Indiana vs LA

[Geew1992]

Interesting no one brought this up...

LA lost 78-76.

 

[UConnCat]

Indiana has 3 wins so far this season, 2 in the past couple of weeks against Minnesota and LA.

LA without Nneka and Beard, but still . . .

 

[Geew1992]

Indiana has 3 wins so far this season, 2 in the past couple of weeks against Minnesota and LA.

LA without Nneka and Beard, but still . . .

I didn’t realize they were without Neka.

 

[Carnac]

I didn’t realize they were without Neka.

I attended this game. KLS was there also to watch and support sister Karlie. The Sparks never got in rhythm. Both teams missed a lot of easy shots. I knew LA was in trouble after the first half as the Fever were only down by 3, 50-47. The Sparks should have put them away at that point.

Things got worse in the 3rd quarter, the wheels came off. The Fever our scored the Sparks by 15, to take a 12 point lead into the 4th quarter. That's when we knew the Sparks were in serious danger of losing this game. The fact that not only were they still in the game, but they had a 12 point lead made the Fever play that much harder. Remember, the Fever had only won 2 games all year to that point. Any win would be nice, but a road win against the team that played in the championship finals last year would come with whipped cream and cherries.

It came down to the last shot that Candace Parker took under the basket that did not fall. It appeared that she was fouled, but did not get the call (I'm watching this live from the stands about 35 yards away - I have not seen a replay). The view you see on TV is much better than mine. It may have looked like a foul to the fans on the other end of the arena in the upper level as well. Too far away to tell. The Sparks fought and clawed their way back only to fall short by 2 at the end. The veterans (Dupree, Achonwa and Pondexter) came through for the Fever scoring a combined 47 points. The Mitchell's (Kelsey & Tiffany) added 14 off the bench. Nneka Ogwumike was not at the game.

The Fever play the Aces in Las Vegas on Sunday. The Sparks travel to Chicago to play the Sky who are fresh off of opening up a can on the Dallas Wings to the tune of 114 points, their highest point total of the season.

Fun fact - did you know ........................ All WNBA teams fly commercially? They are often subjected to rigorous travel patterns as they navigate the course of the regular season.

NBA teams, of course, charter planes, but without the requisite revenue for private aircrafts, WNBA teams must catch the first commercial flight available to their destination after games. That could mean a more conventional evening flight after a matinee. It could mean a red-eye after an evening start.

Or it could mean an early flight the following morning, which is particularly detrimental on the second night of a back-to-back.

The point, however, still stands. “Of course it would be great if we could travel private, leave after games and stuff,” Tamera Young (Aces) said. “Not having to have the extra wait time in airports. … Even the seat comforting. Being with your teammates. It’d make a difference.

Aces coach Bill Laimbeer said. “So far this season, nobody’s had any major problems.”
Laimbeer flew commercially during part of his playing career with the Detroit Pistons, who in 1988 were the first NBA team to implement charter flights.

 

[eebmg]

Any day CP3 muffs a game is a good day. The last play (at least with the camera angle from League Pass) had minimal contact and calling that in the final second would have been absurd (imho )

 

[HuskyFan1125]

Go Fever!!! Anytime LA loses Im happy!

 

[bballnut90]

Really bad loss by LA...guards were nonexistent most of the night. Parker was excellent in the first and fourth, settled for jump shots in the 3rd. When she takes the ball aggressively to the basket and posts hard, she’s virtually unguardable because she’s so good around the basket. She draws a ton of attention which creates great looks for her teammates. Agler really needs to hound her on staying in attack mode rather than settling for jumpers.

Last play was a wild scramble. I didn’t think Parker was fouled to the point where it commanded a whistle in the final seconds, but I thought Carson was fouled pretty hard earlier on the play. That said, Fever flat out played harder and deserved the win. Great showings by the vets on their roster. Couldn’t help but be happy for Cappie to have a great game against the team that cut her.

Also worth noting, Kelsey Mitchell nailed a half court bomb to end the third. Ended up being the difference in the game.

Looking forward, LA is still in the thick of it and can finish in 2nd. With how inconsistent everyone has been this year (sans Seattle and Indiana), this could end up being a very costly game.

 

[MilfordHusky]

From the box score, it looked as if Parker took over in the 4th, but L.A. was too far back to win. A loss to Indy is bad. I’m not sure L.A. can turn it on when they need to. They have the talent to be dangerous, of course, but several players are having subpar stretches.

 

[bballnut90]

From the box score, it looked as if Parker took over in the 4th, but L.A. was too far back to win. A loss to Indy is bad. I’m not sure L.A. can turn it on when they need to. They have the talent to be dangerous, of course, but several players are having subpar stretches.

Sparks definitely coasted in the 3rd and then put on the jets in the 4th. A switch went off for Parker and she was stellar dissecting Indy’s defense. The issue for the Sparks is maintaining that intensity and urgency during the middle quarters. I think they felt this was a game they had won before they started, so they coasted after they had a hot start and it came back to bite them.

I think Sims is the x-factor for this team going forward. You know what you’ll get from the big 3, and usually one of Carson/Beard/Lavender steps up, but Sims has been pretty awful much of the year. Missed a few good looks yesterday including a wide open layup. Last year she was stellar during their end of season/playoff run. They need that Sims to return.

 

[Carnac]

From the box score, it looked as if Parker took over in the 4th, but L.A. was too far back to win. A loss to Indy is bad. I’m not sure L.A. can turn it on when they need to. They have the talent to be dangerous, of course, but several players are having subpar stretches.

Nneka Ogwumike missed her second game with "an undisclosed illness ", and Alana Beard is sidelined with a groin injury, listed as day to day.

Anytime you take two starters out of your lineup, the overall effectiveness and chemistry of the starting unit will be diminished. The starting unit was out of sync just as UConn would have been had Kia and Gabby been out at the same time last year for 3-4 games. Stevens and Walker would have been their replacements. Kyla or Molly being the 6th man.

I remember several starters rejoicing at KML's return to the lineup after being sidelined for 12 games with a shoulder injury. If you remember, Gabby and Brianna Banks were used as replacements during her absence. A couple of starters remarked that it was not the same without her. We all loved Gabby and Brianna, but we were all glad and excited when KML returned to the lineup.