Poll: LA Sparks v Minnesota Lynx

[UConnCat]

The rematch of last year's championship series begins Sunday, September 24. The Sparks won the regular season games 2-1, although the Lynx were without Whalen in both Lynx losses. Whalen is now back. Both teams looked good in sweeping their semi-final opponents.

Here's hoping for a great series with no 9-second backcourt clock and no 25-second shot clock.

Go Lynx!

 

[VAUConnFan]

LA, with Sims in the backcourt is now younger, quicker, better defensively, and is playing with a ton of momentum. LA has also shown that they can win the close games. I love Maya and will be rooting for Minnesota, but LA has the weapons and I do not see but one favorable matchup for Minnesota. The whole is going to have to be greater than the sum of its parts for Minnesota to prevail. The OP thinks Minnesota is better now with Whalen back. My concern is that Whalen will have to guard Sims and in turn will be guarded by Sims.

 

[UConnCat]

LA, with Sims in the backcourt is now younger, quicker, better defensively, and is playing with a ton of momentum. LA has also shown that they can win the close games. I love Maya and will be rooting for Minnesota, but LA has the weapons and I do not see but one favorable matchup for Minnesota. The whole is going to have to be greater than the sum of its parts for Minnesota to prevail. The OP thinks Minnesota is better now with Whalen back. My concern is that Whalen will have to guard Sims and in turn will be guarded by Sims.

Sims replaced Carson in the starting lineup which certainly helps the offense but I'm not sure she is as good defensively as Carson. Sims has the reputation as a good defender and she's capable but she hasn't always been committed to that side of the floor. Meanwhile, Carson's length has been a problem for the Lynx. We'll see.

I see 2 favorable match-ups for the Lynx: Maya is better than Beard (tho Beard defends her well) and this season I'll take Sylvia over Nneka. I also think Seimone's size can cause problems for LA's shorter guards.

LA's speed and quickness in the backcourt will be a problem for the Lynx who must take care of the ball. Renee and Maya have to make 3-pointers as well.

Overall, I do think the Sparks are a slightly better team but I voted with my heart and will go with the older and more experienced Lynx.

 

[msf22b]

Surely Maya is better than Beard, but in the last year or so Beard has been terrorizing everyone defensively and on occasion has shut down Maya...I think that's the matchup

If Maya breaks free, the Lynx win...but I think Beard will shut her down just enough.

 

[j66kicker]

Haha - the consensus narrative seems to be the Sparks are better and should be favored, but the vote is over 70% for the Lynx. Maya vs. Candace - hmmmmm....

 

[EricLA]

Haha - the consensus narrative seems to be the Sparks are better and should be favored, but the vote is over 70% for the Lynx. Maya vs. Candace - hmmmmm....

People tend to vote with their hearts. I know I did. I live in LA (DUH) and I can't stand the Sparks. ABLA (anybody but LA)!!!

 

[Plebe]

Most of the media reports on the Sparks seem to focus on Parker (she is both a great player and remarkably photogenic, after all), but to me what stands out with the Sparks is how emergence/addition of Nneka, Beard, and Carson, along with the hiring of Coach Agler, have completely transformed the character of the team in the past two years. That Nneka-Beard-Carson trio have brought such a hard-nosed blue-collar approach that has really set the tone for the Sparks' success.

 

[Shades]

Most of the media reports on the Sparks seem to focus on Parker (she is both a great player and remarkably photogenic, after all), but to me what stands out with the Sparks is how emergence/addition of Nneka, Beard, and Carson, along with the hiring of Coach Agler, have completely transformed the character of the team in the past two years. That Nneka-Beard-Carson trio have brought such a hard-nosed blue-collar approach that has really set the tone for the Sparks' success.

No mention of Gray or Sims?

 

[Plebe]

No mention of Gray or Sims?

Ha oops sorry, I had edited my post and somehow that sentence disappeared. What I wanted to say was that Gray and Sims seem to be having career years.

 

[MilfordHusky]

Most of the media reports on the Sparks seem to focus on Parker (she is both a great player and remarkably photogenic, after all), but to me what stands out with the Sparks is how emergence/addition of Nneka, Beard, and Carson, along with the hiring of Coach Agler, have completely transformed the character of the team in the past two years. That Nneka-Beard-Carson trio have brought such a hard-nosed blue-collar approach that has really set the tone for the Sparks' success.

Despite their talent, Agler is the difference maker.

I think L.A. is dangerous. Minnesota will need their A game to win. But Lindsay is back, Seimone is playing well, Sylvia is the MVP, and Maya is still the Magnificent One. Home court might make the difference. I see 5 games.

 

[DaddyChoc]

LA

 

[RSHERMVIKES]

I to dislike LA! Matchups are close but MN has something special, call it intangibles so I see them winning in 5 games!

