One of Those Days . . .

All teams have them, even good teams -- one of those days when absolutely nothing goes right. Well, the Mystics had one this afternoon, as they were thrashed by the Sun at Mohegan, 96-67. Embarrassing.

Except for a few moments to open the first half, the Mystics had nothing going today. We mean no-thing! Not their offensive execution, not their defense, and especially not their outside shooting.

This was one of those games when the Mystics couldn't hit water from a boat. They were 0 of 14 from beyond the arc! Six Mystics players attempted 3-pointers, and all 6 failed (some more than once, obviously). Overall, the team shot a paltry 35% from the field. What scoring Washington had came mostly from lay-ups. Even shots from well inside the arc missed badly. Meanwhile, the Sun scored on nearly 50% of their shots, many of their scores coming off Mystics turnovers. The Mystics certainly didn't help their cause today by turning the ball over a horrific 21 times!

It was a painful game to watch. No doubt this was one of those days and one of those games that players, coaches, fans (and, most assuredly, bloggers) would like to forget. Unfortunately, what none of us can forget is that today's loss allowed the Sun to pull even with the Mystics in the playoff race.

As ugly as this game was, the BasketCases have seen enough competitive basketball from the Mystics this season to believe that today's blow-out was an aberration . . . just a bad day by a good team. Fortunately, the Mystics don't have long to wait for an opportunity to prove that (you know, like getting back on the horse after a fall). They now return home to face the Detroit Shock on Tuesday, and have a chance to redeem themselves against this Sun team that whupped them today when they host Connecticut at Verizon Center on Friday. Needless to say, both games are critical to the Mystics' playoff hopes.