May 2024 WNBA Thread, part II

[bbsamjj]

RE: Jackie Young, if the Aces with at least one of the next two WNBA titles, she will have AT LEAST 3 rings in Vegas. Heading into the 2026 season she'd be 28--so theoretically near her peak--at same time Clark and Boston should be peaking in the league. I could see her wanting to go home and try to bring the Fever their first title since Catchings.

 

[The deacon]

The internet Clarkistas assert that tipping her missed shots is the only way Angel scores.

16% is not bad. It's a fun rookie fan rivalry,

Clarkistas? If that's an original, visitingcock, you find yourself with too much time or your hands!

 

[WBBTakeover]

I have a feeling the Fever are going to be a hot item this off-season. I think they should be able to grab a veteran guard who is a defensive specialist that also can be at the minimum a 3-point threat. I don't know who that will be but I feel like that is the missing piece to this team being able to compete with the top half of the league. As bad as NaLyssa Smith is at defense, the guards are much worse IMO. They badly need a noteworthy shut-down defender at the guard position.

Brittney Sykes aka BrittBundlez. Not sure how they'd get her (she has one more year on her contract, I think), but she's a missing piece.

 

[WBBTakeover]

She'd be the optimal fit but don't see her leaving unless Vegas. Her contract is up in 2025. Everyone seems to love playing in Vegas though and they're still young with Wilson/Plum/Young all under 30. I think as long as Hammon stays, those 3 will stay put for a few years.

Plum turns 30 in like a month. I know that's still technically young, but...

 

[JoePgh]

So @bballnut90 and possibly others believe that Indiana's greatest need is for "adding in a defensive minded guard who can hit open 3s would do wonders for Indiana.".

Isn't there one such player riding the pine in Seattle? She would undoubtedly be cheap to obtain in a trade.

I suspect Caitlin Clark would be thrilled to have that defensive skill on her side rather than an opponent's.

 

[nwhoopfan]

Phoenix won a shootout with Dallas. Copper, Griner, Howard and Ogunbowale all putting up some points in this one.

Is 36 possibly a new career high for Natasha Howard?

 

[MilfordHusky]

There you go. Mystics outscore Sparks 30-16 in Q4 to take a 2 point win.

Washington has been winning after a terrible start. Hard to believe Dallas won't start winning at some point. I think LA is a near lock for the cellar.

Howard had a monster game tonight, but it was offset by Copper's 30-piece. Having her back really helps, but they very much miss Sabally.

 

[MilfordHusky]

Phoenix won a shootout with Dallas. Copper, Griner, Howard and Ogunbowale all putting up some points in this one.

Is 36 possibly a new career high for Natasha Howard?

Yes, the announcers said her prior high was 33. I think that was in 2019, when Stewie was out for the season.

 

[cancontent]

So @bballnut90 and possibly others believe that Indiana's greatest need is for "adding in a defensive minded guard who can hit open 3s would do wonders for Indiana.".

Isn't there one such player riding the pine in Seattle? She would undoubtedly be cheap to obtain in a trade.

I suspect Caitlin Clark would be thrilled to have that defensive skill on her side rather than an opponent's.

Indiana cut a two time defensive player of the year in Taylor. Grace Berger who can also offer a similar level of defence and offence is sitting on the bench. I get UConn fans want to see Muhl on the court, but I don't see a fit in Indiana.

Not to mention, she's in a much better situation from a mentorship perspective. Learning from the likes of Diggins, Lloyd, Ogumike will do wonders for her. Jordan Houston has talked of what she's learned from Lloyd during the off-season. It's paying off for her. I can see the same for Muhl considering how she's a student of the game.

 

[azfan]

Not many. This is an exaggerated theory about her that isn't accurate. She is an unbelievable rebounder and played great last night.

Two things can be true at the same time. Reese is an unbelievable rebounder obvious to anyone who's watched her. She's also currently shooting under 40% from the field. This is an extraordinarily low metric for a paint player and for those of us who've watched her the characterization of rebounding wild shots is both accurate and frequent.

What will be intriguing will be how Reese translates her passion in the off-season and practices to both working on developing a mid-range jump shot but more importantly controlling herself on first attempts near the hoop.

 

[azfan]

So what does the merc victory over perhaps the worst team in the league suggest about the team.

