WNBA 2023 Season, Part 2

[ochoopsfan]

 

[Bigboote]

Geez that stinks; she's the only decent option they have at point guard. I still don't get trying to use Tiffany Mitchell. I much prefer Banham at point to Mitchell. I can only hope they put Shepard at the high post and use her to find shooters or post-ups.

 

[nwhoopfan]

Can we officially say that the list of 2023 MVP candidates has been narrowed down 3? Stewart, Wilson and Thomas.

Has there really been another serious candidate for the last month or more?

 

[JellyBean]

Has there really been another serious candidate for the last month or more?

Nope.

 

[darrell]

Has there really been another serious candidate for the last month or more?

I‘d say Napheesa, especially if they can make it to the #4 seed.

Cheryl has done a great job, should definitely be in the Coach of the Year conversation.

 

[nwhoopfan]

I‘d say Napheesa, especially if they can make it to the #4 seed.

Cheryl has done a great job, should definitely be in the Coach of the Year conversation.

She's having a really great season, but I think Minnesota is way too far behind the top 3 teams for her to really be in the running.

 

[cancontent]

So it's the rubber match between Vegas and New York for the Commissioner's Cup tonight. Looking forward to this game.

 

[visitingcock]

So it's the rubber match between Vegas and New York for the Commissioner's Cup tonight. Looking forward to this game.

So, have either Stewie or A'ja qualified as a truly "generational" talent yet?

Too soon?

 

[Geew1992]

So it's the rubber match between Vegas and New York for the Commissioner's Cup tonight. Looking forward to this game.

I don't think this is the rubber match. Pretty sure there are 2 more games.

 

[azfan]

I don't think this is the rubber match. Pretty sure there are 2 more games.

They play again Thursday.....then again on the 28th.

 

[GCKSFN4L]

I‘d say Napheesa, especially if they can make it to the #4 seed.

Cheryl has done a great job, should definitely be in the Coach of the Year conversation.

I think Phee has two things working against her. Firstly her team is barely clinging in to the playoff picture now. Secondly her team had their two biggest wins of the season without her. She's definitely All WNBA at this rate, I just don't see MVP.

 

[cancontent]

I don't think this is the rubber match. Pretty sure there are 2 more games.

At this point it's the rubber match for me. I know there are other games but based on the first two where they both laid an egg against each other, this one is intriguing.

 

[darrell]

I think Phee has two things working against her. Firstly her team is barely clinging in to the playoff picture now. Secondly her team had their two biggest wins of the season without her. She's definitely All WNBA at this rate, I just don't see MVP.

I highly doubt she’ll be MVP as well, but outside of Stewart, Thomas and Wilson, she’s probably the only other player in the conversation.

 

[JellyBean]

I‘d say Napheesa, especially if they can make it to the #4 seed.

Cheryl has done a great job, should definitely be in the Coach of the Year conversation.

I am on the fence on this one. Love Phee and Coach Reeve but I am not adding Coach Reeve to the COY conversation. I think it was the timing of the schedule and teams having that down year, which has helped Minnesota move up into that #4 seed. As for Phee, she was in the MVP conversation early and then kind of faded into the background.

 

[JellyBean]

So it's the rubber match between Vegas and New York for the Commissioner's Cup tonight. Looking forward to this game.

Heck yeah. I am making sure I am free of anything during the game.

 

[darrell]

I am on the fence on this one. Love Phee and Coach Reeve but I am not adding Coach Reeve to the COY conversation. I think it was the timing of the schedule and teams having that down year, which has helped Minnesota move up into that #4 seed. As for Phee, she was in the MVP conversation early and then kind of faded into the background.

To not make the playoffs last year, lose Sylvia Fowles to retirement, have two Rookies in the starting lineup, beat the #2 and #3 teams (without their best player) and be only two games away from the 4th seed, Cheryl Reeve should definitely be on the shortlist.

Minnesota could’ve easily been in the Indiana/Phoenix/Seattle tier.

 

[bballnut90]

To not make the playoffs last year, lose Sylvia Fowles to retirement, have two Rookies in the starting lineup, beat the #2 and #3 teams (without their best player) and be only two games away from the 4th seed, Cheryl Reeve should definitely be on the shortlist.

Minnesota could’ve easily been in the Indiana/Phoenix/Seattle tier.

COY is a 2 person race IMO:

Becky Hammon-has Vegas in contention for the best record in WNBA history. Currently tied with Houston Comets 1998 record of going 27-3. Regardless of how much talent they have, it'd be a shame if she doesn't get COY while putting together one of the best (if not THE best) season in league history. Every other coach who has reached similar winning percentages has won COY awards. Hammon deserves it.

