Have the CT Sun Turned Their Season Around?

[JoePgh]

As the WNBA season goes on hiatus for a month because of the Olympic break, the Connecticut Sun have produced a 5-3 record in the month of July. That includes a victory over the Minnesota Lynx, accounting for 1 of only 4 Lynx losses in the season (against 24 wins). At home, they took the 21-3 Los Angeles Sparks to overtime before losing. Their other July losses were against Atlanta and New York, both among the league's better teams -- and both games were very competitive.

This sudden success corresponds with the trade of Kelsey Bone, delivering Courtney Williams to the Sun. That means that Coach Curt Miller was able (eventually) to get all four of the players that he most coveted in the 2016 college graduating class: Morgan Tuck, Rachel Banham, Jonquel Jones, and Williams.

The success also concided in time with the return of Chiney Ogwumike to starter's minutes, and her level of play to the level that long-time fans have come to expect of her. She is the closest the Sun have to a real "star", but really at this point the team is beating teams with bigger stars through effort and team play. In the last week, they were able to get road wins against Indiana with Tamika Catchings (by more than 20 points) and Chicago with Elena Della Donne.

Other than Chiney, I don't think any of the many younger players have reached their ceiling yet. Jonquel Jones had a 20-point, 10-rebound performance against Chicago when she had to play a lot of minutes after Chiney got into some silly foul trouble. Morgan Tuck is starting to look like her UConn self in every respect except 3-point shooting accuracy, and I have to believe that will come around. Williams seems to be occasionally brilliant but consistently inconsistent -- against Chicago, she was the first guard off the bench, but she played only 3 minutes before Kelly was sent in for her. Kelly played her usual nearly mistake-free basketball, but without any scoring contribution (just what we have come to expect).

A major concern is that the Sun don't have a 1st-round draft pick next year, but they will have Jillian Alleyne and Rachel Banham returning from injury, both of whom should add some 3-point scoring to their repertoire. That has been a continuing weakness this year. If this year's rookies get anywhere close to their ceilings next year, the Sun should certainly be a playoff team in 2017 and could possibly (I said POSSIBLY) contend for a title.

 

[triaddukefan]

Jasmine Thomas has been playing very well over the past 3 games.. and has been solid all season.

 

[Blakeon18]

Stunningly the Sun are only one game out of the 8th playoff spot...at 8-16. Seattle and Washington are tied for that spot at 9-15.
League is top-top heavy with Minny/LA/NY as the only ones with good or great records.

 

[HardHatGuy#2]

They are doing better than they had been, though I have to say that any talk of contenting is extraordinarily premature. They need some more pieces, plus an overall direction; right now this team is just plugging parts in-and-out to see what happens. New coach and a questionable team; this is SOP.

It is time to cut ties with Alyssa Thomas; she's OK, but only if she is the Top Dog and has a team to keep people away from her; neither of which exists with this team. Give her plenty of minutes and game plan to her strengths to build up her value, then trade her. The Sun REALLY need someone to clog up the middle, and they can use a true PG, as well. I honestly think that Coates from South Carolina is going to drop in the draft; maybe they could pull off a trade to get her.

 

[Carnac]

They are doing better than they had been, though I have to say that any talk of contenting is extraordinarily premature. They need some more pieces, plus an overall direction; right now this team is just plugging parts in-and-out to see what happens. New coach and a questionable team; this is SOP.

It is time to cut ties with Alyssa Thomas; she's OK, but only if she is the Top Dog and has a team to keep people away from her; neither of which exists with this team. Give her plenty of minutes and game plan to her strengths to build up her value, then trade her. The Sun REALLY need someone to clog up the middle, and they can use a true PG, as well. I honestly think that Coates from South Carolina is going to drop in the draft; maybe they could pull off a trade to get her.

HardHatGuy, I agree with your take that the Sun is still at least two starting players away from being a serious contender. They'll be a lottery team again for next year's draft. If, as you say, Alyssa Thomas (and anyone else) is/has become a "DIVA", and needs or seeks special attention (ego strokes)/recognition from the team, then I agree that she needs to go.

I look at the team chemistry of the Los Angeles Sparks. Their new head coach Brian Agler (formally of the Seattle Storm) has brought with him his own brand of leadership and high team expectations to an organization that had the pieces in place, but just needed someone to put them all together. The Sparks' approach to putting in the work, getting better as a team, and willing to sacrifice individual stats for the good of the "team" has played a large part to their success this year. Teams with "Divas" on them seldom win championships. The mantra of the 3 musketeers must be adopted by the entire team if success is to be achieved.