Ann Drysdale and the other local announcer made very much of the number of games Phoenix had played over the previous week. Hum. It was almost as if the Mercury are the only team that have to run through this schedule to accommodate the Olympics. As I listen to the announcers talk about the mark and the million dollar coaches, about the schedule I couldn't help but think about accountability something that excellent teams and strong coaches integrate into the culture. Specifically I was thinking about Becky Hammon, Cheryl Reeves, and dare I say it dare dare Sandy Brondello. Be interesting to think about the issue of accountability and the Merc. One of Kristi Tolliver's defining characteristics was her defense. Another was her accountability. Seems to me the Merc could use a whole lot of both.

They held the Wing to 96 points on the road. In the 48 hours before the game there was talked at BG would not play due to personal reasons. For those of us who followed the team this was a characteristic of the team two and three years ago... BG would require time off for undisclosed issues revolving around her mental health.

Now I was delighted and pleased to see how well she played and stunned to see how Tierra McGowan backed up for her paycheck in the game. Perhaps she could benefit from a day or two off to reflect.

But back to the the million dollar coach and his defensive scheming against what is arguably the worst teams in the league. If I'm not mistaken Dallas has now lost 15 of the last 16 games? Also telling that the Mercury are so weak and ineffectual in the paint thinking about rebounding and total offensive rebounds and well the defensive weakness was clear as Howard feasted.

I know Becky Hammond and Cheryl Reeves are scratching their head at losses to a talented, uneven, bizarrely coached Phoenix team

 

[NycUcWbbFan]

On defining characteristics of mediocrity both the GOAT and Allen will be sitting out tonight's game against the Sun. I'm wondering if there is an agenda behind this .... that is tanking? LOL no seriously the Mercs just want to go ahead and squander their strong Home Court record and I think will be successful doing that tonight.

Interesting thought (tanking) as Phoenix currently has the worst 2-year combined record.

However, New York acquired the right to swap 2025 first-round picks (from Phoenix).

 

[GamecockFam]

Anyone else finding this WNBA season rather lackluster over all? Past years there have always been teams I follow passionately or hated and had fun rooting against. This year it feels like most of the top teams are just going through the motions. There are the rookies of course but none of the teams with standout rookies play a particularly enjoyable brand of basketball to watch so that that lost its luster to me at this point. Maybe its the Olympic year and it will pick up like normal after the games are over but it just feels like none of the games really matter right now. Disappointing as I normally love WNBA season, might have to take a pre-Olympic break break from it.

I'm enjoying it more. Last year it felt like there were 3 great teams (of which the Aces and Liberty were the clear favorites) and the rest were mediocre or bad. I see more parity this season, which offers more intrigue and interest. I think we're going to have a post-season full of twists and turns with a few upsets. Then we have these new players infusing some young energy into the league and bringing in new fans and more media coverage from talk shows. This year the league feels more accessible and exciting to me.

 

[bballnut90]

Two things can be true at the same time. Reese is an unbelievable rebounder obvious to anyone who's watched her. She's also currently shooting under 40% from the field. This is an extraordinarily low metric for a paint player and for those of us who've watched her the characterization of rebounding wild shots is both accurate and frequent.

What will be intriguing will be how Reese translates her passion in the off-season and practices to both working on developing a mid-range jump shot but more importantly controlling herself on first attempts near the hoop.

I don't disagree with this but the vast majority of her rebounds aren't on her own misses which is a narrative people use to undermine her rebounding numbers.

 

[bbsamjj]

So what does the merc victory over perhaps the worst team in the league suggest about the team.

Ann Drysdale and the other local announcer made very much of the number of games Phoenix had played over the previous week. Hum. It was almost as if the Mercury are the only team that have to run through this schedule to accommodate the Olympics. As I listen to the announcers talk about the mark and the million dollar coaches, about the schedule I couldn't help but think about accountability something that excellent teams and strong coaches integrate into the culture. Specifically I was thinking about Becky Hammon, Cheryl Reeves, and dare I say it dare dare Sandy Brondello. Be interesting to think about the issue of accountability and the Merc. One of Kristi Tolliver's defining characteristics was her defense. Another was her accountability. Seems to me the Merc could use a whole lot of both.

They held the Wing to 96 points on the road. In the 48 hours before the game there was talked at BG would not play due to personal reasons. For those of us who followed the team this was a characteristic of the team two and three years ago... BG would require time off for undisclosed issues revolving around her mental health.

Now I was delighted and pleased to see how well she played and stunned to see how Tierra McGowan backed up for her paycheck in the game. Perhaps she could benefit from a day or two off to reflect.

But back to the the million dollar coach and his defensive scheming against what is arguably the worst teams in the league. If I'm not mistaken Dallas has now lost 15 of the last 16 games? Also telling that the Mercury are so weak and ineffectual in the paint thinking about rebounding and total offensive rebounds and well the defensive weakness was clear as Howard feasted.

