2024 WNBA Season: Part 2 (August ---)

[cancontent]

She finished with 19 and the only shot she missed all day was a free throw. Nicely done.

Washington once again got great contributions from it's non-starters, starting with KS, and aided by:

• Emily Engstler who, in 19 minutes, scored 10 points and had 4 rebounds, 3 steals and assists and 2 blocks. Stat stuffer.
• Sika Kone who, in 14 minutes, got 4 rebounds (expected) but also hit two threes (who knew?), en route to 8 points.

Another player I'm really glad to see getting time on the court. She's made some great contributions in some of the Mystics recent wins.

 

[cancontent]

I can hear the "Nah, I don't think so" just looking at this.

 

[baggerbob]

You would probably think w/ Stewie and Ionescu shooting a combined 7-28 New York would be in big trouble. You would be wrong.

Stewie went 0-8 the first half and 5-8 down the end of the game.

 

[Rb335]

Washington finds themselves in a unique spot. They are guaranteed a lottery pick right now because they have Atlanta’a first round pick next year. But with Chicago in free fall, the likelihood of both Washington and Atlanta missing the playoffs seems unlikely. They now find themselves with the opportunity to battle for the final playoff spot while maintaining a lottery pick.

Of course, I feel like the best case scenario for them long term is if both Atlanta and Washington miss the playoffs and they secure two lottery picks.

 

[Aluminny69]

Just throwing this out there.

 

[Reypl21]

Just throwing this out there.


View attachment 103349

Caitlin's rookie season has truly been stellar. She's been particularly spectacular once she got some rest, and the chemistry with her team improved.

She has changed the game, particularly with the popularity of women's basketball. I'm excited to see if she can continue the momentum and if other great players can rival her popularity. The sport is in a great place. CC has been a major catalyst. She's had a fantastic rookie season. I'm glad to see it.

 

[azfan]

The battle for the number two seed is consequential. No one wants to face the number six seed and everyone wants to play the number seven seed.

Tomorrow's game in Seattle is pressure filled for the Storm. No one expects them to lose including the Mercury so......

 

[NycUcWbbFan]

Just throwing this out there.


View attachment 103349

Below are the histograms of total points by the team of mentioned rookies.

Clearly, there has been points inflation since the start of the WNBA. This is probably due to the influence of a combination of factors. These factors include better (faster) style of play, more possessions, increasing by-year quality of players and more clustering of high draft picks ¥.

The style of play was certainly plodding and boring during the WNBA’s early years and there were no perennial doormats that permitted hoarding of #1 draft picks.

¥ Kelsey Plum was the first of 3 successive #1 draft picks by the Sacramento Monarchs / Las Vegas Aces.

• Caitlyn Clark 2024: Team Points: 49-: 0 | 50-59: 0 | 60-69: 3 | 70-79: 5 | 80-89: 16 | 90-99: 8 | 100+: 2 | Total Games: 34 |
• 
  
• Ticha Penicheiro 1998: Team: 49-: 4 | 50-59: 7 | 60-69: 8 | 70-79: 10 | 80-89: 1 | 90-99: 0 | 100+: 0 | Total Games: 30 |
• Sue Bird 2002: Team Points: 49-: 0 | 50-59: 8 | 60-69: 11 | 70-79: 9 | 80-89: 5 | 90-99: 1 | 100+: 0 | Total Games: 34 |
• Diana Taurasi 2004: Team: 49-: 1 | 50-59: 4 | 60-69: 13 | 70-79: 13 | 80-89: 2 | 90-99: 0 | 100+: 0 | Total Games: 33 |
• Kelsey Plum 2017: Team: 49-: 0 | 50-59: 3 | 60-69: 5 | 70-79: 19 | 80-89: 6 | 90-99: 1 | 100+: 0 | Total Games: 34 |

CC is a remarkable player. Her play causing an attenuated boom loop in (professional) women’s basketball is to be celebrated. We can all hope that she will have a stellar career comparable to The W25 as her current play suggests.

She is not at The W25 level yet, by far.

