DHJ Quick Take: The Schematic Evolution
- The “Stack” Action: Seeing Paige Bueckers as the back-screener in Stack (or Spain) pick-and-roll is a significant tactical shift. By using Paige to screen for a rolling big like Li Yueru, Fernandez creates an immediate “lose-lose” for the defense: either give up a rim run or leave the league’s most efficient shooter open on the perimeter.
- The Fudd Factor: Even without the ball, Azzi Fudd is altering the geometry of the floor. The film of Grace Berger using Fudd’s wing gravity to open a lane is the exact “Spacing Solution” Curt Miller prioritized. For a team that shot a league-worst 30.4% from deep last year, this gravity is the engine of the new system.
- Off-Ball Fluidity: The use of “Get” actions and flare screens from veterans like Alysha Clark proves the Wings are moving away from isolation-heavy sets. Bueckers is being utilized as a multifaceted weapon—catching on the move and attacking “scrambled” defenses rather than just bringing the ball up against full-court pressure.
- Building the “Strong 10”: These clips provide a first look at the second-unit chemistry between Li Yueru, Maddy Siegrist, and Paige. Li‘s improved conditioning and screening have become the foundational “trigger” for the off-ball looks Fernandez is installing.
ARLINGTON, Texas — Day 5 of Dallas Wings training camp brought the most extensive 5-on-5 work of the week, with head coach Jose Fernandez cycling through a layered set of off-ball actions designed around Paige Bueckers. With Odyssey Sims handling the ball for long stretches, Bueckers was featured as an off-ball gravity threat, a back screener, a curl finisher, and a mid-range pull-up shooter across a range of installs.
The clips below include Bueckers flowing out of a Get action with Li Yueru into a drive-and-kick for an Alysha Clark 3-pointer, Bueckers serving as the back screener in Stack pick-and-roll, a double drag into a Bueckers curl, a late-clock Yueru pindown, and a flare screen from Clark after a routine pass. The bench-group reps also featured No. 1 overall pick Azzi Fudd using her off-ball gravity to open a driving lane for guard Grace Berger.
Forward Maddy Siegrist, entering her fourth WNBA season, said the group’s intentionality on Thursday was a continuation of the habits Fernandez has been building all week. Her reads off Bueckers, after a full season of shared reps in 2025, have been a foundation for incorporating the team’s new pieces into the offense.
“Just the more you play with people, obviously the different reads. I obviously played a lot with Paige last year, so just being able to read off her,” Siegrist said. “Now adding some new pieces, getting more comfortable with them. Like, you like to pop here, slip there. Just day by day getting a little bit more comfortable with that kind of stuff.”
Fernandez has repeatedly pointed to positional versatility and three-point shooting as the two defining traits of the system he’s installing, with emphasis on generating high-quality looks through ball movement rather than isolation.
“You have to space the floor. High-percentage teams do a great job shooting in transition and generating inside-out threes,” Fernandez said. “For us, it’s about having the right people taking shots. We need to knock down open threes and emphasize going from good shots to great shots.”
General manager Curt Miller has framed the Sims-Bueckers pairing as a deliberate design choice, with Sims expected to take on primary ball-handling duties at times to free Bueckers to operate off the ball.
“Her veteran leadership is key, but also her on-court role. We need to get Paige off the ball at times, it’s hard to be picked up full court and still carry a scoring load,” Miller said. “Odyssey allows us to do that. Paige is elite off the ball, but you need a point guard to facilitate that.”
With four of the Wings’ projected top-eight players still absent from camp through Thursday — Arike Ogunbowale, Jessica Shepard, Alanna Smith, and Awak Kuier — Fernandez has leaned on what largely is the team’s projected second unit to get Bueckers meaningful 5-on-5 reps against a full defense.
The Wings open the 2026 WNBA preseason on Thursday, April 30, with a road exhibition game against the Indiana Fever.
More Wings Coverage on Dallas Hoops Journal
- Dallas Wings Training Camp Day 5 Recap: Bueckers-Sims Pairing, Off-Ball Actions And Overseas Updates
- ‘It’s About Want To’: Paige Bueckers’ Vocal Leadership Is Setting The Dallas Wings’ Training Camp Tone
- ‘That’s A Strong 10’: Curt Miller Outlines Early Projected Dallas Wings Rotation
- Awak Kuier’s Immigration Wait Leaves Dallas Wings Return Date Unclear
- Jessica Shepard, Costanza Verona’s Italian Championship Run Shapes Dallas Wings Return
- Arike Ogunbowale Nears Return To Dallas Wings After Chinese Championship Run
- Alanna Smith Departs Dallas Wings Camp For Immigration Requirements After Strong Start
- Dallas Wings Training Camp Interviews Day 5: Curt Miller On Overseas Player Timelines, Takeaways
- Dallas Wings Training Camp Interviews Day 5: Jose Fernandez, Alysha Clark, Maddy Siegrist On Early Progress
- Dallas Wings Set For Second-Most Nationally Televised WNBA Games In 2026
- Dallas Wings Unveil 2026 Broadcast Schedule With KFAA Returning As Local Television Home
- Dallas Wings Waive Shyanne Sellers, Grace Sullivan As Training Camp Roster Trims To 20
- ‘She’s Going To Be Special’: Inside Azzi Fudd’s Early Impression At Dallas Wings Training Camp
