WNBA 2023 Season, Part 2 | Page 35 | The Boneyard

WNBA 2023 Season, Part 2

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visitingcock said:
Jonquel's second quarter was awesome, and I thought it was basically a new game at the half. But for JJ's heroics, this would have been a blowout of epic proportions. But the Aces seemed to adjust to her in the second enough and NY's other stars didn't give her any help.

In two games AT HOME, the Ace's defense has made a bunch of offensive stars look mundane. But let's see if the story can be repeated in NY.
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The problem with A’ja covering JJ is it means she’s not guarding Stewie. It worked fine last night because she was off her game, but I can’t see that happening for a third straight game while at home in a packed arena.
 
nwhoopfan said:
The last 2 games have totally skewed their stats. They beat the Sun 3-1. That's the only metric that mattered. Yes, they've looked terrible in the Finals, and I am shocked by that. If they had played the same way against Connecticut, they would've gotten swept. I have no idea what's going on with them right now, but clearly they are not playing the same way they did earlier in the playoffs. They wouldn't be in the Finals if they had been performing like this all along.
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I've enjoyed reading everyone's comments here, while noticing that the thread is conspicuously missing apt critique of Stewie. To me, her poor playoff performance except for a couple of games vs. the Sun has been eye-poppingly poor.

That might be blasphemous to some dedicated Huskies fans, of which I am very much one, but it's been the elephant in the room. All the Liberty's flaws you've all been noting have been valid and could prove NY's undoing in the series but, heck, if Stewie is the player she's cracked up, to me, and she's certainly always been just that, why hasn't she carried the load? Great players do great things when lesser teammates can't...

6 of 17 and such performances just won't do. How about a 13 of 18, including some of those threes she used to make with such flair?

Anyway, the Liberty definitely isn't out of it, but Stewie is the Liberty's big weapon. Please be just that, Breanna.
 
nwhoopfan said:
The last 2 games have totally skewed their stats. They beat the Sun 3-1. That's the only metric that mattered. Yes, they've looked terrible in the Finals, and I am shocked by that. If they had played the same way against Connecticut, they would've gotten swept. I have no idea what's going on with them right now, but clearly they are not playing the same way they did earlier in the playoffs. They wouldn't be in the Finals if they had been performing like this all along.
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The body language of the Liberty starters at the end of the game didn't look good. Not sure how to interpret it as I don't think I've ever seen players like Stewart look like that during a loss.
 
The deacon said:
I've enjoyed reading everyone's comments here, while noticing that the thread is conspicuously missing apt critique of Stewie. To me, her poor playoff performance except for a couple of games vs. the Sun has been eye-poppingly poor.

That might be blasphemous to some dedicated Huskies fans, of which I am very much one, but it's been the elephant in the room. All the Liberty's flaws you've all been noting have been valid and could prove NY's undoing in the series but, heck, if Stewie is the player she's cracked up, to me, and she's certainly always been just that, why hasn't she carried the load? Great players do great things when lesser teammates can't...

6 of 17 and such performances just won't do. How about a 13 of 18, including some of those threes she used to make with such flair?

Anyway, the Liberty definitely isn't out of it, but Stewie is the Liberty's big weapon. Please be just that, Breanna.
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Maybe some held off as it would be perceived as trolling, especially after some of the discussions about the MVP award? Just a guess from my end. But at the same time, she had a double double, so it's not like she wasn't contributing in some form.

Personally I think more of the critique should be towards Ionescu and Sloot. They've disappeared and Brondello hasn't found a way to get them going.
 
cancontent said:
Maybe some held off as it would be perceived as trolling, especially after some of the discussions about the MVP award? Just a guess from my end. But at the same time, she had a double double, so it's not like she wasn't contributing in some form.

Personally I think more of the critique should be towards Ionescu and Sloot. They've disappeared and Brondello hasn't found a way to get them going.
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Yeah, I've held my tongue on Stewie's performance this season. I wish the post season would factor into the award because she has not performed like a MVP this post season.
 
GoChips20 said:
The problem with A’ja covering JJ is it means she’s not guarding Stewie. It worked fine last night because she was off her game, but I can’t see that happening for a third straight game while at home in a packed arena.
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It was more of a platoon defending JJ last night from what I saw. Vegas had as many defenders on her whenever possible.

Stokes isn't exactly a slouch on defence and has been doing good job challenging Stewart when she's had to.
 
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cancontent said:
Maybe some held off as it would be perceived as trolling, especially after some of the discussions about the MVP award? Just a guess from my end. But at the same time, she had a double double, so it's not like she wasn't contributing in some form.

