2024 WNBA Season: Playoffs

[cancontent]

Has Nike fell off? Just read an interesting piece about their management of CC (lack of marketing her, lack of progress on CC shoe, etc.)

Nike Has Refused the Caitlin Clark Windfall

The reasons for why Nike has so far sabotaged its unicorn opportunity

www.houseofstrauss.com

It's an interesting opinion piece but it would have been nice if there was a real comparison as to how long it takes to get a shoe to market. For example, Ionescu's shoe would have been a good reference point for comparison as to whether Nike is really dragging their feet on the situation.

To compare the situation against Wilson feels like they want to fan flames a bit. And they don't even note when Wilson's shoe is expected to launch which is 2025. For all we know, there could be a similar timeline for Clark's and it isn't public.

Not to mention, anything that goes out with Clark's name has to be good quality. Last thing anyone wants to see is a poorly designed shoe that was rushed just to capitalize on the market because that would hurt both Clark's and Nike's brand. Do we want to see her shoe blow up while playing like Zion's shoe did while playing for Duke?

 

[Dillon77]

Nah. As a Lynx fan, we want this match up. I use to worry about teams being physical with Minnesota but since we got Myisha Hines-Allen, I am not worried anymore. She brings that toughness that we lacked and if you haven't noticed, Alanna Smith, Napheesa, and Bridget Carleton all have been a little more assertive since Hines-Allen has been added to the roster. It will be a tough series, but I like the Lynx's chances.

I think the addition of Hines-Allen has worked beyond the expectations of those that made the trade for the Lynx. In addition to her toughness, she's an adept facilitator on offense, with high screens, quick ball movement which often result in "hockey assists." Great weak-side defense, too.

Connecticut has also benefited from a mid-season trade; that of Marina Mabrey. With her, the outside shooting and threat thereof is paramount, but she too brings other elements: more than willing to set screens in and around the paint to free up her teammates, before spinning out as a "pop" or doing it all over again. With Harris down, she's taking some turns from Thomas in facilitating the Sun offense and on the other side of the ball, she'll get to it on defense.

Both of these players will be critical to the teams in this series. BTW, the other note I have for Connecticut is Bonner is starting to assert herself on offense and defense. That will be necessary to slow down the 'Phee train.

 

[MilfordHusky]

I thought so before this year, but now I'm not sure.

I agree.

 

[BigTenGuy]

I have heard all of these players speak out against the Indiana fans.

Is there any video of such fans at Gainbridge or at other W venues? Or is it all social media? If it’s just social media, then calling them Fever or Clark fans seems like painting with a pretty broad brush.

 

[GoChips20]

Sky firing Weatherspoon is a shocking and boneheaded move. Chicago had no business being anywhere but the basement of the league this year and I thought the fact she had them in playoff contention was an overachievement. Evidentially the front office thought otherwise. Hopefully T-Spoon will be a candidate for the Valkyries job. I am really shell-shocked and disappointed over this news.

 

[Geew1992]

Is there any video of such fans at Gainbridge or at other W venues? Or is it all social media? If it’s just social media, then calling them Fever or Clark fans seems like painting with a pretty broad brush.

The was a fan at the suns game the other night. She posted pics of Clark fans showing their “colors”. It was disgusting. Also, lots on pics and posts on social media. Theres numerous pics of Clark as the officer kneeling on George Floyd with a players face. I don’t want to say there are fever fans but def Clark fans. There were other posts that I won’t get into it

 

[cancontent]

Is there any video of such fans at Gainbridge or at other W venues? Or is it all social media? If it’s just social media, then calling them Fever or Clark fans seems like painting with a pretty broad brush.

A broad brush maybe, but how else could it be categorized? There is a subset of people/fans who are supporters of Clark for whatever reason. It's also coming from those in social media who are taking advantage of the hype to gain a following for their own benefit. What's unfortunate is that it was allowed to fester up to this point.

