John A.: Atlanta Dream happy with Tiff

[pap49cba]

LINK

And this from Jim Fuller....

 

[OneTrickPony]

I can tell you, we are very happy to have Tiffany down here in Atlanta...can you send us a few more?

 

[EricLA]

i'm not sure if Kelly will be drafted or not, but certainly Bria and Stef, then KML and Kiah, then Breanna, Moriah and Morgan!

 

[UcMiami]

I think Kelly will get drafted. She is never going to be a primary scorer, but she is a great glue player and I think some WNBA GMs are smart enough to see that.

 

[VAMike23]

Could not be more thrilled for Tiff! Never have I seen a player who gives more of herself on the court than Tiffany Hayes. GO TIPHAYES3 !!!!!!!

 

[MilfordHusky]

Tiff's shot was off early in the season. I think the mask for the broken nose was a factor. She's been shooting well the past 2-3 weeks.

We all know she is very fast and plays extremely hard.

 

[HoopsHoppy]

"she’s been working on her three-point shooting. She had a couple the other night against San Antonio and a few against Seattle. She is increasing her range, too.”

How much further out could Tiff go - she always liked the 25 -26 footer?

 

[DEK1234]

Some players who were selected ahead of Tiffany aren't producing the way she has. So first round or second round, it didn't matter. Atlanta has truly been a great fit for Tiffany.

I think Kelly can definitely get drafted. Judging by some of the choices made in the draft in the past, I can't see how Kelly could be seen as less than a valuable asset. I know her scoring isn't the highest, but she's just too good on defense.

 

[OneTrickPony]

Some players who were selected ahead of Tiffany aren't producing the way she has. So first round or second round, it didn't matter. Atlanta has truly been a great fit for Tiffany.

I think Kelly can definitely get drafted. Judging by some of the choices made in the draft in the past, I can't see how Kelly could be seen as less than a valuable asset. I know her scoring isn't the highest, but she's just too good on defense.

I mentioned on another thread that I'd love to see Kelly here in Atlanta...she's Ron Artest without all the loose screws...

 

[Icebear]

I have absolutely no doubt that Kelly will be drafted and will make a roster. I will be stunned if she does not.

 

[grizz36]

I mentioned on another thread that I'd love to see Kelly here in Atlanta...she's Ron Artest without all the loose screws...

Love it!

 

[MilfordHusky]

I mentioned on another thread that I'd love to see Kelly here in Atlanta...she's Ron Artest without all the loose screws...

I, too, love it. I hadn't thought abouut her that way, but it's right on.

Her FG shooting is only average, but everything else is superior. She will be a WNBA player. She will practice harder than her teammates.

 

[wire chief]

Two cents--Yes, Tiff is doing great & I'm thrilled for her.
And yes, Kelly will be drafted. If you have started for UConn for 3 years, you must be good.

 

[Goodies07]

Tiffany has really started to come into her own. I'm very happy for her.

As for Kelly, I don't doubt she'll be drafted. If she lands in the right situation she'll stick. Right now she is an Alexis Hornbuckle in the league-a good rebounder for a guard, good defender, fairly athletic...but sort of a tweener who can't shoot.

 

[RadyLady]

So happy for Tiff that she is doing well, and very proud of her.

Kelly not get drafted? please.... and I bet she scores more in the WNBA

 

[Husky Luv]

I can tell you, we are very happy to have Tiffany down here in Atlanta...can you send us a few more?

I totally agree. That made my Season Tickets a whole lot special.

 

[CamrnCrz1974]

I have absolutely no doubt that Kelly will be drafted and will make a roster. I will be stunned if she does not.

Playing (blue) devil's advocate here, what WNBA skill(s) do you think Kelly possesses? In my estimation (and let me qualify this by freely admitting you have undoubtedly seen her more than I have), she is a great ball facilitator (i.e., not the point guard, but someone who could rack up hockey assists). And she certainly has more hustle than 99 percent of players out there. She can defend bigger than her height.

But in terms of ability to create off the dribble, being a shooter/scorer, etc., what do you think Kelly brings to the table? For example, what separates Faris apart from someone like Purdue's Brittany Rayburn (I was trying to come up with a good example of a possible player comparison which might help with your analysis, since I do not see Faris play as often as you do and I have never seen her play in person)?

I see her getting drafted; to me, making a roster is the bigger issue. Then again, I did not think Duke's Krystal Thomas would make a WNBA roster (given she looks very much like the player I saw in high school), but she is 6-4 and Phoenix has a tight salary cap due to paying Penny Taylor this year. Would she make another team? Maybe. Maybe not.

