WNBA 2023 Season, Part 2 | Page 33 | The Boneyard

WNBA 2023 Season, Part 2

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Wow, was not expecting this. Who called a blowout win for the Aces in Game 1?

The Young/Gray/Plum trio MASSIVELY outplayed Ionescu/Laney/Sloot. Courtney did move to #2 on the all time playoff assists list. She got abused on defense though, whoever she was guarding was scoring on her.
 
nwhoopfan said:
Wow, was not expecting this. Who called a blowout win for the Aces in Game 1?

The Young/Gray/Plum trio MASSIVELY outplayed Ionescu/Laney/Sloot. Courtney did move to #2 on the all time playoff assists list. She got abused on defense though, whoever she was guarding was scoring on her.
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Definitely was not expecting a blowout. I was expecting a close back and forth type of game, like it was in the first half. We will see what adjustments New York makes for game 2.
 
nwhoopfan said:
Wow, was not expecting this. Who called a blowout win for the Aces in Game 1?

The Young/Gray/Plum trio MASSIVELY outplayed Ionescu/Laney/Sloot. Courtney did move to #2 on the all time playoff assists list. She got abused on defense though, whoever she was guarding was scoring on her.
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In one of the huddles, Becky was seen telling her player that she was stronger than the person guarding her. I think it may have been Young v. Sloot. Just as Dallas struggled guarding the Vegas backcourt, New York struggled today.
 
nwhoopfan said:
Wow, was not expecting this. Who called a blowout win for the Aces in Game 1?

The Young/Gray/Plum trio MASSIVELY outplayed Ionescu/Laney/Sloot. Courtney did move to #2 on the all time playoff assists list. She got abused on defense though, whoever she was guarding was scoring on her.
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Hasn’t every game these two teams played been a blow out?
 
Liberty had to win this game if they anted a chance to win. Aces in three, three blow outs in each game. Every game between these teams has been a blow out so no reason to think they’ll be close games.
 
Probably the worst playoff game I’ve seen from Vandersloot. She’ll rebound and play better on Wed. Not the best effort from Stewart either and Ionescu no-showed. Vegas guards just dominated and were all playing their best. Plum got by her opposition at ease and had probably 5-6 layups, Young was unstoppable and Gray was the best player on the floor tonight. Wilson was excellent too on both ends. Just a great second half from the Aces.

I predict Liberty take game 2. This was Vegas at their peak (55% FG) and NY at arguably their worst. It’ll be hard for Vegas’s 4 stars to replicate this type of effort and I expect NY to come out guns blazing.

Also worth noting, this was Stewart’s first finals/championship game loss. She was 4-0 in college and 6-0 in finals games leading up to today.
 
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bballnut90 said:
Probably the worst playoff game I’ve seen from Vandersloot. She’ll rebound and play better on Wed. Not the best effort from Stewart either and Ionescu no-showed. Vegas guards just dominated and were all playing their best. Plum got by her opposition at ease and had probably 5-6 layups, Young was unstoppable and Gray was the best player on the floor tonight. Wilson was excellent too on both ends. Just a great second half from the Aces.

I predict Liberty take game 2. This was Vegas at their peak (55% FG) and NY at arguably their worst. It’ll be hard for Vegas’s 4 stars to replicate this type of effort and I expect NY to come out guns blazing.

Also worth noting, this was Stewart’s first finals/championship game loss. She was 4-0 in college and 6-0 in finals games leading up to today.
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I thought Stewie played one of her better games of these playoffs, just got no help in the second half.

The Liberty haven’t played particularly well since the end of August. Ever since Sabrina went out for those two games they haven’t looked right. Don’t expect them to turn it around in 3 days what they haven’t been able to fix in a month and a half
 
Certainly possible (perhaps even likely) the Liberty bounce back in game 2, but tonight showed that the Aces have the superior backcourt defensively. Just bigger, stronger, and quicker. Laney can cover Gray as well as anyone in the league but guarding Gray effectively means keeping her under 12-15 points rather than shutting her down most nights. Putting Laney on Gray also leaves Plum and Young in advantageous mismatches. It’s unlikely both capitalize as efficiently as they did tonight, but if the Aces are getting ~40 combined from them (52 tonight), they’re very difficult to beat. Add to that that Wilson seems to have figured out how to get hers against NY’s MVP duo and the advantages the Liberty had in the regular season seem to have shrunk. I’ll still pick NY to win this series but I think tonight bolstered the probability that this one goes the distance rather than wrapping up in 3 or 4 games.
 