 

[nwhoopfan]

Lynx run away from the Fever in the second half.

Clark is making 20/5/5 look really routine.

 

[MilfordHusky]

As Phee said in her interview, it felt like a playoff game at Indiana tonight. The crowd was loud, and Indiana was on fire early. But Minnesota had a 29-12 Q3 to extend the lead to 12. Then the Lynx went cold, and the Fever fought back to within 1 twice. But Minny hit threes late and won by 99-88. Phee had 26/10/2/2/2. Clark had a nice 25/8/8, but 7 TOs hurt. Vegas rallied to edge Connecticut, so the Lynx are in 2nd place.

 

[nwhoopfan]

Nice come from behind win on the road for the Aces over the Sun. Plum with her best game in a while. If they could ever all get in sync they would be really dangerous. Seems like at best they get two of their perimeter players having a good game at the same time, and sometimes not even that many.

 

[nwhoopfan]

Dallas was up 14 at halftime on Atlanta, game went OT, Dream gonna win easily in the extra session. Seems like the Wings' playoff hopes just about died with this one. Puts them 3 games back with not many left, and whatever momentum they had a couple weeks ago is gone.

 

[Bigboote]

As Phee said in her interview, it felt like a playoff game at Indiana tonight. The crowd was loud, and Indiana was on fire early. But Minnesota had a 29-12 Q3 to extend the lead to 12. Then the Lynx went cold, and the Fever fought back to within 1 twice. But Minny hit threes late and won by 99-88. Phee had 26/10/2/2/2. Clark had a nice 25/8/8, but 7 TOs hurt. Vegas rallied to edge Connecticut, so the Lynx are in 2nd place.

17,000 fans. Like a Mystics game before they moved to an arena that holds 4000.

 

[nwhoopfan]

Chicago beat LA to keep pace with Atlanta. Carter was back in action. Reese had 24 pts/12 rebounds.

 

[JellyBean]

Lynx run away from the Fever in the second half.

Clark is making 20/5/5 look really routine.

My Lynx turned up that defensive pressure.

 

[CajunHusk94]

Chicago beat LA to keep pace with Atlanta. Carter was back in action. Reese had 24 pts/12 rebounds.

Carter makes such a difference for Chicago, without her the flow isn't the same, they just dont have the guards that can consistently distribute and score the way she does.

Chicago gonna need to pickup some better guards this offseason

 

[JellyBean]

Chicago beat LA to keep pace with Atlanta. Carter was back in action. Reese had 24 pts/12 rebounds.

That 24/12 by Reese was impressive! She was efficient as heck! Well done, Angel.

 

[azfan]

DEFENSE

Last night's entertaining games demonstrated the centrality of defense to success.

The takeaway is the top four teams will do well in the playoffs.

The Dream were extraordinarily fortunate to face the hapless Wing who really had the game in hand. The aversion to defense as the Dallas league leading points allowed defense rolled over, provided the Dream with an opportunity to dream on although their defense wasn't much to write home about.

Atlanta has the more challenging set of games down the stretch compared to the Sky and based on the performance last night I would expect Atlanta to drop a minimum of four games down the stretch, that is depending upon how the contenders prepare for the playoffs.

CC and company really do have a magnificent offense when it's clicking. Unfortunately the team as constructed does not have the ability to play the defense required to move from the second tier to the top tier of w teams. If Lexie Hull is your premier defender you know you've got a problem. Kelsey Mitchell from the Arike O School of playing has never been known for defense. Neither has Smith. CC who's expected to play a monumental number of minutes cannot be expected to maintain sharp defense for 40 minutes. Connecticut in losing may have assured a matchup against the Fever and we'll get to see defense versus offense. Based on the performances last night the Fever may win one game at home in their series loss in the first round.

Cheryl Reese is delighted to match wits with the million dollar coach in the first round, a classic mismatch akin to me playing chess against Bobby Fisher. Nate has the last laugh however as he has the bigger bag, 30% larger than Cheryl's and infinitely larger than mine.

