Lynx win, 88-74

[wire chief]

Thanks, Cam, for seeing that which I don't recognize.

 

[CamrnCrz1974]

Thanks, Cam, for seeing that which I don't recognize.

Were you talking about my Charde post? Think that got buried on the bottom of the first page.

 

[Icebear]

I had the chance to watch portions of the Sunday game. Some of it did not DVR because of storms killing my DirecTV signal. Most of what I saw was in the second half. I will gladly admit that I enjoyed watching Minnesota and their style of ball which is much better than what I remember from 4-5 years ago. I cannot say as much for Atlanta but given how hot Angel was there was little need for anything except for her to go one on one. Problem is once they cooled her off Atlanta was stuck and didn't find any other good options.

The interior pick and rolls and screens and flow of Minnisota was solid and the type of basketball I enjoy. Reliance was on getting a player open and getting the ball to that opportunity to exploit it. I still like Whalen's game.

 

[DaddyChoc]

Whalen is awesome...great vision and smoothly attacks the basket

 

[Icebear]

Whalen is awesome...great vision and smoothly attacks the basket

Yeah, and when she gets that whirling dervish thing going who knows where she is going to go or do. I just start cracking up.

 

[DaddyChoc]

reminds me of Steve Nash (of course you dont know how he plays cause he's in the NBA) joking, but it might be true.

 

[VAMike23]

Nice piece of video today on the Star Tribune site, with a collection of short interviews from players including Maya. Most notable were Seimone's comments at the end, about just how important it would be to win the Championship...

LINK

 

[EricLA]

that was a very nice article. i am curious if anyone knows - are there any WNBA franchises that actually make money? i'm not talking about smoke and mirrors that allow for write offs that "show" a loss, but teams that really do draw enough fans and sponsorships to be profitable?

 

[CamrnCrz1974]

reminds me of Steve Nash (of course you dont know how he plays cause he's in the NBA) joking, but it might be true.

I can see where you are going with your comparison. Whalen likes to push pace and drive like Nash. However, she is nowhere near the shooter Nash is (check the number of players in the 50-40-90 club and how many seasons Nash has put up those numbers). And, while Whalen has good court vision, Nash's court vision is exceptional.

But I see where you were going with the comparison, as far as driving through/around the lane, the reverse layups, etc.

 

[CamrnCrz1974]

that was a very nice article. i am curious if anyone knows - are there any WNBA franchises that actually make money? i'm not talking about smoke and mirrors that allow for write offs that "show" a loss, but teams that really do draw enough fans and sponsorships to be profitable?

The Connecticut Sun. Others may be as well (the linked article lists the Sun as the first team to turn a profit, but a WNBA insider has said that others have done so - could be an accounting measure; for example, counting the shared NBA/WNBA personnel on the NBA side, rather than on both or through a proportionality mechanism).

Phoenix, for example, has done a great job with individual sponsorships - the three-year deal (2009, 2010, and 2011) with LifeLock was worth at least $1 million annually. The Mercury also have a deal with Verizon (the league just announced a deal with Boost Mobile for 10 of the 12 teams, as San Antonio and Phoenix have separate wireless deals). Given that the salary cap for the past three years was/is $800,000, the annual deal with LifeLock covers salaries for the Mercury players. If Phoenix is not turning a profit, it is close.

 

[VAMike23]

Should be a very interesting game tonight. De Souza is back and will put Atlanta at full strength in the middle.

Hopefully Maya and the Lynx will still find a way to win. The fun thing about them is, it's often a different cast of characters that leads the way in scoring from night to night. We'll see what happens....!

 

[Scotter]

Atlanta's team play was also hurt by missing their starting center in DeSouza. Missing her takes away some of the more team orientated aspects of their offense. They are capable of more high/low and cutting basketball than they showed in that game. At times they are far better passing team than anyone including me expects.

I had the chance to watch portions of the Sunday game. Some of it did not DVR because of storms killing my DirecTV signal. Most of what I saw was in the second half. I will gladly admit that I enjoyed watching Minnesota and their style of ball which is much better than what I remember from 4-5 years ago. I cannot say as much for Atlanta but given how hot Angel was there was little need for anything except for her to go one on one. Problem is once they cooled her off Atlanta was stuck and didn't find any other good options.

The interior pick and rolls and screens and flow of Minnisota was solid and the type of basketball I enjoy. Reliance was on getting a player open and getting the ball to that opportunity to exploit it. I still like Whalen's game.

 

[VAMike23]

Game time for Game 2 - we shall see what both teams are made of.

Once again, Rebecca on color

 

[VAMike23]

Maya guarding Angel

 

[speedoo]

Seimone is really putting on a show. She is really a fabulous offensive player.. Wonderful moves.

 

[VAMike23]

While I definitely wanted the Lynx to win this one, this game had so many bad calls on both teams that it was painful to watch. Both teams fought hard but the flow of the game and the personnel on the floor seemed to be almost dictated by the refs for a good portion of the time. A good battle, like playoff basketball often is, but not a high quality game IMO. But hey, I remember some playoff games with the Pistons that weren't any prettier

 

[DaddyChoc]

Seimone is really putting on a show. She is really a fabulous offensive player.. Wonderful moves.

I totally agree

 

[VAMike23]

I totally agree

She gave it all she had and was fun to watch as usual! But on that double-crossover move she made from the right wing, she probably should have been called for a carry at the beginning of the move. I'm a fan and definitely rooting for the Lynx, but that play had a little too much flava.

 

[DaddyChoc]

they all carry... I gave up on them making that call, Lorin did it every time she touched the ball. Im not gonna mention that a current player does it as well.

so I know the WNBA isnt gonna call it

 

[VAMike23]

they all carry... I gave up on them making that call, Lorin did it every time she touched the ball. Im not gonna mention that a current player does it as well.

so I know the WNBA isnt gonna call it

It's just a matter of degree. And shame on you for calling out Bria!

 

[connboy77]

I don't know if the Lynx will win game 3 so I will stick with my original prediction that they will win in four games.

 

[VAUConnFan]

She gave it all she had and was fun to watch as usual! But on that double-crossover move she made from the right wing, she probably should have been called for a carry at the beginning of the move. I'm a fan and definitely rooting for the Lynx, but that play had a little too much flava.

That was not a carry. Just because the dribble goes high, it does not translate into a carry.

Too much flava? Are you kidding me?

 

[VAMike23]

That was not a carry. Just because the dribble goes high, it does not translate into a carry.

Too much flava? Are you kidding me?

Who said anything about the dribble going high? What I was referring to was a hesitation dribble when she was starting to shake and bake on the drive itself.

I just watched the highlights on ESPN.com to catch the play again. At the point where ESPN re-runs the play in slow motion and Stuart Scott calls it a 'sick, filthy crossover' I ran through the sequence a few times, then stopped on different frames. I saw what looked to me like a carry, and was able to stop the video at 0:22 where I saw her hand in a position that was clearly behind and under the ball. Not at the 'south pole' of the ball, but underneath it enough that it was a clear carry, IMO.

ESPN wbball page

YMMV. I understand that the carry isn't called in today's game, and it's not a federal case that it wasn't called here. I was just making light of something that I thought helped her make the play. It was an exciting play for the team I'm rooting for. When I said 'too much flava' I simply meant too much of a carry in the process of an otherwise great move, the type of which happens all the time as DC pointed out.

 

[DaddyChoc]

wasnt it a "Point of Emphasis" this past season in WCBB...

 

[VAMike23]

not sure -