WNBA 2023 Season, Part 2

[JellyBean]

Will an underdog win even 1 game in Round 1? Both favorites won by about 30 last night. That's not even close.

Washington has the best chance, among the underdogs, who has the best chance to win a game in Round 1. The rest of the group; Atlanta, Minny, and Chicago, I don't see any serious threats but the way this season has gone, I would not be surprised to see any of those teams pull an upset.

 

[MilfordHusky]

Stewie shot like crap (3-16), but Laney carried the Liberty in the first half, then Sabrina went off—7 treys, many seemingly from Manhattan.

 

[Zanzman]

People talk of Vegas lack of a bench Liberty didn’t show much tonight

 

[rvwsleep]

Rhyne Howard with 19 first quarter points. Atlanta 36-21 over Dallas after 1q.

 

[Blueballer]

Stewie shot like crap (3-16), but Laney carried the Liberty in the first half, then Sabrina went off—7 treys, many seemingly from Manhattan.

She and Delle Donne kind of negated each other. Both are similiar and the match ups are tough.

 

[MilfordHusky]

Atlanta led by 20–and lost by 12. Sabally and R. Howard basically offset each other. Danger didn’t play much because of early fouls, but she was on the floor when Dallas took control.

 

[JellyBean]

Atlanta led by 20–and lost by 12. Sabally and R. Howard basically offset each other. Danger didn’t play much because of early fouls, but she was on the floor when Dallas took control.

Atlanta had the game and they gave it away.

 

[JellyBean]

Sabrina is a bad you know what!! What a game. Sabrina, Benijah, and Jonquel stepped up big time tonight.

 

[nwhoopfan]

Stewie shot like crap (3-16), but Laney carried the Liberty in the first half, then Sabrina went off—7 treys, many seemingly from Manhattan.

The Stewie vs. EDD showdown definitely did not materialize in Game 1. Both were well below their capabilities.

 

[bbsamjj]

Stewart did not shoot well but as Brondello pointed out in the post game press conference, she had the highest +/- on the team--she's so important to everything they do on the court.

Mystics need to do a better job of finding EDD shots; her 6 assists to 0 turnovers shows how complete of a player she is. That being said, being matched with either Stewart or JJ all night is no easy task.

 

[PacoSwede]

the refs in the playoffs -- maybe generally -- are letting far too much physical play, seems to me. looks much like a rugby match and that trend is ruining WBB.

i sure wish wbb would stop imitating the NBA. that is one sure way to drive fans away -- although i suspect the powers-that-be believe it somehow will attract new fans. so stupid.

o yeah -- while this is going on the refs toss in a spattering of phantom fouls. good way to infuriate fans.

 

[YoDore]

the refs in the playoffs -- maybe generally -- are letting far too much physical play, seems to me. looks much like a rugby match and that trend is ruining WBB.

Welcome to the SEC. I call it Sumo ball.

 

[SECbbfan24]

Welcome to the SEC. I call it Sumo ball.

Georgia approves of this

 

[The deacon]

Stewie shot like crap (3-16), but Laney carried the Liberty in the first half, then Sabrina went off—7 treys, many seemingly from Manhattan.

Last two games, Stewie is 7 of 33 from the floor. While that is eye-openingly bad, it's also a reminder that the Liberty has so many alternatives to get it done.

When Breanna starts to make a few shots, the Liberty will be the 'super' team everyone has touted.

 

[nwhoopfan]

Last two games, Stewie is 7 of 33 from the floor. While that is eye-openingly bad, it's also a reminder that the Liberty has so many alternatives to get it done.

When Breanna starts to make a few shots, the Liberty will be the 'super' team everyone has touted.

Of the 3 MVP candidates, it seems Stewie is the most likely to have a spectacular game, but also the most likely to have an awful game.

 

[diggerfoot]

Of the 3 MVP candidates, it seems Stewie is the most likely to have a spectacular game, but also the most likely to have an awful game.

As the player who takes the most distant and difficult shots out of the three, she will at times have the worst shooting percentage, but does that mean a truly awful game?

As @bbsamjj pointed out she had the highest +/-, an indicator of who facilitates the team to play well. Recall as well that Staley always played her the most minutes in the Olympics even when her stats did not pop in a particular game.

 

[nwhoopfan]

As the player who takes the most distant and difficult shots out of the three, she will at times have the worst shooting percentage, but does that mean a truly awful game?

