Sug Sutton On Finding Her Footing In Dallas Ahead Of First Game Back In Portland

PORTLAND, Oregon — When the Dallas Wings take the floor at Moda Center on Wednesday, Sug Sutton will be looking at a familiar building and a former team.

Sutton signed with Dallas in mid-June, and she said the transition into the Wings’ locker room felt seamless from the first day.

“Honestly, the first time I stepped on the court, I felt like I’d been here since training camp,” Sutton said. “Everyone made me feel comfortable right away, and I felt like I could just be myself. As the season goes on, we’re continuing to learn each other’s strengths, and I think that’s only going to make us better.”

That comfort produced her best game yet in a Wings uniform. Sutton has mostly played a limited role behind Dallas’s established guards since arriving, averaging 2.9 points and 1.3 assists in 9.6 minutes across her first nine games with the team. Monday, in a season-high 22 minutes, she turned in a season-high 7 assists in the overtime loss to New York, one of three Wings players to reach at least 6 that night.

A Rematch With The Team That Let Her Go

Sutton’s second chance in Dallas has a specific origin point. Portland selected her in April’s WNBA expansion draft and started her in two of her three games with the club before waiving her on May 21, part of the same round of cuts that also cost Haley Jones her roster spot.

Three weeks later, with Odyssey Sims sidelined by an ankle injury and Paige Bueckers banged up, Dallas came calling, and general manager Curt Miller welcomed her as a veteran who could steady the backcourt. Wednesday’s game at Moda Center will be Sutton’s first look at the Fire since they let her go.

“I’m really grateful the Wings gave me this opportunity after what I went through at the beginning of the season,” Sutton said. “I’m just continuing to get better with this group.”

Slowing Portland’s Pick-And-Roll

Dallas already has a taste of what can go wrong against this Portland team. The Fire beat the Wings 84-83 in a Commissioner’s Cup game on June 13, rallying from a two-point deficit in the final 19 seconds before Emily Engstler won it at the free-throw line. Asked what it takes to avoid a repeat, Sutton pointed to pace on offense and discipline on the other end.

“I think the key is for us to continue being ourselves,” Sutton said. “Offensively, we’ve been doing a really good job of getting into our flow. Portland plays really hard and has a really good defense, but there are some things we can do offensively to expose their defense.”

Containing ball screens will matter just as much as anything Dallas does on offense, according to Sutton, since it’s the action Portland leans on most to generate good looks.

“Stopping their pick-and-roll game is really important because they’re really good in those situations,” Sutton said. “Our pick-and-roll defense is going to be a big key tonight.”

Offense Finding Its Rhythm

Dallas enters at 17-9, the best 26-game start in franchise history, and much of that has been built on an explosive offensive progression when opposing teams try to take away the first action.

Whether teams are trying to aggressively contain Bueckers, Arike Ogunbowale, Jessica Shepard or Azzi Fudd, the Wings have built in effective counters that they’ve utilized with increasing flow. Sutton said that balance has only grown and has helped pick apart defenses.

“Once we get to that second and third option, we can really get anything we want within our offense because we have so many scorers,” she said. “Teams are taking away our first option, so getting into those second and third actions has been the biggest adjustment. We’ve done a really good job of that, and we’ve also done a good job exposing other teams’ defensive weaknesses over the last couple of games.”

Defense Tightening Up

Alanna Smith hasn’t played since July 12, when she suffered a right leg injury in a win over Chicago, taking one of Dallas’s primary rim protectors and pick-and-roll defenders out of the rotation for more than a week.

Rather than treating that as a setback, Sutton said the group has used the stretch to sharpen its communication.

“I think our defense has started to get better,” Sutton said. “As a group, we’re a lot more connected. We’re communicating more and doing a better job defending pick-and-rolls, which is one of the biggest challenges in this league because everybody runs pick-and-roll. That was one of our struggles earlier, but we’ve improved by staying connected, packing the paint and helping each other through multiple defensive actions. We’ve made good progress, and I think we’ll continue to grow in that area.”

Sutton’s Pick For The Three-Point Contest

Azzi Fudd will represent Dallas in the WNBA Three-Point Contest during All-Star weekend off the back of one of the hotter shooting stretches in the league, having hit at least 3 three-pointers in four straight games and passed 50 for her career during Monday’s loss. Sutton isn’t hedging her pick.

“Azzi’s winning, for sure,” Sutton said. “You can call me biased, but Azzi’s winning. She’s one of the best shooters in the league, so I’ve got Azzi.”

Tip-off between Dallas and Portland is set for 9 p.m. CT at Moda Center.