 

[OneTrickPony]

Playing (blue) devil's advocate here, what WNBA skill(s) do you think Kelly possesses? In my estimation (and let me qualify this by freely admitting you have undoubtedly seen her more than I have), she is a great ball facilitator (i.e., not the point guard, but someone who could rack up hockey assists). And she certainly has more hustle than 99 percent of players out there. She can defend bigger than her height.

But in terms of ability to create off the dribble, being a shooter/scorer, etc., what do you think Kelly brings to the table? For example, what separates Faris apart from someone like Purdue's Brittany Rayburn (I was trying to come up with a good example of a possible player comparison which might help with your analysis, since I do not see Faris play as often as you do and I have never seen her play in person)?

I see her getting drafted; to me, making a roster is the bigger issue. Then again, I did not think Duke's Krystal Thomas would make a WNBA roster (given she looks very much like the player I saw in high school), but she is 6-4 and Phoenix has a tight salary cap due to paying Penny Taylor this year. Would she make another team? Maybe. Maybe not.

I see why there is no "D" in the ACC...

At the professional level, being able to bring a lock-down defender on the court is extremely valuable. That's why people like Dennis Rodman and Ron Artest have been key ingredients on some dominating teams.

The fact that Kelly can defend the 1, 2 & 3 at the professional level...regardless of their size...is an added benefit. If I have the luxury of 10 to 12 players, I want at least one lock-down defender available at all times...irrespective of their offensive contributions. The fact that she's an effective distributor and offensive rebounder is just more in the plus column. And she can be an effective shooter if she doesn't have to play 35 minutes at the 4 against much bigger players...I think you'll see much better offensive production this year with some size on the roster.

 

[Goodies07]

I see why there is no "D" in the ACC...

At the professional level, being able to bring a lock-down defender on the court is extremely valuable. That's why people like Dennis Rodman and Ron Artest have been key ingredients on some dominating teams.

The fact that Kelly can defend the 1, 2 & 3 at the professional level...regardless of their size...is an added benefit. If I have the luxury of 10 to 12 players, I want at least one lock-down defender available at all times...irrespective of their offensive contributions. The fact that she's an effective distributor and offensive rebounder is just more in the plus column. And she can be an effective shooter if she doesn't have to play 35 minutes at the 4 against much bigger players...I think you'll see much better offensive production this year with some size on the roster.

I don't see anyone keeping her due to her defense. There just aren't enough roster spots in the WNBA for a player who doesn't really produce much offensively...especially a guard. And from what we've seen, she hasn't done that very consistently. She has some things to prove this season.

 

[OneTrickPony]

I don't see anyone keeping her due to her defense. There just aren't enough roster spots in the WNBA for a player who doesn't really produce much offensively...especially a guard. And from what we've seen, she hasn't done that very consistently. She has some things to prove this season.

Time will tell...

 

[JoePgh]

Kelly will be drafted (I think late in the first round) and will make a team, and play 15-20 minutes per game. There are a number of examples of backcourt players who are not major point-producers who are having good careers in the W. Locally, one can point to the examples of Allison Hightower and Kalana Greene, both of whom start for the 15-4 Connecticut Sun -- sending Renee Montgomery to the bench. They are both "Kelly-like" players -- great defense, lots of hustle and team play, and passing. I think Kelly is a much better passer than either of them.

Another example is Armintie Price, the starting point guard for the Atlanta Dream. Not much of a jump shot, but a great penetrator, defender, and hustle player. Even Lindsay Whalen was not a great outside shooter until she had been in the league for several years.

I also think that it's important to be clear about Kelly's offensive limitations. Really, her only weakness is jump shooting. Other offensive skills -- passing, penetrating, rebounding from the guard position, and decision-making -- are all definitely at the WNBA level, if not the WNBA All-Star level. She will contribute to any offense, although it is true that most of her scoring will be on driving layups and putbacks.

 

[OneTrickPony]

Kelly will be drafted (I think late in the first round) and will make a team, and play 15-20 minutes per game. There are a number of examples of backcourt players who are not major point-producers who are having good careers in the W. Locally, one can point to the examples of Allison Hightower and Kalana Greene, both of whom start for the 15-4 Connecticut Sun -- sending Renee Montgomery to the bench. They are both "Kelly-like" players -- great defense, lots of hustle and team play, and passing. I think Kelly is a much better passer than either of them.

