2025 WNBA Regular Season | Page 14 | The Boneyard

2025 WNBA Regular Season

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That was a fun game! The Sky looked much better (still have to work out some issues on defense, but the offense was clicking for the most part). Sloot played with poise and had some impressive feeds. Angel looked good/active despite what the numbers may say. Ariel Atkins played aggressively on offense and played solid D on Arike late. Bec Allen gave them good minutes as well.

Shout out to Kamilla, in particular! I remember when an esteemed Pac-12 "expert" compared her to Teaira McCowan before last year's draft. How's that take working out? :D :D :D

As for the Wings, welp--they could've easily have won the game had they not lost their composure late. Arike was cooking until the brain farts set in. Paige looked good in the minutes I saw her play. Don't recall seeing a ton of positive play from any of their frontcourt players. Lauren Betts would be a godsend for them.
 
JellyBean said:
Golden State looked waaay better this game compared to their first meeting with New York,
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They did, but Jonquel not playing helped a lot. NY better hope she plays tomorrow because the Mystics are up next...
 
Sloot got off to a slow start in the assists department this year, but it's hard to accumulate those when your team is hardly scoring. I think she has 20 in the last 2 games. It looks a lot less likely she can catch Bird than it did a couple years ago, but she's still adding to her total for the second most assists in WNBA history. Next closest active player (Chelsea Gray) is 1200+ behind Sloot, nobody is remotely a threat for quite a while. We'll see how players like Clark and Bueckers progress.
 
MilfordHusky said:
Arike had 37/5/7/1 on 14-25 shooting, but was 0 in the +/- and forced a couple of shots late in the game.

Paige had 15/5/8/3/3 and was +7.

Cardoso had 23/8/1/1.

Sloot passed her wife for #1 in Chicago career scoring. Congrats!
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Reese with multiple big plays down the stretch too despite a not so pretty stat line. Really entertaining last 5 minutes with some great playmaking on both sides. A couple of the shots down the stretch by Arike were painful but she was just brilliant tonight. Maybe this game will break her out of this slump going forward.

If Sloot doesn't retire next year she should pass Bird for #1 all time.

Also worth noting, Paige is putting up some stellar numbers. Her last 5 games:
15.6 points, 4.2 rebounds, 7.6 assists, 2.2 steals, 1.0 block, 3.45 A/TO ratio, 45.9% FG, 38.5% 3pt.

Dallas is struggling to start the year but Paige is navigating the league extremely well. Dallas will be an attractive landing spot for free agents next year, similar to how Indiana was this past season.
 
nwhoopfan said:
Sloot got off to a slow start in the assists department this year, but it's hard to accumulate those when your team is hardly scoring. I think she has 20 in the last 2 games. It looks a lot less likely she can catch Bird than it did a couple years ago, but she's still adding to her total for the second most assists in WNBA history. Next closest active player (Chelsea Gray) is 1200+ behind Sloot, nobody is remotely a threat for quite a while. We'll see how players like Clark and Bueckers progress.
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If Clark stays healthy, she should obliterate the all time assist record. Assuming she can match her rookie average, she'll break the current record in year 9 or 10 when she's in her early 30s.

Both her and Bueckers have a distinct advantage of playing 44 games per summer where as Bird's seasons were almost always just 34 games. That said, Clark has a career average of 8.5 assists per game where Bird's career average is 5.6.
 
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Congratulations to Sloot for a major accomplishment, and to the Sky for their first win. It was a very entertaining one, though I was hoping to see Paige and the Wings take it. Cardoso looked way more aggressive in this game than her previous few. Felt like Arike made about a hundred shots, then she missed her last few.
 
Congrats are in order! Kamilla scores a career high in points on the same night that Sloot becomes the Sky's all-time leading scorer. Both were sporting Indigo Girls A'Ones.

"It's gotta be the shoes!"
 
