May 2024 WNBA Thread, part II

[MilfordHusky]

Shortly after arrival, Odyssey Sims plays for last place Dallas and helps her team secure a win over the Commissioner's Cup winner, Minnesota. She had 18/2/4/3 on 8-12 shooting.

 

[WBBTakeover]

?

Clark averaging 16.3 through 13 games.

Reese averaging 12.4 through 11 games

Perhaps the tweet was referring to rookies playing in Chicago.lol

If the Tweeter was referring to performance in June only the Sky have played five games and the Fever four games.

Maybe we'll see an update from this Tweeter after the Fever play tonight and each player has five games under their belt at the month of June.

Let's revisit this.

What say you now?

 

[WBBTakeover]

It really was a great game to watch. And it was peak Angel Reese. I can't say enough about her performance. Caitlin was great too for much of the game. But I was blown away by Reese dominating Nalyssa Smith. Like Smith has 2 years of experience, 20 lbs on her at least, and Reese was totally dominating. And I like Smith a lot. I think she's super skilled, versatile, and it shows as she really dominates overseas in the off season. But Reese, with her unorthodox shot/ways was just too much for her. It's perplexing in a good way.

NaLyssa is one of the, if not the, worst post defenders in the entire league. That's not surprising at all.

 

[cancontent]

No, I'm not crying from viewing this clip. There's gotta be dust in the air.

Narrator: It isn't dusty where she is.

 

[nwhoopfan]

Shortly after arrival, Odyssey Sims plays for last place Dallas and helps her team secure a win over the Commissioner's Cup winner, Minnesota. She had 18/2/4/3 on 8-12 shooting.

I kinda feel like winning the Commissioner's Cup is a curse (well, other than the extra cash). Winner almost never goes on to win the Championship. One year when Seattle won it, might've been the first year, they tanked not long after. Lynx win it this year and day's later lose to the last place team in the league. Weird.

 

[nwhoopfan]

Loyd is having one of those kind of games. She's very streaky and can have some terrible shooting games, but I feel like nobody else in the league can get hot quite the way she can. 23 at the half on 7-9 shooting, 5-7 behind the arc.

I'm pretty sure she still holds the WNBA record for most points in a quarter.

 

[nwhoopfan]

Box scores don't tell you everything, but I don't think it's too much of a stretch to assume Chelsea Gray isn't back to peak form yet. But Aces keep winning since she's been back, it's certainly nice to have her in the lineup again.

6 blocks for Stokes against the vaunted rookie front court from Chicago. Another 30 point game for A'ja. Plum's shooting efficiency has been improving in recent games. Plum and Young combined for 43 and both over 50% shooting.

 

[willtalk]

Box scores don't tell you everything, but I don't think it's too much of a stretch to assume Chelsea Gray isn't back to peak form yet. But Aces keep winning since she's been back, it's certainly nice to have her in the lineup again.

6 blocks for Stokes against the vaunted rookie front court from Chicago. Another 30 point game for A'ja. Plum's shooting efficiency has been improving in recent games. Plum and Young combined for 43 and both over 50% shooting.

Chelsea Gray adds much more to the Aces than just her stat line. She is the brains of the team and keeps them playing right. Plumb, Young and Wilson often revert to one on one hero ball. It works when you are hot, but keeps you in the hole when you are not. Notice at the end of the game, after Chelsea was taken out seemingly for the remainder of the game, she was put right back in when the Aces began to commit one bad play after the other allowing the opposition to close the gap.

Another thing I noticed is that Young seems totally focused on creating shots for herself and has lost focus on her defense. Her defense was not very good. Its noticable because, unlike Plum it usually is. I could see where the players could feel they need to pick up some of the offensive void left by Chelseas absence. I could see times that even when Chelsea was in the game they froze her out and played like she wasn't.

 

[Dillon77]

Loyd is having one of those kind of games. She's very streaky and can have some terrible shooting games, but I feel like nobody else in the league can get hot quite the way she can. 23 at the half on 7-9 shooting, 5-7 behind the arc.

