Peter Okereke
The Toronto Tempo have performed beyond expectations this season. And much of that credit should go to Marina Mabrey, who signed a two-year, $2.4 million contract with them in April. She was in great form heading into Tempo’s first game at Scotiabank Arena.
The team named her as a starter in the game against Mercury at Scotiabank Arena, but she was pulled from the lineup just before tip-off, reportedly due to a neck spasm. Kia Nurse then replaced her.
Now, Madeline Kelly of CBS Sports have addressed the growing concern over her status and provided an update on Sunday.
“Such a bummer for Marina because she went through her game day routine expecting to play and then she got out, started to warm up, and just it didn’t feel right.
“And so Sandy Broello said that she kind of found out when the rest of us found out. Obviously, she knew a little bit sooner, but it became a reality that the neck issue was something she couldn’t play with, so she ended up being a late scratch.”
Continuing further, Kelly then provided some hopeful news about the point guard after that injury scare.
“I’m told that they don’t expect this to be a long-term concern,” she said. “Obviously, it was hard for Toronto to make those in-game adjustments and fix the rotation without her when they expected to have her. But she is considered day to day, so they’re hopeful that should be able to play her in the next game.”
Marina Mabrey has been on another level this season. In the previous game against the Los Angeles Sparks, she scored a record-equalling 53 points, the highest ever in a single match in WNBA history.
This season, she is averaging 21.2 points, 3.5 rebounds, 3.6 assists, and 1.1 steals per game in 18 games. Per Fox Sports, she is fourth in the league in points per game, at 21.2. And she is first in the league in three-pointers made per game, at 3.6.
In the three games that Brittney Sykes missed due to injury, Mabrey is averaging 37.7 points, 7.0 three-pointers, 4.7 rebounds, and 3.3 assists per game, while having a 73.9 true shooting percentage.
Indeed, the decision to make the Sykes-Mabrey pairing the highest-paid backcourt in WNBA history has certainly paid off. The no. 3 has been very efficient with the ball. Her TS% for the season is 61.3. Her assist-to-turnover ratio is quite good at 1.20. She is the engine behind the team’s playmaking, having a usage rate of 30.1% and contributing almost a quarter of the team’s assists.
