Canberra Capitals coach Paul Goriss is using NBA technology to watch his team's pre-season campaign from the other side of the world to ensure they're on track for the start of the WNBL.
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But Goriss may have to wait until he finishes his Australian Opals assistant coaching duties to find out if star recruit Leilani Mitchell will be fit to playing in the season-opener on October 12.
The Capitals are the walking wounded at the moment. The good news is two-time WNBL all star Kelsey Griffin has declared herself a certain starter for the first game against the Sydney Flames.
Mitchell, however, is still struggling to overcome a plantar fasciitis pain and is expected to meet with Capitals medical staff in the coming weeks to determine her rehabilitation period.
Mitchell and Griffin both withdrew from Opals world championship contention to make the Capitals' WNBL ambitions their No. 1 priority.
The world championships will begin in Spain on Saturday, with Goriss working as part of Sandy Brondello's new-look coaching set up.
It means Goriss is almost 20,000 kilometres away as his team tries to put the pieces together. It's not an ideal situation, particularly because the Capitals have only a handful of players returning from last season.
Goriss has tapped into the AIS-based NBA global academy's video system to be able to watch training sessions.
The NBA invested in a camera system at the Canberra AIS campus, which allows coaches to login and monitor training sessions and give instant feedback when they're not there.
The Capitals will play two trial matches against Japanese side Aisin AW Wings next week before Goriss returns a week before the first game.
Griffin is being eased back into full training but is confident she will be ready to play the Flames after suffering an 11 centimetre tear in her hamstring.
"Everything is tracking really well. We're actually a little bit ahead of schedule, which is nice," Griffin said.
"I don't know if I ever doubted my ability to get ready for round one, but I wasn't sure if I would be feeling really strong and confident.
"These pre-season matches show you what you need to work on. It's great at the AIS, they've got game site so [Goriss] can get the game footage and watch it from Spain. It's pretty exciting for him to be in a whole other continent and be able to help us."
Capitals short-term recruit Kaili McLaren will arrive in Canberra on Friday to start her stint as injury cover from Marianna Tolo.
WNBA star Kia Nurse will play for Canada at the world championships before relocating to the capital, but Mitchell's arrival date is still unclear after she withdrew from Opals duties last week.
Mitchell, 33, has been playing back-to-back seasons around the world for the past four years.
"I don't know where Leilani is at, but I think it speaks volumes for her commitment to [the Capitals] to want to get her body right for the season," Griffin said.
"The [world championships] don't just come along for anybody and I can attest to that. For her to want to get it right [for Canberra] to be able to contribute is really exciting."
Injuries loom as the Capitals' biggest hurdles for a short WNBL campaign. Griffin, Mitchell and Nurse will miss chunks of the pre-season and Tolo and Kristy Wallace will both miss regular-season games as they recover from knee reconstructions.
Tolo's absence will open the door for Lauren Scherf to shoulder a bigger workload in the opening weeks of the season.
"It's both daunting and exciting. Tolo is a great player and one of the best in Australia," Scherf said.
"I really do look up to her and I want to be what she's done. It is a bit daunting but you've just got to do what you can and try your best out there. That's all you can do."
WNBL PRE-SEASON
Tuesday: Canberra Capitals v Aisin AW Wings at Belconnen Basketball Stadium, 6.30pm.
WNBL ROUND ONE
October 12: Sydney Flames v Canberra Capitals at Sydney University, 7pm.
