I don’t think she’s awful, but she’s far from an elite coach with how little success she had with almost a decade with one of the best ever (DT) and the most imposing physical presence the game has ever seen (Griner). For the most part of that stretch they weren’t much better than a .500 team.
I agree. It’s a business, EDD already forced her way out of one franchise and the Mystics invested a lot in her (paying her full salary to voluntarily sit out of the 2020 season, injured all of 2021 and stretches of 2022 and 2023). They have every right to not trade her for a minimal return and make their competitors better. Just as EDD has every right to sit out if she doesn’t want to play for Washington.
Here's the things: LA, DC, and Chicago were not "supposed" to make the playoffs this season, and it didnt' seem like it was their goals either. The biggest disappointment by far has been Dallas, and to an extent, Atlanta (Though they seem to be better post break).
Don't count on the Liberty being in first place at the end of the year.
Agreed. Its really sad to see all over social media how she is picked apart. She was the 7th pick in the draft, players picked above her aren't getting picked apart like her (Jacy, Aaliyah etc) even though in many ways she's outperforming them. You'd think she was the worst rookie in WNBA history with how much her field goal percentage is discussed. I also find the field goal % stat disingenuous because she IS still rebounding them so its not like her team isn't still scoring on a lot of those possessions. It speaks to her inability to finish but it's not hurting her team as much as people like to pretend.Someone did a much deeper dive in the stats earlier this season confirming what Lobo said. Sadly, the perception of Angel for some will not allow them to look deeper to see she's killing it with respect to rebounding.
At a barbeque recently and someone said to me that they weren't a fan of Reese and used the "she's padding her stats" talking point as their reason. Ironically enough, I had the article bookmarked and read it off to them. In the end, it turned out the person was not even a casual fan. They admitted they were going off of posts they'd seen from others. It's really unfortunate these conversations have to be had out there.
Doesn't help that media don't provide this type of insight when talking about it on a consistent basis either. The analytics are there if they really wanted to help educate fans.
I am.
3-1 in August and after tonight's game against CC and company end the month on the road against The Storm and The Aces.
Sad that we have to have these conversations, but these are the conversations that must be had, especially when you have the non-causal fan or the casual fan throwing out random comments. Rather than applaud or give Angel praise for her elite rebounding skill, she gets criticized for rebounding. Nobody gave one of the games elite rebounders and iconic players, Yolanda Griffith, static when she was crushing the offensive glass to the tune of 168 back in early 2000s. Same with Tina Charles or Rebekkah Brunson. Nobody ever made the claim that those legends were "padding" their rebounding numbers. Those ladies were given praise about their effort and desire. The same should be said for Angel. She works her butt off on those rebounds.Someone did a much deeper dive in the stats earlier this season confirming what Lobo said. Sadly, the perception of Angel for some will not allow them to look deeper to see she's killing it with respect to rebounding.
At a barbeque recently and someone said to me that they weren't a fan of Reese and used the "she's padding her stats" talking point as their reason. Ironically enough, I had the article bookmarked and read it off to them. In the end, it turned out the person was not even a casual fan. They admitted they were going off of posts they'd seen from others. It's really unfortunate these conversations have to be had out there.
It's not only casual fans. Just heard Frank Isola of ESPN on Around the Horn stating that Angel's rebound numbers would be lower if she made more of her shots. The problem isn't solely due to fans who aren't knowledgeable about the game. Even experienced media pundits are guilty for not doing their own research.
I mean, that's true. The key thing is not "meaningfully lower" insofar as she would still lead the league in rebounds.
Yikes! That is just lazy reporting. Folks like Isola do a huge disservice to sports. I did not watch Around the Horn so I am guessing that he did not show any data to back up his claim that Angel's rebound numbers would be lower if she made more of her shots. He does realize that out of her 152 offensive rebounds, 64 come from her own misses, which means she is, I am no math whiz but, getting 88 offensive rebounds from her teammates missed shots, and we know Chicago Sky can't shoot that well.
Nah, in this case Atlanta owns full responsibility for this loss.
). From my perspective though, they seemed a tad more worked up for this game than they usually are.And that's totally fair. It isn't pretty but it doesn't mean context can't be provided to help explain her stats.
Why? I actually love plays like that. It shows resilience, tenacity, fight and determination and aggression. That real hoops to me and more exciting that an easy lay-up. If it ends with 2, who cares how many misses it takes to get there? Obviously not everyone has to like the same things but people act like the way Angel plays is completely unenjoyable for everyone when its just a personal preference.
Tonight might be a tiny step in that direction.....
