May 2024 WNBA Thread, part II | Page 48 | The Boneyard

May 2024 WNBA Thread, part II

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And just like that the Aces have climbed to 3rd in the standings. That didn't take very long. Imagine if Chelsea Gray ever starts to look like herself.
 
nwhoopfan said:
Big 4th quarter for Indiana leads to come from behind win against Minnesota. Nice game for Boston, career high 16 rebounds to go w/ 17 pts and 4 blocks. Not a great game for Clark but made plays down the stretch.
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Entertaining game from what I watched. Indiana looks to be buying in on being better on defence as well. Ball movement by Indy in the fourth was important as well. Don't think I've seen Minnesota scrambling to close out on shooters the way they did today.
 
GoChips20 said:
Mercury arguably have a top-3 starting five in the league, way too talented to be .500. I know they’ve had some injuries but they’re still getting rocked by some of the league’s mediocre teams.
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I agree 100%.

That said, they're (mainly Kah) going to be a pain for someone in the playoffs. As long as it's not Vegas (until the WNBA Finals), I don't care who they face along the way.
 
azfan said:
Could it be dare I say it a million dollar coach?
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It's definitely him. He's got four of the best defensive players in the league in his starting line-up--yet they can't defend as a team! How is that even possible? :confused::confused::confused:
 
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Has Atlanta sunk all the way down to the bottom tier w/ Dallas, LA and Washington? About to lose by double digits to Seattle on a day that Loyd, Ogwumike and Diggins-Smith didn't bring their A game. Storm did get some extra scoring from Ezi, Horston and Whitcomb to make up for it.

edit--yeah, 34 combined points on 16-22 shooting from Ezi and Horston is pretty nice
 
BigTenGuy said:
Clark-skeptic Reeve will have the Lynx (even if shorthanded) ready to play/ready to check Clark in the first Lynx-Fever game of the season. Will be surprised if CC keeps up her recent good play today.
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I wish Coach Reeve would have seen your message before the game.
 
nwhoopfan said:
Has Atlanta sunk all the way down to the bottom tier w/ Dallas, LA and Washington? About to lose by double digits to Seattle on a day that Loyd, Ogwumike and Diggins-Smith didn't bring their A game. Storm did get some extra scoring from Ezi, Horston and Whitcomb to make up for it.

edit--yeah, 34 combined points on 16-22 shooting from Ezi and Horston is pretty nice
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Atlanta looks completely different without Howard. I agree. If they continue on this path, they'll miss the playoffs.
 
nwhoopfan said:
Banham went nuts, not exactly something you game plan for. 7-10 from 3.
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I will have to watch the replay but I am happy for Banham! She got caught up in whatever Coach Reeve was trying to do over the years here in Minnesota. Just nothing really consistent for Banham with the Lynx. Glad that she is getting quality minutes with Connecticut and playing decently.
 
The Caitlin Clark impact for the game is awesome!! Packed Target Center today. Great to see Iowa/Caitlin Clark fans in the house. Heck the fan based looked darn near even! It could have been more Fever/CC fans in the house than Lynx fans. But anyway, what a game! My Lynx, with another 4th quarter melt down, just could not make shots especially when they needed to. Too many missed layups. The last two games, Minnesota has only scored 21 points in the 4th quarter of those two games. I know we are missing Phee but other players have to step up and help Kayla with the scoring on a consistent basis. Great game and win by Indiana, especially Boston and Mitchell!
 
JellyBean said:
I wish Coach Reeve would have seen your message before the game.
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Thought they did a decent job of it, especially during the first half. Their lapses in the 4th is what hurt, but at the same time Indy was making it hard for them. Minnesota has been leading the league in defence. Indy got the better of them today. One game down, with two more in their series to see how things play out long term.
 
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cancontent said:
Thought they did a decent job of it, especially during the first half. Their lapses in the 4th is what hurt, but at the same time Indy was making it hard for them. Minnesota has been leading the league in defence. Indy got the better of them today. One game down, with two more in their series to see how things play out long term.
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The Lynx did well defensively with Clark. We knew it was just a matter of time before she would got going. The Lynx just could not buy a bucket. Normally Courtney is able to hit that pull up jumper from the key or elbow area. Today just was not there. Same with Kayla's shot. Shot making was not there for the Lynx. Hats off to Indiana. Back to Back wins. Pretty impressive.
 