Hadn’t really noticed it before this season but also wanted to add that Gray is really underrated as a defender. 2 steals+blocks a game and reads the floor just as well on that end as she does when passing or scoring. Vandersloot and Cloud are outstanding but at this point it’s pretty clear to me that Gray is the best point guard in the league.
 
GoChips20 said:
Certainly possible (perhaps even likely) the Liberty bounce back in game 2, but tonight showed that the Aces have the superior backcourt defensively. Just bigger, stronger, and quicker. Laney can cover Gray as well as anyone in the league but guarding Gray effectively means keeping her under 12-15 points rather than shutting her down most nights. Putting Laney on Gray also leaves Plum and Young in advantageous mismatches. It’s unlikely both capitalize as efficiently as they did tonight, but if the Aces are getting ~40 combined from them (52 tonight), they’re very difficult to beat. Add to that that Wilson seems to have figured out how to get hers against NY’s MVP duo and the advantages the Liberty had in the regular season seem to have shrunk. I’ll still pick NY to win this series but I think tonight bolstered the probability that this one goes the distance rather than wrapping up in 3 or 4 games.
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Aces in 3. Sabrina has been out of sorts since August and Sloot hasn’t played well in weeks. This is how the Liberty have played the last month, I don’t see it changing.
 
hoopsnloops32 said:
Aces in 3. Sabrina has been out of sorts since August and Sloot hasn’t played well in weeks. This is how the Liberty have played the last month, I don’t see it changing.
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Liberty looked really good at times in the series against the Sun. Connecticut also won Game 1 of that series fairly convincingly. This is a long way from over.
 
hoopsnloops32 said:
Aces in 3. Sabrina has been out of sorts since August and Sloot hasn’t played well in weeks. This is how the Liberty have played the last month, I don’t see it changing.
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You're putting too much emphasis on this one game. In the last month of the WNBA regular season the Liberty lost 2 games and the Aces lost 3. The Liberty lost the first game to the Sun and then swept them. But I do agree that Sabrina HAS to score more than 7 points for them to have a chance. Young is streaky and will not hit 26 points all the time.
 
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I think the series goes 5. Wouldn’t surprise me if it’s 4 relatively blowout wins (each team wins 1 at home and on the road) and the 5th game is an intense battle. I don’t see any way NY gets swept. Vegas has been pretty hot and cold the 2nd half of the season and I think the pattern continues.
 
bballnut90 said:
I think the series goes 5. Wouldn’t surprise me if it’s 4 relatively blowout wins (each team wins 1 at home and on the road) and the 5th game is an intense battle. I don’t see any way NY gets swept. Vegas has been pretty hot and cold the 2nd half of the season and I think the pattern continues.
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Have to watch the game as it's Thanksgiving weekend here but the box score caught my eye. Other than Johannes and Clark, neither team went to their bench much. Thought NY Dolson would be used for additional post depth. Seeing her get 2 minutes was surprising.
 
bballnut90 said:
I think the series goes 5. Wouldn’t surprise me if it’s 4 relatively blowout wins (each team wins 1 at home and on the road) and the 5th game is an intense battle. I don’t see any way NY gets swept. Vegas has been pretty hot and cold the 2nd half of the season and I think the pattern continues.
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Regular season:
Las Vegas (34-6) and New York (32-8) met four times in the regular season, with both teams winning their two home contests. They also met in the Commissioner’s Cup, where the Liberty cruised past the Aces.
 
nwhoopfan said:
Liberty looked really good at times in the series against the Sun. Connecticut also won Game 1 of that series fairly convincingly. This is a long way from over.
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I'm surprised there's been virtually no mention of Jonquel Jones on this thread since this series was confirmed. She has been the Liberty's best player in the playoffs (other than Laney, perhaps) and her first half was the reason the Liberty were in the game. She was quiet in the second half but I'll lay that on her teammates, and improved D in the paint by the Aces.
 