 

[baggerbob]

I wasn't surprised by the Mercury considering the personnel. The question was whether their talent could come together to steal a game and make it interesting. They almost achieved that in Game 1 after being down 23 points.

The Lynx, as good as they are defensively as a unit (the best in the league), are susceptible to uber athletic players who can generate scoring opportunities for themselves and/or for others. In other words, if your superstars are playing in concert, you can beat them because they do not have as many superstars as other contending teams. To me, their other superstar is the head coach and her uncanny ability of getting players to buy-in for the greater good. We'll have to see how that shakes out against a team that is as talented as the Mercury but far more disciplined.

There are a number of people on here who are adamant that the Liberty and Lynx (I think we all know why) will meet in the WNBA Finals and that neither Vegas (the two-time defending champs) nor Connecticut (who played in the Finals in 2022) have even the tiniest of shots, but I'm not one of them. I've repeatedly said that I would take "the field" over the Liberty winning the championship in 2024 and I do believe that the Sun, who actually won the season series against the Lynx and could've swept them, has a great chance of defeating the Lynx and returning to the WNBA Finals this year. The Marina Mabrey acquisition has not been discussed enough as a reason why the Sun could be dangerous moving forward.

If we do get that 2022 WNBA Finals rematch, I hope people tune in instead of complaining about who's missing.

I am a liberty fan and don't expect to see them in the final. I don't think the semifinal series with the aces goes beyond 4 games. Bad coaching and not a complete team. Some players are overrated.
Would like to see someone like Howard who can play all 3 frontcourt positions, and would give the Liberty a 3rd rebounder. Plus has proven to be an effective scorer even if the 3rd or 4th option.
Plus she has championship experience, has been there twice with Stewie, Sue, and Loyd.
She doesn't have to be the star but is good at doing all the little things that a championship team needs.

 

[azfan]

I am a liberty fan and don't expect to see them in the final. I don't think the semifinal series with the aces goes beyond 4 games. Bad coaching and not a complete team. Some players are overrated.
Would like to see someone like Howard who can play all 3 frontcourt positions, and would give the Liberty a 3rd rebounder. Plus has proven to be an effective scorer even if the 3rd or 4th option.
Plus she has championship experience, has been there twice with Stewie, Sue, and Loyd.
She doesn't have to be the star but is good at doing all the little things that a championship team needs.

The Aces are clearly the hottest team playing. That said, there are some interesting mismatches for both teams

 

[Blueballer]

The Aces are clearly the hottest team playing. That said, there are some interesting mismatches for both teams

Well I wouldn't say they had the toughest schedule in September. Their big claim to being hot was beating CT twice. NY beat them in a close one and there was a close one with the Fever. They hadn't played MINN since August losing the last 2 times they played them. I would however certainly agree that they may very well have been the 2 seed had they been at full strength the entire season.

 

[nwhoopfan]

I'm not sold on the Aces beating the Liberty. I'm interested in the defensive assignments. Who gets to guard Fiebich? I can't imagine they'll put 5-8 Plum on 6-4 Fiebich, but I think Young will either be matched up with Ionescu or Laney.

 

[azfan]

Well I wouldn't say they had the toughest schedule in September. Their big claim to being hot was beating CT twice. NY beat them in a close one and there was a close one with the Fever. They hadn't played MINN since August losing the last 2 times they played them. I would however certainly agree that they may very well have been the 2 seed had they been at full strength the entire season.

As the hottest team currently playing the Aces beat everyone in front of them. It's always interesting to take the contra that is what if but in the world of reality they beat those they played and I believe they're 11 and one over there last 12 games. Going into the meaningful portion of the playoffs regardless of sport you want be playing your best. Of the four teams playing right now the Aces are played the best basketball.. How that plays out remains to be seen.

In my view the winner of the Aces semi would be the favorite to win at all.

