WNBA 2023 Season, Part 2

[MilfordHusky]

I still don't get why a team that drew 11-12,000 just a few years ago would opt for an arena that holds 4400. When I heard about ESA a couple of years ago I expected a few games each year at some combination of Capital One, EagleBank, XFinity, etc.

Considering that the organization that owns the team also owns both arenas.

 

[nwhoopfan]

She's averaging 9 ppg this series. They should be more worried about stopping Hayes and Bonner.

 

[nwhoopfan]

Well Stewie looked like herself tonight. AT also had a really good game. NY had a huge Q1 and held off several runs from Connecticut to get the win.

 

[MilfordHusky]

NYL shot well and ran often to put up 37 points in Q1. They got the lead to 20+ and kept it at 9+ the rest of the way.

Allen was out with an illness, and Conn. missed her. The refs called any contact early--2 quick fouls on Heideman and 2 on Harris--but in the second half, it was "no autopsy, no foul."

Stewie looked like the MVP. She had 25/11/2/1/2 on 11-19 shooting. Both Tiff and Liv played well. The current team, plus Geno, Cathy, and CD, were there. AT had 23/9/14. Tip had 16, and Liv had 14 in a starting role.

 

[MilfordHusky]

Vegas ends the game on an 11-0 run over the last 5 minutes or so to win by 64-61.

Wilson had 13/13 plus a career high 9 TOs. She looked very human tonight.

Vegas shot a very pedestrian 41/32/74. Dallas shot a very poor 32/21/47.

Arike shot 8-24 and Satou shot 2-15. Dallas needed another shooter. They missed Lou and Crystal, who played only 2 minutes.

 

[nwhoopfan]

Dallas is gonna be kicking themselves for that one. Vegas played about as bad as they possibly could, but close the game on an 11-0 run over the last 5 minutes to steal it and close out the series.

 

[baggerbob]

Dallas has 2 ball hogs who both shoot too much. Unless they get better coaching, someone who can get them to play as a team they will never get better.
They have talent, but too many me first players.
I can't see someone like Howard wanting to stay there for the long term.

 

[nwhoopfan]

Dallas missed a lot of shots in that stretch, but at least 4 of them were Ogunbowale, including the last one. No Final 4 heroics for her today.

 

[JellyBean]

Great night of basketball games. That New York/Connecticut what a game. New York with the hot first quarter, 37-16, was too much for Connecticut to overcome. They got close but just not enough gas in the tank. The Sun looked lost out there. Their rhythm was off. They only had 10 turnovers, but they just looked lost, tired, and confused. ONO had a solid game for the Sun. The Sun just looked rough out there tonight. Then you throw in the bench situation between ONO and Carrington. If the Sun can put that behind them and move forward, they just might have a chance to push this to 5 games.

 

[awhom111]

Considering that the organization that owns the team also owns both arenas.

Yes, a not particular veiled political maneuver. The Wizards needed a practice facility, but understandably were not going to get government support for that and neither would the G League team. Once they made it a WNBA arena too, opposition significantly decreased.

 

[oldude]

I had to check the box score to confirm my suspicion on Dijonai Carrington. She played only 3 minutes and then had to be separated from someone on the Sun’s bench by Bonner. After that, she never saw the floor again.

As a backup in the W, where roster spots are extremely hard to come by, the last thing you want is to be considered as a disruptive influence on the team. Don’t be surprised if Carrington has played her last minutes with the Sun and, perhaps, punched her ticket out of the W.

 

[JellyBean]

I had to check the box score to confirm my suspicion on Dijonai Carrington. She played only 3 minutes and then had to be separated from someone on the Sun’s bench by Bonner. After that, she never saw the floor again.

As a backup in the W, where roster spots are extremely hard to come by, the last thing you want is to be considered as a disruptive influence on the team. Don’t be surprised if Carrington has played her last minutes with the Sun and, perhaps, punched her ticket out of the W.

I am sure they addressed that situation in the locker room after the game and Carrington apologized and they put that situation behind them, hopefully. But I do hope that after the game, Carrington went back to her home and did some self-reflecting. She is too good of a player to not be in the W but she has to realize that she ain't that LADY. She ain't the Alpha of the team. Gotta balance the ego for the betterment of the TEAM.

