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Indigo pine
The 2025 WNBA season is filled with injuries.
As Ix basketball injury tracker117 players have remembered a joint 868 games so far, including some of the highest-profile players of the league: Breena stewart, Cetleen Clarke, Nefeesa colir, Zoncl Jones, Jordan Canada And Rhine Howard Each missed double-design is competitions. A’aza Wilson And Elisa Thomas I have also remembered a handful.
Kurtney wandershaloot, Baneija lani-haemilton, Kayla Thornton, Katie Lu Samuelson, Georgia amor And some fever players – Sophie Cunningham, Saw mcdonald And Sydney Kolson – Will not return this season. But some of the largest stars have already returned, and more and more expected as Postsen’s approach.
Which playoff teams or Postsen Hopfools will see the biggest growth?
According to we saw the franchise with top-six opportunities to win the championship, according to Aloe-based forecast model – Links, Dream, Aces, Liberty, Mercury and Fever- to compare their title opportunities and Simple rating mechanism (SRS) ratings with ratings that both marks must proceed after adjusting the rating to the missed games of the leading players. We also guessed how much each team takes advantage of the players that they have welcomed – or expected to welcome back before or during the playoffs – to use Estimated raptor rating To calculate how many points their presence is worth the point difference of a game.
Situation: Returned On August 24 (ankle)
Records records in the game: 7-3
SRS with vs. without the absence of collier: +9.43 vs +10.64
Title opportunities after adjusting ratings for the absence of colir: 58.8% vs 68%
Links did not have many injuries in the form of League Front-Runner during this charge season. Carley samuelson -The season-ending foot surgery in July-was the only notable contributor to remember a significant number of games. But when one of the few injuries is for the player who had a clear leadership in the race for WNBA MVP, he was sidelined, it could make a difference.
Links lost the back-to-back game for the first (and only) time in this season without a colir. Given that they still left 7-3, however, it is surprising that they may be better than their regular-season matrix when the playoffs start. When we update the raptor effect with the colir’s presiden data with their regular-season data, it indicates its absence cost Minnesota that she missed about 4.5 points for each game that she missed (compared to a replacement-tier)-a significant impact that could also add to the relatively small samples of the game.
Be equally powerful to see links
Situation: Outside From August 13 (Hamstring)
Records records in the game: 10-5
Situation: Returned on August 10 (knee)
Records records in the game: 7-4
Without their absence vs. vs SRS: +5.94 vs +7.10
Title opportunities after adjusting ratings for their absence: 19.3% vs 28%
Although neither Canada nor Howard is at the same level as a collier or stewart, the pair is very good, to indicate each with estimates, approximately 2 points per game per game per game is relative to a replacement-tier player who has been remembered each.
Sapna is only without both in a game-Win of three points on wings on 30 July-but 13 out of 13 are available in 13 sports. If the Canada returns to join the Howard for the playoffs, however, Atlanta should give a boost.
Situation: Returned On July 12 (Wrist)
Records records in the game: 1-3
Vs SRS without Wilson’s absence: +0.96 vs +1.47
Title opportunities after adjusting the rating for Wilson’s absence: 14.1% vs 21%
Perhaps more than Kolier, Wilson’s absence reflects the impact of a superstar on a team’s season-length figures. Wilson missed four games before this season (three due to one consent in June, then in July due to a right wrist sprain). This season is the cost of those projects for the cost of Las Vegas of the total scoring margin as Wilson adds a 5-high net points per game on replacement.
The aces still plays above their regular-session resumes in the playoffs-and like their appearance in 2023, when they were certainly WNBA’s goat team – Even after accounting for a brief absence of Wilson. But that is a proof that you cannot count a team that has an MVP-level talent.
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A’Ja Wilson’s 34-Point game sends Aces for 12th direct win
A’Ja Wilson scored 34 points as Aces won their 12th direct game.
Situation: Returned On 25 August (Knee)
Records records in the game: 5-8
Situation: Returned On 22 July (ankle)
Records records in the game: 7-5
Without their absence vs. vs SRS: +4.01 vs +5.86
Title opportunities after adjusting ratings for their absence: 2% vs 8%
Stewart represents a single-most expensive statistical absence of the WNBA season: 48.5 total net points of the estimated scoring margin vs. replacement in 13 sports starting in late July. Incidentally, Liberty went into a recession just after Stewart’s injury, and they are still trying to recover.
Since 26 July, New York is 6–9 with a minus -2.1 PPG difference, and its title opportunities have taken a sharp decline by 33% to 2%. And yet, after recovering in the year after hamstring and ankle injuries with stewart back and jones, any team should not improve their regular-season data more than Liberty. This is just a question whether their midseason struggles set them a very difficult way to protect their crowns.
Situation: Returned On 11 June (calf)
Records records in the game: 2-3
Situation: Returned on 11 June (back)
Records records in the game: 6-4
Without their absence vs. vs SRS: +3.39 vs +4.10
Title opportunities after adjusting ratings for their absence: 3.6% vs 7%
Like Wilson and Kolier, Thomas is a perennial WNBA MVP candidate – he is third in ESPN Bet Auds and continuously in the periphery of Wilson vs. Kolier’s conversation. It is not surprising that five games Thomas are remembered in May and June, this year the total scoring margin’s Phoenix is estimated to be 15.8 points.
Then Mac, which is an incredible defensive season for mercury, 7.8% block rate, 2.7% theft rate, 23.3% defensive rebound rate and the team’s defensive ratings with 2.7-point improvement when he is in court. And although this may look strange to include a player, which scores 4.4 points between significant injuries to a season, when we combine Mac’s defensive contribution with all performance of Thomas, the mercury playoff will have a better team, which is healthy than the overall regular-season metrics.
Situation: Out from July 15 Third stretch of missed time (Waist)
Records records in the game: 12-13
Without their absence vs. vs SRS: +1.90 vs +2.46
Title opportunities after adjusting ratings for the absence of Clarke: 1.6% vs 2%
The absence of the most profile of the season’s highest season, Clarke missed several games five times in 2025, as he had during him. High school or college careerAs usual, Advanced matrix undersel The effect of her injuries on the lower line of Indiana, but when she is in court, fever is better 7.5 net points and have 8-5 records in the games played by her.
Nevertheless, there is a possibility of how much Clarke can be expected to take her team, because after missing most of the year – especially when she returned when she returned when she returned.
