WNBA -- 2023 Season

[Notyetready]

Agree about the lack of PGs. There really haven't been any standouts since Gray entered the draft in 2014. Jefferson looked like she was going to be great but then injuries have derailed her career. Ionescu is a heck of a talent but she's effectively a SG now in NY.

The WNBA has always been far more loaded in the front court than back court, but with Bueckers/Clark/Miles all coming in, they should help balance the talent. I'm not seeing Muhl as a strong WNBA PG though. She's got good size and is a solid facilitator but is turnover prone and isn't a scoring threat. I think Raven Johnson has potential to be a solid pro, though she's not at the level of Bueckers/Clark/Miles.

I don't think many people expect much from Mulh at the WNBA level but then few fans expected her to be defensive player of the year or single season assist record holder for UConn.

Here's a question though-- if you insert her into the Minnesota roster, would she improve the offense? Reeve says she wants her shooting guards to get the ball up court quickly instead of walking it up. We know Nika charges up court or launches a pass. So, she might not do well on any ol' WNBA team, but she would change the dynamics of the Lynx offense, surely.

It will be interesting to see who, or if anybody, drafts her.

In any case, were I Reeve I would be on the hunt for a floor general who can get the ball up the court.

 

[Tangential]

Carleton's been having back issues. I agree with you on Milic -- she just hasn't looked that good.

Surprised that they kept Milić over Soule

 

[Reypl21]

I don't think many people expect much from Mulh at the WNBA level but then few fans expected her to be defensive player of the year or single season assist record holder for UConn.

Here's a question though-- if you insert her into the Minnesota roster, would she improve the offense? Reeve says she wants her shooting guards to get the ball up court quickly instead of walking it up. We know Nika charges up court or launches a pass. So, she might not do well on any ol' WNBA team, but she would change the dynamics of the Lynx offense, surely.

It will be interesting to see who, or if anybody, drafts her.

In any case, were I Reeve I would be on the hunt for a floor general who can get the ball up the court.

No, she would not improve the offense. Passing the ball up the court instead of walking it up isn't going to get you on a WNBA team. The Lynx need a true 5 and a PG. They have Allen already as a PG who isn't a dynamic scorer. They need a PG like Clark or Bueckers. Muhl in the half court wouldn't be a threat to score.

I think Muhl can be a WNBA player, but not for the Lynx. She does have to improve offensively, but she is very good defensively and is a great teammate.

 

[jake0414]

Discovered that ABC in Los Angeles elected not to broadcast the Wings vs Liberty game this morning choosing instead to carry local news programming. I can watch it via streaming but the decision should outrage the WNBA. What other TV markets have local blackouts?

 

[nwhoopfan]

Tale of 2 halves. NY on fire in the 2nd half. Huge game for Stewie, big 2nd half for Ionescu, Sloot w/ another double-double.

 

[baggerbob]

Tale of 2 halves. NY on fire in the 2nd half. Huge game for Stewie, big 2nd half for Ionescu, Sloot w/ another double-double.

They still haven't put together a full 40 minutes, usually they get 20 minutes.

 

[Tangential]

Tale of 2 halves. NY on fire in the 2nd half. Huge game for Stewie, big 2nd half for Ionescu, Sloot w/ another double-double.

Even beyond the numbers, Stewie is amazingly impressive (duh). When she guarded Ogunbowale out high, Arike settled for a couple low-percentage 3s. I thought that she had back-to-back strips to close the 1st half, so I don't know how she ended up with only 1 steal. She is so adept at sensing where the help is or isn't coming from and then effectively takes advantage of the appropriate mismatch with a shot, pass, or drive. I know -- stating the obvious -- but sometimes it bears repeating.

 

[bballnut90]

Vegas clicking on all cylinders. Parker silencing doubters with 10/6/7 and 5 steals on 5-6 shooting in 23 minutes so far.

 

[nwhoopfan]

Yeah Parker was more active and engaged right from the get go than I've seen from her all season. Plum had a great first half but then disappeared. The Aces bench still sucks. Let a 30 point lead get cut in half during garbage time. Wilson, Young and Gray all did their thing.

Wilson is ALREADY closing in on the all time record for double doubles. That's pretty amazing.

 

[Carnac]

Mercury to make travel 'adjustments' after Brittney Griner incident​

"INDIANAPOLIS -- Phoenix coach Vanessa Nygaard said Sunday that the Mercury will make adjustments for traveling to future road games, one day after star center Brittney Griner was confronted by a "provocateur" at Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport. Nygaard would not divulge details of those changes, citing league policy and safety concerns about her team."

The WNBA has been in existence for 25 years. It's about time for the league to bring its member's traveling policies/protocols into the 21st century. No doubt that was a very embarrassing situation for Griner and her teammates. This should be as ESPN's Scott Van Pelt says.................."the next big thing" on the league's agenda. The league owners/executive committee should address and resolve this situation to the player's and coach's satisfaction.

