July WNBA thread | Page 3 | The Boneyard

July WNBA thread

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TheFarmFan said:
I know DT gets a lot of homer love around here, but I have long found her comportment to be pretty obnoxious, in contrast to so many other Huskies legends who comport themselves with grace, style, and good humor: Stewie, Bird, Pheesa, Maya, and on and on. As for Diggins, all I can say is at least DT backs up her attitude with results. I've always thought Diggins has more attitude than she's earned the right to have, and it's actually only seemed to get worse over the years.
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I just said as much on another thread, TheFarmFan. Big Momma will get riled up occasionally, and lots of others will have their moments, but DT is in a class by herself among UConn grads for her comportment, which I'd say is often obnoxious (dropping the pretty).
 
TheFarmFan said:
I know DT gets a lot of homer love around here, but I have long found her comportment to be pretty obnoxious, in contrast to so many other Huskies legends who comport themselves with grace, style, and good humor: Stewie, Bird, Pheesa, Maya, and on and on. As for Diggins, all I can say is at least DT backs up her attitude with results. I've always thought Diggins has more attitude than she's earned the right to have, and it's actually only seemed to get worse over the years.
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I don't know about that one. This has been largely a disappointing season for DT but Skylar has been really impactful this season and is a huge reason why the Mercury isn't fighting for last place with the Fever.
 
RE: MVP race.

Agree it's hard to parse out right now. The best teams thus far have been Chicago, Vegas, and CT, all of whom are either super deep (Chicago has SEVEN players averaging between 13.9ppg and 9.4ppg; CT has six players averaging between 14.9ppg and 8.6ppg); or have 5 legitimate all stars in their starting five (Vegas).

Stewart is far and away best player on her team (and maybe in the league), but her team has been inconsistent.

I think it likely comes down to Stewart or Wilson again.

FWIW--i am a huge fan of Nneka, and even though i don't think she's in MVP conversation, she's on my WNBA all first team right now.
 
eebmg said:
I really did not think of her early career but only more recently where she was invisible. The last 6 games (until the Mercury game, she has been really strong on the boards and looking dangerous in the post and mid range. She seems healthy and the NBA stuff I guess she is not spending time on so maybe can concentrate on her WNBA gig.
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Chiney also hadn't played a full season in the WNBA since 2019. She sat out 2020, played only 7 games in 2021. So seems like she's starting to get her timing/feel back this year, but she has a specific role for the team off the bench.
 
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TheFarmFan said:
I know DT gets a lot of homer love around here, but I have long found her comportment to be pretty obnoxious, in contrast to so many other Huskies legends who comport themselves with grace, style, and good humor: Stewie, Bird, Pheesa, Maya, and on and on. As for Diggins, all I can say is at least DT backs up her attitude with results. I've always thought Diggins has more attitude than she's earned the right to have, and it's actually only seemed to get worse over the years.
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??? If you exchange information with me on what years of the Stanford-ND rivalry got this bug into your golf hat, I can start doing some more thorough research. ;)

Not back it up? She just passed 4,000 pts scored in the league; is averaging 19.1 ppg, fourth in the league on 45.2% shooting overall, which is better than the three above her. On top of that she's shooting a very solid 86.3 % from the FT line which is good because she gets there so often (maybe that's because the refs don't want to offend her :eek:). And while folks are always subjective, a committee chose to have her on the U.S.A. Olympic team and she just made the All-Star team for 2022.

Skylar's intense -- there's no doubt about that (I can see how she can rub some folks the wrong way at times). But she works really, really hard to stay (more than) competitive, which both announcers brought up again and again last night. And Jaden Ivey, Niele's son, gives her credit for making him work hard and harder in practices.

Lastly, I've met her on multiple occasions and while she's not the most outwardly friendly player of the ND pros, she's straight-forward, polite and gives some thought to her answers. Oh, btw, she always comes back to practice and work with current ND players.
 
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Seattle over IND 44-35 at half. Gabby with 2 impressive back to back finger rolls at the front of the rim. But basically Jewell's game so far
 
Dillon77 said:
??? If you exchange information with me on what years of the Stanford-ND rivalry got this bug into your golf hat, I can start doing some more thorough research. ;)

Not back it up? She just passed 4,000 pts scored in the league; is averaging 19.1 ppg, fourth in the league on 45.2% shooting overall, which is better than the three above her. On top of that she's shooting a very solid 86.3 % from the FT line which is good because she gets there so often (maybe that's because the refs don't want to offend her :eek:). And while folks are always subjective, a committee chose to have her on the U.S.A. Olympic team and she just made the All-Star team for 2022.

