WNBA 2023 Season, Part 2

[bballnut90]

Wow what an unexpected and gritty win for the Aces. They had no business being in this game, let alone winning. Especially with Cayla George taking 35 shots in the first 3 quarters.

Wilson is an absolute force. She’s fast becoming one of the all time greats in the league. She willed the Aces to a win tonight. Can’t say enough about her. Great player, personality and representative for the league.


Clark was massive too, her interview at the end was gut wrenching and heartfelt. Young too played great, she deserves more credit than just that line but she was great these playoffs. Plum struggled shooting but was incredibly gritty and worked her butt off all night. I thought she played great even if she couldn’t get a bucket.

Parker and Gray also both now have 3 rings and have won at 2 different franchises as teammates despite neither playing in game 4 (and Parker missing most of the season). Not sure of any other teammates who’ve accomplished this.


Brutal loss for the Liberty, no other way to put it. First time I’ve ever seen a crack in Stewart’s armor in the clutch. Great season but a tough finish. Happy for Sloot to play well in game 4 after a tough start. I am curious what Ionescu’s future in the league looks like. She’s a great talent but has largely become a 3pt specialist as a scorer. I thought she’d be a future MVP (and she still could be) but her trajectory is slower than I thought it’d be.

 

[nickp91]

Congratulations to the New York Liberty on a fantastic season

 

[nwhoopfan]

Okay @hoopsnloops32 I've been giving you a hard time. Tonight it definitely looked like something was off with the Liberty.

 

[nwhoopfan]

Especially with Cayla George taking 35 shots in the first 3 quarters.

 

[nickp91]

Vegas is the City of Champions

 

[GoChips20]

I mean her wife is pregnant and her father in law died last week. Not sure if that’s the issue but she certainly has a lot going on.

Oh goodness, I didn’t know that. Yes, that could certainly explain it. Hope she’s able to take some time and be with her family now that we’re in the off-season.

 

[nwhoopfan]

Parker and Gray also both now have 3 rings and have won at 2 different franchises

Clark is in the 3 rings w/ 2 franchises club.

 

[maccca3232]

Parker and Gray also both now have 3 rings and have won at 2 different franchises despite neither playing in game 4 (and Parker missing most of the season). Not sure of any other teammates who’ve accomplished this.

Parker becomes the first player to win a championship with 3 different franchises (Sparks, Sky & Aces).

 

[hoopsnloops32]

Okay @hoopsnloops32 I've been giving you a hard time. Tonight it definitely looked like something was off with the Liberty.

Ever since Sabrina went out for two games in last August/early September they never looked the same. Each game they were overly reliant on one or two players to carry with 2-3 players disappearing. A shame because the way they played in July/August was truly beautiful basketball.

Hope Stewie doesn’t go overseas this season, looks like she can use a break.

 

[bballnut90]

Clark is in the 3 rings w/ 2 franchises club.

I edited to clarify, I meant teammates that played on different championship franchises together

 

[JDuro]

Random thought for the night, but I could see Chelsea Gray being an All-star coach if she ever decides to go down that path. I could see her as the next Dawn Staley at the college level or the next Becky Hammon in the pros. She seems to have that 'it' factor with her basketball IQ and the ability to get her teammates to listen and buy in.

She’s my fantasy successor to Dawn when she retires given that Dawn has said that she doesn’t plan on coaching deep into her 60’s. With WNBA players increasingly joining college coaching staffs in the off-season, I would love to see Dawn bring Gray to Columbia.

 

[nwhoopfan]

They just replayed JJ with one of the most obvious fouls you will EVER see, absolutely clobbered Plum on the follow thru of what started out as a clean block. Hit her arm, the back of her head, and pretty much her whole body. No call. God I hate refs.

Found a clip of it. I know calls get missed all the time. But somebody please try to explain to me how the refs let this one go. That's close to an assault.

 

[MilfordHusky]

Parker becomes the first player to win a championship with 3 different franchises (Sparks, Sky & Aces).

Parker is doing the LeBron thing--moving to teams that can win. Meanwhile, Nneka has 1 championship. But Kiah Stokes has 2 and Alysha Clark has 3.

Vegas was the better team much of the season. Given the injured 3, they did very well to get a win tonight. I'm not a Wilson fan, but she is really, really good and has improved considerably since her rookie year. She's big, strong, mobile, and can shoot.

Vegas has developed chemistry over years. Can New York develop better chemistry if given time? Stewie is usually the absolute clutch player, but she shot poorly in the series and also in several game this season.

Ultimately, the playoffs came down to the 2 "superteams." It will be interesting to see how rosters evolve. Can Vegas 3-peat? My guess is they are favored next year if the Core 4 come back, meaning that Gray is recovered. I think they can win with or without Parker. It was an interesting season. Lots of records broken, some due to a longer season and some due to exceptional play.

 

[MilfordHusky]

Found a clip of it. I know calls get missed all the time. But somebody please try to explain to me how the refs let this one go. That's close to an assault.

