Mercury vs Lynx Game 2 on ABC at 3:30pm est | Page 3 | The Boneyard

Mercury vs Lynx Game 2 on ABC at 3:30pm est

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That's why I call this THE FINALS! Who ever comes out of the East will get killed by either MN or PHX!
 
Yeah I agree with others here; great game. I really loved the "Euro" step by Penny Taylor in the 2nd quarter. The intensity of this game was unreal. The budding rivalry between these two teams is great for the league.
 
RSHERMVIKES said:
That's why I call this THE FINALS! Who ever comes out of the East will get killed by either MN or PHX!
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While I do agree that whoever wins will probably sweep Chicago/Indiana; it was just 2 years ago that everyone thought Minnesota (as defending champions) would sweep Indiana. Instead, Indiana dominated the series and took the championship home. It only takes a few players to play out of this world for a few games.
 
So what happened on Phoenix's last offensive series(not the last shot)? It looked disjointed and ended with a shot with nobody ready for an offensive rebound. Broken play? Unexpected or great defense? Or?
 
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FairView said:
I missed the game, but felt the excitement from reading RLady's posts. Thanks a lot! That was great.
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You are very welcome. I love doing this actually, and wish I could be here for game 3. Maybe someone will step in...
 
OldAlum said:
So what happened on Phoenix's last offensive series(not the last shot)? It looked disjointed and ended with a shot with nobody ready for an offensive rebound. Broken play? Unexpected or great defense? Or?
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Only the shadow knows lol maybe they'll run it again in game 3
 
OldAlum said:
So what happened on Phoenix's last offensive series(not the last shot)? It looked disjointed and ended with a shot with nobody ready for an offensive rebound. Broken play? Unexpected or great defense? Or?
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I felt like Phoenix had some poor coaching down the stretch. The shot by Dupree was a good shot but the lane was cleared to the point that there was no other Phoenix player within 15 feet of the rim for a rebound.

DT shot way too much, as she did the last time that Phoenix played in Minnesota, and lost. Once again, quick three pointers without a single pass in the offense. Phoenix has a clear advantage at one position, which is the center position, yet they only got BG 8 shots. They cannot afford to have another player taking 15 more shots than Griner.
 
Griner has to hit the freaking boards. There is no excuse for 4 other teammates, including reserve PG Erin Phillips, having more rebounds than she has. BG was tied with Whalen and Augustus as the 8th leading rebounder in the game. Someone on the coaching staff needs to get in her ass for that. But what I have seen in Griner's career is that when she is involved offensively, she rebounds more. When she does not get looks at the basket, she can lose focus. Not a good quality, but a pattern I have observed for most of her career.
 
easttexastrash said:
Griner has to hit the freaking boards. There is no excuse for 4 other teammates, including reserve PG Erin Phillips, having more rebounds than she has. BG was tied with Whalen and Augustus as the 8th leading rebounder in the game. Someone on the coaching staff needs to get in her ass for that. But what I have seen in Griner's career is that when she is involved offensively, she rebounds more. When she does not get looks at the basket, she can lose focus. Not a good quality, but a pattern I have observed for most of her career.
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Nowwww... where have I heard something similar to this before today...? Quite possibly worded with a little more attention to political correctness...
 
easttexastrash said:
I felt like Phoenix had some poor coaching down the stretch. The shot by Dupree was a good shot but the lane was cleared to the point that there was no other Phoenix player within 15 feet of the rim for a rebound.

DT shot way too much, as she did the last time that Phoenix played in Minnesota, and lost. Once again, quick three pointers without a single pass in the offense. Phoenix has a clear advantage at one position, which is the center position, yet they only got BG 8 shots. They cannot afford to have another player taking 15 more shots than Griner.
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Poor coaching? we cannot know what plays were drawn up by the coach of the year nor do we know how the suffocating defense of the Lynx played into disrupting those plays. During the game I observed more often than not Maya's absolutely pesky defense on Diana.
Diana is an amazing shooter and shooters shoot. They don't think about the shots behind them that didn't go in, they look to make the next play, and same goes with Dupree who had the hot hand for almost the entire game.

