1. PLAY DOMINIQUE MALONGA!

While it’s known that Noelle Quinn doesn’t play rookies right away, Malonga is far from your average rook! In 7.6 mpg off the bench, she’s averaging 3.2 ppg & 2.0 rpg, compared to Li Yueru’s 2.0 ppg & 1.6 rpg in 10.4 mpg. With the right balance of minutes between Ezi, Li & Dominique, Seattle might just find the recipe to success and start creating some separation this week in the Western Conference.

2. Liz Kitley IN, Kiah Stokes OUT.

Vegas needs production at the 5 and A’ja Wilson needs help. So far, the Aces aren’t finding success with Stokes in the starting rotation. She’s been held scoreless in 4 starts this season. Kitley, on the other hand, has shown glimpses of greatness in her minutes off the bench. 4.3 ppg, 2.7 rpg, 1.0 spg & 1.0 bpg in 9.3 mpg.

3. This week may determine ROY:

KiKi Iriafen & Sonia Citron are the frontrunners & one of them could distance herself from the other in Week 3. The Mystics have two games against New York & a game against Indiana.

4. Move Julie Allemand into the starting lineup!

She brings undeniable energy and effort. In 15.0 mpg off the bench this season, she’s putting up 3.3 ppg, 1.8 rpg & 1.5 apg.

In 29.5 mpg, Odyssey Sims is averting just 4.2 ppg more! I think Allemand more than deserves the starting role at PG, which may benefit everyone and get LA some more wins. Games vs Vegas & Phoenix this week will be very telling.

5. Kamilla Cardoso needs more touches!

The offense should be directly flowing through her! If she gets a touch on every possession, she’ll be able to put Chicago in a position to win games… something they desperately need if they want a chance at playing postseason basketball! On the post-entry pass, she can either go up with it or kick out to 3-pt shooters Vandersloot, Atkins, Banham & Nurse. At 6’7”, she draws a lot of attention. Give her the ball & let her go to work! That strategy paid dividends at South Carolina!

6. Get more assertive, Paige!

Good things typically happen when PB has the ball in her hands. Having a scoring juggernaut like Arike on your team can be tough to navigate especially as a rookie & not wanting to step on toes, but Paige should take more command and let that ball fly! She’s known for her efficiency, something we saw Tuesday in Dallas’s first win of the season over Connecticut (21 points on 8-10 shooting). We need more of that!

7. Bria Hartley IN, Jacy Sheldon, OUT.

Connecticut needs to find the recipe for success & quick! They go into Week 3 winless. With the news of Lindsay Allen’s left hamstring injury (out approx. 2 weeks), CT needs to fix rotations at the guard spot. I think the perfect place to start would be to move Bria into the starting rotation & have Jacy come off the bench. She’s back after a 3-year hiatus & in 20.2 mpg off the bench, looks good! 8.4 mpg & 3.0 apg could see a big increase due to versatility at the guard spot; can play the 1 & the 2 very well.

8. Sydney Colson out, Sophie Cunningham in.

While Caitlin Clark remains sidelined with injury, the Fever need a reliable point guard. Cunningham has proven to be that over the past few years, on both sides of the ball. In their loss to Washington on Wednesday, Colson got the start and went 2-7 from the floor to finish with 4 points in 31 minutes. Give Sophie the starting role at PG and let her go to work.

9. A double-double isn’t enough.

If Chicago wants to get on the winning track, more efficiency will be needed from their star Angel Reese. Though a dominant force on the glass, her shooting has been abysmal to start off the season. She’s shooting it at a 31% clip, which simply isn’t going to cut it. We saw last year what happened when AR shoots the ball at a higher clip: THEY WIN GAMES. If she can shoot it 50% or better from the field, Chicago wins Saturday vs Dallas.

10. A healthy Azura Stevens is the most versatile forward in the W, there I said it!

This is the best she has ever looked in her pro career. She’s currently leading LA in rebounds & blocks while ranking third in points & steals. At 6’6”, nobody plays inside-out basketball as efficiently as she does.