GoChips20 said:
Mercury arguably have a top-3 starting five in the league, way too talented to be .500. I know they’ve had some injuries but they’re still getting rocked by some of the league’s mediocre teams.
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Just reviewed their whole schedule, here are their losses, and who was injured in each game (of their core 6):

at LV (Griner)
Dallas (Griner)
at Conn (Allen, Griner)
at NY (Allen, Griner)
at Minn (Allen, Griner)
at Seattle (Allen, Griner)
LV (No one)
at Minn (No one)
Ind (No one)
Conn (Allen, Taurasi)
at Ind (Cloud, Taurasi, Griner)
at Conn (No one)

So most PHX's losses have mostly come against the league's elite teams... Their core 6 rotation is fantastic. But they have maybe the worst collection of role players in the league. Seems like their goal should be load management to have max-health for the playoffs. Even if it costs them in the standings.
 
nwhoopfan said:
Big 4th quarter for Indiana leads to come from behind win against Minnesota. Nice game for Boston, career high 16 rebounds to go w/ 17 pts and 4 blocks. Not a great game for Clark but made plays down the stretch.
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One of the worst games I've seen Clark play...she just seemed off from the start. Then started to force some shots. Nalyssa Smith starting to figure out how to be a teammate. Will be interesting to see what they do in the season's second half.
 
nwhoopfan said:
Hayes with her best game in quite a while, Aces needed it. Wilson was her usual self. Plum had a good game. Young a bit off and Gray was terrible. Is she ever gonna ger her game back?

Career high 36 for Atkins. Only player from Mystics in double figures. Kept them in it til late in Q4.
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C. Gray was basically injured from the finals until 11 games ago. Her shot is definitely off but the Aces are 10-1 since she started playing again.
 
bbsamjj said:
C. Gray was basically injured from the finals until 11 games ago. Her shot is definitely off but the Aces are 10-1 since she started playing again.
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They've obviously been playing better since she returned, can't be a coincidence, but she is not playing well at all.
 
12au said:
Just reviewed their whole schedule, here are their losses, and who was injured in each game (of their core 6):

at LV (Griner)
Dallas (Griner)
at Conn (Allen, Griner)
at NY (Allen, Griner)
at Minn (Allen, Griner)
at Seattle (Allen, Griner)
LV (No one)
at Minn (No one)
Ind (No one)
Conn (Allen, Taurasi)
at Ind (Cloud, Taurasi, Griner)
at Conn (No one)

So most PHX's losses have mostly come against the league's elite teams... Their core 6 rotation is fantastic. But they have maybe the worst collection of role players in the league. Seems like their goal should be load management to have max-health for the playoffs. Even if it costs them in the standings.ther losses
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Merc are a horrible road team. Merc inconsistent home team. Currently .500 and 7th in current power ratings......

Losses

107-92 at home to the Wings in May

88-82 at home to Fever in June

95-86 road to Fever in July

And.........the "performance" just the other day at Connecticut.

If it quacks like a Turkey, if it staggers like a Turkey.......it must be a Turkey.

In DC the million dollar coach will confront a team that has suffered mightily from injury and yet consistently shown up and given an effort on the court. In fact I believe they're six and six recently and it will certainly be interesting to see if the Merc can wake up for that 8:30 a.m. (Pacific) tip.

I suspect they may well sleep walk through another loss but I'm willing to give the million dollar coach the benefit of the doubt, yeah right.
 
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I'm actually starting to believe that the Fever can get above .500 this year.

A win over the hapless wings tomorrow would leave them in 7th place and only 2 wins short of .500. After their horrible schedule to start the season, they are starting to play some solid team ball. The Olympic break will give them time to workout together and bond as a team. If the continue to play TOGETHER, their success may increase during the second half of the season. Yes, I'm starting to believe Caitlin can be a team player. (BTW, rookies need to rest instead of playing in the Olympics. They've been playing since November)
 
visitingcock said:
I'm actually starting to believe that the Fever can get above .500 this year.

A win over the hapless wings tomorrow would leave them in 7th place and only 2 wins short of .500. After their horrible schedule to start the season, they are starting to play some solid team ball. The Olympic break will give them time to workout together and bond as a team. If the continue to play TOGETHER, their success may increase during the second half of the season. Yes, I'm starting to believe Caitlin can be a team player. (BTW, rookies need to rest instead of playing in the Olympics. They've been playing since November)
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This is the big thing for me. Nine months without much downtime. They need it.
 
