Didn't help that Howard and Canada both shot poorly. They had the worst FG% out of the team last night, shooting 26% and 35% respectively. Everyone else were 50% or better. A few more makes, could have made the difference in this game.
The battle between Angel Reese and Aaliyah Edwards was interesting to watch. Aaliyah drew an offensive foul against Reese and handled her physicality very well in my Canadian-biased opinion
. She also had a couple steals that helped seal the win for the Mystics when it was tied late in the fourth quarter. Believe she had something to do with Reese being 3/10 and scoring 7 points.
herhoopstats.substack.com
Thanks for sharing this @Dillon77 . Looking forward to reading it more detail later. The quotes posted sound like they further confirm the rebounding prowess of Reese. No issue with the padded comment as it can be seen that way, but in any analysis done by someone who has removed those rebounds from her overall stats, the numbers are still really good.Richard Cohen Stats Up on Angel Reese, Caitlin Clark Seasons
We've commented ad infinitum on the seasons Reese and Clark have had, as well as the huge amounts of interest/involvement they've drawn on social media, by people that watch/know hoops and those that don't. Leave it to the guy who has "Stats" front and center to analyze all of their rebounds and shots, assists and turnovers.
I'll include key quote(s) from Richard Cohen's article in Her Hoops Stats on each to serve as a teaser, then give the link if you want to read in detail.
Angel Reese
"Of her 152 offensive boards so far this season, I counted 37 coming from her own missed attempts, and an additional 15 off her own attempts being blocked. So 52 total of the 152, or right around a third. That's undoubtedly a lot - her rebound numbers are being somewhat 'padded' by being right there to clean up her own mistakes - but if you removed every single one of them she'd still be averaging over 11 rebounds per game, enough for comfortably second in the league behind only A'ja Wilson."
Other points touched on: low shooting percentage; getting blocked (a lot); drawing fouls; physical rebounding style.
Caitlin Clark
"Among Clark's 164 turnovers, I ended up with "maybe" next to 16 of them - my personal notation for 'arguably the receiver should've done a better job of getting hold of the ball, rather than Clark needing to throw it better'. Those are the near-50/50 ones. ... I had "not her fault" or "should've been caught" next to only six, indicating I felt they just should've been credited to the other player. So she comes by the vast majority of her turnovers honestly."
Other points touched on: High turnover rate has gone down only "fractionally" since Olympics; those behind the back passes; high-risk, high-reward positive and negatives.
Once again, this is Cohen using statistics and drawing conclusions (not the other way around.). Whether you agree with the conclusions is, of course, what makes for a lively board. But I thought the inclusion of stats would help, too.
I Watched All of Caitlin Clark's Turnovers and Angel Reese's Offensive Rebounds So You Don't Have To
The WNBA's star rookies are driving fresh interest and putting up startling numbers but there are still questions about their flaws. We take a closer look.
I don't want to count the Aces out either, but you have to question their focus and effort. Several of the Chicago Bulls players (when they were playing for their 2nd 3-peat) mentioned that it was a mental grind to stay on task. Maybe the Aces are dealing with that. As for the lawsuit being a factor. I mean it could be a factor, but I would think that it would have been a bigger factor last year since it was just before the season started and it was unexpected, at least to WNBA fans. Coach Hammon went through her suspension and all of the negative press on the matter as well as social media lawyers giving their spin on the matter and somehow the Aces managed to deal with all of that and win back-to-back titles. We shall see. I don't to count the Aces out, even though I am a Lynx fan. But for the Aces to reach that 3-peat mark would be so nice. I am sure there are folks will think otherwise but I am all about that history making moment. 3-peat!
The Fever have been...ugh...hot! They looked comfortable, confident, and assertive out there. Coach Sides got her team playing great and at the right time of the season! I am looking forward to their matchup against the Sky Friday.
Chicago made something silly mistakes down the line which cost them the game. Hats off to Washington. Their record is so misleading. They have been playing teams tough all season and keeping games close. Great win for them and a tough loss for the Sky.
I think Hammon being named in a federal law suit is probably more stressful for her than an internal WNBA investigation. I also think they probably thought it was resolved most of the season and now it feels like a never ending storyline for them.
Probably. We shall see and hear how this all plays out.
They take another step to jump the Mercury. This is actually kind of interesting as Minnesota slides ahead of the Sun into the number two spot. I think Minnesota has no trouble with either the Mercury or the Fever but I wonder if they would be a little happier if the Fever jump the Mercury and play the Sun in the first round. We know the Fever have a much easier schedule down the stretch compared to the Mercury and the Fever are playing much much better than the Mercury, although the Mercury do have a insurmountable lead in technicals.
The Dream and Sky stagger to a pre ultimate season ending game in Atlanta that may well determine who gets to lose to the Liberty. It may well be Washington who determines who advances as they play the Dream twice and Angel and company once
They both had their moments against each other. @ISUnorth, there are plenty examples where Carrington got the better of Clark. Let's leave it that it was a fun one on one battle to watch during the game.On another play, Ms. Carrington went one way while CC went another. Carrington literally fell on her face on the reversal and Clark drained a three. No need to post-hoop embellish...the whide shot showed it all. What goes round....
Yeah, I don't think Minnesota would have any trouble with Phoenix or Indiana, but I am sure that Coach Reeve would rather face Phoenix in the playoffs than Indiana, if it played out that way.
Love this teacher