Blueballer said:
You're putting too much emphasis on this one game. In the last month of the WNBA regular season the Liberty lost 2 games and the Aces lost 3. The Liberty lost the first game to the Sun and then swept them. But I do agree that Sabrina HAS to score more than 7 points for them to have a chance. Young is streaky and will not hit 26 points all the time.
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Could you explain how Jackie Young is streaky?
  • Shooting wise, she averaged 52% from the floor (overall), 45% from three-pt. land and 87% from the FT line, or a mere 3 pct. points from the vaunted 50-40-90 line of excellence.
  • The only thing I'll grant you is that she needs to be reminded of that and shoot more often. She's averaged 11.9 shots per game. On Sunday, she took 15 and hit 9. The percentages might come down a bit but not because she's a streaky shooter. She's not.
  • Young hasn’t scored less than 15 points in any of the matchups against New York thus far. The Liberty would probably take a drop to the teens, but it won't be because Young will do it for them. The LIberty will have to take something away and, in doing so, give another Ace some daylight. Becomes a "Pick your poison" situation.

I picked Young as the player to watch on the Aces, in part, because she's so consistent. Also, she's a very strong player and won't wear down in a 7-game series.
 
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nwhoopfan said:
I think Johannes' insane shooting in the first half had more to do with that than Jones, although JJ did get off to a quick start.
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Good point, nwhoopfan... both were in double figures, and Johannes' three-pointers were crazy shots, except she makes those. JJ also was dominating the boards other than those grabbed by A'ja and Stewie.
 
Dillon77 said:
Could you explain how Jackie Young is streaky?
  • Shooting wise, she averaged 52% from the floor (overall), 45% from three-pt. land and 87% from the FT line, or a mere 3 pct. points from the vaunted 50-40-90 line of excellence.
  • The only thing I'll grant you is that she needs to be reminded of that and shoot more often. She's averaged 11.9 shot per game. On Sunday, she took 15 and hit 9. Ther percentages might come down a bit but not because she's a streaky shooter. She's not.

I picked Young as the player to watch on the Aces, in part, because she's so consistent. Also, she's a very strong player and won't wear down in a 7-game series.
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And it might be that Jackie played ball in South Bend, Dillon?;)
 
The deacon said:
And it might be that Jackie played ball in South Bend, Dillon?;)
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I'll (hopefully)take the emoji at face value, Deac!

No, it has nothing to do with that at all because Jackie was a great scorer long before she got to ND. In fact, she's still the leading scorer in Indiana HS history.

Heck at ND, one of Jackie's teammates believed (and still does) that if it's a new day, then it's time to hoist up 20 shots. If anything, playing with Arike -- said teammate -- and Marina has probably made Young hold back from shooting as much as she should.

(BTW, now that I think of it, what is the "it" you're referring to? ;))
 
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Dillon77 said:
I'll (hopefully)take the emoji at face value, Deac!

No, it has nothing to do with that at all because Jackie was a great scorer long before she got to ND. In fact, she's still the leading scorer in Indiana HS history.

Heck at ND, one of Jackie's teammates believed (and still does) that if it's a new day, then it's time to hoist up 20 shots. If anything, playing with Arike -- said teammate -- and Marina has probably made Young hold back from shooting as much as she should.

(BTW, now that I think of it, what is the "it" you're referring to? ;))
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'It?' Just gentle ribbing 'cause you're defending one of your Irish products (Oh, how I wish Wake Forest had even one player of that caliber).

I'm definitely with you about Jackie's college teammates. I remember a few WNBA seasons ago when KLS was trying to develop her pro game in Dallas and was stuck watching Arika and Marina take turns firing up shot after shot. In retrospect, I feel for Jackie she had to endure that in college, and thankful Becky Hammond has somehow managed to convince Young of the great young player she is.
 
The deacon said:
'It?' Just gentle ribbing 'cause you're defending one of your Irish products (Oh, how I wish Wake Forest had even one player of that caliber).

I'm definitely with you about Jackie's college teammates. I remember a few WNBA seasons ago when KLS was trying to develop her pro game in Dallas and was stuck watching Arika and Marina take turns firing up shot after shot. In retrospect, I feel for Jackie she had to endure that in college, and thankful Becky Hammond has somehow managed to convince Young of the great young player she is.
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There is a certain Descartian-logic to Arike: "I shoot, therefore I am."

However, Mabrey adapted her game for the sake/to the benefit of her ND team. Remember, she volunteered to take over lead guard responsibilities when ND lost its point guards to injury. (Jackie helped her.). While that cut down on her scoring that season, it probably started a curve where Mabrey improved her all-round game to get into the pro's (where she continues to work on her three-level scoring).

Still, of the three ND NC guards, Young is the most well-rounded and selfless (as Coach Hammon says, "I can't get mad at the girl.").