Based on everything I saw last night we're looking at a Stewie versus Pheesa finals which should be fantastic. I do believe Angel will back into the number eight hole so we'll get to see her in the playoffs as well, she should be well schooled by SB and squad assuming SB doesn't underperform ... LOL

 

[WBBTakeover]

The battle for the number two seed is consequential. No one wants to face the number six seed and everyone wants to play the number seven seed.

Tomorrow's game in Seattle is pressure filled for the Storm. No one expects them to lose including the Mercury so......

The same #6 team that is 1-3 against both Connecticut and Minnesota? I honestly don't think either team would mind playing the Fever in the first round. But yes, they may prefer Phoenix IF Phoenix continues to play so undisciplined.

That said, I think the only team that may have a cakewalk in the first round is New York--if they face Washington, Chicago, or Atlanta. There are a lot of Lynx believers here, but their offense stalls at the most inopportune times (turnovers, errant shooting). If that happens in the playoffs, they aren't sniffing the finals.

As for the Liberty, well, they're coached by Sandy Brondello and have a notorious playoff choker at center. That's enough for me to never pick them to win anything significant.

 

[azfan]

The same #6 team that is 1-3 against both Connecticut and Minnesota? I honestly don't think either team would mind playing the Fever in the first round. But yes, they may prefer Phoenix IF Phoenix continues to play so undisciplined.

That said, I think the only team that may have a cakewalk in the first round is New York--if they face Washington, Chicago, or Atlanta. There are a lot of Lynx believers here, but their offense stalls at the most inopportune times (turnovers, errant shooting). If that happens in the playoffs, they aren't sniffing the finals.

As for the Liberty, well, they're coached by Sandy Brondello and have a notorious playoff choker at center. That's enough for me to never pick them to win anything significant.

Undisciplined is one way to describe the lackadaisical and defenseless presence of the Merc. Side by side versus the Fever I'm sure there would be very few coaches or teens that would say yeah give me CC instead of the GOAT

As I wrote earlier the pressure's squarely on Noelle Quinn and her team tonight at Footprint arena against the spiraling Mercury. Since returning from the Olympic break the Mercury have been abysmal as they've dropped below 500. Over the same period the Fever have been on fire. The Fever demonstrated their ceiling last night against the Lynx. However when compared to the Mercury's "performance" last month against the same team in which DT and company struggled and scored 76 points on 38% shooting and had more fouls and turnovers than assists it's clear that the team from the valley of the Sun has disintegrated. The Merc are a 6.5.underdog at home and I think I'd give the points as this looks to be a double digit loss.

The teams split the June meetings. The Mercury won at home as BG was 10 for 15 from the field in a 9-point victory over the pre Gabby Storm. Phoenix shot 50% from the field and had 25 assists milestones that they have an achieved only once since then.

Cakewalk would be the descriptor for the Lynx sweep of the spirit of the Mercin the first round of the playoffs. It'll be interesting to see if the million dollar coach in the chess game against Cheryl Reeves can keep his team under double digits in the losses. The Merc certainly will be cupcakes.

 

[JellyBean]

The same #6 team that is 1-3 against both Connecticut and Minnesota? I honestly don't think either team would mind playing the Fever in the first round. But yes, they may prefer Phoenix IF Phoenix continues to play so undisciplined.

That said, I think the only team that may have a cakewalk in the first round is New York--if they face Washington, Chicago, or Atlanta. There are a lot of Lynx believers here, but their offense stalls at the most inopportune times (turnovers, errant shooting). If that happens in the playoffs, they aren't sniffing the finals.

As for the Liberty, well, they're coached by Sandy Brondello and have a notorious playoff choker at center. That's enough for me to never pick them to win anything significant.

Good point about the Lynx offense. The offense can be really good or really bad... all in the same game. Heck even the same quarter! There have been a few games where the Lynx offense was on fire for the first 3-5 minutes and then the last few minutes of that quarter, nothing. The Lynx saving grace is their defense.

