2025 WNBA Regular Season | Page 92 | The Boneyard

2025 WNBA Regular Season

jdote33 said:
As such a big fan of the college game, it's just wild that in a game that features Maddy Siegrist, Paige Bueckers, Haley Jones, Diamond Miller, and Veronica Burton, Burton was the most dominant player on the court. Like if we rewound the clock and it was March 2022, I would've never expected this. Obviously, Paige is a rookie, and may be hitting a bit of a wall. Also her team is very banged up and so they seem to lack cohesion. But IDK y, it's just so wild to me. And as others have mentioned Burton was pretty great in college and this is more of a praise to her than a knock on anyone else. The system is also great for her as well. Lots of shooters and driving lanes for Burton.
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On paper, it's wild. But it makes more sense in context: listen to Natalie Nakase's press conferences, especially when the Valks lose. She has instilled the most tremendous combination of accountability culture and complete trust and support of her players. She has said over and over she wants them to be who they are, and the players have said they have complete trust from their coaches and feel empowered to give their all. I know it sounds like hippie dippy bay area nonsense, but the vibe is real, and I'm not at all surprised VB is flourishing like never before. Did Kaila Charles ever look half as good in Dallas as she did today in what they're calling her "revenge game"?
 
Collier and Mitchell both delivered for their team today. Some surprising big contributors are Kliundikova and Peddy.


I thought Indiana was supposed to be a good defensive team (without Clark). Lynx are on the verge of putting up 100 on them.
 
nwhoopfan said:
Collier and Mitchell both delivered for their team today. Some surprising big contributors are Kliundikova and Peddy.


I thought Indiana was supposed to be a good defensive team (without Clark). Lynx are on the verge of putting up 100 on them.
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Depends on which team was being referred to at the time this statement was made. When Clark was out initially, maybe, because Hull, Cunningham and MacDonald can be pests on the court. With the injuries and recent roster additions, I can see how they're not on the same page defensively.
 
nwhoopfan said:
You've stuck with your "million dollar coach" moniker for the guy in Phoenix pretty much from the beginning, you need to come up with a nickname for Koclanes. Several of these first year coaches appear to be in over their head, while a some others are doing a really good job.
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I'll leave that to Wing fans. The poor, poor Wing fans

Perhaps something related to his video focus prior to head coaching?

Nate received the salary and thus moniker (an accurate description -sadly) when he arrived in Phoenix.
 
oldhusky said:
I don't know for sure, but I suspect Tina has had an opportunity to "chase the ring" so to speak, but more as a complimentary piece, than a featured part of the offense. There was speculation a few years back about joining the Aces when they were top contenders, but that didn't go anywhere.

It could have been many things, but money might have been an issue too. The Aces were able to compliment their stars with good vets who were willing to play for less than market value while ring chasing near the end of their careers. Get maybe one good big backup, one midsize, and one guard, spend as much of your cap as you can on the top 8, near minimum on everyone else, and at least some of the backups at an obvious bargain because they wanted the ring. Tina might not have been willing to take less, I don't know.

Tina might still get that ring, but money, and her legacy with career stats, are also factors and to a certain extent there could be trade offs there.
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I absolutely agree she’s had the chance, and I hope she can go to a team that has a shot in the next couple of years.
 
nwhoopfan said:
You've stuck with your "million dollar coach" moniker for the guy in Phoenix pretty much from the beginning, you need to come up with a nickname for Koclanes.
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Haven’t some been referring to him as “pony tail guy”? Seems apt to me, although I had dinner with a pony-tail-sporting guy who’d probably consider it an affront to be lumped in with Koclanes.
 
Plenty of dialogue on the MVP race already so won’t get into it, but I’m not sure there’s much argument that Collier is the most complete player in the league. I can’t name a single thing she doesn’t do with regularity.
 
Bigboote said:
Haven’t some been referring to him as “pony tail guy”? Seems apt to me, although I had dinner with a pony-tail-sporting guy who’d probably consider it an affront to be lumped in with Koclanes.
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I think @azfan can do better. Million dollar coach speaks to lazy money chasing zero W experience. Not sure how the pony tail is pertinent to whether Koclanes was the right fit. Based on watching the Valks game today and Dallas' 0-fer record of winning third quarters or coming back after the half, maybe "No-adjustments Koclanes" is more apt...
 