 

[Orangutan]

This sudden success corresponds with the trade of Kelsey Bone, delivering Courtney Williams to the Sun. That means that Coach Curt Miller was able (eventually) to get all four of the players that he most coveted in the 2016 college graduating class: Morgan Tuck, Rachel Banham, Jonquel Jones, and Williams.

The success also concided in time with the return of Chiney Ogwumike to starter's minutes, and her level of play to the level that long-time fans have come to expect of her. She is the closest the Sun have to a real "star", but really at this point the team is beating teams with bigger stars through effort and team play. In the last week, they were able to get road wins against Indiana with Tamika Catchings (by more than 20 points) and Chicago with Elena Della Donne.

Other than Chiney, I don't think any of the many younger players have reached their ceiling yet. Jonquel Jones had a 20-point, 10-rebound performance against Chicago when she had to play a lot of minutes after Chiney got into some silly foul trouble. Morgan Tuck is starting to look like her UConn self in every respect except 3-point shooting accuracy, and I have to believe that will come around. Williams seems to be occasionally brilliant but consistently inconsistent -- against Chicago, she was the first guard off the bench, but she played only 3 minutes before Kelly was sent in for her. Kelly played her usual nearly mistake-free basketball, but without any scoring contribution (just what we have come to expect).

A couple of words re Conn. v. Chicago from the Sky point of view, since I was there. Chicago was shorthanded with only 8 players in uniform. Dos Santos and De Souza are with Brazil. Cheyenne Parker was in street clothes with an injury. So they had only Delle Donne, Breland, and Boyette for posts. Ultimately, Chicago could not get a stop in the 4th quarter. No real surprise - they just ran out of gas. De Souza is nowhere close to what she once was but she would have been handy as solid defensive post who generally is in the right spots and rebounds fairly well.

Jones was the player of the game for Conn. for me. Chicago just had no answer for her athleticism and size.

Faris was really good - the first time she came in, Conn. went on a 7-0 run immediately, if I recall correctly. She is a good option for them because in Bentley and Williams (and Banham when healthy) they have some guards who want to shoot every time they touch the ball. It helps to be able to go to someone who will just be in the right spots and only take the open shots.

I've been very critical of the Sun and I still think some of their trades were bad from a value perspective, but I'm starting to see Miller's vision a little more. For example, Chiney is a MUCH better fit for this team as the starting center than Bone was.

 

[Orangutan]

It is time to cut ties with Alyssa Thomas; she's OK, but only if she is the Top Dog and has a team to keep people away from her; neither of which exists with this team. Give her plenty of minutes and game plan to her strengths to build up her value, then trade her. The Sun REALLY need someone to clog up the middle, and they can use a true PG, as well. I honestly think that Coates from South Carolina is going to drop in the draft; maybe they could pull off a trade to get her.

I disagree on a couple points. I think Thomas is coming along nicely. She is one of their better players and her athleticism (especially her ability to be a one-woman fast break) creates havoc in ways that don't always show up in box scores.

I also don't think they need a center to clog up the middle. They had that in Bone and it was a terrible fit. They have two really good athletic bigs in Jones and Chiney that fit nicely with Miller's fast-paced philosophy. Jones is also a heck of a rim protector.

The three players Connecticut should build around are Thomas, J. Jones, and Chiney. Get a good point guard and surround them with shooters.

 

[triaddukefan]

I'm glad Jasmine Thomas doesnt read the Boneyard and this thread

 

[ctkaiser]

I really like Chiney. It's like she finally feels healthy and confident and she's very aggressive. A little foul prone but you need that aggressive play in this league. It's physical out there. I like Alyssa Thomas. She' definitely improved. I think she likes no center in there to clog it up so she can drive to the basket. She does have one of the strangest looking jump shots I've ever seen. This team I feel will improve possibly work out a few more things in the Olympic break. Some practices with Courtney Williams might get her going a little more. Jasmine Thomas is hard to analyze. I've been to games when she did not score much and than when I get home and look at the box score she has 10 pts, 6 asts and 7 rebs. She's a pro. Hopefully the talented Jonquel Jones will continue to develop because the Sun"s #1 for next year went for her.

 

[HardHatGuy#2]

I disagree on a couple points. I think Thomas is coming along nicely. She is one of their better players and her athleticism (especially her ability to be a one-woman fast break) creates havoc in ways that don't always show up in box scores.

