I watched most of the game. Every Minny player is out there with hustle and grit. Fowles was really good. They double teamed her most of the 1st half and she still found ways to contribute scoring a lot as well. Maya is Maya. Whalen is tough as nails. Brunson is really good. Augustus was just ok this game...And Minny has a terrific bench. Howard did a lot of little things and Monty and Perkins were also very solid. For LA, great effort by Chelsea Gray. Also, Nneka has a motor like Maya's - just doesn't quit. LOVE her game. Same can be said for Beard. Even Tolliver is a tenacious defender. Parker on the other hand...
I really focused in on her because this was one of the few televised games I was able to sit and watch most of the entire thing. There was not a more lazy player on the court than her. On defense, she barely follows her player around - usually just keeps her arm raised toward the person she's defending so it looks like she's doing something. Rarely rotates, rarely provides help side defense, really she plays "token" defense. HATES contact and will not defend if they are bodying her up. Unless she gets annoyed - then she flails around.
On offense, she also stands around. Demands the ball. Pouts when they don't pass it to her. Shows exasperation when a teammate misses a shot or a pass that she's involved in (ie. she passes the ball to a teammate who misses a shot, throws her arms up in exasperation, and starts walking or jogging (never sprinting) down the court to play "defense"). Whines constantly to the refs. One reason she has so many assists is because she stands out around the perimeter holding the ball in one hand. If/when she gets double teamed, she zings a pass to an open teammate. Bully for her, and you can't argue with her assists this year, but oh my - is the rest of her game (effort) lacking. The other thing she does really well is drive to the basket from somewhere around the 3 point line. She has an excellent handle for a player her size and uses that to her advantage when driving to the hoop.
Her style of play may get "oohs and aahs" when she does something spectacular, and she certainly has the talent to be one of the top players, but the lack of effort and the attitude is just so prevalent that it really holds her back. Just because someone has talent and basketball gifts does not make them a great player. She lacks an awful lot (based on my observation of her play in one of the biggest games of the season for them).
This is not to say that she can't turn it on from time to time, but until she gives 100% effort for a complete game, or whenever she's on the court, she has to be considered an average player with flashes of greatness. Not enough for someone of her caliber IMHO... For people who have watched her play this year, was this game an aberration or is it generally the way she plays? I find it hard to understand the lack of effort with the top seed on the line against the other best team in the league, but maybe she just had an off game...
Nneka had been trying to back pedal and was late to turn, but Parker was just jogged back and never made an effort to keep up.
8 points in the last 29 seconds. Hopefully she has earned some more playing time.