Fever are now tied for 8th in the league. I think they just miss the playoffs this year, they have a tougher schedule down the stretch than LA does. Adding a top 5 draft pick means they could bring on a player like Flaujae or Fudd, both of whom would be lethal alongside Clark/Mitchell.
 
bballnut90 said:
Fever are now tied for 8th in the league. I think they just miss the playoffs this year, they have a tougher schedule down the stretch than LA does. Adding a top 5 draft pick means they could bring on a player like Flaujae or Fudd, both of whom would be lethal alongside Clark/Mitchell.
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I have to disagree they have a tougher schedule.

Fever have 2 more wins however the Sparks own the tie-breaker as have already won the head to head (3-0 with 1 game to play).

They have similar difficulty in these 5 games:
Sparks then Fever
vs Washington (2-1) and at Washington (1-2)
at Seattle (2-1) and vs Seattle (2-0)
vs Dallas (3-0) and vs Chicago (3-0)
at Phoenix (0-2) and at Phoenix (1-1)
vs Las Vegas (1-2) and vs Minnesota (1-2)

Other games for Fever
at Golden State (0-2)
at Los Angeles (0-3)

Other games for Sparks
vs Phoenix (0-2)
vs Fever (3-0)
at Atlanta (0-1)
at Atlanta (0-1)

If Sparks win the H2H they will be 1 win behind and would need (given the same results for first 5 games):
Fever to lose to Golden State OR
Sparks win at least one vs Phoenix (0-2 with 2 games to play) OR Atlanta (0-1 with 2 games to play).

If Sparks lose the H2H they will be 3 wins behind and face an almost impossible task.

Even with the injury concerns I would rather be the Fever than Sparks.
 
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maccca3232 said:
I have to disagree they have a tougher schedule.

Fever have 2 more wins however the Sparks own the tie-breaker as have already won the head to head (3-0 with 1 game to play).

They have similar difficulty in these 5 games:
Sparks then Fever
vs Washington (2-1) and at Washington (1-2)
at Seattle (2-1) and vs Seattle (2-0)
vs Dallas (3-0) and vs Chicago (3-0)
at Phoenix (0-2) and at Phoenix (1-1)
vs Las Vegas (1-2) and vs Minnesota (1-2)

Other games for Fever
at Golden State (0-2)
at Los Angeles (0-3)

Other games for Sparks
vs Phoenix (0-2)
vs Fever (3-0)
at Atlanta (0-1)
at Atlanta (0-1)

If Sparks win the H2H they will be 1 win behind and would need (same results for first 5 games):
Fever to lose to Golden State OR
Sparks win at least one vs Phoenix (0-2 with 2 games to play) OR Atlanta (0-1 with 2 games to play).

If Sparks lose the H2H they will be 3 wins behind and face an almost impossible task.

Even with the injury concerns I would rather be the Fever than Sparks.
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Los Angeles and Golden State have been the Achilles heel of the Fever this season -- even when they were healthy. I don't see them winning both. I think the Fever go 4-3 and the Sparks go 5-4.

There was talk during the game yesterday that Clark was starting to practice with the team. I've got a gut feeling that we're about a week out from Clark's return and I think that will help them get over the hump for one of the last spots.
 
GamecockFam said:
Los Angeles and Golden State have been the Achilles heel of the Fever this season -- even when they were healthy. I don't see them winning both. I think the Fever go 4-3 and the Sparks go 5-4.
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Fever would have to lose both for the Sparks to finish higher.

Final records with your expected results.
Fever are 19-18, going 4-3 in their last 7, they would finish 23-21
Sparks are 17-18, going 5-4 in their last 9, they would finish 22-22
 
Sparks have two games remaining against the Dream - who are in a dogfight for the number 2 spot. I would not expect any resting of starters down the stretch. I would expect two very tough games.
 
jdote33 said:
As such a big fan of the college game, it's just wild that in a game that features Maddy Siegrist, Paige Bueckers, Haley Jones, Diamond Miller, and Veronica Burton, Burton was the most dominant player on the court. Like if we rewound the clock and it was March 2022, I would've never expected this. Obviously, Paige is a rookie, and may be hitting a bit of a wall. Also her team is very banged up and so they seem to lack cohesion. But IDK y, it's just so wild to me. And as others have mentioned Burton was pretty great in college and this is more of a praise to her than a knock on anyone else. The system is also great for her as well. Lots of shooters and driving lanes for Burton.
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Burton certainly was great and Paige's shot was off, but Burton didn't have to contend with constant double and triple teams while being "supported" by the gang who couldn't shoot straight...
 
