2024 WNBA Season: Part 2 (August ---) | Page 27 | The Boneyard

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

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MilfordHusky said:
Does she have enough attempts to qualify?
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I dont know the qualification rules
Hull has 65 attempts, which puts her 48th in the W in # of attempts.
The top 5 attempts so far are
Clark 320
Arike 297
Ionescu 286
Plum 273
K. Mitchell 245
 
ochoopsfan said:
I thought this was the case.
In yesterdays Fever v Dream game, with 6.48 remaining in the 3rd quarter Fagbenle substituted in for Smith.
There were no other Fever player changes for the remaining 6.48 of the 3rd quarter, the entire 4th quarter and the OT.
No changes for over 21 minutes against a team that was 12-22 going into the game.
Why not? Was this a must win game for the Fever? Was the coach on the hot seat if she lost a home game to the Dream?
Wear and tear can add up.
The Dream didnt make a lot of changes either but it was a must game for them.
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I watched it, too, and truth be told: I didn't think about it much because it was such a close game.
  • Sides has tightened up her rotation a lot and didn't expect her to make any changes in the backcourt
  • Maybe Smith or Dantas could've come in the frontcourt.
  • Indiana is having a close race with the Mercury for a higher seeding, so maybe that factored into it.
  • Lastly, the team has off until Wednesday and it's a home game, so no travel involved.

Now, if the Fever gets some breathing room between the Mercury, I'd get KLS, Wallace, Dantas, etc. into the mix to address that concern...
 
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Dillon77 said:
@WBBTakeover : "I like Noelle Quinn, but it doesn't feel that she's getting the best out of Jewell Loyd. That said, I don't think it's all on her (a lot of it's on Jewell and her putrid shot selection and sometimesy approach to defense). Simply stated, Jewell needs to be better."

This comment regarding the Quinn-Loyd coaching relationship came up earlier in the summer and, while I made a note of it, I didn't have the time to look at it. This time, I decided to pull up a bunch of charts, articles. Exec. summary:
  • Based on what I saw, it looks like Noelle Quinn is getting out of Jewell Loyd what she wants because Loyd's minutes, shot attempts have all gone up since Quinn became head coach in 2021. In shot, she's complicit in what we see from JL.
  • These jumped the shark in 2023 once Stewie left for the right coast and Sue B. retired. While I haven't broken down the first half of the 2024 season vs. the post-Olympic part, Loyd's shot attempts are coming down and are now at 16.9 per game.)

Some excerpts:
2021: Averaged 17.9 ppg. Shot 42% (6.2-14.8 attempts) overall; 38% from three. Shot 89% from line (3.4-3.8 attempts).
2022: Averaged 16.3 ppg. Shot 39.6% (5.6-14.1 attempts) overall; 38.5% from three. Shot 89% from line (2.8-3.1 attempts)
Post-Stewie/Bird
2023: Averaged 24.7 ppg. Shot 37% (7.5-20.3 attempts) overall; 35.6% from three. Shot 89% (6.7-7.5 attempts) from line.
2024 (so far): Averaging 20.1 ppg. Shooting 37% (6.2-16.9 attempts); 28.3% from three. Shooting 88% (6.1-6.9 attempts).

Some takeaways:
  • I don't know what the accepted number of attempts per game is for a volume shooter, but let's say it's 15. When Jewell went over 15 attempts per game, her overall shooting percentage dipped under 40%. Her three-pt. percentages have been steadily dropping, with this year's 28.3% the lowest since her rookie year in 2015.
  • Quinn has also played Loyd 35 minutes per game in '23 and 34 mpg in '24. I don't think Quinn thought she had a choice in '23, but Loyd is clearly not shooting three's well this season. Get Sami Whitcomb in more? Olympic burnout? As noted in posts last week, Seattle is one of (the worst) three-pt. shooting teams in the league, so this drought is affecting more than Loyd (Whitcomb, Diggins-Smith).
  • However, one area where Loyd's decision have benefits: Look at how often she gets to the line the last two years. And she's stroking these at a very proficient level. So, maybe Coach Quinn should be having Loyd take it to the rack, rather than jacking up the three?
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Thank you for this analysis! Very interesting, to say the least.

To me, these stats reveal something that I hadn't considered. Jewell is not a true #1 scoring option. She'd likely be shooting the ball more efficiently if she was playing in Vegas, NY, or Minnesota. We could probably add Indiana to that list as well. But she is being asked to fulfill a role that she's not well suited for, IMO. Last season, we could write it off as the team being horrible. This year, however, there is plenty of talent in Seattle. The issue is that they're all 2nd (and 3rd) options--and so is Jewell. She'd probably look the same way in Connecticut (another team full of 2nd and 3rd options).

What's promising for her moving forward is that she is now adept at drawing fouls and getting to the line. That's something to build on. I don't know if she can be convinced to take fewer threes because she seems to have established a level of comfort with that shot.
 
WBBTakeover said:
Thank you for this analysis! Very interesting, to say the least.