 

[hoophuskee]

I went with LA. Though I hope they lose lose lose.

LA's team defense and overall quickness too much imo.

 

[BostonCanuck]

I agree with some others that LA seems like the slightly better team. However Minny is very hungry after what happened last year, and they're still able to hit the easy button almost on demand to play like a team possessed.

What intrigues me is whether or not the LA's defense is really as good as the commentators kept gushing that it was during the Phoenix series. No question that the Mercury couldn't figure it out. But based on my eye test, that was often due as much to ineptitude on the part of Phoenix.

I think the Sparks defense it's not quite all that, and I'm going with the Lynx in four.

 

[bballnut90]

On Rebkell it's about 65% Sparks, 35% Lynx.

Right now, LA is playing extremely well and they are just so complete offensively with Gray stepping up this year and Sims stepping up in the 2nd half of the season. They've won 15 of their last 17 games, and Sims has averaged 15ppg+ during that stretch. Parker is playing as well as she ever has and has been so consistent in effort and defense. She's bringing it night in and night out and her defense on Griner was the main reason for the sweep IMO. Nneka is Nneka, and Beard has been shutting down the best wings in the W. If she slows down Moore, it's going to be very very tough to compete with LA. LA has better playmakers and is the hotter team. It could go either way, but if I'm a betting man I'd put money on the Sparks to repeat.

 

[bballnut90]

I agree with some others that LA seems like the slightly better team. However Minny is very hungry after what happened last year, and they're still able to hit the easy button almost on demand to play like a team possessed.

What intrigues me is whether or not the LA's defense is really as good as the commentators kept gushing that it was during the Phoenix series. No question that the Mercury couldn't figure it out. But based on my eye test, that was often due as much to ineptitude on the part of Phoenix.

I think the Sparks defense it's not quite all that, and I'm going with the Lynx in four.

It's worth noting that the last 2 times these teams played the Lynx were held to 64 and 67 points...2 of their 4 lowest point totals on the season.

 

[UConnCat]

It's worth noting that the last 2 times these teams played the Lynx were held to 64 and 67 points...2 of their 4 lowest point totals on the season.

It's worth noting that in both of those games the Lynx played without starting point guard Lindsay Whalen and in the last game Brunson was playing her first game after being out 2 weeks with an injury. In the 2nd game the Sparks only scored 70 points so it's not like they were a juggernaut in that game either.

 

[UConnCat]

Maya vs. Candace - hmmmmm....

Funny how this match-up has become a proxy for UConn v Tennessee with a number of factors upping the ante particularly for Tennessee fans (UConn now dominating WCBB, 9 years since Tennessee's last Final Four, Parker not making the Olympic team).

 

[EricLA]

Funny how this match-up has become a proxy for UConn v Tennessee with a number of factors upping the ante particularly for Tennessee fans (UConn now dominating WCBB, 9 years since Tennessee's last Final Four, Parker not making the Olympic team).

Imagine if a beloved UCONN alum played on the Sparks (Dee, Stewie, etc). THAT would be a tough call. Still, the way it stands now, I think you'd be hard pressed to find a single UCONN fan rooting for the Sparks or a single Tenn fan rooting for the Lynx...

 

[UConnCat]

Along the lines of the Lynx having to make 3-pointers, I left out Rebecca Brunson. Here is an article about her expanding her range and the Lynx's determined effort to become a better 3-point shooting team to give Sylvia more room to operate in the paint. The results have been positive.

http://www.espn.com/wnba/story/_/id/20759967/minnesota-lynx-veteran-rebekkah-brunson-reinvents-game

Improved 3-point shooting allowed league MVP Fowles to operate more freely in the low post. This season the Lynx took more 3-pointers than in any season since Reeve's first with the Lynx in 2010, hoisting 16.1 attempts per game, up significantly over last year (11.9). Led by Augustus (43.2 percent accuracy beyond the arc) and Maya Moore (41.1 percent), the Lynx ranked second in the league to Chicago with 37.0 percent shooting from 3-point range.

And here's an important message for Gabby Williams as she works on expanding her range:

Along the way, Brunson had to develop a shooter's mentality: the confidence to keep putting them up even when the shots aren't falling. That runs counter to everything Brunson believes. Miss a few shots? I'm hurting the team. Better stop, do what I do best and leave scoring to the scorers.

"The hardest part about converting from somebody who doesn't shoot 3s to someone who does, is learning you have to shoot through misses,"

 

[bballnut90]

It's worth noting that in both of those games the Lynx played without starting point guard Lindsay Whalen and in the last game Brunson was playing her first game after being out 2 weeks with an injury. In the 2nd game the Sparks only scored 70 points so it's not like they were a juggernaut in that game either.

Valid point. Should be a great matchup, these are by far the best two teams in the league for the 2nd year in a row and both teams appear to be favorites for next year too provided their stars don't start to decline.