Basingstoke said:
Burton certainly was great and Paige's shot was off, but Burton didn't have to contend with constant double and triple teams while being "supported" by the gang who couldn't shoot straight...
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In many instances of Wings games, I'd probably agree with you, but I caught a bunch of the second half and came away with these conclusions:
  • As for not shooting straight, Paige (3-12) and Geiselsolder (1-5) were off this game and Maddy Siegrist was only 5-12, but she did go 5 of 5 from the line. Hines-Allen and Haley Jones (both of whom scored 15 points) shot 50% from the floor and Amy Akonwo went 5-8. Overall, the Wings shot 41%
  • Where they hurt themselves a bit on offense was shooting 71% from the line (10-14), while the Valkyries nailed it...18-18 from the FT stripe.
  • As pointed out though, where they really blew it was on defense; specifically perimeter defense. Valkyries like to bomb away. In spite of that, Golden State got off 38 treys and hit 16 (42%) of them. Some of these were wide open; some the results of excellent ball movement and a bunch the result of nada communication on defense. You could see it.

Paige is going to be doubled/tripled until there's a viable second scoring threat. As it was, she still had 9 assists, so she was scouring the court, as usual. But the lack of team defense is going to show against a well-coached, ball-movement oriented team every time.

(What's weird is that Curt Miller built his Sun team on, err, tough defense.....)
 
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Dillon77 said:
In many instances of Wings games, I'd probably agree with you, but I caught a bunch of the second half and came away with these conclusions:
  • As for non shooting straight, Paige (3-12) and Geiselsolder (1-5) were off and Maddy Siegrist only 5-12, but she did go 5 of 5 from the line. Hines-Allen and Haley Jones (both of whom scored 15 points) both shot 50% from the floor and Amy Akonwo went 5-8. Overall, they shot 41%
  • Where they hurt themselves a bit on offense was shooting 71% from the line 10-14, while the Valkyries nailed it...18-18 from the FT stripe.
  • As pointed out though, where they really blew it was on defense; specifically perimeter defense. Valkyries like to bomb away. In spite of that, Golden State got off 38 treys and hit 16 (42%) of them. Some of these were wide open; some the results of excellent ball movement and a bunch the result of nada communication on defense. You could see it.

Paige is going to be doubled/tripled until there's a viable second scoring threat. As it was, she still had 9 assists, so she was scouring the court, as usual. But the lack of team defense is going to show against a well-coached, ball-movement oriented team every time.

(What's weird is that Curt Miller built his Sun team on, err, tough defense.....)
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Yup. Now mind you, he's a GM now and not coaching, however it's still weird to watch.
 
cancontent said:
How about a combination of the two? "I've seen what my team is doing lately. Hold my beer." 😉😁
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Maybe, but the level of concern for the Liberty's recent play is kind of high these days as opposed to the Lynx (though, obviously, Phee is much more concerned with her team's success (to me) than in the possibility of an MVP for herself.
 
maccca3232 said:
I have to disagree they have a tougher schedule.

Fever have 2 more wins however the Sparks own the tie-breaker as have already won the head to head (3-0 with 1 game to play).

They have similar difficulty in these 5 games:
Sparks then Fever
vs Washington (2-1) and at Washington (1-2)
at Seattle (2-1) and vs Seattle (2-0)
vs Dallas (3-0) and vs Chicago (3-0)
at Phoenix (0-2) and at Phoenix (1-1)
vs Las Vegas (1-2) and vs Minnesota (1-2)

Other games for Fever
at Golden State (0-2)
at Los Angeles (0-3)

Other games for Sparks
vs Phoenix (0-2)
vs Fever (3-0)
at Atlanta (0-1)
at Atlanta (0-1)

If Sparks win the H2H they will be 1 win behind and would need (given the same results for first 5 games):
Fever to lose to Golden State OR
Sparks win at least one vs Phoenix (0-2 with 2 games to play) OR Atlanta (0-1 with 2 games to play).

If Sparks lose the H2H they will be 3 wins behind and face an almost impossible task.

Even with the injury concerns I would rather be the Fever than Sparks.
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Thanks for breaking this down. I guess I was wrong about SOS, but I do think LA has a better shot to make playoffs, especially since they won the tiebreaker.

Indiana has lost 6 of their last 8 (with only wins over Chicago/Connecticut) where LA has won 11 of their last 15.
 
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