May 2024 WNBA Thread, part II

[baggerbob]

Yea I'll be excited for the playoffs. Right now it seems like the top teams are just running through the motions and not playing particularly inspired basketball.

I am curious about how the Olympics will impact the second half of the WNBA season and playoffs. A few Olympians, US and others, seem to already being hanging on by a thread injury/burn out wise given the compressed schedule of the first half of the season. What will happen post Olympics to Olympians currently battling injury or Olympians fine now but may hit wall. Given how Olympian heavy so many of the top 6 teams are, it could change the whole complexion of the league.

I think I'll tune back in then because right now even exciting games are just not good basketball.

Right now the favorites to be in the semifinals and finals, would be Connecticut, Las Vegas, Minnesota, and Seattle. Connecticut is the best team in the east, and the other 3 teams will probably come from the West.
Las Vegas, Minnesota, and Seattle.

 

[GirlBoo1020]

Right now the favorites to be in the semifinals and finals, would be Connecticut, Las Vegas, Minnesota, and Seattle. Connecticut is the best team in the east, and the other 3 teams will probably come from the West.
Las Vegas, Minnesota, and Seattle.

And Vegas has 5 Olympians, potentially 6 if Meg makes it. New York has 3 Olympians, Minnesota has 3, Seattle has 2 and CT has 1. The lack of rest for those key players could have in impact on the final standings, especially given the injury concerns for a bunch of them. Same issues for the Mercury, who despite being middle of the pack have 4 Olympians themselves, 3 of which have been battling various injuries all season.

Then of course you have a young team with no Olympians in the Fever. You have the Mystics who have two of their younger players going to the Olympics but will return their talented vets post Olympic break. Dallas will return key players after the Olympic break.

I think the whole complexion of the league could be different come August 15th than it is right now depending on how the rest or lack of rest benefits or hinders each team/player. Will be very curious to see it all play out.

 

[bbsamjj]

Right now the favorites to be in the semifinals and finals, would be Connecticut, Las Vegas, Minnesota, and Seattle. Connecticut is the best team in the east, and the other 3 teams will probably come from the West.
Las Vegas, Minnesota, and Seattle.

Except CT hasn't beaten NY in a while.

Including the playoff series, CT was 1-7 against NY last year. They are 0-1 thus far this season (though they play twice in next 8 days). JJ has a habit of disappearing but she usually shows up big against her former team.

The seedings will be really fascinating this year. Do you want to be the 1 seed if Vegas is the 4 seed? Not that MN (with Collier) is much more exciting. Who gets stuck with Seattle in the first round?

 

[baggerbob]

Except CT hasn't beaten NY in a while.

Including the playoff series, CT was 1-7 against NY last year. They are 0-1 thus far this season (though they play twice in next 8 days). JJ has a habit of disappearing but she usually shows up big against her former team.

The seedings will be really fascinating this year. Do you want to be the 1 seed if Vegas is the 4 seed? Not that MN (with Collier) is much more exciting. Who gets stuck with Seattle in the first round?

New York right now is not a good team. Too dependent on the 3 point shot. Last year they played inside out.
This year have taken way too many outside shots.
That leads to fast breaks the other way.
Sabrina is taking 2 more shots a game then Stewie, and 6 more the JJ.
That's not an effective offense.

 

[nwhoopfan]

New York right now is not a good team.

Um...tied for first place in the standings? Talk about a tough crowd.

 

[The deacon]

New York right now is not a good team. Too dependent on the 3 point shot. Last year they played inside out.
This year have taken way too many outside shots.
That leads to fast breaks the other way.
Sabrina is taking 2 more shots a game then Stewie, and 6 more the JJ.
That's not an effective offense.

With Stewie shooting at a 23.9 clip from three, perhaps she should be shooting less of them?

 

[WBBTakeover]

And....Phx guards dominate, Aari critical of Plum's defense......hum.... As I mentioned earlier cloud in a career game abused the entire Sparks defense and in particular loved it when Aari was on the court.

I'm waiting for the diminutive kitty's thoughts and insights which I'm sure she'll post on Twitter a la her slam on Kelsey Plum who as I recall does have a bit of a resume.

Aari learned a valuable lesson this weekend. When you're not a DAWG, you keep your mouth shut so that you don't embarrass yourself in the future. While I have my issues with KP (mainly shot selection and defense), I do acknowledge that she is a DAWG--full stop. So is Tash Cloud (and Aari found out the hard way yesterday by getting lit up like the Rockefeller Christmas tree).

At this point in her career, Aari's diminutive behind can't roll with the big dawgs.

 

[WBBTakeover]

I also want to point out that Odyssey Sims is mostly hot air. It's not wise to mess with a dawg in training.

 

[Zanzman]

Whats a dawg as u call them

 

[baggerbob]

With Stewie shooting at a 23.9 clip from three, perhaps she should be shooting less of them?

Sabrina should take less shots period, and Stewie has been shooting less 3's then normal from other years.
Sabrina on the other hand is taking more shots and overall shooting bad.
Plus NY shoots less free throws then most teams.
Taking 23 shots and only 2 free throws you aren't penetrating to get easier baskets.
And you aren't putting pressure on the other teams defense.
Sandy only won 1 championship with Griner and DT on her team.
I hope she proves me wrong, but she hasn't shown she is anything more the an average coach.