Skylar's intense -- there's no doubt about that. But she works really, really hard to stay (more than) competitive, which both announcers brought up again and again last night. And Jaden Ivey, Niele's son, gives her credit for making him work hard and harder in practices.

Lastly, I've met her on multiple occasions and while she's not the most outwardly friendly player of the ND pros, she's straight-forward, polite and gives some thought to her answers. Oh, btw, she always comes back to practice and work with current ND players.
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Skylar is arguably the best guard in the league right now. and this is a year after being named to the WNBA first team (a team she's been on 3x).
 
eebmg said:
Seattle over IND 44-35 at half. Gabby with 2 impressive back to back finger rolls at the front of the rim. But basically Jewell's game so far
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Gabby bringing alot of defensive energy to the game. Indiana's announcer suitably impressed.

 
After pulling out a close one at home against the Mystics, the Sun travel to Dallas and come up a bit short. Dallas goes big - using both Satou Sabally and Teaira McCowan (14 pts. each) -- along with the three-pronged guard attack of Ogunbowale, Gray and Mabrey and pulls out an 82-71 win. Solid victory at home for Dallas, after the home loss to the Sparks a few days back.
 
Sorry, I should have clarified - DT has 3 college rings, 3 W rings, and 5 gold medals. And she struts like someone who does. Diggins has no titles and one gold medal. So I guess I tolerate DT's theatrics as at least well earned, if not well merited. Diggins is definitely having a great season, no doubt, but she's had this "I've been wronged" attitude her whole career. Maybe she picked it up from her former coach... Like many around these parts, I wasn't much of a fan of that former coach's comportment, either...
 
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always liked Diggins as a player since College, I think she has always lacked help so is really unfair to say she hasn't won anything. Let's not forget Taurasi before she had Griner went through a long spell of not winning a title. Same with Sue Bird before she got Stewart. Who is the best player Diggins has played with in her career? Nobody that comes close to those 2 players.
 
LoTrader said:
Haven't watched a WNBA game for awhile, but I'm amazed at how often DT & Diggins-Smith complain to the refs? If something doesn't go their way the first thing they do is whine.
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If you were a regular watcher of WNBA games you'd be less amazed.
 
jchusky said:
always liked Diggins as a player since College, I think she has always lacked help so is really unfair to say she hasn't won anything. Let's not forget Taurasi before she had Griner went through a long spell of not winning a title. Same with Sue Bird before she got Stewart. Who is the best player Diggins has played with in her career? Nobody that comes close to those 2 players.
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well, she played with DT and Griner last year; and they got to the finals.
 
jchusky said:
always liked Diggins as a player since College, I think she has always lacked help so is really unfair to say she hasn't won anything. Let's not forget Taurasi before she had Griner went through a long spell of not winning a title. Same with Sue Bird before she got Stewart. Who is the best player Diggins has played with in her career? Nobody that comes close to those 2 players.
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Pretty sure she had a pretty good team around her, her senior year. Beat UCONN twice. But choked in the semis.
 
Geew1992 said:
Pretty sure she had a pretty good team around her, her senior year. Beat UCONN twice. But choked in the semis.
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Beat UConn three times actually, including in the 2013 Big East Championship game which is Diggins-Smith's one championship.

She had enough talent around her to get to 3 straight Final Fours. The 2011 loss to aTm in the championship game was unexpected and one that got away. The loss to Baylor in the 2012 championship game was expected -- Baylor was just better. I wouldn't say Diggins "choked" (I'm not a fan of ever saying that about athletes) against UConn in the 2013 FF; UConn defended her very well.

Diggins-Smith's future with USA Basketball will be interesting to watch. She looked a bit overwhelmed in the few minutes she played in Tokyo.
 
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I get the no love lost for Diggins on this board but she is definitely a fierce competitor.

What I liked about her at ND is she didn't back down from UConn when she played them. There was no fear and this attitude carried over to her teammates and program. Do/did I like ND? Nope, but their games with UConn brought back the memories of the games with UT and certainly brought attention to the sport. I found myself rooting for Diggins a few games.

I don't know if she is the PG in waiting for Team USA as her play was a little erratic at times. She is one of the best guards in the league and doesn't seem to be a bad teammate. That being said she complains, a lot, just like some other players. I prefer players to just keep quiet and play the game.
 
Interesting. Story by Howard Megdal who is very good. Behind a paywall.

Referring to her coach as a clown on twitter probably didn't help.

Tough spot for Nygaard given the stuff with Griner but she seems in over her head.

 
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UConnCat said:
Interesting. Story by Howard Megdal who is very good. Behind a paywall.

Referring to her coach as a clown on twitter probably didn't help.

Tough spot for Nygaard given the stuff with Griner but she seems in over her head.