Jumper33 said:
Congratulations to Sloot for a major accomplishment, and to the Sky for their first win. It was a very entertaining one, though I was hoping to see Paige and the Wings take it. Cardoso looked way more aggressive in this game than her previous few. Felt like Arike made about a hundred shots, then she missed her last few.
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Agree that this was the most positive and aggressive (on offense) that I've seen Cardoso professionally.
Sloot was steady and Atkins hit some clutch shots at the end of the game to help seal it.

This one was in reach for Dallas, so that will have to sting a bit. Paige B., Arike O and Myisha Hines-Allen all distributed the ball (8, 7, 6 assists respectively) and, yes, Arike even shot 50% or above, although -- as noted -- she missed some key jumpers late. Sometimes she has the time to square her form for a "normal" jumper, but takes the quasi-jumper off one leg. Don't see that go down that often.
Still, looking a bit more cohesive....
 
MilfordHusky said:
SGS played NYL very tight, but lost in the last minute or so. GS moves the ball and plays energetic defense. Much better than the prior (28-point) loss.
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Valkyrie guards hopefully learned a lesson today: trying a low cross-court (skip) pass against the Liberty is death, with Stewie and Fiebich in the lineup. Plus, don't try passing (back) into the middle off a drive: Stewie and Cloud have both made a side business picking off passes in the passing lanes. Happened at a critical time yesterday.

Outside of that, I thought they learned big lessons and applied them (Of course, not having JJ to play against helped! ;) )
 
Dillon77 said:
Agree that this was the most positive and aggressive (on offense) that I've seen Cardoso professionally.
Sloot was steady and Atkins hit some clutch shots at the end of the game to help seal it.

This one was in reach for Dallas, so that will have to sting a bit. Paige B., Arike O and Myisha Hines-Allen all distributed the ball (8, 7, 6 assists respectively) and, yes, Arike even shot 50% or above, although -- as noted -- she missed some key jumpers late. Sometimes she has the time to square her form for a "normal" jumper, but takes the quasi-jumper off one leg. Don't see that go down that often.
Still, looking a bit more cohesive....
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That was always the issue at South Carolina. Cardoso frequency was not very assertive and aggressive on the floor. She only starts getting aggressive when something is on the line (NCAA tournament, rivalry games, last few minutes in close games, etc.). If she can consistently tap into that aggressiveness no matter the situation, the league better watch out because this type of game will become the norm for her.
 
What value does Hines-Allen and McCowan bring to the Wings? Surely there are players who have been cut who are better than those two.
 
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donalddoowop said:
What value does Hines-Allen and McCowan bring to the Wings? Surely there are players who have been cut who are better than those two.
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I’ve been asking myself this since preseason.

Hines-Allen, at least, brings toughness on defense. Dallas has a pretty good group of guards, but their bigs will be their kryptonite unless they make some in-season moves.
 
Hines-Allen also is the only member of the Wings to win a WNBA title. I'm not enamored by that, but it counts for something.

I dunno why people rag on McCowan. She's top-ten all-time in shooting percentage and rebounds per game, and she's #1 all-time in rebound percentage. She's top-ten active in blocks per game, offensive rating and PER. Top-50 all-time in several categories having played 23 minutes a game for six years. Her career win shares per 48 is 0.182, which doesn't put her in a league with Stewie or A'ja, but is quite good (way higher than Kelsey Mitchell, Jewell Loyd, Dearica Hamby, Natasha Howard).
 
Dillon77 said:
Valkyrie guards hopefully learned a lesson today: trying a low cross-court (skip) pass against the Liberty is death, with Stewie and Fiebich in the lineup. Plus, don't try passing (back) into the middle off a drive: Stewie and Cloud have both made a side business picking off passes in the passing lanes. Happened at a critical time yesterday.

Outside of that, I thought they learned big lessons and applied them (Of course, not having JJ to play against helped! ;) )
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It's early, but Stewie seems destined to receive her first DPOY this season.
 
To quote the infamous football coach Denny Green we know who Dallas is.

They split their last two games against the two worst teams in the league clearly showing two things.

Offensively when they're playing lower tier teams that don't have a grasp with defense they can lite the board up.

