Chong VS. Romero

[Roger G]

I know Saniya wasn't doing much for the Dallas Wings this season, but her replacement, Leticia Romero has done less. She hardly ever shoots or gets any assists. Saniya kept the ball moving and the offense flowing. I think the Wings messed that one up. I hope Saniya gets another chance and makes the most of it.

 

[Kaizen]

Leticia Romero avg. 6.5 mpg, 1.4 ppg in 13 games. Almost negligible ...

“We felt we needed more production from our bench, “Wings President & CEO Greg Bibb stated. “Leticia is a young guard with international experience who we expect will provide quality minutes in support of our starters once acclimated to our system.”

Leticia Romero - WNBA.com - Official Site of the WNBA
Dallas Wings Sign Leticia Romero, Waive Saniya Chong - WNBA.com - Official Site of the WNBA

 

[FanFromMaine]

My sense of the Dallas situation is that no backup point guard will succeed because Skyler can’t share the floor. Just as at ND, Skyler dominates the ball and, when a sub point comes in, other players shoot more to get their points. Even with Cambage, Dallas won’t win a title with Skyler.

 

[ucbart]

My sense of the Dallas situation is that no backup point guard will succeed because Skyler can’t share the floor. Just as at ND, Skyler dominates the ball and, when a sub point comes in, other players shoot more to get their points. Even with Cambage, Dallas won’t win a title with Skyler.

I agree with this, and it's not just because I don't like Skylar or her attitude. She doesn't run an offense. She is a drive first, shoot 2nd, get to the FT line 3rd, and bitch at the refs 4th, player. And ND fans, spare me, this is a UCONN board....and it's the ways she plays. Period.

Dallas' other main problem is that their two best players, Diggins and Cambage, are fiery and don't handle pressure or adversity well. They just get pissed off.

 

[EricLA]

The thing is Saniya could have been picked up by another team but she was not. She may have lit it up overseas last season (I believe in Israel), but unless she proves she can score, she will never succeed in the WNBA. I'm sure the list is longer cuz this is off the top of my head, but aside from Diggins, Montgomery, Bird, Whalen, Vandersloot, Thomas, Atkins, Boyd, Hartley, Jefferson, Plum, January, etc etc. are all PG's who can also score in bunches as well. Saniya either couldn't, or wouldn't, do that for Dallas. If she can do it for another team, she will succeed. If not, she will need to succeed overseas if she wants to play pro hoops...

 

[bballnut90]

From what I’ve seen of both in college, Romero is a better player and PG than Chong and may be a better practice player even if she gets very little playing time.

The real head scratcher to me is why Dallas has Kaela Davis playing backup PG instead of her. Maybe it was due to the exhausting schedule, but Davis came in yesterday and played point while Sky went to off guard. Davis has been a poor shooter this year and really hasn’t shown passing/ballhandling/decision making skills that warrants her able to play point, even in short stretches.

 

[Orangutan]

Chong may very well be better than Romero. I think it was a case where Chong was playing poorly enough that there was little opportunity cost in trying out another option. Romero has only played 83 minutes so far. That's not much basis for any firm conclusions on Romero's play, though the early returns are not good.

How few minutes Romero has played is problematic in itself given that Diggins-Smith leads the league in minutes per game. I imagine that Fred Williams would rest her more if he felt he could get by without her.

As for Diggins-Smith herself, Dallas is 1st in the league in points per game and 2nd in points/100 possessions. Skylar is 3rd in the league in assists. It's certainly true that she shoots more than other top point guards. However, Dallas is playing quite well offensively (and overall) with her at the helm.

 

[Kaizen]

The thing is Saniya could have been picked up by another team but she was not. She may have lit it up overseas last season (I believe in Israel), but unless she proves she can score, she will never succeed in the WNBA. I'm sure the list is longer cuz this is off the top of my head, but aside from Diggins, Montgomery, Bird, Whalen, Vandersloot, Thomas, Atkins, Boyd, Hartley, Jefferson, Plum, January, etc etc. are all PG's who can also score in bunches as well. Saniya either couldn't, or wouldn't, do that for Dallas. If she can do it for another team, she will succeed. If not, she will need to succeed overseas if she wants to play pro hoops...

Chong is a top score machine when she was in her Israel team. I think ~18-19 ppg. That says she can play and score. But why she cannot score in Dallas I believe is the team system because no opportunity and lack of confident.

In Israel she was the starting PG and she can do anything she wants. But in Dallas, same as the first 3 years in UConn, she was under big pressure of big stars, and of course she was also not aggressive enough.

If Chong can bring the ball directly to the rim, forget about passing the ball, she can score. This is also true to Molly Bent.

 

[bballnut90]

Chong is a top score machine when she was in her Israel team. I think ~18-19 ppg. That says she can play and score. But why she cannot score in Dallas I believe is the team system because no opportunity and lack of confident.

In Israel she was the starting PG and she can do anything she wants. But in Dallas, same as the first 3 years in UConn, she was under big pressure of big stars, and of course she was also not aggressive enough.

If Chong can bring the ball directly to the rim, forget about passing the ball, she can score. This is also true to Molly Bent.

Being able to score against teams invest Israel isn’t the same as being able to score in the W, where you play the best players in the world who are all taller, faster, stronger and more experienced than you. It’s comparing apples and oranges.

And Dallas has better players who can take the ball to the rim than Chong. This has never been a strength of Saniya’s, nor do they don’t need their backup PG to be a scorer when they have Cambage in the post.

