Seattle Storm vs Los Angeles Sparks - 9/04/20

[nwhoopfan]

It counts! Seattle still all alone on top.

 

[nwhoopfan]

25 for Loyd, 20 for Stewie, 13 for Howard.

25 for Parker, 18 for Gray, 17 for Sykes.

 

[nwhoopfan]

LA and Minnesota tied for 3rd.

 

[nwhoopfan]

So...what would've happened if Williams intentionally missed the 2nd FT? LA was up 1 w/ .8 seconds left, Seattle would've had to rebound and call TO rather than have a deadball and no time coming off the clock. Things that make you go hmmm.

 

[MilfordHusky]

Bird at the Buzzer!

Well, Jewell wouldn't have made the shot on time without a perfect pass from Sue.

A classic heavyweight match with a ton of ties and lead changes.

 

[MilfordHusky]

LA and Minnesota tied for 3rd.

The first tiebreaker is even (head to head is 1-1)

The second tiebreaker hasn't been determined yet (record against teams at.500 or higher). But L.A. has 5 losses to Seattle (2x), Vegas, Minnesota, and Chicago. Minnesota has 4 losses to Seattle, L.A., Vegas, and Phoenix, plus 1 loss to Atlanta. Current edge to Minnesota.

The third tiebreaker is owned by Minnesota (head-to-head point differential).

 

[Shades]

 

[willtalk]

Horrible defense by Sykes. She totally loses Loyd and allow her to go to the corner where Bird has an unobstructed pass right to her. On a play like that you never lose sight of your man. You stick to them like glue. What was she thinking? Oh and Loyd's foot was out of bounds.

 

[donalddoowop]

The first tiebreaker is even (head to head is 1-1)

The second tiebreaker hasn't been determined yet (record against teams at.500 or higher). But L.A. has 5 losses to Seattle (2x), Vegas, Minnesota, and Chicago. Minnesota has 4 losses to Seattle, L.A., Vegas, and Phoenix, plus 1 loss to Atlanta. Current edge to Minnesota.

The third tiebreaker is owned by Minnesota (head-to-head point differential).

How could the edge go to Minnesota? L.A. has not lost to a team as low as Atlanta and all the other teams were upper tier teams.

 

[willtalk]

Her heel might've been on the sideline. Review pending.

It appears they reviewed the shot clock not the heel. They should have had Williams miss her last foul shot, then Seattle would have had not chance to get a shot off or even call a time out. Time starts when ball hits the rim.

 

[nwhoopfan]

It appears they reviewed the shot clock not the heel. They should have had Williams miss her last foul shot, then Seattle would have had not chance to get a shot off or even call a time out. Time starts when ball hits the rim.

No way. She clearly got the shot off well before the clock expired, that would've taken about 2 seconds to review. It was several minutes. They were looking at the heel. It may have been over the plain of the sideline, but the angle they showed, there's no way to tell if the heel was actually in contact w/ the floor. I really don't think there was enough there to overturn the original call.

 

[bballnut90]

I dont understand why they would try to hit the 2nd FT if Seattle can call timeout and advance the ball. If she misses, time likely runs out and Sparks win. Potentially a massive loss for the Sparks that could cost them to fall to 3rd or 4th in seeding.

 

[eebmg]

Saw it on rewind. Great game. Always nice to stick it to LA.

 

[MilfordHusky]

No way. She clearly got the shot off well before the clock expired, that would've taken about 2 seconds to review. It was several minutes. They were looking at the heel. It may have been over the plain of the sideline, but the angle they showed, there's no way to tell if the heel was actually in contact w/ the floor. I really don't think there was enough there to overturn the original call.

I agree. The heel was in the air OVER the sideline, but I didn't see it ON the sideline. In any case, it wasn't clear enough to unequivocally overturn the original call.

 

[MilfordHusky]

How could the edge go to Minnesota? L.A. has not lost to a team as low as Atlanta and all the other teams were upper tier teams.

Bad losses--to teams below .500--are irrelevant. It's the record against teams at .500 and above that matters. Though L.A. has lost to only good teams, their record against teams at .500 and above is currently worse than that of Minnesota. Minnesota has only 4 losses to those teams. L.A. has 5 losses to them.

 

[donalddoowop]

Bad losses--to teams below .500--are irrelevant. It's the record against teams at .500 and above that matters. Though L.A. has lost to only good teams, their record against teams at .500 and above is currently worse than that of Minnesota. Minnesota has only 4 losses to those teams. L.A. has 5 losses to them.

Thank you. That is a strange way to determine a tie breaker.

 

[MilfordHusky]

Thank you. That is a strange way to determine a tie breaker.

At first, it seemed to make sense to me, but in this specific case, 4 quality losses and 1 bad loss are deemed better than 5 quality losses. I agree that seems odd.

 

[Shades]

At first, it seemed to make sense to me, but in this specific case, 4 quality losses and 1 bad loss are deemed better than 5 quality losses. I agree that seems odd.

Think in terms of wins instead of losses. Where are the quality wins for the Sparks?

 

[willtalk]

I agree. The heel was in the air OVER the sideline, but I didn't see it ON the sideline. In any case, it wasn't clear enough to unequivocally overturn the original call.

If you watch using stop action you can see that the heel does for an instant come down and that the space between the heel and the line disapears then reappears. Using common sense will tell you that if you are elevating for a jump shot off both feet your heel has to come down in order to plant your heel to push off of. Other wise you are just jumping using your calf muscles. While it is possible it is highly improbable to do other wise. I am sure she was not aware that her heel was over the line so why would she feel it important never to plant her heel.

We can agree that it was not obvious enough for officials to feel inclined to change the call. Officals will usually not want to eliminate such a great play and exciting ending to a game unless it is so obvious that they have to change it. I will bet that they did see what I saw and just chose to ignore it. After all anything that helps to sell the game is important.

 

[MilfordHusky]

Think in terms of wins instead of losses. Where are the quality wins for the Sparks?

I focused on losses, because there were fewer and they were easier to count.

L.A.'s quality wins: Phoenix, Minnesota, Phoenix, Chicago

Minnesota's quality wins: Chicago, Phoenix, Los Angeles, Chicago