But Dallas may be the worst offensive team in the league. In the two games against the worst of the w Dallas allowed h97 and 87 points respectively. I know I know they did score a ton of points against these two bottom dwellers but in particular the game against Chicago demonstrated what happens when you have zero commitment to defense.

Chicago allows a stunning 93 points a game so the Wings hit that average. They certainly don't deserve a whole lot of credit for lighting up what is on path to be the worst defensive team in w history.

The problem is they allowed.a team that scores 79 a game to basically score at will.

The rematch on Saturday will reveal wether fatigue plays any part in reducing combined scoring. Over under on total score of 179.

I guess Page's head is spinning
 
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The games tonight are really going to be fun and interesting. As I posted earlier I'm looking forward to the home and away Lynx/Mercury games. The highest paid coach in w history the million dollar man has an opportunity to demonstrate the wisdom both of his contract as well as his decision making.

It will be very interesting indeed to see how the Liberty perform on the 2nd of their back-to-back.

But for my money the most intriguing game tonight will be Seattle hosting the Dream.

I know I provoked dismissal when I indicated Seattle was one of the three elite teams in the league. Minnesota will illustrate for even the most fervent denier their status tonight in Phoenix. But it's the Seattle game I think that will afford the best view who is the third team in that elite teir during the early going

In particular I'm wondering how many minutes Erica Wheeler plays and what impact she has on what is an outstanding defensive squad.

On the Dream side the question is what Britney Griner shows up tonight in Seattle and how much the trip tires her out..lol. Seattle will definitely tire BG out

Anyway I've cleared the decks from 4:00 till 9:00 this evening to enjoy this wonderful slate of games
 
Another great analysis by Collier. Insightful and while very lengthy definitely worth the time

open.substack.com

Who should be pushing the panic button?

It's super early but there are a couple teams that should be concerned about their starts to the season
open.substack.com open.substack.com

Highlights include:

His take on early officiating, fouls, and player reaction.

A tiny bit:

"It might be because there are so many teams adjusting to new players. Defensive miscues often lead to fouls and players adapting to new coaching and new teammates often leads to defensive miscues. Half the league changed coaches and nearly every roster outside of New York and Minnesota had some type of serious overhaul, so it stands to reason that there may be an adjustment period."

Which teams should be in panic mode
 
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I know it's not fair, because Arike had 7 assists. But it seems when she scores 37 they lose. It's not her fault -- at least not this time -- but maybe relying too much on her brings out the worst in the rest of the team. And I'm still scratching my head about how her +/- was 0 while scoring 37.
 
azfan said:
The games tonight are really going to be fun and interesting. As I posted earlier I'm looking forward to the home and away Lynx/Mercury games. The highest paid coach in w history the million dollar man has an opportunity to demonstrate the wisdom both of his contract as well as his decision making.

It will be very interesting indeed to see how the Liberty perform on the 2nd of their back-to-back.

But for my money the most intriguing game tonight will be Seattle hosting the Dream.

I know I provoked dismissal when I indicated Seattle was one of the three elite teams in the league. Minnesota will illustrate for even the most fervent denier their status tonight in Phoenix. But it's the Seattle game I think that will afford the best view who is the third team in that elite teir during the early going

In particular I'm wondering how many minutes Erica Wheeler plays and what impact she has on what is an outstanding defensive squad.

On the Dream side the question is what Britney Griner shows up tonight in Seattle and how much the trip tires her out..lol. Seattle will definitely tire BG out

Anyway I've cleared the decks from 4:00 till 9:00 this evening to enjoy this wonderful slate of games
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I'm glad I'm not the only one excited for Dream vs. Storm. I think both teams are going to be really good this year and this will be a good game to get a feel for just how good each team will be.
 
Bigboote said:
Hines-Allen also is the only member of the Wings to win a WNBA title. I'm not enamored by that, but it counts for something.