I also don't think they need a center to clog up the middle. They had that in Bone and it was a terrible fit. They have two really good athletic bigs in Jones and Chiney that fit nicely with Miller's fast-paced philosophy. Jones is also a heck of a rim protector.

The three players Connecticut should build around are Thomas, J. Jones, and Chiney. Get a good point guard and surround them with shooters.

Bone has the same issue that Thomas has; she NEEDS to be #1. That worked well towards the end of last year because every other legit option was hurt. Thomas' game works a bit, but nowhere near what people thought she would be. It's not that I don't like her game, there are two issues that I have: one her game doesn't fit whatever-it-is-that-the-coaching-staff-is-trying; and two, when she is on, she just flat isn't good enough to BE a #1 (neither is Bone). They are two players who desperately need to learn to become Robin instead of Batman, but haven't figured that out (see Dwight Howard in the OTHER NBA).

I agree building around Chiney...once she shows that she can stay healthy. Jones looks QUITE good. I want to see more of Stricklen and Faris in the game at the same time, as I think they work well together, likely due to them coming from well coached programs. On that note, I'd like to see them bring in Kayla Pederson again; add Chiney and Jones to those three, and you could do something. Kelly would have to handle the point, which is not her forte, but the passing of the three could alleviate that (besides, the Sun have no real point, anyway).

Just thoughts to make the season more interesting, and maybe find things to build on once they get the players they need.

 

[FanFromMaine]

No one has mentioned Alex Bentley who seems to be a player who should move on. Alex is a scorer but only as a volume shooter and her defense seems extremely lackadaisical. But most egregious is her body language when things aren't going well.

In a larger sense, Alex epitomizes to me what makes the WNBA hard to watch. The league seems to want to replicate the play of the NBA with players who are less athletic than their male counterparts. I would prefer to watch a higher level of team basketball a la UConn than an ersatz men's style. I have been encouraged this year that the three Huskies have been able to inculcate some more team play to the scene.

 

[Roger G]

The Sun have definitely improved. It would not be out of the question for them to make the playoffs. But the teams they did well against recently obviously took them lightly and Chicago and Dallas were short-handed. Nevertheless, I would argue that they don't have to make major changes to be very competitive. They have shooters in Williams, Banham, Bentley, Stricklen, and Tuck. They have slashers in the two Thomases, and Tuck. They have a great defender in Kelly. They have strong bigs in Jones and Ogwumike. I do think they could use another big in case they have an injury, but Pederson didn't really show much when she was with Sun before. On the other hand, she might be willing to accept her role on the bench which a real star probably wouldn't. What they don't need is a never ending revolving door without any stability. This coach seems to know what he is doing and should be able to coach these players into a contending team.

 

[CamrnCrz1974]

Jasmine Thomas has been playing very well over the past 3 games.. and has been solid all season.

I guess it depends on how one defines "solid.

Jasmine Thomas is averaging 10.7 ppg, a career high. She is also averaging career highs in rebounds per game (4.5 ) and assists per game (4.9).

But she is also playing more minutes per game (33.0) than ever before; she previously only had one of her five seasons over 26.7 mpg and only two of her five seasons over 22.5 mpg.

She is only shooting 38.9 percent from the floor, which is not great for a guard and really not good when you consider the fact she is second on the team in shot attempts per game. And she is shooting 22.4 percent from three, which is terrible by any measure.

So she has improved overall. But she still does not shoot with any sort of efficiency, and she takes too many shots for someone who is supposed to be a playmaker.

 

[ctkaiser]

CT Sun are not a good 3 pt shooting team in general and I get really annoyed when they settle for 3s early in the shot clock. If they can continue to get Chiney and Alysa going inside the 3s they take are more likely to be wide open ones.

 

[RSHERMVIKES]

I have never been a big fan of Alex Bentley even back to her PSU days!
She can score 30 points one game and the next hit 3 of 24. She's too lazy on defense because she considers herself an offensive player instead of a complete player! She is too prone to sulk when something goes wrong! Remember her sitting on the bench with a towel over her head for the complete 2nd 1/2! Better to trade her for a PG or SG that is young with potential that the coaching staff can mold into what THEY want in a G! Or possibly for a top 5 pick in next years draft since they traded away their high choice!
Jasmine Thomas could be a good PG if the right people were around her so she didn't feel she has to shoot 10 to 15 times a game!