Moving Paige Bueckers to Point Guard Has Transformed the Dallas Wings
A simple but key strategy has fueled the recent success of the Dallas Wings, by putting the ball in the best player's hands.
The decision to move Paige Bueckers to the point guard position is paying immediate dividends for the Dallas Wings. Over the last five games, Bueckers has been the primary playmaker and elevated the team’s overall performance. During that stretch, she is averaging 20.4 points, 6.8 assists and 4.4 rebounds while shooting 52.5% from the floor (16.0 field goal attempts) and 37% from three-point range (5.4 attempts per game). Dallas went 4-1 in those contests and lineups featuring Bueckers and Azzi Fudd this season have posted a +7.4 plus-minus, picking up where they left off in college.
Bueckers talked about it after the win against Mercury.
“Eight plus years of playing together. Playing with each other, playing against each other and having that chemistry. Like you see, from our entire team of us playing together, us learning each other and our tendencies, where we like to be on the floor, me and Azzi already have that.” Bueckers ended jokingly, “Every time I pass it to her, I tell her to shoot it so she gets me the assist.”
The Wings’ current starting lineup of Bueckers, Arike Ogunbowale, Azzi Fudd, Maddy Siegrist and Jessica Shepard has posted a +29 plus-minus through its first five games together. It’s a fresh breath of air to watch Bueckers and Shepard go back-and-forth on dishing out assists.
Giving Bueckers more control of the offense has made Dallas more dynamic. While she is productive playing off the ball, her impact as the team’s primary creator is more valuable to the team’s long-term success. Five games is still a relatively small sample size, but the results and eye test are aligned. Most of all, the Wings are winning and that has only happened in one season since the team relocated to Arlington. Bueckers is helping turn around the franchise and producing at an MVP level.
“Paige is the kind of player that, she knows where everyone is on the floor.” Fudd highlighted it after the victory against the Phoenix Mercury. “If the play is for them, if they are open she know’s exactly where to pass it and where to help them get their shot off.”
In the first seven games of the season, when Bueckers played off the ball, she averaged 19.3 points, 5.0 assists and 3.0 rebounds while shooting 52.2% from the field (13.1 attempts per game) and 48.3% from three-point range (3.6 attempts per game). Although her stats may be similar, Dallas went 4-3 in those contests, while lineups featuring Bueckers and Odyssey Sims posted a -2.0 net rating.
The original starting group of Sims, Ogunbowale, Bueckers, Shepard and Alanna Smith finished with a -26 plus-minus. While Sims’ playmaking remains valuable, her move to the bench has allowed Dallas to better utilize her as a primary creator providing a spark in a reserve role, prior to her ankle injury.
One notable difference between both roles has been the increased aggressiveness from Bueckers. Since moving to point guard, she is attempting 16.0 shots per game, compared to 13.1 in her first seven games. She is attempting 1.8 more threes per game as well. While her percentage beyond the arc has dipped slightly in the last five games, the increase in volume has made Dallas’ offense more dangerous when Bueckers is creating shots for herself and her teammates.
With Fudd replacing Sims in the starting lineup, the Wings have added a perimeter defender who can disrupt opposing team’s stars. Fudd adds defensive versatility, off-ball shooting and make an impact without dominating usage on offense.
The impact has shown up in the numbers, Dallas has posted a 100.7 defensive rating over the last five games. Seattle Storm and Phoenix Mercury being on the schedule helped that but you can still find the positive in that Fudd’s presence has helped create a better defensive unit to start and finish games. The Wings needed the change, as they struggle defensively against the top teams in the league, the team holds a 110.2 defensive rating against teams that are .500 or better.
The move has also reinforced something that is becoming increasingly clear. that Bueckers is the point guard for this roster.
Bueckers is a combo guard who is more than capable of playing off the ball, but that role works best when paired with a pass-first point guard as seen in college, who can consistently organize the offense and get her quality touches. Without that type of floor general on the roster, taking the ball out of the hands of Bueckers often means taking the ball away from the best creator. If the Wings had a traditional pass-first point guard, there would be a stronger argument for using Bueckers off the ball more frequently. With the current roster construction, the results are hard to ignore.
Bueckers is a point guard on this Wings team and the team thrives when she has more control of the game.