Mystics Routed at Home by Nolan and Detroit

Shock 99, Mystics 62

Coming off their worst loss of the year -- a 21-point thrashing by New York -- the Washington Mystics talked about making a statement last night. They spoke of responding against Detroit, the first-place team in the Eastern Conference, in a way that showed the kind of team they wanted to be.

Last night at Verizon Center the only thing the Mystics showed was a continuation of their recent, backward evolution from woefully inconsistent to entirely inept as the Shock handed Washington a 99-62 loss.

All of the things that went wrong against New York continued against a better Detroit team, which heading into last night's contest was averaging 78 points per game. The loss brought the Mystics to a new low even if it didn't top the worst defeat in franchise history (45 points) and it stoked rumors that Coach Tree Rollins may not finish his first full season as head coach.

"I don't have the answer. I'm not going to sit up here and lie to you," Rollins said after the game, adding that he's not going to dwell on any individual pressure he might be facing. "I know me. I know I do my work. If management decides to change coaches, that's what they do. I don't take that personally because I know I do my work. I prepare my team whether it's AAU ball or professional ball and I think management knows that I do put in the time and I do my work and so does the rest of the coaching staff. We can't play the game for them."

The Mystics, who will play their third game in four days tomorrow against Seattle, the second-best team in the Western Conference, stood still and watched as Detroit (16-7) took uncontested shots from every spot imaginable and jumped for rebounds -- sometimes three in succession -- without any opposition.

When Washington (8-14) defenders attempted to box out, all it took was one quick spin from a Shock player to shake them. When the Mystics gained control of the ball, they gave it up. Washington finished with more turnovers (21) than it had field goals (20).

Even early on, the Mystics acted like a team going through the motions rather than one trying to stop an oncoming threat. And a 33-12 deficit at the end of the first quarter proved it.

The Mystics took three minutes to score a single point, a trait that has become their hallmark this season, but they had never been dominated by a single player early on as they were by Shock guard Deanna Nolan. Nolan, who averaged 13.5 points per game coming into yesterday's game, outscored the entire Washington roster by seven with 19 points in the first quarter. By halftime the Mystics trailed 55-27.

"Anytime we have one player score more than our whole team that's a problem," said forward Taj McWilliams-Franklin, who led the Mystics with 13 points and eight rebounds. "Nolan had 21 at half. We can't give 20-point halves up. No team can. If any team that plays basketball in the world thinks they can, it's going to be hard to climb out of it. That's what happened. We spotted them 20 points."

It didn't matter what the Mystics did in the second half -- the game was over and everyone knew it. Detroit Coach Bill Laimbeer pulled most of his starters midway through the third quarter and only one -- guard Sheri Sam -- played at all in the fourth. He correctly assumed that his reserves could protect and add to the Shock's massive lead, which swelled to its largest, 46 points, in the final quarter.

"I can tell you the professional stuff where [other] teams are experiencing [struggles] at this time of the year," Rollins said. "But when this is your team you try to prevent this from happening. I can't get inside their heads, but as a coach I've just got to continue to prepare them, continue to put them through the reps in practice.

"But the one thing I do take personally," Rollins continued. "I've got to find that button. I've got to find that button as a head coach."