 

[WBBTakeover]

Whats a dawg as u call them

A player who brings a high level of energy every game and makes positive things happen more often than not. T-Spoon was a dawg during her career, and it doesn't surprise me that two of her players are becoming dawgs in this league as well.

I also like to think that the player is accomplished professionally in some way (both Cloud and Plum are WNBA champs), but the younger ones likely won't be.

 

[WBBTakeover]

Sandy only won 1 championship with Griner and DT on her team.
I hope she proves me wrong, but she hasn't shown she is anything more the an average coach.

Also coached Penny Taylor, DeWanna Bonner, Candice Dupree, and SDS. Sancho Lyttle and Briann January weren't slouches, either.

 

[bbsamjj]

Plus NY shoots less free throws then most teams.
Taking 23 shots and only 2 free throws you aren't penetrating to get easier baskets.
And you aren't putting pressure on the other teams defense.
Sandy only won 1 championship with Griner and DT on her team.
I hope she proves me wrong, but she hasn't shown she is anything more the an average coach.

NY does have the best overall FG% in the league right now, but to your point--they are doing that despite taking by far the most 3 pointers in the league per game while shooting an OKAY 34%.

Interestingly, Sabrina is shooting around 42% from the field, about the same as last year. But her 3pt percentage is down 10pts from last year. Which basically means she's shooting more and making more 2-pointers. Her floater game has improved remarkably, but she is missing a lot of 3's this year.

 

[baggerbob]

NY does have the best overall FG% in the league right now, but to your point--they are doing that despite taking by far the most 3 pointers in the league per game while shooting an OKAY 34%.

Interestingly, Sabrina is shooting around 42% from the field, about the same as last year. But her 3pt percentage is down 10pts from last year. Which basically means she's shooting more and making more 2-pointers. Her floater game has improved remarkably, but she is missing a lot of 3's this year.

And a lot of those misses are leading to easy baskets at the other end.
New York needs to start looking for better shots and not just the first open shot.
Missed 3 's a lot of times go long leading to fast breaks.

 

[ochoopsfan]

 

[GoChips20]

NY does have the best overall FG% in the league right now, but to your point--they are doing that despite taking by far the most 3 pointers in the league per game while shooting an OKAY 34%.

Interestingly, Sabrina is shooting around 42% from the field, about the same as last year. But her 3pt percentage is down 10pts from last year. Which basically means she's shooting more and making more 2-pointers. Her floater game has improved remarkably, but she is missing a lot of 3's this year.

Sabrina and Jackie Young were handily the two best three-point shooters in the league last season and both of their percentages have absolutely cratered in 2024.

 

[nwhoopfan]

Minnesota is winning some games without Collier. That's gotta be good for the whole team's confidence.

LA continues to stink if they play anyone other than Vegas.

 

[nwhoopfan]

Does anyone know why all the games are super early on Wednesday? Weird.

 

[cancontent]

Does anyone know why all the games are super early on Wednesday? Weird.

I figured the teams are doing afternoon games for families on vacation during the summer break. However, having several crammed together at the same time is nonsense. The WNBA has done that several times this season already. That part is weird to me considering the size of the league.

 

[GCKSFN4L]

Does anyone know why all the games are super early on Wednesday? Weird.

It's Camp Day games for the kids. The WNBA likes to dedicate games to the kids. They send tickets to local summer camps and the organization usually makes the music and halftime even more kid friendly. Don't be surprised if we see a Mascot or two have a birthday. Also be prepared for a lot a screaming kids all game for both teams.

Overall I think it's a good investment for for the future but having 5 in one day is crazy

 

[azfan]

Sparks PG Clarendon was the only bright spot in yesterday's homecourt loss. Efficient from the floor (4-5) in 26 minutes they demonstrated a maturity among the chaos. With 4 assists to 2 turnovers they reflected a calmness that might be a model for younger players.

Clarendon's upside or ceiling was displayed earlier in the year with their triple double.

Their long service in the league also was reflected in the number of tweets after the game......0

 

[azfan]

A picture is worth a thousand tweets.

 

[CajunHusky]

It's Camp Day games for the kids. The WNBA likes to dedicate games to the kids. They send tickets to local summer camps and the organization usually makes the music and halftime even more kid friendly. Don't be surprised if we see a Mascot or two have a birthday. Also be prepared for a lot a screaming kids all game for both teams.

Overall I think it's a good investment for for the future but having 5 in one day is crazy

Camp Day for kids .... beyond Great!

Several on one day? I don't see a problem.... they aren't in the same city ...

 

[cancontent]

Camp Day for kids .... beyond Great!

Several on one day? I don't see a problem.... they aren't in the same city ...

For fans watch live in TV it could be. Three games overlap each other with Conn-NY on now, and two games tipping off at noon. Why not stagger them over a few days in the form of double headers? One tips off at 11 with another at 1?

 

[GCKSFN4L]

Camp Day for kids .... beyond Great!

Several on one day? I don't see a problem.... they aren't in the same city ...

Most working adults won't be able to watch most of the league play today. I think that's a missed opportunity to cater to your core audience. Perhaps 3 camp day games and 2 normal games would have been great. Then 2 more camp day games could have occurred on a different date.