Dallas Wings star Paige Bueckers was not named in the lineup for the team’s encounter with the Portland Fire on Saturday. The reason? To protect her from possible injury, according to coach Jose Fernandez.
Bueckers has been dealing with an ankle injury and Fernandez told the press ahead of the encounter that he did not want to risk his star player:
“Listen, it’s a long year, and Paige is who she is. Trust me, Paige would like to be on the floor tonight, but the best thing for her, longevity for the career with the franchise, we take care of her, and she takes care of her body.”
Bueckers suffered the injury in Thursday’s encounter against the Minnesota Lynx, a game Dallas won 85-70. She left the court during a timeout but returned with a taped-up ankle.
Bueckers scored a season-high 31 points on 14-of-20 shooting, six rebounds, and five assists.
Paige Bueckers on her ankle injury against the Minnesota Lynx
In the aftermath of the defeat to the Minnesota Lynx, Bueckers admitted that in the heat of the moment, she barely felt the ankle injury.
“Adrenaline is the best drug, so [I] didn’t really feel it during the game,” Bueckers said after the contest. “Just wanted to power through, help the team get a win.”
In a different post-game interview, she said the team is trying to be resilient, and that’s the foundation the Wings want to build their season on.
“We’re trying to be a resiliency team,” she said, via Natalya Shelton of Dallas Hoops Journal. “You’re not going to win every game in this league. It’s about what you do the next game, what you do the next possession and how you respond to adversity.”
She also told the press that the ankle’s mobility was fine on the inside and outside, so she doesn’t foresee the injury being a long-term issue.
Bueckers is currently averaging 19.8 points, 3.6 rebounds, and 5.8 assists per game.
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