 

[Geew1992]

I had to check the box score to confirm my suspicion on Dijonai Carrington. She played only 3 minutes and then had to be separated from someone on the Sun’s bench by Bonner. After that, she never saw the floor again.

As a backup in the W, where roster spots are extremely hard to come by, the last thing you want is to be considered as a disruptive influence on the team. Don’t be surprised if Carrington has played her last minutes with the Sun and, perhaps, punched her ticket out of the W.

Carrington didn’t play the last game due to injury so that may be why she didn’t see the floor again. Although your reason may also be why

 

[hoopsnloops32]

Carrington didn’t play the last game due to injury so that may be why she didn’t see the floor again. Although your reason may also be why

White said her not playing last game didn’t have to do with an injury.

 

[Dillon77]

Dallas missed a lot of shots in that stretch, but at least 4 of them were Ogunbowale, including the last one. No Final 4 heroics for her today.

To be exact, Dallas missed their last 10 shots in a row and -- good point made in the AP story -- didn't get a second-chance opportunity on any of them. For a team that gets a lot of second-chance points, that's not helpful. So, cold shooting, no "o" rebounds and there's the set-up for a 15-10 Aces fourth quarter en route to a 3-pt. win.

As for the style of play, one could argue that Dallas went down shooting behind their two all stars, but Sabally -- normally a 40%+ shooter -- shot 13% (yikes!) from the floor and while we've seen worse from Arike _- 33% -- she took 24 shots. You can argue that a slight increase in percentage from Satou and Arike and this series is at 2-1. Or you can say they're ball hogs and not going anywhere in a hurry.
Truth is probably a bit in the middle:
- Big T played 33 minutes, had 15 rebounds but only took 5 shots, hitting 4. Really?
Howard did get 12 shots, hitting 5, but probably could've gotten a few more inside. Even by Arike's admission, the Wings do better with a bit more balance.
- I'd suggest the altering has to do with Coach Trammel tinkering with her point guard position seemingly every other game. Crystal Dangerfield was only on the floor for 4 and 2 minutes, respectively, the last two games. Odyssey Sims started last night ....and scored 2 points with no assists.
Valerie Burton reappeared and that wasn't be accident: Burton is the best PG defender on this team and was inserted to help slow down the Aces' guards. You can argue that she helped. .Burton did dish out 6 assists, but shot 1-6 from three. And when push comes to shove, is she going to direct Arike or Satou on what to do?

in my opinion, Dallas needs to decide on a point guard and needs to get another shooter when Arike or Satou aren't feeling it. In the past, they had Allisha Gray or Marina Mabrey. No longer. Can Lou fill that void next year, splitting time with Diamond DeShields? And will there be a PG available for Dallas?

 

[baggerbob]

To be exact, Dallas missed their last 10 shots in a row and -- good point made in the AP story -- didn't get a second-chance opportunity on any of them. For a team that gets a lot of second-chance points, that's not helpful. So, cold shooting, no "o" rebounds and there's the set-up for a 15-10 Aces fourth quarter en route to a 3-pt. win.

As for the style of play, one could argue that Dallas went down shooting behind their two all stars, but Sabally -- normally a 40%+ shooter -- shot 13% (yikes!) from the floor and while we've seen worse from Arike _- 33% -- she took 24 shots. You can argue that a slight increase in percentage from Satou and Arike and this series is at 2-1. Or you can say they're ball hogs and not going anywhere in a hurry.
Truth is probably a bit in the middle:
- Big T played 33 minutes, had 15 rebounds but only took 5 shots, hitting 4. Really?
Howard did get 12 shots, hitting 5, but probably could've gotten a few more inside. Even by Arike's admission, the Wings do better with a bit more balance.
- I'd suggest the altering has to do with Coach Trammel tinkering with her point guard position seemingly every other game. Crystal Dangerfield was only on the floor for 4 and 2 minutes, respectively, the last two games. Odyssey Sims started last night ....and scored 2 points with no assists.
And suddenly Valerie Burton reappears. Now Burton is the best PG defender on this team and probably helped. She did dish out 6 assists, but shot 1-6 from three. And when push comes to shove, is she going to direct Arike or Satou on what to do?

in my opinion, Dallas needs to decide on a point guard and needs to get another shooter when Arike or Satou aren't feeling it. In the past, they had Allisha Gray or Marina Mabrey. No longer. Can Lou fill that void next year, splitting time with Diamond DeShields? And will there be a PG available for Dallas?