Personally I think more of the critique should be towards Ionescu and Sloot. They've disappeared and Brondello hasn't found a way to get them going.
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Agreed with every word, cancontent, yet that's all the more reason for Stewie to produce more than 14 and 13 when three rival players had 23 or more points. She's a great player.
 
The deacon said:
Agreed with every word, cancontent, yet that's all the more reason for Stewie to produce more than 14 and 13 when three rival players had 23 or more points. She's a great player.
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I hear you, however I'm willing to give her a pass as it's expected out of her constantly. Players like Ionescu are who I'm looking to step up. She's fading at the worst possible time and is considered to be key to their success. The hype isn't matching what we're seeing.
 
The Aces are just a bad match up for NY. They can not match up with their 3 guards, neither on offense or defense. That was not the case with the other teams they faced in the playoffs. Now teams can have off shooting nights and when more than one player has one it is very difficult to compensate for. The Aces were not shooting well when they met in the regular season and for a couple of their games the Aces were dead tired being in the middle of a gruling road trip. Now NY has their scorers in a slump while the Aces are not. They are winning this game with defense and except tor JJ, NY can not match them in that aspect.
 
willtalk said:
The Aces are just a bad match up for NY. They can not match up with their 3 guards, neither on offense or defense.
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What’s funny is that I think Natasha Cloud, Ariel Atkins and Brittney Sykes are a much tougher, much more athletic trio than that of the Aces (and WAY better defensively). NY had no problem against them for the most part, so I’m not sure what it is.
 
darrell said:
What’s funny is that I think Natasha Cloud, Ariel Atkins and Brittney Sykes are a much tougher, much more athletic trio than that of the Aces (and WAY better defensively). NY had no problem against them for the most part, so I’m not sure what it is.
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It's the fact that the trio of Cloud, Atkins and Sykes aren't putting down 60+ points per night. When outside shots go in, much much easier for the Aces' guards to get back and get set on defense.
 
darrell said:
What’s funny is that I think Natasha Cloud, Ariel Atkins and Brittney Sykes are a much tougher, much more athletic trio than that of the Aces (and WAY better defensively). NY had no problem against them for the most part, so I’m not sure what it is.
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The Mystics backcourt may be more athletic, but the Aces backcourt is elite. All three are potent 3-level scorers. Gray is a gamer who controls the game. Plum is a sniper that seems to find her routes through the lane with ease. And Young overpowers her opponents on the drive, and now pulls the trigger on 3s efficiently. They've been really fun to watch this season. Plus they have all ran the point at one or another and share the ball. Last night was awesome watching different players get hot and just maintain dominance throughout the game.

NY doesn't have that firing power. They have a lot of room to improve though, since they have been terrible these first two games. Sloot and Sabrina are going to have to hit a lot of 3s. I can see them increasing their scoring, but I don't see them stopping the Aces guards. They have been ridiculously good, so their numbers may come down.

I'm excited for game 3! Go Aces
 
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The deacon said:
I've enjoyed reading everyone's comments here, while noticing that the thread is conspicuously missing apt critique of Stewie. To me, her poor playoff performance except for a couple of games vs. the Sun has been eye-poppingly poor.

That might be blasphemous to some dedicated Huskies fans, of which I am very much one, but it's been the elephant in the room. All the Liberty's flaws you've all been noting have been valid and could prove NY's undoing in the series but, heck, if Stewie is the player she's cracked up, to me, and she's certainly always been just that, why hasn't she carried the load? Great players do great things when lesser teammates can't...

6 of 17 and such performances just won't do. How about a 13 of 18, including some of those threes she used to make with such flair?

Anyway, the Liberty definitely isn't out of it, but Stewie is the Liberty's big weapon. Please be just that, Breanna.
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Well said. Stewie has to step up and I am sure she will. But her performance, over the playoffs has been less than eye appealing. She has put up some numbers but not what we all were expecting.
 
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NY looks much better in Game 3. Shots are falling behind the arc. JJ having a monster game. Plum is carrying Vegas. Lib up by 3 at halftime, seems like it should be more, but big FT disparity for LV.
 
nwhoopfan said:
NY looks much better in Game 3. Shots are falling behind the arc. JJ having a monster game. Plum is carrying Vegas. Lib up by 3 at halftime, seems like it should be more, but big FT disparity for LV.
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They put Stewart on Gray and Laney on Young. So they are trying to protect Sloot or Ionescu on defense, and it's working. Of course Plum is carrying the Aces because she is attacking her matchup, and Stokes can't get into position to score against a guard.
 
The Aces have come back to earth, but the Liberty can’t take advantage. As they only a few point lead into halftime. Stewie with 9 points, but she missed a lot of open shots. The Liberty may take this game but Stewie needs to get out her shooting slump
 
Now Plum has gone ice cold and nobody else is doing anything for the Aces.