I dunno why people rag on McCowan. She's top-ten all-time in shooting percentage and rebounds per game, and she's #1 all-time in rebound percentage. She's top-ten active in blocks per game, offensive rating and PER. Top-50 all-time in several categories having played 23 minutes a game for six years. Her career win shares per 48 is 0.182, which doesn't put her in a league with Stewie or A'ja, but is quite good (way higher than Kelsey Mitchell, Jewell Loyd, Dearica Hamby, Natasha Howard).
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I mentioned McCowan because last night she played as if she did not care. In the last five minutes, she seemed to give little defensive effort.
 
Bone Dog said:
I know it's not fair, because Arike had 7 assists. But it seems when she scores 37 they lose. It's not her fault -- at least not this time -- but maybe relying too much on her brings out the worst in the rest of the team. And I'm still scratching my head about how her +/- was 0 while scoring 37.
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Lack of defense=loss. Giving up 97 points to anyone is an embarrassment, to Chicago it's an indictment
 
azfan said:
But Dallas may be the worst offensive team in the league. In the two games against the worst of the w Dallas allowed h97 and 87 points respectively. I know I know they did score a ton of points against these two bottom dwellers but in particular the game against Chicago demonstrated what happens when you have zero commitment to defense.
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They broke 80 points twice against the team that everyone says has an elite defense.
 
Bigboote said:
Hines-Allen also is the only member of the Wings to win a WNBA title. I'm not enamored by that, but it counts for something.

I dunno why people rag on McCowan. She's top-ten all-time in shooting percentage and rebounds per game, and she's #1 all-time in rebound percentage. She's top-ten active in blocks per game, offensive rating and PER. Top-50 all-time in several categories having played 23 minutes a game for six years. Her career win shares per 48 is 0.182, which doesn't put her in a league with Stewie or A'ja, but is quite good (way higher than Kelsey Mitchell, Jewell Loyd, Dearica Hamby, Natasha Howard).
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How much of that is purely based on the fact that’s she’s 6’7? I’m an eye test person and she just doesn’t give effort in times she should. Advanced stats tell a lot, but eye test shows everything.

Ariel Atkins made the game winner right in her face last night and she didn’t even step up to contest. She’s a cone on defense when caught in the perimeter.
 
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azfan said:
The games tonight are really going to be fun and interesting.
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There is also Plum's first game in Vegas as an opponent. What kind of reception will she get? Hamby's revenge tour against the Aces was quite successful last year. Will it continue for a second season?
 
I didn't get the Stephanie White hype before the Fever hired her, and there shouldn't be any for her now. The fact that Indy almost won game 2 against the Sun in the playoffs on their home court when they had way less talented depth and playoff experience probably should have been a red flag regarding White. When Kelly Krauskopf agreed to come back to the Fever she said she wanted them to mirror the Pacers in playstyle, why didn't they give the job to Jenny Boucek since she's been on that staff and has been getting plenty of praise for her work in development and gameplanning? Even before Clark got sidelined White was already taking the juice out of their offense, they barely even generate and/or take 3 pointers.
 
I thought Indiana might be able to tread water until Clark gets back. So far it's looking like...no, they can't.
 
Bigboote said:
Hines-Allen also is the only member of the Wings to win a WNBA title. I'm not enamored by that, but it counts for something.

I dunno why people rag on McCowan. She's top-ten all-time in shooting percentage and rebounds per game, and she's #1 all-time in rebound percentage. She's top-ten active in blocks per game, offensive rating and PER. Top-50 all-time in several categories having played 23 minutes a game for six years. Her career win shares per 48 is 0.182, which doesn't put her in a league with Stewie or A'ja, but is quite good (way higher than Kelsey Mitchell, Jewell Loyd, Dearica Hamby, Natasha Howard).
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McCowan gets ragged because of plays like this, she plays lazy with no motor


 
Maybe New York was being charitable in their second game against Golden State? Today they were back to smashing an outgunned opponent. They have so many weapons, they can afford to have several not firing in any given game. Ionescu had 28, I believe a season high 12 for Fiebich, 14 pts/18 reb for JJ. Cloud was scoreless and it didn't matter the tiniest bit.
 
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