When the Sparks traded Rickea Jackson to Chicago before the season, the move opened a door for Rae Burrell. She walked through it. But the path hasn’t been a straight line.
Burrell started the year in the starting five. Then Los Angeles shifted Erica Wheeler into the backcourt next to Kelsey Plum, and Burrell got bumped to the bench as Ariel Atkins slid to small forward. That lasted until Plum went down with a leg injury a few weeks ago. Burrell stepped back into the starting lineup and started putting up career numbers.
That also meant every opponent started paying attention. Defenses aren’t letting her just drive anymore. They’re scouting her tendencies, collapsing when she gets downhill, and forcing her to make decisions she didn’t have to make before.
“I think it’s just about pace. Teams are starting to scout what I do,” Burrell said after Wednesday’s loss to the Lynx. “I’m gonna try and get downhill so I got to be able to read when they’re collapsing and I have the kick out, or when they’re staying put. It’s just part of reading the game better.”
Game slowing down, numbers going up
Through 23 games, Burrell is averaging 13.0 points, 2.3 rebounds and 2.0 assists while shooting 44.9% from the field, 37.2% from three and 81% from the free-throw line. Those are all career bests. She’s played every game and logged over 27 minutes a night.
The assist number is the one that stands out because it’s the area she needed to grow the most. Burrell has tied her season-high of four assists in three of the last four games. She’s hit that mark six times total this season. Before this year, she never had more than three assists in a game.
Her finishing at the rim and ball-handling were the big question marks coming into the season. She answered both. Right now, she’s probably the second-best slasher on the team behind Plum, and she’s drawing contact better than anyone not named Plum.
But the next step is playmaking. When defenses sell out to stop her drive, she has to find the open shooter. Lynx head coach Lynne Roberts sees it happening in real time.
“I think the more you play in terms of experience, the game slows down,” Roberts said. “She can fall into the trap of going too fast, making decisions too quickly and sometimes they work out, sometimes they don’t. I think the game has slowed down for her a little bit so she’s able to see those kickouts, able to see the passing.”
Burrell agrees that pace is the difference. “I got to be able to read when they’re collapsing and I have the kick out, or when they’re staying put,” she said. “My teammates do a good job with setting screens and relocating and everything so they make it easy for me to find them as well.”
Plum is still out. That means Burrell keeps getting the starting nod and the defensive attention that comes with it. If she keeps reading the floor the way she has over the last couple weeks, that attention might not matter for long.
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