WBNA Playoffs - here we go! | Page 4 | The Boneyard
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WBNA Playoffs - here we go!

Smith and Bell combined for...2 points. Stokes didn't even play, but still getting the same kind of production from some of the starters.
 
Go Fever! Go Aces! Two of the last 5 standing. One more to be decided tomorrow. I was sad to see the Dream lose after such a stellar season but someone has to lose.

On the other hand, the Storm massively underachieved this season. I think the organization may need to rethink their strategy. Maybe they should pull a Sun and wipe the slate clean and start over. They have a good group of players but I highly doubt they'll win a championship with this core group. Something clearly isn't working and I think it is a mixture of the coaches and players.
 
I hope this solidifies that a 1-1-1 format is far superior to 2-1. Every series has had fantastic games so far which wasn't the case last season where home teams went 8-0.

Congrats to the Fever for pulling out a massive win on the road and their first series win in 10 years. Putting up a 24:6 A/TO ratio with their 4th different PG this year is unbelievably good, props to Odyssey Sims for filling in so well.

Also, I'm shocked at how close the Storm/Aces game was. Aces nearly get bounced in the first round after winning 17 straight games. Wild stuff. If the Aces reach the WNBA Finals this year, there's a good chance A'ja will climb as high as #3 all time in career playoff points by the end of the season at just 29 years old.
 
bballnut90 said:
I hope this solidifies that a 1-1-1 format is far superior to 2-1. Every series has had fantastic games so far which wasn't the case last season where home teams went 8-0.
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I agree. I liked the playoff format change from the 2-1 to the 1-1-1 setup. Just a great feeling to see the lower seeded teams fanbase come out strong and support their teams. Plus, the games were very competitive. Well done, WNBA.
 
JstVisiting said:
No dog in the fight whatsoever, but you are already way behind Golden State and Portland in both mascot and logo. They have a couple of the strongest combinations I have seen in any sport.

Tempo is turrbul. Name and logo look like something from a Nintendo game that couldn't get afford the licensing agreement.
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I was referring to the crowd size in this case.

The team name and logo is another matter entirely. They definitely whiffed on that. 😆 😭My only hope is that someone finds a way to redesign it in the future. The Raptors original logo wasn't a hit either but fortunately MLSE got someone to redesign it into something cool.

Blame it on these darn "help us name our team" campaigns. It gave us both the Raptors and now the Tempo. So help me if Toronto lands another expansion team..................we never seem to learn from our mistakes in this area. 😉
 
nwhoopfan said:
Wilson w/ a huge game, 38 points, more than half of the Aces' total, but Young comes up with the game winner.
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According to the study I posted (earlier in this thread) by Her Hoops Stats, Young is the "most clutch" player in the league when it comes down to hitting paydirt in the last five minutes of a game (or OT). (BTW, Wilson isn't far behind.) Granted, this was a put-back, but credit Young for knowing she had to shoot off the jump rather than bring it down surrounded by taller players.
 
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MilfordHusky said:
Indiana closed the game on a 7-0 run. The last few Atlanta possessions were not good.
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Fever outscored the Dream 38-29 in 2nd half, getting double-digit scoring from all their starters and 10 rebounds from the Twin "T's" off the bench (Timpson and Turner).

Jordin Canada produced at double-double (18 points, 10 assists) and Gray had a solid 19-point game. Rhyne Howard scored 16 points but had to take a mess of shots to get there (7-18 overall, 2-8 from three) to get there.

I'll be very interested in seeing if the Dream go after more players who can fit Karl Smesko's three-point dominant offense next year.
While they certainly did much better than last year, this team could use some more accurate three-point shooting. More to the point, some snipers who have the mindset to find the right spot, time and time again. I could see the Dream be a landing spot for Sami Whitcomb or Lexi Held. Or a Marina Mabrey.

So, off go the Fever against the Aces, who will undoubtedly be the favorites. But, then again, so were the Dream. Stay tuned.
 
Dillon77 said:
Fever outscored the Dream 38-29 in 2nd half, getting double-digit scoring from all their starters and 10 rebounds from the Twin "T's" off the bench (Timpson and Turner).

Jordin Canada produced at double-double (18 points, 10 assists) and Gray had a solid 19-point game. Rhyne Howard scored 16 points but had to take a mess of shots to get there (7-18 overall, 2-8 from three) to get there.

I'll be very interested in seeing if the Dream go after more players who can fit Karl Smesko's three-point dominant offense next year.
While they certainly did much better than last year, this team could use some more accurate three-point shooting. More to the point, some snipers who have the mindset to find the right spot, time and time again. I could see the Dream be a landing spot for Sami Whitcomb or Lexi Held. Or a Marina Mabrey.

So, off go the Fever against the Aces, who will undoubtedly be the favorites. But, then again, so were the Dream. Stay tuned.
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I think both Howard and Hillmon are at the end of their rookie contracts as well. If I'm correct, Hillmon did a heck of a job to enhance her resume for the free agency market.
 
JstVisiting said:
I don’t see how anyone can watch the Aces play and think anyone but A’ja Wilson is the MVP. If they drop this series, wouldn’t blame her for fighting her entire team in the locker room.
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I have to agree and I am also a big fan of Phee and thought she had it locked up at one point. My personal vote would be for A’ja at this point, not that my opinion matters. 50/40/90 is still extremely impressive.

What a carry job that was by A’ja last night. 38 points in a one point heart attack win over the inconsistent Storm.
 
That game was infuriating. Forget teammates. Wilson should fight the front office.