I realize it's expensive to fly charter, but it's part of doing business. I'm also aware that some teams are losing money. That's no excuse. If you can't afford to own a team.....sell it. Take care of your players. No one is interested in listening to billionaire/millionaire owners cry broke.

'Adjustments' coming after Griner airport incident

Mercury coach Vanessa Nygaard said the team will make travel adjustments for future road games after Brittney Griner was confronted by a YouTube personality at the Dallas airport.

www.espn.com

 

[SECbbfan24]

The fever choked away another game they should have won, woof

 

[Tangential]

The fever choked away another game they should have won, woof

The Sparks said "hold my beer." Led by 11 with 3:38 to go and the Lynx got 17 straight points. 2nd (Seattle) big lead blown by LA recently to a team with a bad record.

 

[Bigboote]

Just when we've pointed out the ineffectiveness of Carleton and Milic, they're key in getting the Lynx their second win of the season.

 

[baggerbob]

Even beyond the numbers, Stewie is amazingly impressive (duh). When she guarded Ogunbowale out high, Arike settled for a couple low-percentage 3s. I thought that she had back-to-back strips to close the 1st half, so I don't know how she ended up with only 1 steal. She is so adept at sensing where the help is or isn't coming from and then effectively takes advantage of the appropriate mismatch with a shot, pass, or drive. I know -- stating the obvious -- but sometimes it bears repeating.

What gets me is how can someone who is always among the top 3 or 4 in free throw attempts put up 20 shots, and never get fouled.
Those Refs were incompetent, Stewie got hammered a number of times.

 

[JellyBean]

Just when we've pointed out the ineffectiveness of Carleton and Milic, they're key in getting the Lynx their second win of the season.

Right on cue As I was watching the game, I was thinking about what you said about Carleton and her back issues. Right around that time, Carleton takes off the warmup and checks in the game. Her and Milic gave the Lynx a huge lift yesterday.

 

[Bigboote]

Let's see what happens this coming season. Who would have thought Saniya Chong would be drafted after her junior year? She is one of my favorite UConn players ever, but I didn't even think she'd be drafted, nevermind make a team, after her junior year. Many "in the know" were surprised by Kelly Faris's senior year (I wasn't, although she's another of my favorites) and never would have imagined she'd be a first-round draft pick.

Through three seasons, Nika has shown a lot more than Saniya and in some ways more than Kelly. And don't forget Dorka missed a lot of layups, and she's doing very well.

 

[TheFarmFan]

Let's see what happens this coming season. Who would have thought Saniya Chong would be drafted after her junior year? She is one of my favorite UConn players ever, but I didn't even think she'd be drafted, nevermind make a team, after her junior year. Many "in the know" were surprised by Kelly Faris's senior year (I wasn't, although she's another of my favorites) and never would have imagined she'd be a first-round draft pick.

Through three seasons, Nika has shown a lot more than Saniya and in some ways more than Kelly. And don't forget Dorka missed a lot of layups, and she's doing very well.

What am I missing here? IIRC, Chong played four seasons for UConn from 2013-17, graduated, and then was drafted by Dallas in 2017...?

 

[TRest]

What am I missing here? IIRC, Chong played four seasons for UConn from 2013-17, graduated, and then was drafted by Dallas in 2017...?

The implication is that her junior year was no great shakes.

 

[TheFarmFan]

The implication is that her junior year was no great shakes.

Ah... Given that she was a third round draft pick in a weak draft class and then flamed out of the W in one season, I'd hope Nika would look to any number of other former Huskies as better role models for transitioning to the pro game...

 

[bballnut90]

Ah... Given that she was a third round draft pick in a weak draft class and then flamed out of the W in one season, I'd hope Nika would look to any number of other former Huskies as better role models for transitioning to the pro game...

Chong also was buried on the bench on far better teams than the squads Muhl has played on. I think Muhl has pro potential with her size, passing and UCONN background but will need to become a better scorer to get minutes in the pros.

 

[Gus Mahler]

The implication is that her junior year was no great shakes.

She fought that funky nerve problem in her leg all that year. But your point is taken.

 

[Tangential]

Boston completely dominated Austin and Washington's shooting woes (especially starting 3 guards and top 2 guards off bench) continue. They need to get their FG%s up even if they are playing great D, and today their defense was not special.

 

[Bigboote]

Ah... Given that she was a third round draft pick in a weak draft class and then flamed out of the W in one season, I'd hope Nika would look to any number of other former Huskies as better role models for transitioning to the pro game...

Geez, I wasn't saying Nika should look to be a Chong -- just that Chong was on absolutely nobody's radar at the end of her junior year and that a lot can change in a year. Nika has UConn's single-season assists record and six of the top ten assist games in UConn history. I think it's a little early for folks to state that she won't amount to anything in the W.