actual attendance to be nowhere more than 1200 people.
The criticism around low attendance may seem unfair when you consider the fact that Atlanta Dream surpassed their last year’s attendance record in just 15 home games since Angel Reese’s arrival. However, more than the volume of crowd, Daniel’s real criticism of the game was lapses in Angel Reese’s gameplay.
“Good grief. Terrible. Terrible… DeWanna Bonner not even playing defense [on Reese]… They know Angel Reese selfish player… She’s not passing.” The comments came from Daniel as he reacted to the Dream forward’s missed layup, followed by a missed shot after grabbing her own rebound, two missed 3s and another missed shot from inside the arc.
Nevertheless, the 3x All-Star went on to become the fastest player to record 70 double-doubles in WNBA history in Dream’s home win vs Mercury. Despite that, the criticism of Reese’s offensive struggles continues to follow her. “The scouting report on Angel Reese is out. The defense literally doesn’t guard her when she’s more than 6 feet from the basket,” Fox News reporter Dan Zaksheske wrote on X while sharing highlights from the Wednesday night WNBA clash.
Angel Reese’s offensive woes are deeper than what surface numbers reflect
First look at Reese’s career-high 16 points per game scoring average this season, and the numbers look quite appealing when paired with the high volume of rebounds she grabs. However, a closer look at the metrics and the offensive gaps start to show up.
The Atlanta Dream forward is shooting 43.7 percent from the field with an effective field goal percentage of just 44.3 percent. That is a bottom-tier mark for a frontcourt player who almost lives near the rim. Even worse, Reese’s two-point shooting percentage is 46.9. A 6ft 4 forward converting under half her shots inside the arc becomes a genuine concern. Especially when other bigs at her position like Jessica Shepard and Jonquel Jones live in the range of upper 50s and 60s.
And when it comes to the three-point experiment, Reese has failed for the most part of it. She has gone just 5-of-36 from three this season despite attempting a career-high 1.2 threes per game. Now, even if these evident metrics were to leave any room for doubt around her offensive woes, Reese’s true shooting percentage reveals volumes.
Even with the added value of drawing frequent fouls, Reese’s true shooting percentage sits at just 51.4 percent. Take away the foul-drawing and the scoring efficiency collapses.
However, the single most damning number is Reese’s 0.6 offensive win shares in 29 games, against her 1.9 defensive win shares. Clearly, majority share of her value comes from defense and rebounding. So, it’s high time that Reese works on her offensive shortcomings in order to not just be a valuable contributor on team offense but to avoid harsh criticism from analysts like Ben Daniel.