I'm pretty sure she still holds the WNBA record for most points in a quarter.

Jewell can lead to those kind of analogies:

• Feast or Famine
• On or Off the tracks
• Sadness or Euphoria (tip of the hat to Billy Joel)

66% from both overall field and three-point land and 100% on 8 free throws.

Ezi Magbegor and Nneka Ogwunike also both shot more than 50% from the field, while Skylar Diggins-Smith had 9 assists. Sky probably benefited from some hot shooting but I saw one or two nice dimes from her, as well.

 

[Dillon77]

Shortly after arrival, Odyssey Sims plays for last place Dallas and helps her team secure a win over the Commissioner's Cup winner, Minnesota. She had 18/2/4/3 on 8-12 shooting.

If she continues to play like that, I'll eat my words about her being a yo-yo for GM Greg Bibb. On the other hand, we've all seen some first "off the street" hot-as-blazes games that are followed by "cold as locker room steel" the next time around. Good win yesterday for the Wings, who caught the Lynx less than 36 hours after a huge game and probably a big lagged.

 

[cancontent]

I kinda feel like winning the Commissioner's Cup is a curse (well, other than the extra cash). Winner almost never goes on to win the Championship. One year when Seattle won it, might've been the first year, they tanked not long after. Lynx win it this year and day's later lose to the last place team in the league. Weird.

Per Wikipedia, the Commissioner's Cup winner has won the WNBA title twice (Seattle 2020, Vegas 2022). That's 2 out of 3, with this year yet to be determined.

WNBA Commissioner's Cup - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

[nwhoopfan]

Per Wikipedia, the Commissioner's Cup winner has won the WNBA title twice (Seattle 2020, Vegas 2022). That's 2 out of 3, with this year yet to be determined.

WNBA Commissioner's Cup - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

Not what I'm seeing. Storm won Championship in '20, won Commissioner's Cup in '21 but faded that season. 1/3 is a lot worse then 2/3 for a small sample size. '22 Aces only team to win Commissioner's Cup and Championship in same season so far. You gonna put money on the Lynx winning it all this year?

 

[cancontent]

Not what I'm seeing. Storm won Championship in '20, won Commissioner's Cup in '21 but faded that season. 1/3 is a lot worse then 2/3 for a small sample size. '22 Aces only team to win Commissioner's Cup and Championship in same season so far. You gonna put money on the Lynx winning it all this year?

Sorry - Confused the founded date with when Seattle won it.

I'm not putting money on anyone but I still think it's too soon to say whether winning it is a jinx. Sure 30% is low but when it's only been in existence for a few years I don't buy the trend just yet.

 

[azfan]

Let's revisit this.

What say you now?

Reese on arguably a team of equal or greater mediocrity is clearly leading ROY as we approach the break.

It appears that she continues to perform on the court to her strengths and doesn't seem to be overthinking either her role or her performance. It appears Clark is consciously making adjustments to her game. I'm not sure if this is a result of coaching or self reflection or both but it's clearly had an impact statistically for her.

In fact if I were a GM reflecting at this point of the season I might think Reese would be a player to build a team around. Clark on the other hand seems to be at the beginning of a journey in identifying how to lead a team.

Anyway you're absolutely correct definitely a change in viewing these two players.

 

[azfan]

If she continues to play like that, I'll eat my words about her being a yo-yo for GM Greg Bibb. On the other hand, we've all seen some first "off the street" hot-as-blazes games that are followed by "cold as locker room steel" the next time around. Good win yesterday for the Wings, who caught the Lynx less than 36 hours after a huge game and probably a big lagged.

Definitely one of the downsides of the commissioner's cup game. It really imposes a cost on the players and while I'm sure the Lynx players we're happy with the 48k they each earned the turn around definitely is demanding.

Thinking about average salaries and the payoff each winner received this was a real boost particularly for those players not earning at the top of the scale.

