And Kia Nurse beats the Sky at the buzzer [merged thread]

[MilfordHusky]

Taurasian!!

 

[ochoopsfan]

I notice at times how much "great" defense is being played in some of these games. In these highlights, players with the ball are often stopped cold from driving and doing what they'd like to do because of the defensive effort the player guarding them is giving.

If you want (hope) to play in the W, you have to be willing and able to play defense. Yes, you've got to be able to score, but you also have to be able to STOP somebody sometimes as well. It's very noticeable how some players have improved their game since leaving college. I could name 15-20 right off the bat, but you know who they are.

Correct. The thing about those defensive plays, by Griner and Nurse, are not in any boxscore, but can be just as important as the baskets scored at the other end. You dont need a steal or a block to say a player is playing good defense.

 

[wolfe613]

never understood why she fell to 11th in the draft, teams like the Fever are in bad situation where they are cause they keep whiffing in the draft. Also shotout to her brother who played 63 MINUTES last week in a playoff game vs Jets, to put that in perspective average icetime for a dman should be 20-24 min. Unfortunately for him and Mcdavid they got no help and were eliminated

 

[Lynx23]

I was annoyed when Kia and Megan were traded by the Liberty to the Mercury, but I think both players landed in a good spot for their talents. Megan had some clutch free throws down the stretch in the 4th quarter. I know Kia had a rough season last year but it wasn't all her fault. She was injured in the first game and was forced to play a compressed schedule in The Wubble. I say "forced" because, if I recall correctly, she was one of three vets on a team with seven rookies. Ionsescu was out with an injury nearly all season and Asia Durr dealt with COVID, which I believe she is still recovering from. Rebecca Allen (Australia) and Marine Johannes (France) stayed home. It seemed like Kia and a few others were expected to carry the team and she just isn't built that way. Her shot left her and I imagine her confidence did as well. Playing with Diggins, Taurasi, and Griner should help her regain any confidence in herself she might have lost given her problems last year, and let's face it, getting traded sends a negative message to the player (The Liberty ultimately got Natasha Howard in return and she'll be out for quite some time with an injury). As a UCONN fan (my oldest went there) and an ND alumnus, it's easy to root for a team with Taurasi, Hartley, Nurse, Walker, Diggins and Turner, And say what you want about Diggins, she has a winner's mentality and is very competitive. Kia has had a lot of nice things to say about her, and vice versa. As for the Liberty, they'll do fine without my support as I'm a Mercury fan now.

 

[Carnac]

I was annoyed when Kia and Megan were traded by the Liberty to the Mercury, but I think both players landed in a good spot for their talents. Megan had some clutch free throws down the stretch in the 4th quarter. I know Kia had a rough season last year but it wasn't all her fault. She was injured in the first game and was forced to play a compressed schedule in The Wubble. I say "forced" because, if I recall correctly, she was one of three vets on a team with seven rookies. Ionsescu was out with an injury nearly all season and Asia Durr dealt with COVID, which I believe she is still recovering from. Rebecca Allen (Australia) and Marine Johannes (France) stayed home. It seemed like Kia and a few others were expected to carry the team and she just isn't built that way. Her shot left her and I imagine her confidence did as well. Playing with Diggins, Taurasi, and Griner should help her regain any confidence in herself she might have lost given her problems last year, and let's face it, getting traded sends a negative message to the player (The Liberty ultimately got Natasha Howard in return and she'll be out for quite some time with an injury). As a UCONN fan (my oldest went there) and an ND alumnus, it's easy to root for a team with Taurasi, Hartley, Nurse, Walker, Diggins and Turner, And say what you want about Diggins, she has a winner's mentality and is very competitive. Kia has had a lot of nice things to say about her, and vice versa. As for the Liberty, they'll do fine without my support as I'm a Mercury fan now.

I think so too. Sometimes players are just not a good fit with certain teams. "Get in where you fit in" is the order of the day in the W. Look at Betnijah Laney (Rutgers). She bounced around the league for 6 years until she found her niche. Now she's a starter for the Liberty and playing very well, and they are elated to have her.

She's currently 3rd in the league in scoring at 22.3 ppg behind Tina Charles (Washington) 26.7 ppg and Breanna Stewart (Seattle) 23.3 ppg. Timing is everything. NY is currently in 3rd place at 5-2 in the standings, after winning only 2 games all of last year.

 

[Dokey]

In the space of ten days two former UConn teammates made 35 foot baskets as time expired, Kia’s coming at game’s end, Lou’s as time ran out at half. Being a game winner, Kia was jumped on by teammates; Lou’s just cut the margin but earned a big grin from Stewie.

 

[eebmg]

Looking it over, Megan Walker should get a little credit. She ran hard and alert on the RHS and made herself a viable option allowing Kia to drift that way and reverse eurostep into the middle. I think Megan is settling in pretty well and I am sure she will get her 3pt shot going.

 

[baggerbob]

Looking it over, Megan Walker should get a little credit. She ran hard and alert on the RHS and made herself a viable option allowing Kia to drift that way and reverse eurostep into the middle. I think Megan is settling in pretty well and I am sure she will get her 3pt shot going.

Defensively having Kia at shooting guard,
and Megan at small forward. This could be the year Phoenix takes it all. In the playoffs it's about making stops on defense.