 

[Martin]

A broad brush maybe, but how else could it be categorized? There is a subset of people/fans who are supporters of Clark for whatever reason. It's also coming from those in social media who are taking advantage of the hype to gain a following for their own benefit. What's unfortunate is that it was allowed to fester up to this point.

These peeps are not Clark Supporters. They are racists first and Clark Supporters 2nd or 3rd or 4th and so on. They hijack anything with Clark’s name on it and use it for their own agendas. Way too many people laying this at her feet as if it is her problem.

Sky firing Weatherspoon is a shocking and boneheaded move. Chicago had no business being anywhere but the basement of the league this year and I thought the fact she had them in playoff contention was an overachievement. Evidentially the front office thought otherwise. Hopefully T-Spoon will be a candidate for the Valkyries job. I am really shell-shocked and disappointed over this news.

I feel like she was a bit too much of a “players coach” and lost some control of the players.

 

[Martin]

Weird I did not try to reply to two posts at once. I feel so far behind the technology curve sometimes.

 

[Martin]

This sentiment continues to fall on deaf ears unfortunately. These types of articles and talking points won't go away because the narrative has taken a strong hold and has a life of its own.

The narrative makes media money and fans aren't willing to see both sides of the issue. Social media influencers jump on board because they get clicks to gain more followers. The WNBA commissioner has been invisible on the matter and when asked gave a very weak response which prompted the WNBAPA to come out with their own response.

It hasn't mattered when Clark has come out to say that she doesn't want people using her name to champion their opinions. It doesn't matter if she says Carrington's eye poke wasn't intentional to press. People have drawn their respective line(s) in the sand and nothing will change for some time.

If Clark says it was unintentional that’s good for the W. If Clark points a finger and says I think it was intentional, imagine the reaction. Most of us here have probably played competitive sports in our lifetimes. We know “stuff happens” when we are running, jumping, sliding, punching, tackling, grabbing etc. But everytime “something happens” the reaction shouldn’t be stuff happens. Sometimes you can look at the replay and ask yourself “does this pass the eye test?”

 

[cancontent]

If Clark says it was unintentional that’s good for the W. If Clark points a finger and says I think it was intentional, imagine the reaction. Most of us here have probably played competitive sports in our lifetimes. We know “stuff happens” when we are running, jumping, sliding, punching, tackling, grabbing etc. But everytime “something happens” the reaction shouldn’t be stuff happens. Sometimes you can look at the replay and ask yourself “does this pass the eye test?”

It's not a matter of "if". Here's her speaking to the media about it.

 

[WBBTakeover]

I am a liberty fan and don't expect to see them in the final. I don't think the semifinal series with the aces goes beyond 4 games. Bad coaching and not a complete team. Some players are overrated.
Would like to see someone like Howard who can play all 3 frontcourt positions, and would give the Liberty a 3rd rebounder. Plus has proven to be an effective scorer even if the 3rd or 4th option.
Plus she has championship experience, has been there twice with Stewie, Sue, and Loyd.
She doesn't have to be the star but is good at doing all the little things that a championship team needs.

If the Liberty don't make the finals, there will be a bunch of departures. Sandy and Sloot won't be the only ones.

I am picking Aces in 4 because I don't think that a championship-caliber team will lose six times in a single season to the same team. The Liberty already have three wins--none of them while the Aces were at full strength.

I also think that Howard can help the Liberty, but not the one you're referencing.

 

[cancontent]

Nice to see with the semi-final kicking off tomorrow.

 

[AidanFan20]

I personally think the Libs are going to get rings. Forget the last few games of the reg. season when they weren't all that motivated. Take a look at the way they played in the first round, crushing a scrappy ATL team that had been playing a LOT better heading into the postseason... THAT's what we'll see the rest of the way.

Hafta admit that I'm a Liberty fan because I saw Sabrina play a number of times for Miramonte HS in Orinda, CA... Miramonte is arch-rival of Aidan Mahaney's HS, only a couple miles away. And then I watched Sabrina do her thing as an Oregon Duck many times. But my above take still stands.