It was a hotly contested game, and the Lynx being one of the best teams in the league were not going to fold a second time. Perhaps "fold" is a bad descriptor: they were not going to have another bad game, and anybody who thought so was in error. Sometimes in games this competitive it all boils down to who can pull out the win circumstances notwithstanding. Personally I didn't care who won because I like both teams very much particularly because they have two of my most favorite players of all time who happened to be from UConn.

And I am really really excited and pleased but this is gone to a third game cuz I get to watch these two great teams play again.
 
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RadyLady said:
And I am really really excited and pleased but this is gone to a third game cuz I get to watch these two great teams play again.
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You and me both! I hated to see Phoenix lose but it is fitting that the fans get to see a game 3. I expect a very physical game.
 
RadyLady said:
Poor coaching? we cannot know what plays were drawn up by the coach of the year nor do we know how the suffocating defense of the Lynx played into disrupting those plays. During the game I observed more often than not Maya's absolutely pesky defense on Diana.
Diana is an amazing shooter and shooters shoot. They don't think about the shots behind them that didn't go in, they look to make the next play, and same goes with Dupree who had the hot hand for almost the entire game.

It was a hotly contested game, and the Lynx being one of the best teams in the league were not going to fold a second time. Perhaps "fold" is a bad descriptor: they were not going to have another bad game, and anybody who thought so was in error. Sometimes in games this competitive it all boils down to who can pull out the win circumstances notwithstanding. Personally I didn't care who won because I like both teams very much particularly because they have two of my most favorite players of all time who happened to be from UConn.

And I am really really excited and pleased but this is gone to a third game cuz I get to watch these two great teams play again.
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DT is a very good shooter, but she has to realize that the TEAM has an advantage somewhere else on the floor and use that advantage accordingly. I am not saying that she should quit shooting, but being a bit more selective would be advisable. She is shooting less than 12% from three point range in this series so jacking up a lot of three point shots without working for a higher percentage shot is just not playing team ball.
 
easttexastrash said:
DT is a very good shooter, but she has to realize that the TEAM has an advantage somewhere else on the floor and use that advantage accordingly. I am not saying that she should quit shooting, but being a bit more selective would be advisable. She is shooting less than 12% from three point range in this series so jacking up a lot of three point shots without working for a higher percentage shot is just not playing team ball.
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Well afterall, she IS the Ballhog Chick....
 
easttexastrash said:
I felt like Phoenix had some poor coaching down the stretch. The shot by Dupree was a good shot but the lane was cleared to the point that there was no other Phoenix player within 15 feet of the rim for a rebound.
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Actually, it was excellent coaching down the stretch by Coach Brondello. It appeared that the play was set up for Dupree to get the ball in isolation in hopes of drawing a double team to kick it out to a three point shooter. Minnesota, obviously aware and battling every constantly drilled instinct to provide help, stayed home on the three point shooters. However, Maya, whose tendency to overachieve drives me nuts sometimes, almost bit; Almost dropped inside to help. And she was guarding Diana Taurasi. Had Maya leaned in just a tad more, the game would have been tied at 78.

Seimone Augustus' three point play at around 23 seconds was very well defended by Phoenix. The window in which Seimone caught the pass and shot was the only window of opportunity for that shot. Perfect execution. Taylor switched to Maya when Maya came off of Augustus' screen. Dupree ran out at Maya when Maya came off of McCarville's screen, then recovered when she realized where the play was going. Bonner, a step behind after the switch on to Augustus almost made up the ground and was still able to contest the shot. Had Whelan delivered the pass a step or two deeper, Taurasi would have been there to provide help. Again, perfectly executed by Minnesota because that play was very well defended.
 
j66kicker said:
Well afterall, she IS the Ballhog Chick....
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Phoenix does not need ANY player taking more three point shots than Griner takes total shots. That is not how they are going to beat Minnesota. They are going to beat Minnesota by beating them in the paint and playing solid defense on the perimeter.
 