Assuming this is an excess of 50% of the salary it would be the equivalent of an NBA player as somewhere format earning three or four million bucks.

 

[azfan]

Ezi Magbegor and Nneka Ogwunike also both shot more than 50% from the field, while Skylar Diggins-Smith had 9 assists. Sky probably benefited from some hot shooting but I saw one or two nice dimes from her, as well.

The Fever are a weak defensive team. I was trying to be diplomatic here. Indiana leads the league in points allowed and negative point differential. The Storm are not the only team that feast against the Fev.

 

[azfan]

With a excellent roster and scheduling against the worst defensive team in the W (with apologies to the Sky) Noelle Quinn moves one game over 500 as a coach at 60 and 59.

In the valley of the Sun the million dollar coach currently at .500 8 and 8 attempts to duplicate Quinn's performance against a team of equal caliber. The Sparks one and nine on the road come into Footprint arena where the Mercury tend to play their best basketball.

We'll see how the million dollar coach's defensive schemes function against a depleted Sparks lineup and the energy that the well-rested Merc display.

I'm tempted to say this is as close to a lock as one could get and the million dollar coach will follow Quinn in the journey from mediocrity to averageness.

In a related note the Sun demonstrated the importance of defense (at least down the stretch) in a tough tough victory against a spirited Mystics team. Wonder what got into Hines Allen as she looked amazing.

 

[azfan]

I kinda feel like winning the Commissioner's Cup is a curse (well, other than the extra cash). Winner almost never goes on to win the Championship. One year when Seattle won it, might've been the first year, they tanked not long after. Lynx win it this year and day's later lose to the last place team in the league. Weird.

I would say for most of the players it's a blessing at least in the revamped financial format. Many of the players will earn a 50% bump from their annual pay. A curse like this we should all have.

 

[Dillon77]

With a excellent roster and scheduling against the worst defensive team in the W (with apologies to the Sky) Noelle Quinn moves one game over 500 as a coach at 60 and 59.

In the valley of the Sun the million dollar coach currently at .500 8 and 8 attempts to duplicate Quinn's performance against a team of equal caliber. The Sparks one and nine on the road come into Footprint arena where the Mercury tend to play their best basketball.

We'll see how the million dollar coach's defensive schemes function against a depleted Sparks lineup and the energy that the well-rested Merc display.

I'm tempted to say this is as close to a lock as one could get and the million dollar coach will follow Quinn in the journey from mediocrity to averageness.

In a related note the Sun demonstrated the importance of defense (at least down the stretch) in a tough tough victory against a spirited Mystics team. Wonder what got into Hines Allen as she looked amazing.

Holy crow -- Hines-Allen didn't miss any shot all game (overall, three's, FT's) and had 7 defensive rebounds, to boot. And, as noted, that's against a team that can -- and did -- clamp down defensively. I've watched Myisha since she was a young 'un at Montclair High School in New Jersey and, like so many pro players, she was just plain better than 95% of the competition she'd play. But there were times when she'd get in a zone and you'd shake your head. Then...disappear the next game or three. This was obviously the former.

 

[cancontent]

Not surprised they made a move. They need some depth on the bench.

 

[WBBTakeover]

Chelsea Gray adds much more to the Aces than just her stat line. She is the brains of the team and keeps them playing right. Plumb, Young and Wilson often revert to one on one hero ball. It works when you are hot, but keeps you in the hole when you are not. Notice at the end of the game, after Chelsea was taken out seemingly for the remainder of the game, she was put right back in when the Aces began to commit one bad play after the other allowing the opposition to close the gap.

Another thing I noticed is that Young seems totally focused on creating shots for herself and has lost focus on her defense. Her defense was not very good. Its noticable because, unlike Plum it usually is. I could see where the players could feel they need to pick up some of the offensive void left by Chelseas absence. I could see times that even when Chelsea was in the game they froze her out and played like she wasn't.