Unless they get a coach like Bill who would sit both of the ball hogs to prove a point, Dallas will always be an mid level team.

 

[Dillon77]

Unless they get a coach like Bill who would sit both of the ball hogs to prove a point, Dallas will always be an mid level team.

I get your points loud and clear, but:

• This is the first time the Wings have made the semi-finals. That's top four, which isn't mid-level.
• A lot of people, in part, give credit to Latricia Trammell, the first-year head coach for getting them to this point. This is largely a revised team. She's not going anywhere.
• And next year figures to bring in players who missed due to injuries (DeShields, Senechal) and more draft choices. With those extra players. Trammel might have options to sit players who are having off nights.
• BTW, Sabally is a free agent. Does she stay or go? Bibb seems to like offensive players so I think she stays.

I'm not saying your take is wrong (except coaches like Bill Laimbeer aren't coming back...), but GM Greg Bibb and Dallas ownership have put their money where their beliefs are, with the extension of Arike and the probable same thing with Sabally.

 

[nwhoopfan]

- I'd suggest the altering has to do with Coach Trammel tinkering with her point guard position seemingly every other game.

Yeah, the way this series transpired left me thinking they have a PG issue going forward. Apparently they don't have much faith in Dangerfield.

 

[JellyBean]

Dallas missed a lot of shots in that stretch, but at least 4 of them were Ogunbowale, including the last one. No Final 4 heroics for her today.

Those missed shots were falling for 36 minutes or so and they were killing on the offensive glass. When Ogunbowale threw up at that attempt, I was thinking, if this shot falls, just might as well call her Big Shot Ogunbowale. She lives for those Big play moments.

Dallas is a going to be a playoff team each season. They just have to figure out how to get past the semi-finals and on to the Finals. They got the talent. Now they just have to find that balance.

 

[oldude]

I am sure they addressed that situation in the locker room after the game and Carrington apologized and they put that situation behind them, hopefully. But I do hope that after the game, Carrington went back to her home and did some self-reflecting. She is too good of a player to not be in the W but she has to realize that she ain't that LADY. She ain't the Alpha of the team. Gotta balance the ego for the betterment of the TEAM.

Two datapoints come to mind on Carrington. When Tara had an extra scholarship to bring back a senior at Stanford for a fifth year, she chose Anna Wilson over Carrington. Fast forward to the Elite 8 game between UConn and Baylor. Carrington tried to play “Hero Ball” only to make a number of bad decisions, including 2 critical charging calls drawn by Aubrey along with some questionable shots.

Carrington is undoubtedly a talented individual basketball player. I don’t know if she is a “team player” however.

 

[JellyBean]

Unless they get a coach like Bill who would sit both of the ball hogs to prove a point, Dallas will always be an mid level team.

Big differences in that situation.

1). Bill had some history in the game. Two Time Champ on NBA side and Three Time Champ as coach of the Shock. He could pull that move off without too much noise.

2). Coach Trammel, first year head coach, been coaching in the W for a while and won some titles as a coach in college. She doesn't have that type of leverage that Bill had to pull off a move like that. If she would have sat any of those players, especially in the playoffs, her WNBA head coaching career would have been over once the series wrapped up. Big name coaches can pull off a move like that. First year, mid level coaches, can't pull a move like that.

 

[MilfordHusky]

Chelsea Gray abused Crystal in multiple games. Gray is too big and strong for Crystal to guard her, especially in post-ups. However, late in the game when Dallas needed a bucket, Crystal may have been their best offensive option at PG.

 

[cancontent]

Yeah, the way this series transpired left me thinking they have a PG issue going forward. Apparently they don't have much faith in Dangerfield.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but wasn't Dangerfield fairly steady as a PG for most of the season? How her minutes dropped that drastically was surprising.

From what I remember hearing from the announcers, the change in PG for the play-offs was due to size versus Vegas. While I get the logic, Sims wasn't the answer obviously.

 

[hoopsnloops32]

Chelsea Gray abused Crystal in multiple games. Gray is too big and strong for Crystal to guard her, especially in post-ups. However, late in the game when Dallas needed a bucket, Crystal may have been their best offensive option at PG.

Why not put Crystal on Plum and size on Gray in that case?