Career WS for Aces draft picks since taking Jackie Young #1 overall:
0
2.7! (Iliana Rupert, 1.9 this year for GS after the expansion draft)
0.1
0
0.4
0
-0.2
0
0
0.7
-0.2
0
0
0

Maybe Becky Hammon is a coaching savant and the only person who could have taken mid 20s A'ja Wilson and two other #1 overall picks to a championship. But she is a disaster as a front office decision maker.
 
MVP: I don't know if all the ballots are in...or what the timeline is for them to count. If the voting
for that award is still open my bet is that Wilson's performance last night cinches it over Napheesa.
They are both deserving...imo.

Frankly I was stunned to see how Vegas almost got bumped out of the playoffs in the first round.
They had been playing SO well going into the playoffs and I fully expected them to sweep. When they lost in
Seattle I figured that would clearly be a one-off....especially since the deciding game was in Vegas.
Watching the highlights this morning it was truly a 50-50 game with seconds to go. Great job by Seattle!
My bet is that this will wake up Vegas and they will have less trouble with the Fever.. Still fully expect
to see a Minny/Vegas finals....with Minny's home court edge being the deciding factor.
 
Blakeon18 said:
MVP: I don't know if all the ballots are in...or what the timeline is for them to count. If the voting
for that award is still open my bet is that Wilson's performance last night cinches it over Napheesa.
They are both deserving...imo.

Frankly I was stunned to see how Vegas almost got bumped out of the playoffs in the first round.
They had been playing SO well going into the playoffs and I fully expected them to sweep. When they lost in
Seattle I figured that would clearly be a one-off....especially since the deciding game was in Vegas.
Watching the highlights this morning it was truly a 50-50 game with seconds to go. Great job by Seattle!
My bet is that this will wake up Vegas and they will have less trouble with the Fever.. Still fully expect
to see a Minny/Vegas finals....with Minny's home court edge being the deciding factor.
Expand ...
Votes were submitted at the end of the season. The play-offs won't have any impact.
 
JstVisiting said:
I don’t see how anyone can watch the Aces play and think anyone but A’ja Wilson is the MVP. If they drop this series, wouldn’t blame her for fighting her entire team in the locker room.
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She's immune to foul calls so that sure helps. She set about 7 moving screens last night. As usual she ends up with "0" fouls. It's a joke. She a great player and doesn't need the help or the bonus double digit points at the line.
 
Blakeon18 said:
MVP: I don't know if all the ballots are in...or what the timeline is for them to count. If the voting
for that award is still open my bet is that Wilson's performance last night cinches it over Napheesa.
They are both deserving...imo.

Frankly I was stunned to see how Vegas almost got bumped out of the playoffs in the first round.
They had been playing SO well going into the playoffs and I fully expected them to sweep. When they lost in
Seattle I figured that would clearly be a one-off....especially since the deciding game was in Vegas.
Watching the highlights this morning it was truly a 50-50 game with seconds to go. Great job by Seattle!
My bet is that this will wake up Vegas and they will have less trouble with the Fever.. Still fully expect
to see a Minny/Vegas finals....with Minny's home court edge being the deciding factor.
Expand ...
They don't count the playoffs - but I'm sure Wilson will get it.
 
Blue Huskie said:
She's immune to foul calls so that sure helps. She set about 7 moving screens last night. As usual she ends up with "0" fouls. It's a joke. She a great player and doesn't need the help or the bonus double digit points at the line.
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Fouls per game
A’ja Wilson: 1.9
Breanna Stewart: 1.9
 
Judas, ATL plays in a band box.

Game Information​

Gateway Center
7:30 PM, September 18, 2025Coverage: ESPN2
College Park, GA
Attendance: 3,800
  • Referees:
  • Tiara Cruse
  • Isaac Barnett
  • Kevin Fahy
 
nwhoopfan said:
Okay. Of course the MCL is not to be overlooked. But let me add, as long as we're talking about numbers and statistics and lying and all that, while the series is tied at 1-1, winning on the road in OT is not quite the same as winning on the road by 26 in regulation, right?
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All Ws are created equal. Isn't that in the Constitution and the WNBA bylaws?

The scoreboard shows a W a la the Aces last night or an L a la the Storm last night.

As far as I can tell all Ws count the same and all Ls count the same.

I thought the Aces game was terrific, the Storm played exceptionally well. The W the Aces earned is just like the W the million dollar coach and his squad earned in New York. I'm not sure Nate's W was any more special.

Wait!

On second thought to Nate it probably was very special: a W that was in some sense more significant than the Ace's W or the Fever W..... His first playoff W. So yeah I think you might be right Nate probably has a very deep and abiding preference for the W earned in the Big Apple. And I mean as the highest paid coach in the W his Ws must definitely be more special. I think I'm starting to see the light that maybe all W's are not created equal in spite of the Constitution and the WNBA bylaws.

Nate's W probably was even more special than the one earned by the Fever. I mean after all as you point out Nate's win was by a whole bunch of points and the Fever barely won. So yeah Nate's W in addition to being more special than the Aces was definitely more special than the Fever's last W. In fact comparing that Fever W with the billion dollar coach's w it probably shows he did a much better job of coaching than Stephanie White just like he did a much better job of coaching than Sandy Brondello and of course a better job of coaching then Becky who only worn by a measly point.

I'm starting to see why the 1.2 million dollar coach is the highest paid coach in the W. His wins are more special.

They probably don't even need to play the game in Phoenix tonight.
 
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