WNBA 2023 Season, Part 2

[cancontent]

A'ja's comment about not winning the MVP award--"It hurt like hell, it really did"--is reflective of an attitude that some people notice and don't care for.

Huh? Competitive people hate losing. Virtually every legendary player has said something along those lines. Jordan, Bryant, Brady, Taurasi, Bird, etc., have talked about how they take losses personally.

How is her comment an indication of an attitude that people don't care for? I would counter that it's an attitude of someone who wants to be the best at the sport as much as possible.

 

[MilfordHusky]

Huh? Competitive people hate losing. Virtually every legendary player has said something along those lines. Jordan, Bryant, Brady, Taurasi, Bird, etc., have talked about how they take losses personally.

How is her comment an indication of an attitude that people don't care for? I would counter that it's an attitude of someone who wants to be the best at the sport as much as possible.

A player could say she was disappointed and congratulate the winner on a great season.

She's hurt over an individual award. It's not as if her team lost.

 

[MilfordHusky]

Conn's defense is slowing down Stewie and the Liberty yet again. Sun up by 4 at halftime. On offense, Tip Hayes has been sensational. She has 17 points on 7-8 shooting.

 

[nwhoopfan]

Weren't people just falling all over themselves complimenting Wilson when she gave credit to Stokes the other day when she won DPOY? Wow, things have changed in a very short time. Or people are fickle.

 

[cancontent]

A player could say she was disappointed and congratulate the winner on a great season.

She's hurt over an individual award. It's not as if her team lost.

So she says, "It hurts like hell. It really did. But that's part of the game." in an interview and it's perceived as attitude. If she shrugged and said oh well, people would be on her for not caring.

There's no template for how a player should react. She didn't say anything that takes away from what Stewart accomplished.

 

[Blueballer]

What a war this is. Whoever survives this is going to be exhausted. While Vegas will probably skate past Dallas in 3 games.

 

[nwhoopfan]

The MVP candidates are pretty much cancelling each other out. Horrible shooting for both (combined 5-26!), but lots of stat sheet stuffing in other categories.

 

[nwhoopfan]

That should do it. Sloot is kind of the forgotten star on this team, but she was big in Q4. The trio of Laney, Ionescu and Sloot was much, much better in Game 2 than Game 1.

 

[nwhoopfan]

Hats off to Hayes for a magnificent game.

Also credit to NY for responding. They looked in trouble again in the first half, but found their way as the game wore on. If Stewie could ever start hitting some shots...

 

[MilfordHusky]

Conn missed Allen (foul trouble) and Hiedeman (vomiting on the bench).

Thomas had 10/8/9 on 2-13 shooting. Stewie had 11/11/5/2/5 on 3-13 shooting.

 

[bbsamjj]

Alyssa Thomas is one of the best defenders in the world and is giving Stewie fits. But even so, you got to think the law of averages would mean Stewie is going to start to hit some shots. Through 4 playoff games she's shooting 27.8%FG, and 9.5% 3-pt FG (versus 46.5%FG and 35.5% 3pt FG in regular season).

 

[Zanzman]

I swear it wasn't me.

Its Gray by the way.

Sorry

 

[SportsFan92]

Do u all think that super teams will hurt the WNBA? Wondering if the same teams will be in the finals year in and year out? Only way the league grows is seeing other teams win it.. I feel like top free agents will go to the team that continues to win titles. Not sure how Vegas and Liberty were able to afford all these super star players on one roster? I feel like the super teams will ruin the league. People don’t want to see the same teams winning it or the same teams in the finals year after year.. only way that doesn’t happen is it the league expands, gets more cities and more teams with more players. I have a feeling we will see NY and Vegas dominating the league for years to come which will turn fans away!! It’s not like the WNBA is racking up the viewership and the $$ the NBA gets. Grow the game or the league will suffer. Just my opinion.

 

[Blueballer]

Do u all think that super teams will hurt the WNBA? Wondering if the same teams will be in the finals year in and year out? Only way the league grows is seeing other teams win it.. I feel like top free agents will go to the team that continues to win titles. Not sure how Vegas and Liberty were able to afford all these super star players on one roster? I feel like the super teams will ruin the league. People don’t want to see the same teams winning it or the same teams in the finals year after year.. only way that doesn’t happen is it the league expands, gets more cities and more teams with more players. I have a feeling we will see NY and Vegas dominating the league for years to come which will turn fans away!! It’s not like the WNBA is racking up the viewership and the $$ the NBA gets. Grow the game or the league will suffer. Just my opinion.

The WNBA had a super team when it started. The Houston Comets. They domionated for the first few years with the 2 bast players (Or 2 of the best). The media seemed to love that. Not sure the fans did though. I don't think the WNBA will ever make big money regardless of what the competition is like.

 

[nwhoopfan]

Vegas just refuses to put this game away. Every time they get a comfortable lead they give up a 9-0 run in like a minute or something.