A'ja Wilson is a 2-time MVP (and one of those came without Chelsea being on the team). I'm okay with her playing "hero ball" when necessary because she's a proven HERO. KP and Jackie do not have that cachet (though Jackie could approach that level some day), and while Chelsea is more clutch than they are, she hasn't had any stretch remotely approaching her July 2022-September 2022 run. The offense needs to go through A'ja because she's the centerpiece. And if that means she has to call her own number a few too many times for some folks' liking, so be it. I trust her way more than the guards right now.

I'm not okay with Jackie and KP freezing A'ja out during long stretches and then trying to come back to her when their shots aren't falling or when the team loses a lead. That's where Chelsea's value offensively comes into play for me. She keeps the ball moving and gets it where it needs to be most of the time (whether that's to the hot hand, including herself, or to the undisputed franchise player).

While I do think that Jackie gets tunnel vision and takes some quick shots (and yes, her defense has been lacking right along with KP's atrocious defense this season), I don't think she was trying to freeze out Chelsea last night. I believe that Chelsea was out there strictly for crisis prevention towards the end of the game. Had the Sky been able to draw closer, she would've had the ball in her hands orchestrating the offense more.

 

[WBBTakeover]

Reese on arguably a team of equal or greater mediocrity is clearly leading ROY as we approach the break.

It appears that she continues to perform on the court to her strengths and doesn't seem to be overthinking either her role or her performance. It appears Clark is consciously making adjustments to her game. I'm not sure if this is a result of coaching or self reflection or both but it's clearly had an impact statistically for her.

In fact if I were a GM reflecting at this point of the season I might think Reese would be a player to build a team around. Clark on the other hand seems to be at the beginning of a journey in identifying how to lead a team.

Anyway you're absolutely correct definitely a change in viewing these two players.

Re bold: it's both. She's thinking too much on the court (last night, she passed up several good looks in the 4th) and her coach is not helping her out enough. Christie Sides probably won't be there next year, but Caitlin will still have to work on developing a better feel for the PG position at the WNBA level.

I do agree that Angel just gets after it on the court. She's not doubting herself or second-guessing her decisions. She just does what she does and is playing at a much higher level than I thought was possible from her this early in her career. I'm actually impressed and I didn't expect to be prior to the season.

 

[MilfordHusky]

Jewell can lead to those kind of analogies:

• Feast or Famine
• On or Off the tracks
• Sadness or Euphoria (tip of the hat to Billy Joel)

66% from both overall field and three-point land and 100% on 8 free throws.

Ezi Magbegor and Nneka Ogwunike also both shot more than 50% from the field, while Skylar Diggins-Smith had 9 assists. Sky probably benefited from some hot shooting but I saw one or two nice dimes from her, as well.

I watched part of the game last night. The announcers noted that Ezi shot FTs at 69% last year, but is up to 91% this year!

 

[azfan]

There's an interesting story line developing for the Aces heading into the Olympic rank. Since losing to Stewie and the Liberty the Aces have won three in a row. Their nine remaining games before the break are all against losers with the exception of a game against the Storm.

So one possibility the Aces win out generating a winning streak of 12 games going into the break. Then they send four members to the Olympics. The question becomes how much stress is placed on those four athletes. Returning from Paris the Aces first four games pit them against Stewie, the lLynx twice sandwiched between the one over the Spark.

The aces could take a 12 game winning streak into the post-Olympuc schedule and follow that with losses in three of the next four games.

 

[cancontent]

There's an interesting story line developing for the Aces heading into the Olympic rank. Since losing to Stewie and the Liberty the Aces have won three in a row. Their nine remaining games before the break are all against losers with the exception of a game against the Storm.

So one possibility the Aces win out generating a winning streak of 12 games going into the break. Then they send four members to the Olympics. The question becomes how much stress is placed on those four athletes. Returning from Paris the Aces first four games pit them against Stewie, the lLynx twice sandwiched between the one over the Spark.

The aces could take a 12 game winning streak into the post-Olympuc schedule and follow that with losses in three of the next four games.

Stewie instead saying Liberty. That has me chuckling.