Another example is Armintie Price, the starting point guard for the Atlanta Dream. Not much of a jump shot, but a great penetrator, defender, and hustle player. Even Lindsay Whalen was not a great outside shooter until she had been in the league for several years.

I also think that it's important to be clear about Kelly's offensive limitations. Really, her only weakness is jump shooting. Other offensive skills -- passing, penetrating, rebounding from the guard position, and decision-making -- are all definitely at the WNBA level, if not the WNBA All-Star level. She will contribute to any offense, although it is true that most of her scoring will be on driving layups and putbacks.

And I think her jump shot will improve when she doesn't have to spend 35 minutes bodying up centers and power forwards...

 

[CamrnCrz1974]

At the professional level, being able to bring a lock-down defender on the court is extremely valuable. That's why people like Dennis Rodman and Ron Artest have been key ingredients on some dominating teams.

The fact that Kelly can defend the 1, 2 & 3 at the professional level...regardless of their size...is an added benefit. If I have the luxury of 10 to 12 players, I want at least one lock-down defender available at all times...irrespective of their offensive contributions. The fact that she's an effective distributor and offensive rebounder is just more in the plus column. And she can be an effective shooter if she doesn't have to play 35 minutes at the 4 against much bigger players...I think you'll see much better offensive production this year with some size on the roster.

Rodman is one of the best rebounders in the history of the game. He led the NBA in rebounds per game for a record seven consecutive years. His career average of 13.1 rebounds per game is better than Dwight Howard, Charles Barkley, Tim Duncan, etc. He was not just a lock-down defender; he was the best rebounder in the NBA looking back at the last 40 years.

Artest/MWP, for all of his mental issues and off-court (and on-court) shenanigans, is a supreme athlete (with tremendous upper body strength) who was a scorer before he went to the Lakers (he averaged over 18 points per game for the previous seven seasons before joining the Lakers).

Solely being a defender without bringing a professional level skillset in another area is not usually enough. And with the roster size limited to 11 players, there is no room for someone to only be a defender, "irrespective of their offensive contributions."

Regarding your statement that "she can be an effective shooter if she doesn't have to play 35 minutes at the 4 against much bigger players," last year, when she was the de factor four, was actually Kelly's best year as far as shooting percentages (43.8 percent from the floor, 31.5 percent from three).

Nevertheless, teams do keep certain players on the roster who are only "shooters" who really cannot do much of anything else, as far as a professional skillset is concerned (Laurie Koehn and Erin Thorn come to mind, though Thorn did learn to diversify her game at some ponit with the Liberty). So there is always a chance.

 

[CamrnCrz1974]

Kelly will be drafted (I think late in the first round) and will make a team, and play 15-20 minutes per game. There are a number of examples of backcourt players who are not major point-producers who are having good careers in the W. Locally, one can point to the examples of Allison Hightower and Kalana Greene, both of whom start for the 15-4 Connecticut Sun -- sending Renee Montgomery to the bench. They are both "Kelly-like" players -- great defense, lots of hustle and team play, and passing. I think Kelly is a much better passer than either of them.

Another example is Armintie Price, the starting point guard for the Atlanta Dream. Not much of a jump shot, but a great penetrator, defender, and hustle player. Even Lindsay Whalen was not a great outside shooter until she had been in the league for several years.

Price is not the starting point guard; Lindsey Harding is.

Price is also one of the best athletes in the WNBA; her level of athleticism and speed are off the charts. She has used this to become one of the best rebounding guards in the WNBA and to be a great finisher at the rim. But to describe her as a defender and hustle player does not take into account her world-class athleticism.

As for Kalana Greene, she is another superior athlete, who fits in nicely with Charles, Jones, and Lawson, who are the primary scorers. But again, she is not merely a defender or a player who hustles; she has superior athleticism which she is able to use to carve out a spot for herself.

I do not see Kelly having a skillset on par with the level of athleticism and speed that Price and Greene possess. I freely admit I may be wrong, as you (the general "you") see her play more times than I have (and probably both in person and on television). I see her getting drafted and maybe making a roster for one year, but I do not see her as a having that long of a WNBA career. She might be best going to a team with serious salary cap issues who can only take on a player on the rookie salary scale who was drafted in the second round (the WNBA has a hard salary cap, unlike the NBA).

 

[UConnCat]

Ashley Battle is a former UConn player who was known more as a defender than scorer in college. I consider Kelly to be a better defender, better ball-handler and a much better play-maker (no comparison when it comes to assists) than Ashley. Their shooting accuracy is about the same. Ashley managed to play a few years in the WNBA but struggled with her shooting.