 

[UConnCat]

In last year's playoffs the Sparks averaged 6 three-pointers per game to the Lynx's 3 three-pointers per game. Based on a small sample size this year (3 playoff games for each team), the Lynx are averaging 8.7 threes to the Sparks's 4.7. So far Sims has yet to match Toliver's production from beyond the arc but she is scoring in other ways.

The numbers during the regular season were much closer, 6 to 5.3 advantage for the Lynx.

 

[willtalk]

Sims replaced Carson in the starting lineup which certainly helps the offense but I'm not sure she is as good defensively as Carson. Sims has the reputation as a good defender and she's capable but she hasn't always been committed to that side of the floor. Meanwhile, Carson's length has been a problem for the Lynx. We'll see.

I see 2 favorable match-ups for the Lynx: Maya is better than Beard (tho Beard defends her well) and this season I'll take Sylvia over Nneka. I also think Seimone's size can cause problems for LA's shorter guards.

LA's speed and quickness in the backcourt will be a problem for the Lynx who must take care of the ball. Renee and Maya have to make 3-pointers as well.

Overall, I do think the Sparks are a slightly better team but I voted with my heart and will go with the older and more experienced Lynx.

Sims has a defensive weakness that is not that obvious to a casual observer. That is why she always had a reputation as a good defender. Her problem was not really because of a lack of commitment it just appeared that way. Her speed and quickness makes her a really good on ball defender and it also allows her to recover quickly and cover a lot of space. Her defensive weakness lies in making defensive switches of screens and and the speed at which her help defense defense decision process operates. I think it is not a matter of commitment but either a vision of visual processing information issue. It's a matter of not being able to decide which person to cover when switches are necessary. Angler recognizes this and has pulled her out at the end of games when this would be an issue.

Sims is gradually learning how to compensate for that weakness. This is why it seems like she is more committed to defense. It is usually when she is playing close man to man that she becomes more vulnerable to making wrong decisions on switches. Which is why she probably often seemed like she wasn't playing tough D. She was just compensating. She can still play tough man to man but she just needs to anticipate, adjust and transition her focus prior to the actual switch being necessary otherwise she either can not recognize, or perhaps just can not process the angles and spacing quickly enough.

How can you say that Seimone's size will be a problem for the shorter Sparks guards when she is only one inch taller than Gray, who by the way has long arms. When they play the lynx Gray usually is on Seimone. A poster on another site stated that the Lynx will probably put Simone on Sims, Moore on Gray and hide Whalen on Beard. Whalen would have too much of a problem with either Gray or Sims.

 

[UConnCat]

How can you say that Seimone's size will be a problem for the shorter Sparks guards when she is only one inch taller than Gray, who by the way has long arms. When they play the lynx Gray usually is on Seimone. A poster on another site stated that the Lynx will probably put Simone on Sims, Moore on Gray and hide Whalen on Beard. Whalen would have too much of a problem with either Gray or Sims.

Clearly I was talking about the shorter Sims who may end up guarding Seimone at points in the game. I believe Siemone is more than an inch taller than Gray (despite the listed heights); regardless, Seimone also has long arms with a very high release point on her shot which is difficult to defend even for very good defenders (which Gray isn't).

I have no idea what the desired defensive match-ups will be for the Lynx.

 

[willtalk]

Clearly I was talking about the shorter Sims who may end up guarding Seimone at points in the game. I believe Siemone is more than an inch taller than Gray (despite the listed heights); regardless, Seimone also has long arms with a very high release point on her shot which is difficult to defend even for very good defenders (which Gray isn't).

I have no idea what the desired defensive match-ups will be for the Lynx.

Your response peaked my interests in that it didn't seem to jive with my memory of their match ups. Thank heaven for NBA All Access since it makes looking these things up relatively easy. In the three games against the Sparks Siemone scored a total of 33 points which is about her season average. Even though it was usually Gray guarding her Seimone only scored a total of 12 points against her. One of those baskets was questionable because it was off a switch that a teammate blew. That would make it only 10 points. Two of those baskets came off of screens so only 3 baskets were actually shot over Gray. So the height advantage and high release wasn't really that much of a factor. Now that might actually change in the series, but during the regular season it played no part. I can see your point about her high release. She hit two of of the three over Gray in her last game. Since they were the most recent perhaps those are the ones you remembered.

Still statistically and by eyeball Gray does well enough defensively against Seimone. People tend to underestimate Gray and she appears to want it that way. She actually works at it. Though she is definitely not a track star, she is really a lot faster and quicker than she appears to be. She only shows you her top speed in shot bursts which makes her difficult to gage both offensively and defensively. Her entire game is geared around deception. She even plays in a constant crouch position as to appear to be shorter than she actually is. She is a much better defender than people give her credit for.