I was wondering about that. I would guess that the refs called less than half of the actual fouls today. That play didn't look much worse, in terms of a bad call, than several others.

 

[bballnut90]

I was wondering about that. I would guess that the refs called less than half of the actual fouls today. That play didn't look much worse, in terms of a bad call, than several others.

I thought that was by far the most egregious no call of the game. She bashed her in the head on the follow through. Plum wasn’t getting any calls her way tonight.

 

[GCKSFN4L]

I thought that was by far the most egregious no call of the game. She bashed her in the head on the follow through. Plum wasn’t getting any calls her way tonight.

I thought it was pretty bad too. JJ has a bad habit of being reckless especially when things aren't going her way. I'm not surprised it wasn't called especially in Barclays.

 

[nwhoopfan]

I thought that was by far the most egregious no call of the game. She bashed her in the head on the follow through. Plum wasn’t getting any calls her way tonight.

And hit her hard enough with the body to knock her right off her feet. There were actually 3 fouls, arm, head and body.

 

[MSGRET]

My Aces did something that hasn't happened over the last 21 years in the WNBA, winning back to back titles. Now if only the Golden Knights can win the Stanley Cup this season and Vegas will have back to back in hockey.

 

[JellyBean]

Congrats, Coach Hammon and Las Vegas Aces!! 42-7 on the season. Back-to-Back Champs!! What a game!! I am proud of Cayla George. I told folks, Coach Hammon had a player on the bench who could give the team a little punch on the offensive end. Stokes doesn't shoot a lot for whatever reason, but Cayla does, and did she shoot!! Homegirl was not shy and that is all the Aces needed.

That was an exciting game. Hats off to New York. They had a great season. They are going to be a force again next season. Stewie had a rough night. Sloot had a great night. JJ struggled. I will have to watch the game again later but after game 3, I thought the Liberty had things figured out. I was wrong. Not sure what happened why JJ only got 8 touches, but I will rewatch the game later to see what the Aces did or was it just New York doing something else.

Congrats, Las Vegas!!!

 

[JellyBean]

WOW! Just, wow! I was on the edge of my seat for the entire 4th quarter. That was a finals to remember.

My heart was pounding! I danged near passed out. Just a great segment of basketball. With so much sports on yesterday, I am hoping that we got some solid ratings with this Game 4. Wow!! This whole game was great viewing.

 

[Dillon77]

I can't help it, gotta take a shot at Bill Laimbeer. He did only have 1 season w/ the core 4 together, but Hammon in her 2 years has brought out the best in Young, Plum and Gray, and I think you could say Wilson as well. 2 Titles. Not convinced Laimbeer ever would've gotten them over the top.

Point taken, but look at it from another (job) perspective: he also acquired most of these players.

So, while he didn't necessarily use them the right way (Plum and Young, in particular), he certainly saw the talent. So GM/Trader Bill did his job; Coach Bill, not so much.

 

[Dillon77]

Random thought for the night, but I could see Chelsea Gray being an All-star coach if she ever decides to go down that path. I could see her as the next Dawn Staley at the college level or the next Becky Hammon in the pros. She seems to have that 'it' factor with her basketball IQ and the ability to get her teammates to listen and buy in.

In (one of the) post-game interviews, that was brought up and Becky Hammon completely agreed, saying that Gray will suggest the same play in a timeout at the same time Hammon was ready to call it.

 

[cancontent]

Congrats, Coach Hammon and Las Vegas Aces!! 42-7 on the season. Back-to-Back Champs!! What a game!! I am proud of Cayla George. I told folks, Coach Hammon had a player on the bench who could give the team a little punch on the offensive end. Stokes doesn't shoot a lot for whatever reason, but Cayla does, and did she shoot!! Homegirl was not shy and that is all the Aces needed.

That was an exciting game. Hats off to New York. They had a great season. They are going to be a force again next season. Stewie had a rough night. Sloot had a great night. JJ struggled. I will have to watch the game again later but after game 3, I thought the Liberty had things figured out. I was wrong. Not sure what happened why JJ only got 8 touches, but I will rewatch the game later to see what the Aces did or was it just New York doing something else.

Congrats, Las Vegas!!!

Was wondering about this as well after seeing the box score. I know Vegas was throwing as many people against when possible. There were some times when players fronted her when it worked for Vegas. I recall one turnover where Young was able to intercept the pass in front of her. On that play, I think it was more of a poor pass, because it looked like a tight spot to force it into, even with a lob.

 

[Dillon77]

And hit her hard enough with the body to knock her right off her feet. There were actually 3 fouls, arm, head and body.

Yes. As a long-time basketball player and soccer coach, I would've gone to "full-gape" mode on the refs regarding that non-call on the run back up-court.

 

[cancontent]

Yes. As a long-time basketball player and soccer coach, I would've gone to "full-gape" mode on the refs regarding that non-call on the run back up-court.

I thought Hammon was going to apoplectic when it happened. Even without the replay it was obvious there was some contact.

The refs swallowed their whistles on a lot of contact in that game for both teams. It was a "let them play" kind of night.