Stephanie White-Connecticut after losing Jonquel in the offseason and Brionna Jones early in the year is still locked in for a top 3 seed and has a fantastic 21-9 record. White deserves a ton of credit and praise for the job she has done.

Reeve has Minnesota at 14-16 tied for 6th in the league. Last year they finished 14-22 with Fowles but without Collier. Overall it has been an improvement and they seem to be headed in a good direction with the core of players they have but I don't think she's remotely in the conversation. If anyone else sneaks in to the COY talks, I think it's Brondello who has managed all of her stars brilliantly and they're playing lights out.

 

[nwhoopfan]

Secondly her team had their two biggest wins of the season without her. She's definitely All WNBA at this rate, I just don't see MVP.

To me that is an absolute killer for her candidacy. If you actually include her as still in the race, there's no reason why Satou Sabally and Nneka Ogwumike shouldn't be as well, and we all know neither of them are anywhere in the conversation, despite having very good seasons.

 

[JellyBean]

To not make the playoffs last year, lose Sylvia Fowles to retirement, have two Rookies in the starting lineup, beat the #2 and #3 teams (without their best player) and be only two games away from the 4th seed, Cheryl Reeve should definitely be on the shortlist.

Minnesota could’ve easily been in the Indiana/Phoenix/Seattle tier.

Good argument and I get what you are saying but I just can't put coach Reeve in the conversation of COY. Those wins against the #2 and #3 teams were huge but I am not going to gloss over that 40 point beat down by Dallas, where we had our best player and she only scored 10 or 11 points. Or how we lost to Indiana recently. I just think that we (Lynx) are a byproduct of the schedule. We are beating the teams that we should beat and losing to the teams, where our talent does not match up to their talent. We got two games against Seattle coming up. On paper we should win both of those games. On the court, it might be a different story. But I just can't put Coach in the COY conversation. Glad you can but I can't.

 

[bballnut90]

I‘d say Napheesa, especially if they can make it to the #4 seed.

Cheryl has done a great job, should definitely be in the Coach of the Year conversation.

I'm not seeing it. It's a runaway 3 person race with Wilson/Thomas/Stewart all having MVP caliber seasons. All 3 are leading their teams to terrific years and have been groundbreaking in different ways. Any of the 3 would be MVPs in any of the last 5-6 years with the body of work their putting together. Collier is a solid 2nd team All-WNBA pick this year, borderline 1st team if they are positionless (not sure if they've switched over to that or not). She's in the same tier as Sabally/Nneka IMO. Great player and maybe her day will come to win an MVP, but not a true candidate this year.

 

[nwhoopfan]

Another absolutely pathetic showing by the Aces against the Liberty, this time for the Commissioners Cup. Something ain't right in Vegas. I keep saying it, but they need Parker back. I see no chance of them repeating as Champions if she doesn't return for the playoffs. Just not enough, 4 really good players and almost nothing else. And when most of their good players are off like tonight, nobody is gonna pick up the slack. I mean they really gotta be worried that they got clobbered by NY even with Stewie having an awful game.

 

[JellyBean]

The Aces let another one slip through their fingers but you gotta tip your hat to New York and Jonquel Jones. Jones finished with 16/15 and caused A'ja Wilson to have another rough shooting night. Congrats Jonquel on winning the Commish Cup MVP and to New York Liberty on winning the Commish Cup. Going to be interesting to see how the Aces respond on Thursday.

 

[baggerbob]

The Aces let another one slip through their fingers but you gotta tip your hat to New York and Jonquel Jones. Jones finished with 16/15 and caused A'ja Wilson to have another rough shooting night. Congrats Jonquel on winning the Commish Cup MVP and to New York Liberty on winning the Commish Cup. Going to be interesting to see how the Aces respond on Thursday.

The Liberty still have a lot of room to grow. Still turn the ball over too much, have to get Dolson back in the flow. Will take her a few more games to be back in game shape.
Defense is getting better, some games like Indiana don't rebound well.

 

[Blueballer]

Huge difference in Jones from the beginning of the season to now. She's been looking a lot more like the MVP Jones from a couple seasons ago. She is a big reason Wilson didn't have a good night. JJ played her tough. And again the threes are king. The Aces are in a bit of a 3 point shooting slump while the Liberty realize they have to win that battle to beat the Aces. Johannes really kept that 3 point asault going before Sabrina finally started hitting them in the second half.

 

[GCKSFN4L]

A very rough shooting game all around. It was comical how poor the shooting was in the first half.This is not a game I would voluntary watch again. So many routine shots were missed from so many great players.

The bench is what really helped separate the game and the two teams. That and Vegas needs more from the 5 position. No Candace means that A'ja has to deal with both Stewie and JJ because the defense doesn't view Kiah as an offensive threat. We'll see how this series goes on Thursday, but Vegas hasn't been in sync for a minute now.