VAUConnFan said:
Actually, it was excellent coaching down the stretch by Coach Brondello. It appeared that the play was set up for Dupree to get the ball in isolation in hopes of drawing a double team to kick it out to a three point shooter. Minnesota, obviously aware and battling every constantly drilled instinct to provide help, stayed home on the three point shooters. However, Maya, whose tendency to overachieve drives me nuts sometimes, almost bit; Almost dropped inside to help. And she was guarding Diana Taurasi. Had Maya leaned in just a tad more, the game would have been tied at 78.

Seimone Augustus' three point play at around 23 seconds was very well defended by Phoenix. The window in which Seimone caught the pass and shot was the only window of opportunity for that shot. Perfect execution. Taylor switched to Maya when Maya came off of Augustus' screen. Dupree ran out at Maya when Maya came off of McCarville's screen, then recovered when she realized where the play was going. Bonner, a step behind after the switch on to Augustus almost made up the ground and was still able to contest the shot. Had Whelan delivered the pass a step or two deeper, Taurasi would have been there to provide help. Again, perfectly executed by Minnesota because that play was very well defended.
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By "down the stretch" I didn't mean the last play or two. And what else was Minny going to do? They were up two possessions so of course if a team clears out the lane you are just going to hang out and defend the three and give up a one-on-on play in the lane. You simply cannot draw up a play at that point that may result in a missed shot with no other players in the lane to grab a possible rebound. Had it been "excellent" it would have had a much better result.
 
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easttexastrash said:
Phoenix does not need ANY player taking more three point shots than Griner takes total shots. That is not how they are going to beat Minnesota. They are going to beat Minnesota by beating them in the paint and playing solid defense on the perimeter.
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OK OK - agree :)

IMO it's up to Griner. If she's dialed in and gets open and demands the ball, DT will get it to her.
 
j66kicker said:
OK OK - agree :)

IMO it's up to Griner. If she's dialed in and gets open and demands the ball, DT will get it to her.
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It's hard to "get open" when someone shoots before you have even gotten down the court.
 
j66kicker said:
Good point. Hopefully BG & BHC are reading this as game prep
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Hopefully the game plan involves fewer quick-trigger shots and a bit more of a patient offense that values shots in the paint.

I love DT, but her decision making when it came to shot selection left a lot to be desired in game 2.
 
It's interesting: When the shots fall its "hooray for the shooter" and when the shots aren't falling it's "I hope they don't have such a quick trigger and get the ball into Griner", especially if the game is a loss, never mind that the game is against a very very good team with the WNBA player of the year in the starting lineup, and never mind that the player with the "quick trigger" was the second runner up to the WNBA player of the year....

oh never mind...
 
RadyLady said:
It's interesting: When the shots fall its "hooray for the shooter" and when the shots aren't falling it's "I hope they don't have such a quick trigger and get the ball into Griner", especially if the game is a loss, never mind that the game is against a very very good team with the WNBA player of the year in the starting lineup.
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Hey, I think the ball always should go to Griner, so you can't be talking about me... ;)

I bet you my bottom dollar that in game three Phoenix has a lot more focus on getting the ball to BG and that DT won't take 15 more shots than Griner. The Mercury could have finished off Minnesota in two games had they not jacked up so many long range shots early in the shot clock. The shot selection in game 2 was the exact same way that Phoenix played last year, when things didn't turn out so well.
 
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UConn990411 said:
It's really a shame that this is only gonna be a best-of-three series.

This is the highest level of women's hoops, and both teams are just a joy to watch. Three games just isn't enough to decide a victor.
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It's REALLY a shame that this isn't on a main ESPN channel. There are no words....
 
RadyLady said:
You are very welcome. I will not be able to see the Tuesday game - unless it is at 10 pm which I am hoping. Still, I will miss some of it. It was fun to watch. You should never underestimate great teams who have a bad game. they will fight back for sure, and they certainly did today.
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Good news zorro - I will be here for the entire game. Can't wait. Gonna watch game 2 again now...
 
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