Not sure how you conclude that about the Sun. Their backcourt of Harris/Carrington is fantastic. Both fill their role extremely well and allow Alyssa Thomas be the primary distributor. They definitely look like a top team to start the year along with the Liberty.
Fantastic is overly optimistic. I’d take the Liberty,Aces, Mercury, Dream, Sparks, Fever,
The biggest surprise to me so far is the initial incompatibility of Clark and Boston. Everybody is talking about Clark's struggles, but Boston is having a horrible start as well. On paper I thought the addition of Clark would be a major advantage for Boston since Clark is such a good passer.
And this is why statistics are so deceptive. How many rookies played as many minutes? Took as many shots? Had the ball in their hands so often? Allowed more points than they scored? Played defense? Won games? Maybe Clark will get by excelling only on offense, but she has a long way to go in developing her game to contribute as a winner. She has brought lots of fans to the wnba. Hope those fans can recognize all of the great players in the league.
A lot of good points. Appreciate you expanding on your earlier post.
Yeah. There were several plays, especially on the break, where AT would throw her shoulder into an Indiana Fever player and that defender would fly about 5-10 feet. Katie Lou took a couple of hard shots to the chest by AT and no offensive foul was called.
A stretch maybe but they were very competitive with almost every team all season. They almost took down the Aces 4 times, 2 of those games with Candace Parker. They felt like a team last year that was as very close to being a good team in this league that an addition like Clark would get them over the hump. And it still might but they are going to have to figure out what star to play through and craft an identity around that and I’m not totally sure Sides is up for those hard choices yet. I’d have little concerns about this Fever team with a veteran coach, that’s not the situation, however.
We're talking the same coach who was responsible for the team being competitive in the games noted from last season. With new pieces like Samuelson and Clark being added, Mitchell finally on the court and Wheeler getting back into game shape, it's not surprising there are some initial rough patches.
I mean I thought her coaching is what held them back last year as well. End of game specifically she’s terrible. Drawing up a play for Aaliyah Boston to dribble drive from the logo to get a semi open layup?! That’s not her game. If you wanted that action put Smith up at the top with a Clark because Smith has that skill set.
All four listed -- Plum, Young, Ionescu, and Clark -- are facilitators/playmakers. Rhyne Howard is not a point guard nor was she the primary facilitator (Wheeler in 2022, Robinson/Jones in 2023).
I hear ya, but we don't have an actual PG right now. I'm not sure why the bookies keep churning out double-digit lines. We may beat Phoenix again tonight, but I certainly do not see a blowout win in our favor. I'd love to be wrong.
I'll preface this statement by saying that Aliyah's play so far this year has been less than inspiring. I don't know if she underestimated the process it would take to get back in tip-top shape, but she's missing the mark by a LOT. Hopefully, this serves as a "lesson learned" and that she will take her ramp-up more seriously in future seasons.
I would say the Aces are a lock to beat Phoenix, Given the construction (destruction?) by the clowns in Phoenix a point guard isn't really necessary to take down the Mercury. A lack of coherent roster construction and the inability of the million dollar coach in the valley of the Sun to implement any semblance of defense or effort assures that the top four teams in the w will have little to no problem with Phoenix. In fact the meddling four teams of the w should have little to no problem with Phoenix.
The interaction between AB and Jones in the first Liberty game was telling. Boston appeared to be not only taken aback but intimidated as Jones towered over her. I don't recall a moment like this during her rookie year
While her stat line still wasn't great in the second game, to me it looked like competed better against JJ and the Liberty in the second match up. She had some blocks and I saw a bit of fire from her. Hopefully something to build on. She got tangled up a bit w/ JJ as well, which seems to indicate she wasn't backing down.
Yep, Aces second in W in scoring to the Lynx!
Not bad for not being totally in sync. I'd say their issues so far have been more on defense than offense.
I am not being given the option to see any game. I have sent an email to League Pass Support.
Aces are up 1 on our home floor at the half against this supposed mess of a Mercury team. If the Top 4 teams aren't supposed to struggle with the Mercury and the meddling four teams aren't, either--then what does that make the Aces right now?
Boston doesn't have a fighting bone in her body. She loves to compete as long as it is within the bounds of the game but is the sweetest person you'll ever meet when the whistle blows. Fighting goes against her principles so she didn't know how to handle the situation when it escalated beyond the game. I think she chose to deescalate by being submissive in the moment. I wouldn't read too much into it.