Same with Bent. Nice kid, probably won’t ever see a minute of meaningful playing time at Connecticut. Dangerfield and Williams are better athletes and players who will likely play long minutes in any close games. And when she does get minutes, there’s no reason for her to try and assert herself offensively when she has more capable teammates on the floor. It’s a team sport, the goal offensively each possession is to get the best chance possible to score, and Chong isn’t that option at Dallas, just like Bent isn’t at Connecticut.

 

[Shades]

From what I’ve seen of both in college, Romero is a better player and PG than Chong and may be a better practice player even if she gets very little playing time.

The real head scratcher to me is why Dallas has Kaela Davis playing backup PG instead of her. Maybe it was due to the exhausting schedule, but Davis came in yesterday and played point while Sky went to off guard. Davis has been a poor shooter this year and really hasn’t shown passing/ballhandling/decision making skills that warrants her able to play point, even in short stretches.

Davis has done a good job feeding the ball to Cambage.

 

[Kaizen]

Davis has done a good job feeding the ball to Cambage.

Davis is much much better PG than Romero ....

 

[bballnut90]

Davis has done a good job feeding the ball to Cambage.

Not really. In the month of July, Cambage has hit 84 FGs and only 4 of those were assisted by Davis...and those 4 were all in the same game. I've watched 4 of the last 5 games (including today's) and haven't noticed anything from her in regards to good PG skills.

 

[Shades]

Not really. In the month of July, Cambage has hit 84 FGs and only 4 of those were assisted by Davis...and those 4 were all in the same game.

Must be the game I observed. Where did you get your data?

 

[bballnut90]

Must be the game I observed. Where did you get your data?

WNBA box scores/play by play. Clearly I have a lot going on this Saturday night

 

[FanFromMaine]

Chong may very well be better than Romero. I think it was a case where Chong was playing poorly enough that there was little opportunity cost in trying out another option. Romero has only played 83 minutes so far. That's not much basis for any firm conclusions on Romero's play, though the early returns are not good.

How few minutes Romero has played is problematic in itself given that Diggins-Smith leads the league in minutes per game. I imagine that Fred Williams would rest her more if he felt he could get by without her.

As for Diggins-Smith herself, Dallas is 1st in the league in points per game and 2nd in points/100 possessions. Skylar is 3rd in the league in assists. It's certainly true that she shoots more than other top point guards. However, Dallas is playing quite well offensively (and overall) with her at the helm.

I agree with you: Saniya may be better than Leticia.

But I disagree about why Skyler plays so many minutes. To me, Fred Williams is having the same experience with her that he had with Angel in Atlanta. He allows stars to run the show. With good players, like Skyler and Angel, that works well in the regular season but never gets them to the finals.

But this is the WNBA which, to me sadly, is like watching an adult version of AAU ball. Scoring rules and everything else is a distant second. I have had the pleasure and hope to continue to do so of watching a unique situation here in CT where team play with scoring is the goal.

 

[shizam]

Leticia Romero avg. 6.5 mpg, 1.4 ppg in 13 games. Almost negligible ...

“We felt we needed more production from our bench, “Wings President & CEO Greg Bibb stated. “Leticia is a young guard with international experience who we expect will provide quality minutes in support of our starters once acclimated to our system.”

Leticia Romero - WNBA.com - Official Site of the WNBA
Dallas Wings Sign Leticia Romero, Waive Saniya Chong - WNBA.com - Official Site of the WNBA

GM’s are so full of crap. Phoenix GM Jim Pitman said Briann January is a “difference maker in this league” when they got her this year. He’s on crack. She’s a weak link on that team. Shooting 31% from 2 pt land and 2-14 in last two games (close losses at home) which she was scorched by opponents. Did he see her play last year or was he thinking of 2012?
Phoenix is improved because of Bonner’s return.

 

[shizam]

This year she looked unassertive and a bit shaky when she was on the floor but the sample wasn’t much. Still, liking her UConn pedigree it was very surprising he let her go.
I really was pulling for Goodwin to make a team.

 

[Bigboote]

I understand why Dallas cut Saniya (but will never forgive them). But they seemed to so so without a plan for what to do after. They cut Goodwin very quickly. They cut Saniya, saying they had to cut down Skylar’s playing time. Then it took them what, three weeks to get Romero a visa? And now they’re still hardly playing her. There were two or three games in a row that Romero didn’t play in at all a week or two ago.

Another thing, and I realize this IS the W we’re talking about, is that Chong is a better defender than their other options. Dallas really doesn’t need offense, but they DO need defense. I think the Wings played very well with her and Skylar on the floor together, but Fred didn’t do that much. Davis was usually out there with Saniya, and after one pass to Davis, Chong seldom got the ball back.

 

[Shmermerer]

I understand why Dallas cut Saniya (but will never forgive them). But they seemed to so so without a plan for what to do after. They cut Goodwin very quickly. They cut Saniya, saying they had to cut down Skylar’s playing time. Then it took them what, three weeks to get Romero a visa? And now they’re still hardly playing her. There were two or three games in a row that Romero didn’t play in at all a week or two ago.

Another thing, and I realize this IS the W we’re talking about, is that Chong is a better defender than their other options. Dallas really doesn’t need offense, but they DO need defense. I think the Wings played very well with her and Skylar on the floor together, but Fred didn’t do that much. Davis was usually out there with Saniya, and after one pass to Davis, Chong seldom got the ball back.

I don't think either are a great fit. Need a fast PG that will push the temp. Romero defintely doesn't do that.