To me, these stats reveal something that I hadn't considered. Jewell is not a true #1 scoring option. She'd likely be shooting the ball more efficiently if she was playing in Vegas, NY, or Minnesota. We could probably add Indiana to that list as well. But she is being asked to fulfill a role that she's not well suited for, IMO. Last season, we could write it off as the team being horrible. This year, however, there is plenty of talent in Seattle. The issue is that they're all 2nd (and 3rd) options--and so is Jewell. She'd probably look the same way in Connecticut (another team full of 2nd and 3rd options).

What's promising for her moving forward is that she is now adept at drawing fouls and getting to the line. That's something to build on. I don't know if she can be convinced to take fewer threes because she seems to have established a level of comfort with that shot.
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Jewell's most efficient shooting years took place when Stewie was on the Storm. Since Stewie left prior to that 2023 season, we've seen the increase in shots per game to more than 15 per contest and the drop in "made" percentages; particularly three-pointers.
If there can be a greater concentration (next season, probably) on moving the ball to all, it would probably get better.

Even at ND, I always thought Jewell's shooting strengths were from the top of the elbow in: she's got a dynamite mid-range and is an excellent slasher (leading to those foul shots).

In the meantime, it will be interesting to see how the playoffs fall out....;)
 
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Dillon77 said:
Jewell's most efficient shooting years took place when Stewie was on the Storm. Since Stewie left prior to that 2023 season, we've seen the increase in shots per game to more than 15 per contest and the drop in "made" percentages; particularly three-pointers.
If there can be a greater concentration (next season, probably) on moving the ball to all, it would probably get better.

Even at ND, I always thought Jewell's strength were from the top of the elbow in: she's got a dynamite mid-range and is an excellent slasher (leading to those foul shots).

In the meantime, it will be interesting to see how the playoffs fall out....;)
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I expect the departure of Stewie also meant more defensive attention could be paid to Jewell.
 
ochoopsfan said:
I dont know the qualification rules
Hull has 65 attempts, which puts her 48th in the W in # of attempts.
The top 5 attempts so far are
Clark 320
Arike 297
Ionescu 286
Plum 273
K. Mitchell 245
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Part of the reason I asked is that Hull is NOT listed in the ESPN rankings. Stef is first, Fiebich is second. The lowest number of makes is 1 per game. Hull exceeds that, with 32 makes in 30 games.
 
baggerbob said:
She lucked into taking over a team with talent, and getting Griner in her first year as a head coach, and has done nothing since. Sorry but when Stewie and JJ are scoring in the paint and getting to the line, Sabrina shoudn't be taking 21 shots.
That is bad coaching, and that's on Sandy.
If the liberty get lucky and win, it will be in spite of Sandy.
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Wow..... Lose lose situation for Sandy. Underperforming Coach if she doesn't win the title and no credit if she does . . . wow.

Brings to mind the old Saturday Night Live skit about the Bears and Mike Dirka.

What if a tiny Sandy Brondello beats the Minnesota Lynx one on five. Would she be considered an underperforming coach at that point if she started herself, the miniature SB, and completed an amazing sweep of Lynx.....by herself?
 
baggerbob said:
She lucked into taking over a team with talent, and getting Griner in her first year as a head coach, and has done nothing since. Sorry but when Stewie and JJ are scoring in the paint and getting to the line, Sabrina shoudn't be taking 21 shots.
That is bad coaching, and that's on Sandy.
If the liberty get lucky and win, it will be in spite of Sandy.
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As was mentioned before the same could be said for Becky Hammon. When she was hired Las Vegas was loaded for bear. Now after a couple free agency departures and an injury year for Gray they aren't quite as formidable. Does that mean Hammon is going to be cast in the same light? Sandy might not be the greatest coach but I doubt she is as bad as you are implying.
 
Anyone know what’s up with Dorka Juhasz tonight? I tuned in late and haven’t seen her.
 
Bigboote said:
Anyone know what’s up with Dorka Juhasz tonight? I tuned in late and haven’t seen her.
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Not sure, but she didn't play tonight and had limited minutes in the last game.
 
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Bigboote said:
Anyone know what’s up with Dorka Juhasz tonight? I tuned in late and haven’t seen her.
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An article that I found on a Google search said that she was out due to illness. ESPN just listed her as "Out" two hours before the game started.
 
Due to "other" events on Tuesday night, didn't get to watch many of the earlier games, but did catch the 2nd and 3rd quarters of the Sun-Sparks game (second of a two-game stint in LA). Sun outscored Sparks by 13 in the second quarter and 8 in the third en route to building up a 28-pt. lead, eventually winning 86-66.

Marina Mabrey came off the bench to score 10 pts in the first half and stayed that way throughout, finishing with a season-high 26 points on 9-13 shooting overall and a blistering 6-8 from three and 2-2 from the line. Center Brionna Jones has another solid night, scoring 19 points and grabbing 8 rebounds.

Crystal Dangerfield saw the court for the Sparks last night for 18 minutes and delivered well; shooting 4-8 from the field (three of five from three) for 11 points. Azura Stevens grabbed 17 rebounds and scored 10 points, which were hard to come by (4-13 shooting).
 