 

[nwhoopfan]

Wilson w/ her third straight 30 point game in the playoffs. Set an all time playoff record for most points scored in a 3 game stretch.

 

[nwhoopfan]

No quit in Dallas. They've got talent, the main thing they are missing is much in the way of playoff experience (other than Howard and maybe Sims; Natasha had a nice game by the way).


Gray got in that mode for a while where she is just completely unstoppable.

 

[GCKSFN4L]

Nothing wrong with

A player could say she was disappointed and congratulate the winner on a great season.

She's hurt over an individual award. It's not as if her team lost.

Nothing wrong with having personal goals. I'm sure Stewie would feel the same way. And A'ja has been but team first oriented. Her fellow players and coaches rave on how shes such an easy teammate due to her selflessness.
If anyone takes issue with that statement, perhaps they have a bias pertaining something else like her team or college affiliation or something non basketball related.

 

[TerpWomenFan]

Looks like the Bay area will be the 13th team in 2025. Now they need a 14th team.

Sources: WNBA nears expansion club in Bay Area

The Warriors are close to bringing a WNBA expansion franchise to the Bay Area, sources told ESPN on Tuesday.

www.espn.com

 

[GamecockFam]

Looks like the Bay area will be the 13th team in 2025. Now they need a 14th team.

Sources: WNBA nears expansion club in Bay Area

The Warriors are close to bringing a WNBA expansion franchise to the Bay Area, sources told ESPN on Tuesday.

www.espn.com

Interesting. With that reasoning, I'm surprised they don't have a team in the South/North Carolina or Tennessee areas. I wonder if they could pull off this same concept in Memphis or Charlotte.

 

[bbsamjj]

They used to have a team in Charlotte (with Dawn Staley as the starring PG!) If they go back to NC, Raleigh might make more sense to me since that is where all the top WCBB programs (UNC, Duke, NC St) are near.

 

[Dillon77]

And, now, for @JellyBean , a post-season review/off-season preview by Richard Cohen of Her Hoops Stats for the Minnesota Lynx. Here's a cut and paste of a few factoids and I've included a link to the entire newsletter. BTW, there are also links to all the teams no longer in the playoffs.

​ ​ 2023 record: 19-21, eliminated 2-1 in first round by Connecticut 2024 draft picks: The Lynx have all of their own 2024 picks, including a first-rounder that will be No. 7 overall. Free agents: Aerial Powers (UFA), Natalie Achonwa (UFA), Bridget Carleton (UFA), Rachel Banham (UFA), Lindsay Allen (UFA), Nikolina Milić (Reserved) Under contract: Napheesa Collier, Kayla McBride, Tiffany Mitchell, Jessica Shepard, Diamond Miller, Dorka Juhász

Dillon druthers: Does Coach Reeve (finally) pull the trigger for longer-term solution at point guard?
Cohen notes that Reeve has been reticent to go in that direction, for whatever reason. Will she bring back Lindsay Allen?

Will she try to make a splash elsewhere or use the available cash (largely gained from the expiring contracts of Powers and Achonwa) to bring back her trusty cohorts, like Rachel Banham and Bridget Carleton? Or add someone else to the mix?

2023-24 WNBA Offseason Guides: Minnesota Lynx

Our 2023-24 WNBA offseason guides continue with the one team that pushed a higher seed to a deciding game in the first round of the playoffs, the Minnesota Lynx

herhoopstats.substack.com

 

[Dillon77]

No quit in Dallas. They've got talent, the main thing they are missing is much in the way of playoff experience (other than Howard and maybe Sims; Natasha had a nice game by the way).


Gray got in that mode for a while where she is just completely unstoppable.

Agree on all counts. Coach Trammell who seems to have found the right touch and earned the players' respect: The Wings go hard.

But my take on this game is that every time the Wings pushed back, Wilson and/or Gray would counterpunch. It's hard when you've got to keep climbing that hill....

 

[nwhoopfan]

Do u all think that super teams will hurt the WNBA? Wondering if the same teams will be in the finals year in and year out? Only way the league grows is seeing other teams win it.. I feel like top free agents will go to the team that continues to win titles. Not sure how Vegas and Liberty were able to afford all these super star players on one roster? I feel like the super teams will ruin the league. People don’t want to see the same teams winning it or the same teams in the finals year after year.. only way that doesn’t happen is it the league expands, gets more cities and more teams with more players. I have a feeling we will see NY and Vegas dominating the league for years to come which will turn fans away!! It’s not like the WNBA is racking up the viewership and the $$ the NBA gets. Grow the game or the league will suffer. Just my opinion.

Did it hurt the league when Minnesota was winning the Championship every other year? The Lynx were pretty close to a super team.

Is it hurting the league when Connecticut is in the semis or finals pretty much every year? Probably wouldn't describe them as a super team, but they always seem to be a contender.

To answer the question, we'll have to wait and see. I have serious doubts these teams are going to be able to keep their nucleus together for an extended period of time, so I can't really see it being only New York and Las Vegas battling for titles for the next 5+ years.