Will we get at least 1 good game in this series? Each game 1 team has looked terrible. Biggest stat is 21-9 advantage in assists for NY. Hard to get assists when nobody is hitting shots, but LV isn't moving the ball very well.
 
I'm just ticked. Where has this NY team been? We've been deprived of a fun and intense battle in the previous games. This has been an entertaining game on both ends in my opinion.
 
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Gray goes out with an injury. Hard to tell what it was. They showed her in the locker room and it appeared much worse. The trainers were helping her walk while she was limping severely. Yikes for the Aces
 
Yeah, if Gray can't go, that changes everything. If Clark starts, they have ZERO bench. But you can't start Bell.

After going cold Plum is lighting it up again but she got pretty much no help from her teammates today.
 
Wilson started to get going briefly in Q4, but overall a rough game for her. 4-16 shooting, really forced some bad shots. Gray 4-12, Young 2-9. Plum made as many FG as the other starters combined.

JJ w/ 27 points, Stewie w/ 20. Ionescu and Sloot were better today, combined for 17 assists.
 
Did Stokes only play the 1st and the end of the 4th? I don’t remember seeing her in the second or third quarters. Aces managed to keep it close during the first when Stokes was on the floor.
 
Reypl21 said:
Gray goes out with an injury. Hard to tell what it was. They showed her in the locker room and it appeared much worse. The trainers were helping her walk while she was limping severely. Yikes for the Aces
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Aces had it down to six and the Liberty looked like they were tightening up a bit. Then Gray got injured. That footage from the hallway leading to the locker room was not encouraging for Chelsea Gray or Aces fans. Hope for her sake, first and foremost, this isn't as serious as it looks it could be.

To (re)state the obvious, if she can't go on Wednesday, it's a completely different scenario.
 
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Hayven said:
Did Stokes only play the 1st and the end of the 4th? I don’t remember seeing her in the second or third quarters. Aces managed to keep it close during the first when Stokes was on the floor.
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The Liberty weren't guarding her at all and were able to get away with it. Playing 4 on 5 on offense is not good. She's like half a player. Good on one end of the floor, non existent on the other. She actually scored in the previous game, but didn't take a single shot today.
 
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If Gray can’t go on Wednesday and Parker still isn’t available, match ups will be interesting. Beyond missing Gray, this also allows New York to put better defenders on Plum and Young.
 
nwhoopfan said:
I think it's pretty close to 0% chance she'll play.
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Agreed but some some speculation on social. I really thought Vegas was going to sweep after that first game. If New York is able to win game 4 and Gray is out the rest of the series I think that makes game 5 a coin toss.
 
darrell said:
What’s funny is that I think Natasha Cloud, Ariel Atkins and Brittney Sykes are a much tougher, much more athletic trio than that of the Aces (and WAY better defensively). NY had no problem against them for the most part, so I’m not sure what it is.
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IMO the Aces throw themselves at people and get to the line constantly because the refs allow it. The regularly get 50% to 100% more FT's than whoever they play. It would have been a blowout muchh earlier today if not for all the points from the line.
 
hoopsnloops32 said:
Agreed but some some speculation on social. I really thought Vegas was going to sweep after that first game. If New York is able to win game 4 and Gray is out the rest of the series I think that makes game 5 a coin toss.
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Seems baseless to me. There has never been any kind of talk of a timeline for her return ever since the injury. She doesn't suit up, she doesn't participate in shoot around/warmups. She doesn't even sit on the bench, she sits behind it in civies. That screams done for the year to me.

I think if Gray is done NY wins the series. Just too much to ask of the 3 other member of the core 4. If Clark was the same player she was 3 or 4 years ago with Seattle maybe, but she isn't that player now.
 
Man brutal for Vegas to potentially lose Gray tonight. Hope she's able to come back on Wednesday.

NY showed up defensively and finally utilized their height. Stewart was all world defensively and JJ and was the star tonight. Ionescu/Vandersloot were much better, though neither looked in prime form. Vegas was due for an off game and it finally happened. Wilson was a warrior but couldn't get her shot to drop, Young largely disappeared and Gray didn't play great. Plum was the lone bright spot tonight and played hard. If not for her and missed FTs by NY, this would've been a major blowout. Despite all that, Vegas was within 6 under 5 minutes to go before NY took over.

I hope game 4 is a battle, though these teams seem to exclusively blow each other out. For as dominant as both teams have been, once the other team seems to figure things out, the other team crumbles. Hoping for a good game 4 and am glad the Libs finally showed up.
 
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