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JoePgh said:
An article that I found on a Google search said that she was out due to illness. ESPN just listed her as "Out" two hours before the game started.
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Thanks — your googling skills are better than mine. ;)
 
Just saw that Caitlin is making 63% of her lay-ups this season...as a ROOKIE GUARD. :eek: We're all on high alert here!!!!!
 
Blueballer said:
As was mentioned before the same could be said for Becky Hammon. When she was hired Las Vegas was loaded for bear. Now after a couple free agency departures and an injury year for Gray they aren't quite as formidable. Does that mean Hammon is going to be cast in the same light? Sandy might not be the greatest coach but I doubt she is as bad as you are implying.
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There's almost a 0% chance that Sandy Brondello would've been able to take a team that was missing Jonquel Jones (or Breanna Stewart) and Sabrina Ionescu into Michelob Ultra Arena to defeat a healthy Aces squad in a close-out game for a championship. I'll take it a step further--since people claim that the Aces are more talented than the Liberty (even though the Aces have one starting post/one MVP while the Liberty have two MVP posts). The Aces would not have any titles if Sandy was the head coach instead of Becky.

Becky and Sandy are not one in the same. Becky is the superior coach. She has her faults, but they are not on the level of Sandy's deficiencies.

This season, Sandy has the best team in the league. They are the favorites. If she doesn't lead that team to the championship THIS YEAR, she should be fired.

I don't think she'll pull it off (I'm taking the field), so it'll be interesting to see what her next career move will be.
 
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MilfordHusky said:
Tina Charles is currently #2 in all-time scoring AND rebounding. She has 4 games remaining this season and needs 32 rebounds to pass Sylvia Fowles for #1 in rebounding. Go Tina!
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If she does that, what an awesome comeback story for her this season. Don't like using the term comeback, but considering that she even thought her time in the WNBA was done, it's the best description I have at the moment.
 
Aces beat Fever on the road. Inching closer to the #4 seed in the playoffs. Big game for Wilson. Clark and Hayes combined for 26 off the bench.

Mitchell had 24 for Indy, but chilly shooting for Caitlin and A'ja got the better of Aaliyah this round.
 
Records were made to be broken. Loyd's single season scoring record lasted all of one year, Wilson just broke it. Caitlin will certainly break AT's single season assist record from last year. Reese set the single season record for rebounds.

Are they going to stay with 40 games with expansion, or are they going to play more games next season?
 
If Plum and Young combine for only 15 points but the Aces still win, they'll definitely take that. Only 15 combined shot attempts though, so it's not like they were both ice cold.

Stokes back in the starting lineup for the first time in a few weeks. Becky just can't settle on a 5th starter. Also down the stretch it looks like Colson is gonna get almost all the minutes Martin was getting earlier in the season. Egbo still hasn't played a second with the Aces, although she got a second 7 day contract, and I can't remember the last time Bell played.
 
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Washington is destroying Chicago in the closing minutes. The Sky fooled me with 2 wins in a row...but how can this possibly be a playoff team? This result keeps things interesting, Mystics 1 game back now.
 
Mystics starters barely broke a sweat, none played more than 22 minutes. Washington has the best bench in the league, convince me otherwise. They've been making huge contributions lately.
 
nwhoopfan said:
If Plum and Young combine for only 15 points but the Aces still win, they'll definitely take that. Only 15 combined shot attempts though, so it's not like they were both ice cold.

Stokes back in the starting lineup for the first time in a few weeks. Becky just can't settle on a 5th starter. Also down the stretch it looks like Colson is gonna get almost all the minutes Martin was getting earlier in the season. Egbo still hasn't played a second with the Aces, although she got a second 7 day contract, and I can't remember the last time Bell played.
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On the opposite side, Boston and Clark had one of their worst games since the first stretch of games this season. I think some of it could be attributed to the Ace's defense but I also think it just wasn't their night. I doubt that happens two games in a row. I was also wondering if Clark was recovering from a sickness. She was hacking up a lung at half court in the 3rd or 4th.
 
Yeah, getting beat 89-58 by one of the teams you are fighting with for the last remaining playoff spot is not a good look. At home to make it even worse. Sky forgot for a minute they were tanking, but they're back on track.
 
nwhoopfan said:
Records were made to be broken. Loyd's single season scoring record lasted all of one year, Wilson just broke it. Caitlin will certainly break AT's single season assist record from last year. Reese set the single season record for rebounds.

Are they going to stay with 40 games with expansion, or are they going to play more games next season?
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A’ja can overtake Reese in rebounds needing 29 with four games left.
 
JDuro said:
A’ja can overtake Reese in rebounds needing 29 with four games left.
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Oh wow. That would be too bad for Reese since her season was cut short, but would be remarkable for Wilson to set both the scoring and rebounding record in the same season.

Another record that might fall is most 3's made in a year, again set just last season by Ionescu. Caitlin has a very good chance of breaking that one as well.
 
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