I know Becky Hammond and Cheryl Reeves are scratching their head at losses to a talented, uneven, bizarrely coached Phoenix team

I believe the reason BG may have missed the game is her wife is due with their child at any moment.

 

[bbsamjj]

I don't disagree with this but the vast majority of her rebounds aren't on her own misses which is false and a narrative people use to undermine her rebounding numbers.

FWIW, both Reese and Cardoso need to work on their finishing skills (Cardoso is only shooting 44% from the field). But they should be a force for years to come.

imo, anyone who watched Reese in college knew she'd have to work on her post finishing in the league--and given there is like a month between the NCAAs and the WNBA season, nothing huge was going to happen before her first season. I think it's a huge testament to her motor and talent that despite her offensive challenges she is still averaging over 13ppg. And the rebounding numbers speak for themselves.

Both Clark and Reese will need to be improve their scoring efficiency in years to come, but the fact that they are in the top 3 in the league, respectively, for rebounds and assists, is a huge testament to how good they already are. In terms of pure SCORING ability, the best rookie is probably Rickea Jackson, who is quietly putting up solid numbers for a bad (though not unexpectedly bad) LA team. I'm a tad surprised how low her rebounding numbers are--she was an excellent rebounder in college--but she is obviously going to be VERY good.

 

[typhaon]

Dennis Rodman had a pretty productive NBA career, largely based on effort and energy.

 

[azfan]

Interesting thought (tanking) as Phoenix currently has the worst 2-year combined record.

However, New York acquired the right to swap 2025 first-round picks (from Phoenix).

Ikr .... Indicative of weak organizational structure and management as well as by season utter lack of focus. The Merc have a long tradition of devalue and draft picks. Short memory considering the GOAT and BG but....

 

[MilfordHusky]

I don't disagree with this but the vast majority of her rebounds aren't on her own misses which is a narrative people use to undermine her rebounding numbers.

I would be interested in how many O boards come off her own misses. It’s not the majority, but my impression is that she gets more O boards off her misses than anyone in the league.

 

[nwhoopfan]

So what does the merc victory over perhaps the worst team in the league suggest about the team.

I'm going LA all the way on league worst. Dallas is only second worst at this point.

 

[hoopsnloops32]

I would be interested in how many O boards come off her own misses. It’s not the majority, but my impression is that she gets more O boards off her misses than anyone in the league.

She gets more o boards than anyone in the league, period. And most of those aren’t off her own misses.

Maybe a percentage would be more informative.

 

[rvwsleep]

Naphessa Collier left the game in the 3rd quarter after she pulled up limping without contact. She first went to the bench then to the locker room.
She knew immediately that something was wrong. I fear it was an achilles injury.
On edit.
It's reported to be a foot injury and she's not expected back in this game.

 

[Blue Huskie]

Napheesa removed from Lynx / Sun game with left foot injury. No more info. known yet. Hope she is OK for Olympics.

 

[nwhoopfan]

Lynx fell to 1-3 since the Commissioner's Cup. 2 of the losses are to the Liberty and Sun, but I'm telling y'all the jinx is real.

 

[nwhoopfan]

Stupid Amazon lost the feed to the Aces-Mystics game. Been down about 5 minutes now.

 

[tahoma17]

Stupid Amazon lost the feed to the Aces-Mystics game. Been down about 5 minutes now.

But they did show us the commercials after the first quarter, so what's the problem??? Feed is finally back; fingers crossed it stays

 

[nwhoopfan]

Look out everybody, Plum is heating up. Aces running the Mystics out of the building, kinda starting to look like themselves again.

 

[nwhoopfan]

Dang, Aces were playing too good, so Becky rested the starters the entire 4th quarter. Bench was painful to watch. Same as it ever was. 8 TOs in the quarter I think.

Young w/ 10 assists in back to back game, plus 20 points. Plum just missed a 30 piece for the 2nd game in a row, but again only played 3 quarters. 28 on 10-13 shooting, 6-9 behind the arc. 18 pts/9 reb for Wilson.

Nice games for Atkins and Walker-Kimbrough, and especially impressed by the hustle of Engstler.

 

[bballnut90]

I would be interested in how many O boards come off her own misses. It’s not the majority, but my impression is that she gets more O boards off her misses than anyone in the league.

 

[cancontent]

Wow. That's a great breakdown. Hopefully that helps to kill the "most are her misses" narrative. Scary thought she'd only be behind Ezi by four without her misses though.