2024 WNBA Season: Playoffs

[snlMINAJ]

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 will only say the one time this season the lynx beat the sun was after the MM acquisition, and one of the 2 lynx losses was the game collier exited at beginning of 3rd quarter i believe with that plantar fasciitis injury.
as far as i am concerned, none of the previous matchups this season indicate anything.

 

[snlMINAJ]

Yeah, what was Clark gonna say when asked about it? And obviously Carrington isn't going to say she did it on purpose. I've seen the replay. That is absolutely the most unnatural follow through I've ever seen. Everything about the positioning of her fingers and wrist is just wrong. I don't for a second believe it was an accident. And then Mabrey mockingly reenacting it on the sideline later on with Carrington and them both laughing doesn't help the cause. It was all caught on camera. I think it's pretty obvious what happened, for any that want to admit it.

the mabrey gesture i thought was related to 3-point FG

 

[JellyBean]

Have we seen all 4 playing at peak at the same time even once this year? I think if that happens, they'd beat anybody. But sure, will definitely help if Hayes or Clark have a strong game as well.

Nope. We have not seen all 4 playing at their peak. Even Kelsey Plum said it recently, about how either Jackie and A'ja have been on and KP and Chelsea were off their game. Or there were moments when KP and A'ja were on but the other two were off. A'ja has always been on her game. Like you said, if all 4 are On, they beating anybody. Nobody can stop the Aces except the Aces. Throw in Tiff and Clark and if they are clicking. It is a wrap!

 

[WBBTakeover]

I find it interesting how folks insist on putting Jackie Young in All-Defense team conversations. Well, the two All-Defense teams came out today. Connecticut, NY, Seattle, and Minnesota all had two members each. The Aces? One member--and it wasn't Jackie Young.

Can we please stick a pin in the "Jackie Young great defense" narrative? The voters aren't seeing it. She got lit up this year, and her defense (along with KP's continued poor defensive effort and Chelsea's slow recovery) played a major role in the regular season drop-off for the Aces. With Chelsea now nearing peak form, however...

 

[Geew1992]

Reeves was named coach of the year.

Pheesa defensive player of the year

 

[cancontent]

the mabrey gesture i thought was related to 3-point FG

Mabrey was doing Carmelo Anthony's 3 to the dome. If you watch the actual sequence. She makes that gesture after Carrington drained a 3 and Indy called time out.

Video editing is an amazing tool to manipulate and portray different narratives.

 

[WBBTakeover]

I also find it interesting that people (read: NYC media) seem to think that the Liberty will be the only team motivated to perform in the semifinal series--as if the Liberty didn't just sweep the Aces in the regular season series THIS SEASON. That wasn't "revenge"? You don't think that the Aces would see this series as an opportunity for them to seek "revenge" for that?

I expect Chelsea to go 2022 playoffs Chelsea Point Gawd mode on the Liberty because the injury that she suffered against them in the 2023 Finals threw off a good portion of her 2024 season. How's that for motivation and redemption?

 

[JellyBean]

Mabrey was doing Carmelo Anthony's 3 to the dome. If you watch the actual sequence. She makes that gesture after Carrington drained a 3 and Indy called time out.

Video editing is an amazing tool to manipulate and portray different narratives.

Yeah. That was my view on the matter as well. The replay showed Mabrey pointing towards her temple not her eyes.

 

[cancontent]

Yeah. That was my view on the matter as well. The replay showed Mabrey pointing towards her temple not her eyes.

That's what's frustrating about it all. I don't care if people think the eye poke is intentional. They're entitled to their opinion.

What I have a problem with is how something can be manipulated to look like something it isn't and it becomes fact without people knowing what actually happened. And the gesture occured well after the eye poke, so how does it line up with this "celebration" narrative?

 

[cancontent]

Well done Storm social media team.

 

[azfan]

ABC pre game to the first semi-final was very interesting. They perceptively pointed out that Jonquil Jones presents a real problem for the Aces.

 

[nwhoopfan]

Liberty was better during the regular season than the Aces, and they were better today. Bottom line. Stewie w/ a magnificent game, and Ionescu was also very good.