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cancontent said:
This is the big thing for me. Nine months without much downtime. They need it.
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Is that much different than the vets that came straight from the Europe, Australian or Asian teams though? Dorka, for example, went from college basketball to the WNBA, straight to Italy after the WNBA season ended, and flew to Minnesota the day after her team lost in the championship series and was playing within the week.Thats very little downtime since summer 2022, around 21 months. And she's not alone.

Everyone gets so hyper focused on the rookies for this but there are a lot of players that haven't had more than a few weeks off in years at this point.
 
cancontent said:
This is the big thing for me. Nine months without much downtime. They need it.
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GirlBoo1020 said:
Is that much different than the vets that came straight from the Europe, Australian or Asian teams though? Dorka, for example, went from college basketball to the WNBA, straight to Italy after the WNBA season ended, and flew to Minnesota the day after her team lost in the championship series and was playing within the week.Thats very little downtime since summer 2022, around 21 months. And she's not alone.

Everyone gets so hyper focused on the rookies for this but there are a lot of players that haven't had more than a few weeks off in years at this point.
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Agreed, GirlBoo1020. I'd bet a high percentage of the Olympians who play in the WNBA have been playing straight through for many months since before this WNBA season.

This really hadn't been a point of interest until Caitlin came along. I'll bet she'd be okay forgoing her month of 'rest' to join up with her fellow Americans in Paris, and then would come back play just fine for the Fever down the stretch. She's 22, right?
 
GirlBoo1020 said:
Is that much different than the vets that came straight from the Europe, Australian or Asian teams though? Dorka, for example, went from college basketball to the WNBA, straight to Italy after the WNBA season ended, and flew to Minnesota the day after her team lost in the championship series and was playing within the week.Thats very little downtime since summer 2022, around 21 months. And she's not alone.

Everyone gets so hyper focused on the rookies for this but there are a lot of players that haven't had more than a few weeks off in years at this point.
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No, but that's a separate issue. NBA draft picks had a couple months before they participate in summer league. If WNBA players had that at least, I'd relent but not by much.

Also, why should WNBA players have to play virtually all year round? They all need time to rest, recuperate and rebuild their strength.

Look at a player like Lauren Jackson who had to "retire" due to injuries but has returned and still playing at a high level while playing solely on the WNBL. Or that year Taurasi was paid by her Russian club team to skip a WNBA season?

WNBA players are the only ones I've seen playing that type of schedule. Those who stick to the Euro league, WNBL, etc., seem to have an off-season.

@deacon This may not have gotten as much attention until Clark joined the league, but the wear and tear on WNBA players having to commit to this type of schedule has been discussed. This is why leagues like Athletes Unlimited and the new 3x3 league Unrivaled are coming into existence. Their schedules provides more breaks between the WNBA off-season, giving players more flexibility to take care of their bodies.

And yes there are athletes who are gladly heading to Paris to represent their countries and there's nothing wrong with that. At the same time considering these compressed schedules to accommodate the Olympics hasn't helped things for some players this season. This break will be a nice respite for them.
 
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cancontent said:
No, but that's a separate issue. NBA draft picks had a couple months before they participate in summer league. If WNBA players had that at least, I'd relent but not by much.

Also, why should WNBA players have to play virtually all year round? They all need time to rest, recuperate and rebuild their strength.

Look at a player like Lauren Jackson who had to "retire" due to injuries but has returned and still playing at a high level while playing solely on the WNBL. Or that year Taurasi was paid by her Russian club team to skip a WNBA season?

WNBA players are the only ones I've seen playing that type of schedule. Those who stick to the Euro league, WNBL, etc., seem to have an off-season.

@deacon This may not have gotten as much attention until Clark joined the league, but the wear and tear on WNBA players having to commit to this type of schedule has been discussed. This is why leagues like Athletes Unlimited and the new 3x3 league Unrivaled are coming into existence. Their schedules provides more breaks between the WNBA off-season, giving players more flexibility to take care of their bodies.

And yes there are athletes who are gladly heading to Paris to represent their countries and there's nothing wrong with that. At the same time considering these compressed schedules to accommodate the Olympics hasn't helped things for some players this season. This break will be a nice respite for them.
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There are some players on the team who should pass with current injuries. Like Stewie, and Collier, going over there to play under FIBA rules which is rougher then the WNBA isn't a good idea.
 
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