2 Dream players out for first of two-game series vs. Mercury

The Atlanta Dream will host the Phoenix Mercury twice this week inside Gateway Center Arena at College Park, and are going into the first matchup on Wednesday without two impactful players.

Two-time (2016, 2019) WNBA Sixth Woman of the Year runner-up Aerial Powers (Left Calf) and 2023 All-Star Cheyenne Parker-Tyus (Left Ankle) are both set to miss the series opener. The Mercury remain without Rebecca Allen (Right Hamstring) and Charisma Osborne (Left Lower Leg) who have both missed the first three games post-Olympics.

Powers, the Dallas Wings’ fifth overall pick in the 2016 WNBA Draft, has been one of the better bench players in the league, averaging 10.5 points, 3.3 rebounds and 1.6 assists in 190 games (56 starts). She has played for the Wings, Washington Mystics, Minnesota Lynx and is in her first year with the Dream. So far this season, the Michigan native has started twice in 17 games with 8.6 points, 3.3 rebounds and 1.4 assists per game. She has not played since July 17 before the Olympic break.

Like Powers, Parker-Tyus was also a fifth-overall pick but was selected a year earlier in the 2015 draft by the Chicago Sky. The Middle Tennessee product has started in 11 games in her fourth season as a Dream, racking up 9.2 points, 4.8 rebounds and 1.5 assists per game across 25 games. Overall, she has averaged 9.1 points, 5.1 rebounds and 1.1 assists in 280 career games between the Sky (2015-20) and the Dream (2021-24).

Before Allen traveled to Paris for the Olympics with Australia, she suffered the injury in the Opals’ final exhibition against Canada on July 23. While Australia went on to win the bronze medal, the 31-year-old was ruled out for the tournament’s entirety.

Since July 28, Osborne has been sidelined with a serious left leg injury which has seen her walk in a boot as a result. The Mercury rookie has played just two games this season after being waived after training camp and re-signing with the team on June 13. On Monday, she was seen out of the boot, indicating that her rehab process is progressing.

Tip-off between the Mercury and Dream on Wednesday commences at 4:30 p.m. PT.