They swarmed Wilson and made life difficult. Great game for Plum, Young was decent. Gray was invisible. They can't play Stokes. NY completely ignores her defensively and she can't make them pay for it.

 

[Geew1992]

I’m think the aces shouldn’t have mocked Stewie last year cuz she ain’t playing

 

[Hayven]

I’m think the aces shouldn’t have mocked Stewie last year cuz she ain’t playing

I must have missed this. What happened?

 

[Geew1992]

I must have missed this. What happened?

Stewie had a bad shooting night in game 4. And the team and coach were sayin 3 for 17 or whatever her shooting numbers were, during the parade

 

[Dillon77]

62-57 Lynx over Sun after 3. Good one: 10 lead changes and 7 ties so far.
Carleton, K-Mac and Collier all in double figures for the Lynx.
Mabrey and Thomas leading the Sun with 20 and 13, respectively. Mabrey has 6 three pointers (6-10 shooting from three-pt. land)
Bonner not having a good shooting night (2-13).

Now 62-62. Whew.

 

[nwhoopfan]

I turned on the last few minutes. I think there were a combined 6 or 7 empty possessions in a row. That last sequence was brutal for Minnesota, looked like they had no idea what they were doing. Certainly didn't have a good play set up for a tying 3.

I don't like the Sun, I think everybody knows that, but I've learned you never bet against them in the playoffs. They are just built for post season basketball.

 

[Dillon77]

Sun steal one 73-70 in Minnesota. Thomas scores two hoops at the end and Sun make the Lynx scramble to get off a forced three at the end. Lynx only score 8 in the fourth. Thomas scores 17, grabs 10 rebounds and has 9 assists, while Mabrey finished with 20.
Carrington has 13 and Bonner 10. Veronica Burton played 27 minutes off the bench and helped a lot on the defensive end.

Connecticut did a great job pushing the Lynx further out from the three-pt. line and anticipated the swing passes to the line.
Lynx only had 5 three's; one less than Mabrey's six.

 

[Dillon77]

I turned on the last few minutes. I think there were a combined 6 or 7 empty possessions in a row. That last sequence was brutal for Minnesota, looked like they had no idea what they were doing. Certainly didn't have a good play set up for a tying 3.

I don't like the Sun, I think everybody knows that, but I've learned you never bet against them in the playoffs. They are just built for post season basketball.

Andraya Carter had some interesting post-game points on this iteration of the Sun:

• Per your (understood) and previous posts), the Sun -- with their defense -- are a tough out. They dictate play.
• The Sun has Alyssa Thomas (and no one else does). That ability to lead in three facets of the game is undeniable.
• Now that have Marina Mabrey, which she called "the trade of the season." She acknowledged the obvious (three-point shooting) but says Mabrey does something else: Even if DeWanna Bonner is off shooting-wise (which she was most of the game), Mabrey can make up for that; allowing Steph White to keep Bonner in to rebound, play defense (which she did against Collier on the last-second shot). Mabrey, of course, also fits the Sun mentality like a glove.

And Steph White gave kudos to Veronica Burton, as well, saying Burton's ability to play (very) tough defense allows the Sun to go small (and fast) on the Lynix, which might've thrown them off. With that in mind, perhaps the "cut and pick up" of the year goes to Greg Bibb for cutting Veronica Burton and to the Sun for picking her up off the waiver wire.

 

[GoUconn7961]

So, I guess the Liberty did OK against the Aces. Loved it. I'm hoping they can keep it up.
I have mixed feelings on which team I want to win when it comes to CT/Lynx. I want to see Phee in the finals against Stewie, but I live in CT.

Both were great games yesterday. I'm not one to analyze every single play, I just enjoy good basketball.

 

[azfan]

X-Factors and key stats for the WNBA Semifinals

The top four teams in the regular season standings remain, making for some fascinating matchups

open.substack.com

On point preview of last night's game. Really nailed the Sun and Lynx regular season series and anticipated what happened in the game. Advantage Sun going forward