Paige Bueckers Out for Wings vs. Mystics Due to Knee Injury After Historic WNBA Game
The Dallas Wings announced rookie guard Paige Bueckers will miss Saturday's game against the Washington Mystics because of a right knee injury.
This is the second half of a back-to-back for Dallas. On Friday, the Wings lost 94-86 to the Indiana Fever. Bueckers finished with 27 points, six assists, two steals and two blocks in 36 minutes on the floor.
Given how much she played on Friday and the quick turnaround between Dallas' next game, this may be more of a precautionary step.
Bueckers met with Dallas Mavericks star Kyrie Irving on the court following the loss to the Fever. She didn't appear to be favoring her right knee.
Even if the No. 1 overall pick only misses one game, the Wings have a minuscule margin for error if they're going to move into a playoff position. At 4-13, they're 4.5 games back of the eighth-place Mystics, and the gap will grow further if Washington comes out on top Saturday.
Bueckers has undoubtedly been a bright spot. She's averaging 17.7 points on 45.7 percent shooting along with 5.8 assists and 1.8 steals.
Bueckers' value to Dallas is evident in the fact the team has a minus-0.6 net rating with her on the court and a minus-10.8 net rating with her on the bench, per WNBA.com.
The Wings have to keep an eye on the bigger picture with the dynamic young guard. There's no need to put her at an increased risk of injury. But that careful approach will carry a cost when they're clearly worse without her in the lineup.