 

[WBBTakeover]

Good point about the Lynx offense. The offense can be really good or really bad... all in the same game. Heck even the same quarter! There have been a few games where the Lynx offense was on fire for the first 3-5 minutes and then the last few minutes of that quarter, nothing. The Lynx saving grace might just be the defense.

Bingo!

They are, IMO, the best defensive team in the league. The schemes are really good and the players are clearly buying in.

 

[WBBTakeover]

Undisciplined is one way to describe the lackadaisical and defenseless presence of the Merc. Side by side versus the Fever I'm sure there would be very few coaches or teens that would say yeah give me CC instead of the GOAT

As I wrote earlier the pressure's squarely on Noelle Quinn and her team tonight at Footprint arena against the spiraling Mercury. Since returning from the Olympic break the Mercury have been abysmal as they've dropped below 500. Over the same period the Fever have been on fire. The Fever demonstrated their ceiling last night against the Lynx. However when compared to the Mercury's "performance" last month against the same team in which DT and company struggled and scored 76 points on 38% shooting and had more fouls and turnovers than assists it's clear that the team from the valley of the Sun has disintegrated. The Merc are a 6.5.underdog at home and I think I'd give the points as this looks to be a double digit loss.

The teams split the June meetings. The Mercury won at home as BG was 10 for 15 from the field in a 9-point victory over the pre Gabby Storm. Phoenix shot 50% from the field and had 25 assists milestones that they have an achieved only once since then.

Cakewalk would be the descriptor for the Lynx sweep of the spirit of the Mercin the first round of the playoffs. It'll be interesting to see if the million dollar coach in the chess game against Cheryl Reeves can keep his team under double digits in the losses. The Merc certainly will be cupcakes.

I guess don't see it, especially since Minnesota has already lost to Phoenix this season. There are enough players on the Mercury who could get hot enough to take a game from any of the Top 3 teams. We see what Kah can do every three or so games. Tasha starts hitting threes out of nowhere. BG might wake up and decide to go for 23+. DT is DT. Sophie could be focused enough to have an impact on both ends. They wouldn't win the series (too undisciplined and too hot-headed), but they could make it tough by pushing it out to three games before losing.

I think we agree that Phoenix has underachieved relative to their personnel, though. But they're not a team that you want to face in the first round. Ideally, you'd want Chicago (substandard guard play and questionable coaching decisions), Atlanta (poorly coached and undisciplined), or Washington (not talented and horrible coaching). Those teams aren't filled to the brim with future HOFers.

 

[JellyBean]

Undisciplined is one way to describe the lackadaisical and defenseless presence of the Merc. Side by side versus the Fever I'm sure there would be very few coaches or teens that would say yeah give me CC instead of the GOAT

As I wrote earlier the pressure's squarely on Noelle Quinn and her team tonight at Footprint arena against the spiraling Mercury. Since returning from the Olympic break the Mercury have been abysmal as they've dropped below 500. Over the same period the Fever have been on fire. The Fever demonstrated their ceiling last night against the Lynx. However when compared to the Mercury's "performance" last month against the same team in which DT and company struggled and scored 76 points on 38% shooting and had more fouls and turnovers than assists it's clear that the team from the valley of the Sun has disintegrated. The Merc are a 6.5.underdog at home and I think I'd give the points as this looks to be a double digit loss.

The teams split the June meetings. The Mercury won at home as BG was 10 for 15 from the field in a 9-point victory over the pre Gabby Storm. Phoenix shot 50% from the field and had 25 assists milestones that they have an achieved only once since then.

Cakewalk would be the descriptor for the Lynx sweep of the spirit of the Mercin the first round of the playoffs. It'll be interesting to see if the million dollar coach in the chess game against Cheryl Reeves can keep his team under double digits in the losses. The Merc certainly will be cupcakes.

I don't know if it would be a "Cakewalk" if Minnesota face the Mercury in the playoffs. I think Phoenix has a lot of heart and would make things interesting in a playoff series.

 

[JellyBean]

Bingo!

They are, IMO, the best defensive team in the league. The schemes are really good and the players are clearly buying in.

Yeah, I had to change "might" to "is" for Minnesota's defense. Top notch on defense.