As @bbsamjj pointed out she had the highest +/-, an indicator of who facilitates the team to play well. Recall as well that Staley always played her the most minutes in the Olympics even when her stats did not pop in a particular game.

Okay, most likely to have a poor shooting game. Wilson takes plenty of mid range jumpers though. And +/- is not a particularly reliable metric IMO. But yes, a player can shoot poorly, and do plenty of other positive things to help their team win. At some point though a really bad shooting performance with a high volume of shots is creating an uphill battle that your teammates have to overcome.

 

[Dillon77]

Wow, Kayla McBride (K-Mac) and Napheesa Collier (Phee) were absolutely exceptional in a must-win situation today; scoring 28 and 26 points, respectively, in the Lynx's 82-75 over the Connecticut Sun this afternoon. Yes, that's 54 of the team's 82 points...some 2/3 of the total.

Phee also snared 13 rebounds and K-Mac had 8. Pheel was exceptional in the first half and finished 12-24, while K-Mac went 11-18, including 6-11 from three-pt. land. Dorka Juhasz was on the floor for nearly 32 minutes, played tough and dished out six assists.

DeWanna Bonner matched K-Mac's 6 three-pointers en route to 24 points, while Alyssa Thomas shot 10-18 in scoring 26 points, but -- ultimately -- the Lynx held them off in forcing a decisive Game Three --- back in Minnesota.

 

[Geew1992]

Wow, Kayla McBride (K-Mac) and Napheesa Collier (Phee) were absolutely exceptional in a must-win situation today; scoring 28 and 26 points, respectively, in the Lynx's 82-75 over the Connecticut Sun this afternoon. Yes, that's 54 of the team's 82 points.
Phee also snared 13 rebounds and K-Mac had 8. Pheel was exceptional in the first half and finished 12-24, while K-Mac went 11-18, including 6-11 from three-pt. land. Dorka Juhasz was on the floor for nearly 32 minutes, played tough and dished out six assists.

DeWanna Bonner matched K-Mac's 6 three-pointers en route to 24 points, while Alyssa Thomas shot 10-18 in scoring 26 points, but -- ultimately -- the Lynx held them off in forcing a decisive Game Three --- back in Minnesota.

Phee hurt her back in the 3rd quarter but came up big in the 4th

 

[MilfordHusky]

Phee hurt her back in the 3rd quarter but came up big in the 4th

Phee had 20 points very early in Q3, but went out with a lower back injury. KMac carried them for a while. But somehow, Phee got it loosened up and/or played through it. I hope she’s ok.

Meanwhile, Tiffany Mitchell limped off with an ankle injury but came back. And DWB went off with a bloody upper nose. She got it bandaged and also returned. Things got very physical.

 

[nwhoopfan]

Wilson looked every bit like the best player in the league today. She carried them to a big lead while the rest of her teammates weren't doing much, for most of the game.

 

[darrell]

Wilson looked every bit like the best player in the league today. She carried them to a big lead while the rest of her teammates weren't doing much, for most of the game.

Looking ahead, this won’t work well with teams that have frontcourts that could contain (or at least slow down) A’ja. That is if they’re to face Dallas next round with McCowan, Natasha Howard and Satou or NY in the Finals with JJ and Stewie.

Of course this all hypothetical.

 

[Dillon77]

Wilson looked every bit like the best player in the league today. She carried them to a big lead while the rest of her teammates weren't doing much, for most of the game.

Tend to agree with you. Alysha Clark seemed to find her stroke in this game, but this was a case of Wilson just overpowering the Sky frontline and daring Chicago's guards to drive the middle.

 

[nwhoopfan]

Tend to agree with you. Alysha Clark seemed to find her stroke in this game, but this was a case of Wilson just overpowering the Sky frontline and daring Chicago's guards to drive the middle.

Yeah Clark had a nice game. Collectively Young, Gray and Plum were way off their game in the first half. They ended up with OK stats, but it was definitely sub par from that trio.

 

[MilfordHusky]

Wilson looked every bit like the best player in the league today. She carried them to a big lead while the rest of her teammates weren't doing much, for most of the game.

I think A'ja and Stewie are very close. Stewie has more versatility, but it's hard to argue with a line of 38/16/1/3/4. When she entered the league, A'ja was very good, but had weak spots in her game. To her credit, she doesn't force shots very often any more, can now go right, and has improved her shooting to 16' and at the FT line. When someone works hard and improves, they deserve recognition and kudos.