Just back from Saturday morning chores (farmers' market, grocery stores, etc.) and some thoughts on this over late morning cup of coffee and apple cider donut (!). Thought of the teams in this way:
Injuries/Health.
- Seattle. The tape of Stewie looked good, but will that progress into "game shape?" Sue is not suffering from as bad an injury but she's had a lot of them and age is starting to creep up. Will Loyd's ankle malady get stronger? If (mostly) yes, watch out.
- Washington. This pretty much centers around EDD, who -- for whatever reason -- falls prey to injuries. If she's (mostly) ok and if Meesseman resigns, watch out, as well. This is a team where Myisha Hines-Allen didn't get off the bench in the playoffs...and most teams would snap her up.
- Phoenix. Ok, time to address the DT in the league: is Diana ok? Affects everything from the Mercury to the U.S. National Team.
Team Make-Up/Chemistry
- Los Angeles. Parker. Fisher. Williams. Parker and Williams can add to the mix, but also hurt the mix. I thought Fisher had his best moments when, interestingly, both were out and he had to use a depleted squad.
- Las Vegas. Feels like Bill's total of three guards (McBride, Plum, Young) is often less than the sum of it's parts. Having watched her since high school, I think Young can be a perfectly fine point guard, but I'm not sure it maximizes her talents. While Plums is still a bit more of a "shoot-first" PG, I think she's improved her distribution a bunch. I'd move her to PG, with Lindsay Allen as a back--up (if she returns from her ACL injury), keep Kmac at off-guard and move Jackie to wing.
While I hear those that think Liz and A'ja get in each other's way, I can't see that changing. Laimbeer will give it another season to work it out. Plus, he's got Hamby to spell them.
A Question Here or There
- Chicago. What does Wade do with KLS in her second season? Once again, how does one take advantage of an obvious skill-set.
- Connecticut. Some contracts are running out. Who comes back? If JJ, Alyssa T. and Williams are on the court, I think they're in pretty darn good shape.
- Minnesota. What about Robinson at PG? Will offense run a bit more through 'Pheesa? And, putting an injury question in here, will Jess Shepard be back/back in top shape? Once the latter, she and Collier will be special.
Stay tuned
- Indiana. Catchings nees to make a good hire and both of them need to decide how they want to ground this team.
- New York. If they move to Brooklyn do you really want Smith coaching this unit? Durr's return will help, but I think a coaching change is absolutely necessary.
- Altanta. What about Angel McCoughtry? Will she come back? If so, with the Dream? Or do they cut ties with each other?
- Dallas. If Sky and Mo'Jeff are both back, the backcourt suddenly becomes filled out. Would expect the Wings to use their draft choices to bolster the front line.