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Good points. I wonder if management is second guessing their decision to let their previous coach go now?
 
UConnCat said:
Interesting. Story by Howard Megdal who is very good. Behind a paywall.

Referring to her coach as a clown on twitter probably didn't help.

Tough spot for Nygaard given the stuff with Griner but she seems in over her head.

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Brondello wasn't a favorite by many who felt they underachieved with DT, Griner, and later SDS. Maybe it was time for her to go. Sadly the Griner situation was impossible for the organization to predict and there really isn't anything they can do about it.

However, Nygard's (sp) hire was a head scratcher for sure given her lack of experience. I'm not saying she shouldn't have the job but someone who was a proven commodity with the organization and was accused, fairly or not, about not having won more, was let go for someone with no head coaching experience at the collegegiate or professional level. I think there would have been other takers for a roster with 3 Olympians who just came out of a finals appearance.

Sometimes it's best for organizations to cut their losses and move on. Sometimes players are the problem and need a move, but this could be 2 future HOF players who have been removed from the roster since the first of the season. That should raise some eyebrows.
 
What a great win by Minny today. Down the stretch it sort of felt like they were trying to give the game away - slim lead, turnovers, etc.

Then with 5 seconds left, up 3 and with a foul to give, sort of mystifying why they didn't try to disrupt Chicago's offense by fouling. Left Quigley wide open with no one within 3 feet of her, and got lucky that she missed the 3 to tie the game.

Still, 2 great wins in a row by them - pound town over Vegas the other day and a squeaker today.

in fact, in their last 9 games they have 4 losses but... to the Storm by 2, To Vegas twice by 1 and 6, and to Chicago by 3. They are trending in the right direction and showing they can be competitive with anyone.
 
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Did Jefferson and Sloot cancel each other out? 4 pts/6 assists for Jefferson and 2 pts/5 assists for Sloot.
 
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cancontent said:
Good points. I wonder if management is second guessing their decision to let their previous coach go now?
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They have to be. Brondello led the team to the finals last year and they let her go! To make matters worse they replaced her with a coach whose only head coaching experience was at the high school level. What role did Diana have in Nygaard's hiring?

Bottom line is the team is a mess. Charles wanted out for a reason. Taurasi's best days are behind her and her effort has been lacking. Diggins-Smith has been the team's best player by a lot this season and she recently called her coach a clown on twitter. Nygaard deserved to be called out but then rightly apologized. The team removed the tweet (video) Diggins-Smith objected to but yet Skylar still hasn't taken down her tweet with the clown emoji. The coach has lost control of the team.

Meanwhile, Diggins-Smith has just made her twitter account private. LOL
 
We will take that win here in Minnesota. The Lynx seems to be putting the pieces together. Seem to have a good rotation and everyone understanding their roles on the team. Plus, it helps that we got Sylvia Fowles back from injury, Kayla McBride being her consistent self with the solid 14-16 a night, and Aerial Powers playing on another level. When players are making their shots, everything looks and feels better. Well done, Minnesota!!
 
JellyBean said:
We will take that win here in Minnesota. The Lynx seems to be putting the pieces together. Seem to have a good rotation and everyone understanding their roles on the team. Plus, it helps that we got Sylvia Fowles back from injury, Kayla McBride being her consistent self with the solid 14-16 a night, and Aerial Powers playing on another level. When players are making their shots, everything looks and feels better. Well done, Minnesota!!
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They healthier all around. Having Dantas and Achonwa back helped to stabilize the post/forward position too. Glad to see with this being Fowles final season.
 
nwhoopfan said:
Did Jefferson and Sloot cancel each other out? 4 pts/6 assists for Jefferson and 2 pts/5 assists for Sloot.
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Pretty much. They pretty much went stat line for stat line.
 
JellyBean said:
We will take that win here in Minnesota. The Lynx seems to be putting the pieces together. Seem to have a good rotation and everyone understanding their roles on the team. Plus, it helps that we got Sylvia Fowles back from injury, Kayla McBride being her consistent self with the solid 14-16 a night, and Aerial Powers playing on another level. When players are making their shots, everything looks and feels better. Well done, Minnesota!!
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cancontent said:
They healthier all around. Having Dantas and Achonwa back helped to stabilize the post/forward position too. Glad to see with this being Fowles final season.
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Keeping the roles consistent and understandable always helps: good move by Coach Reeve.

Dantas and Achonwa most certainly help provide depth and consistency up-front to back up Big Syl, but the person who seems to both be enjoying and very effective in her super-sub role is Jess Shepard. Her drive "and one" today late in the game was crucial as were 6 rebounds.

Powers, of course, has been in 6th gear on a five-speed bike the last few games.
 
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