Game Day! Sun versus Mercury

[Orangutan]

From my vantage point in the 4th row, it looked like she was clapping at the ref. Whatever.

Here's how it looked on TV.

 

[chrisphoto15]

 

[chrisphoto15]

 

[chrisphoto15]

Mercury Post-game Press Conference - Sandy Brondello, Diana Taurasi, Brittney Griner

 

[EricLA]

Anyone know what was up with Chiney? Why she wasn't starting?

I think her problem is that her shorts are custom made and so short and so tight that it restricts the blood flow to her legs (looked like those tiny volleyball shorts players wear).

Seriously, tho, can't stand that. There are several players in the league who feel the need to "stand out" and have had extra short or extra narrow shorts/jerseys made for them. Don't like it in college, don't like it in the pros. There's no reason for it - it just screams "look at me me me me me"...

Better not see it on Team USA...

 

[bbsamjj]

LOL okay. Guess I shouldn't ask you how you feel about players' colorful sneaker collections.

 

[chrisphoto15]

Sun Post-game Press Conference - Curt Miller, Jasmine Thomas, Courtney Williams

 

[RockyMTblue2]

Thousands have tried to taunt Diana into failure. This is how it worked out:

 

[psconn]

Sun Post-game Press Conference - Curt Miller, Jasmine Thomas, Courtney Williams

Thanks Chris, great photos.

 

[psconn]

Here's how it looked on TV.

How is that not a foul on Taurasi? Jas in defensive postition, DT steps into her and displaces her with both arms and the ball. DT gets away with murder in this league. Very classless taunting at the end.

 

[RockyMTblue2]

Mercury Post-game Press Conference - Sandy Brondello, Diana Taurasi, Brittney Griner

"She's on another planet though. That's why she's called the Goat." An ebullient Sandy Brondello said a lot about DT naturally. Was it true that D did not take a shot in the fourth quarter? I gotta go look.

 

[Orangutan]

How is that not a foul on Taurasi? Jas in defensive postition, DT steps into her and displaces her with both arms and the ball. DT gets away with murder in this league. Very classless taunting at the end.

It was a foul on Taurasi...the ref called it and Jasmine Thomas clapped in response. Taurasi didn't appreciate the clapping in her immediate vicinity hence the taunts in response later in the game. Usually, I'm on DT's case, but I found this entertaining. Maybe I'm going soft. But also I hate that demonstrative clapping in the other player's face after you get a call.

 

[psconn]

It was a foul on Taurasi...the ref called it and Jasmine Thomas clapped in response. Taurasi didn't appreciate the clapping in her immediate vicinity hence the taunts in response later in the game. Usually, I'm on DT's case, but I found this entertaining. Maybe I'm going soft. But also I hate that demonstrative clapping in the other player's face after you get a call.

Jas thought it was called on DT and looked down and clapped as if to say "finally you called it". The call was a foul on Thomas. Mercury ball. Then on the next Sun possession DT gets away with what should have been a flagrant foul on Jas after Jas blew by her. DT gets away with murder in this league and the refs are intimidated.

 

[Reypl21]

Jas thought it was called on DT and looked down and clapped as if to say "finally you called it". The call was a foul on Thomas. Mercury ball. Then on the next Sun possession DT gets away with what should have been a flagrant foul on Jas after Jas blew by her. DT gets away with murder in this league and the refs are intimidated.

I remember both plays. It looked like an offensive foul, but if they didn't call it I could understand. However, the foul was on Thomas. That perplexed me. Then that play where she stripped the ball very aggressively. The refs never even called that play a foul in real time. They called the ball going out of bounds and called it a foul only because of the uproar the play got. That play being a flagrant foul is debatable, but it being a regular foul is indisputable. How they missed it in real time is shocking.

 

[Orangutan]

Jas thought it was called on DT and looked down and clapped as if to say "finally you called it". The call was a foul on Thomas. Mercury ball. Then on the next Sun possession DT gets away with what should have been a flagrant foul on Jas after Jas blew by her. DT gets away with murder in this league and the refs are intimidated.

My apologies, I see now that it was called against Thomas. It looked so blatant an offensive foul! I am on the same page now.

I can understand why the refs might be intimidated. DT is not shy at giving refs a piece of her mind...

 

[triaddukefan]

How is that not a foul on Taurasi? Jas in defensive postition, DT steps into her and displaces her with both arms and the ball. DT gets away with murder in this league. Very classless taunting at the end.

Classless indeed.

 

[RockyMTblue2]

Jas thought it was called on DT and looked down and clapped as if to say "finally you called it". The call was a foul on Thomas. Mercury ball. Then on the next Sun possession DT gets away with what should have been a flagrant foul on Jas after Jas blew by her. DT gets away with murder in this league and the refs are intimidated.