BTW, you had a very good player -- Jewel Spear --at Wake but she bailed to Tennessee. That ticked me off....(Son #2 of mine went to Wake, so I'm a fan, too.)
 
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The deacon said:
I'm surprised there's been virtually no mention of Jonquel Jones on this thread since this series was confirmed. She has been the Liberty's best player in the playoffs (other than Laney, perhaps) and her first half was the reason the Liberty were in the game. She was quiet in the second half but I'll lay that on her teammates, and improved D in the paint by the Aces.
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JJ and Johannes in that first half were unstoppable. I am looking forward to seeing the adjustments these teams make for Game 2.
 
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Dillon77 said:
There is a certain Descartian-logic to Arike: "I shoot, therefore I am."

However, Mabrey adapted her game for the sake/to the benefit of her ND team. Remember, she volunteered to take over lead guard responsibilities when ND lost its point guards to injury. (Jackie helped her.). While that cut down on her scoring that season, it probably started a curve where Mabrey improved her all-round game to get into the pro's (where she continues to work on her three-level scoring).

Still, of the three ND NC guards, Young is the most well-rounded and selfless (as Coach Hammon says, "I can't get mad at the girl.").

BTW, you had a very good player -- Jewel Spear --at Wake but she bailed to Tennessee. That ticked me off....(Son #2 of mine went to Wake, so I'm a fan, too.)
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Quality tandem of schools for your kids... ND and Wake.

I will agree Jewel was a good player for the Deacs, and authored some memorable games. However, likely because there were few scoring alternatives, she developed an Arike-like penchant for volume shooting last season. I wish her well with Tennessee, as long as it doesn't help the Vols win more games.

Dillon, I must admit yours is the first Descartes usage I've seen here.:cool:

P.S. Just 'cause I should know better, apologies for the 'Arika' and 'Hammond' references above. I get on BYers about spelling... those are bad mistakes.
 
Dillon77 said:
There is a certain Descartian-logic to Arike: "I shoot, therefore I am."

However, Mabrey adapted her game for the sake/to the benefit of her ND team. Remember, she volunteered to take over lead guard responsibilities when ND lost its point guards to injury. (Jackie helped her.). While that cut down on her scoring that season, it probably started a curve where Mabrey improved her all-round game to get into the pro's (where she continues to work on her three-level scoring).

Still, of the three ND NC guards, Young is the most well-rounded and selfless (as Coach Hammon says, "I can't get mad at the girl.").

BTW, you had a very good player -- Jewel Spear --at Wake but she bailed to Tennessee. That ticked me off....(Son #2 of mine went to Wake, so I'm a fan, too.)
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"I shoot, therefore I am." Tres intelligent! :D
 
cancontent said:
Seeing posts that Teresa Weatherspoon is close to signing a deal to be the new Sky coach. Happy to see her get a head coaching job after her time with the Pelicans.

Now who do they have targeted as a GM?
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I certainly can see her ramping up the intensity on the defensive side of the ledger, that's for sure.
Here's an ESPNw article on the probable hire:

www.espn.com

Teresa Weatherspoon named coach of WNBA's Sky

Teresa Weatherspoon, one of the WNBA's most iconic players from its launch in 1997, has been named the new head coach of the Chicago Sky.
www.espn.com www.espn.com

Like you, I'm very interested to see whom they bring in as general manager. There's some work to be done there, with players such as Courtney Williams and Alanna Smith entering free agency.
 
Dillon77 said:
I certainly can see her ramping up the intensity on the defensive side of the ledger, that's for sure.
Here's an ESPNw article on the probable hire:

www.espn.com

Teresa Weatherspoon named coach of WNBA's Sky

Teresa Weatherspoon, one of the WNBA's most iconic players from its launch in 1997, has been named the new head coach of the Chicago Sky.
www.espn.com www.espn.com

Like you, I'm very interested to see whom they bring in as general manager. There's some work to be done there, with players such as Courtney Williams and Alanna Smith entering free agency.
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Agreed re GM. Impression is that Wade didn't leave them in a great situation, but I'm not a salary capologist by any means.
 
cancontent said:
Seeing posts that Teresa Weatherspoon is close to signing a deal to be the new Sky coach. Happy to see her get a head coaching job after her time with the Pelicans.

Now who do they have targeted as a GM?
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I hope that Chicago is looking for a solid GM. I wonder if Jerry West would be interested in coming on board to help out.
 
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