Wrong. The defender stepped in too far. This foul has been confused time and again. Why do you think in a certain UConn SC game KML could shake the defender off and drain a 3. You don't like D, but it was no foul on D.

 

[EricLA]

LOL okay. Guess I shouldn't ask you how you feel about players' colorful sneaker collections.

Sneakers are awesome. But the uniforms that they seem to think show off their "assets" are ridiculous.

 

[EricLA]

Wrong. The defender stepped in too far. This foul has been confused time and again. Why do you think in a certain UConn SC game KML could shake the defender off and drain a 3. You don't like D, but it was no foul on D.

Bingo. This whole "the refs are afraid of Dee" is ridiculous. I couldn't find the stats for who had the most technicals this season, but Dee has to be near the top of the list. Sounds like a lot of whining because Dee's team won. Boohoo.

And she gets away with murder? In college, she routinely sported bruises because of the overly physical play teams employed against her. There is some of that in the pros too. She gets banged up almost as much as most post players in the league because she's the GOAT and still one of the best in the world and it's how they try to stop her.

I'm so glad Phx won. I'm glad Dee let her have it after the game. I'm glad Dee referenced the instagram picture that the Sun player put out there in her post game interview. Dee just lets her game do the talking, then afterwards, lets you know your gamesmanship was noticed, and beaten down. Some seem to want her to ignore it. Not in her DNA. Bravo, Dee - keep on being great!

 

[UConnCat]

Bingo. This whole "the refs are afraid of Dee" is ridiculous. I couldn't find the stats for who had the most technicals this season, but Dee has to be near the top of the list. Sounds like a lot of whining because Dee's team won. Boohoo.

And she gets away with murder? In college, she routinely sported bruises because of the overly physical play teams employed against her. There is some of that in the pros too. She gets banged up almost as much as most post players in the league because she's the GOAT and still one of the best in the world and it's how they try to stop her.

I'm so glad Phx won. I'm glad Dee let her have it after the game. I'm glad Dee referenced the instagram picture that the Sun player put out there in her post game interview. Dee just lets her game do the talking, then afterwards, lets you know your gamesmanship was noticed, and beaten down. Some seem to want her to ignore it. Not in her DNA. Bravo, Dee - keep on being great!

Bravo Eric. I've been critical of some of Dee's antics over the years but opponents have been banging her and baiting her since her college days. She didn't retaliate in college because she knew Geno would bench her and he did once against Rutgers after Dee clapped in the face of one of the best trash talkers ever, Tasha Pointer. Geno sat her for the rest of that game and famously told her and the team that there was room for only one [. ] on the team and that was him.

The pros have been different. No coach to rein her in and the teams know they can get under her skin and draw fouls if not technicals. The announcers talked about that last night as it was part of the Sun's strategy. All teams do it. She made the Sun pay for it last night.

 

[chrisphoto15]

Game photos are now posted - see more at JustShootingHoops.com

 

[psconn]

Wrong. The defender stepped in too far. This foul has been confused time and again. Why do you think in a certain UConn SC game KML could shake the defender off and drain a 3. You don't like D, but it was no foul on D.

"The opponent stepped in too far" is absurd. You see it in a trap situation alot as the defenders crowd into a player to the point of contact. The offensive player has no right to physically displace a defender in.

DT is the GOAT, the Merc are/were the better team. That doesn't change the fact the DT gets away with all kinds of BS that other players don't. Call it intimidation, call it "star treatment", it's real.

 

[Blueballer]

"The opponent stepped in too far" is absurd. You see it in a trap situation alot as the defenders crowd into a player to the point of contact. The offensive player has no right to physically displace a defender in.

DT is the GOAT, the Merc are/were the better team. That doesn't change the fact the DT gets away with all kinds of BS that other players don't. Call it intimidation, call it "star treatment", it's real.

Or call it experience and court savvy. And How does she "get away" with it when she generally gets more technicals than any other player? Unfortunatey the day of being nice while playing basketball is long gone. D isn't going to win any sportmanship awards but she is playing to win and takes no prisoners. Watch LA play sometime and notice how Beard mugs the hell out of people because of her great defensive player "reputation". Talk about getting away with murder.

 

[MilfordHusky]

Or call it experience and court savvy. And How does she "get away" with it when she generally gets more technicals than any other player? Unfortunatey the day of being nice while playing basketball is long gone. D isn't going to win any sportmanship awards but she is playing to win and takes no prisoners. Watch LA play sometime and notice how Beard mugs the hell out of people because of her great defensive player "reputation". Talk about getting away with murder.

In my opinion, Parker and Nneka also get the star treatment. Nneka could have gotten 2 technicals the other night, but got none.

 

[UConnCat]

In one game during the season Dee committed a foul, tripped and fell and rolled over after hitting the floor. For that, she was given a technical. Yup, she gets away with murder.