WNBA -- 2023 Season | Page 33 | The Boneyard

WNBA -- 2023 Season

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Jones also plays on one of the top teams in Europe, Praha(Pravda). Big loss for them, considering Praha were able to sign one of the best pg in Europe, Cazorla of Avenida.
 
Dillon77 said:
The beauty of having such a deep bench is that other players can carry a team from time to time. I also thought Thornton was solid.
Hope Steff D. is ok after turning her ankle in the 4th quarter.

Speaking of Thornton, she used to ready the ship for Dallas last year when things got a bit shaky. Didn't see the end of this one because I thought the Sparks would just try again on Sunday against the Wings. Now the shoe is on the other foot. Or, the "Mark-Tubans," to quote the State Farm commercial ;)
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The Liberty took em to the woodshed last night :eek: this was the first time it looked like Jonquel was in sync with Stewie.

I heard some of the Dream fans were not too pleased with Sabrina :p
 
Iluvacc2 said:
The Liberty took em to the woodshed last night :eek: this was the first time it looked like Jonquel was in sync with Stewie.

I heard some of the Dream fans were not too pleased with Sabrina :p
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UConnCat said:
ugh. What everyone feared

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Geez, I hate to hear that. I've loved her since her days at UMD. She's just so damn steady. She never draws attention to herself, then toward the end of the game, you suddenly realize she's got a double-double and has only missed two shots.
 
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nwhoopfan said:
Lib getting some revenge on the Dream for that loss a couple weeks ago. Finishing off a blowout. JJ having her best game so far in NY, Laney with one of her better outputs of the season. Sloot stat sheet stuffing w/ 16 pts/11 assists/7 steals. Johannes lighting it up from 3 off the bench. All of that means they easily shook off so so games from Stewie and Ionescu.
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When Stewie scores 13 and is the team's 5th leading scorer, the Liberty likely win.
 
Looks like Plum is having another hot shooting night, this time against Indiana. I don't think they are as hapless defensively as some of her other recent victims, correct? Wilson and Boston having good battle it appears.

When Seattle is blowing you out, you know you have problems (Phoenix). edit--and Griner & Taurasi are both back, so they can't use that excuse
 
So for Indiana, you get a combined 44 pts and 20 rebounds from Smith and Boston, Hull scores 15, 13 off the bench for Wallace...and you still lose by 13. I guess that's what happens when you play Vegas. Mitchell came out significantly on the short end of the battle of the Kelseys.
 
nwhoopfan said:
So for Indiana, you get a combined 44 pts and 20 rebounds from Smith and Boston, Hull scores 15, 13 off the bench for Wallace...and you still lose by 13. I guess that's what happens when you play Vegas. Mitchell came out significantly on the short end of the battle of the Kelseys.
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Vegas gets 90+ almost every game. They are tough.
 
nwhoopfan said:
So for Indiana, you get a combined 44 pts and 20 rebounds from Smith and Boston, Hull scores 15, 13 off the bench for Wallace...and you still lose by 13. I guess that's what happens when you play Vegas. Mitchell came out significantly on the short end of the battle of the Kelseys.
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Defensively they just couldn't stop them which I guess can be said about everyone else as well but Indiana has a lot of youth who that is starting to grow a lot.

My only critique is guard play gets kinda spotty at times but team collectively is way better than last season.
 
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ESPN.com says the MVP race is basically tied between A'ja and Stewie. I may be biased, but I don't see it.

Stewie leads in the following:

PPG 22.9 to 18.6

RPG 10.8 to 9.3

APG 4.2 to 2.0

3-point shooting 39.7% to 0.0%

FT shooting 83.3% to 75.0%

A'ja leads in these:

BPG 2.2 to 1.9

FG shooting 53.5% to 49.4%

Stewie leads by a wide margin in 5 categories; A'ja leads by a narrow margin in 2.

Wilson is really, really good, but I like Stewie's play this year better.
 
MilfordHusky said:
ESPN.com says the MVP race is basically tied between A'ja and Stewie. I may be biased, but I don't see it.

Stewie leads in the following:

PPG 22.9 to 18.6

RPG 10.8 to 9.3

APG 4.2 to 2.0

3-point shooting 39.7% to 0.0%

FT shooting 83.3% to 75.0%

A'ja leads in these:

BPG 2.2 to 1.9

FG shooting 53.5% to 49.4%

Stewie leads by a wide margin in 5 categories; A'ja leads by a narrow margin in 2.

Wilson is really, really good, but I like Stewie's play this year better.
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And I'll add that IMO Aja gets incredible deference from the refs. She shoots a ton of free throws every game and gets a LOT of her points that way. In many of the games I watch I just don't see her getting fouled as much as the refs think she is. And I would add to that Stewie gets fouled a lot and it's not called. In fact from what I see Aja seems to get to line more than any player I have ever seen in the WNBA.
 
Which Croatian guard was Jewell Loyd describing here?
www.seattletimes.com

Scouting trip to Europe may have netted Storm point guard of future in Ivana Dojkic

Ivana Dojkic, the third Croatian to play in the WNBA, turned an invite to Storm training camp into the starting point-guard job just seven games into her rookie season.
www.seattletimes.com www.seattletimes.com

The best thing she does is push the ball ahead. She understands flow and knows who to get the ball to. The thing she needs to work on is probably fouling. When you play overseas you can get away with a little bit more than what they call here. She’s adjusting to that and how they call the game. She shoots the ball. She moves the ball. She’s not scared at all, and that’s a battle with any new player coming in. But her confidence is high and she’s not afraid of anything
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MilfordHusky said:
ESPN.com says the MVP race is basically tied between A'ja and Stewie. I may be biased, but I don't see it.

Stewie leads in the following:

PPG 22.9 to 18.6

RPG 10.8 to 9.3

APG 4.2 to 2.0

3-point shooting 39.7% to 0.0%

FT shooting 83.3% to 75.0%

A'ja leads in these:

BPG 2.2 to 1.9

FG shooting 53.5% to 49.4%

Stewie leads by a wide margin in 5 categories; A'ja leads by a narrow margin in 2.

Wilson is really, really good, but I like Stewie's play this year better.
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I wonder how much emphasis will be put on team success since both teams are clearly loaded, the Aces being top dogs at the moment and the Liberty looking good, too.
 
darrell said:
I wonder how much emphasis will be put on team success since both teams are clearly loaded, the Aces being top dogs at the moment and the Liberty looking good, too.
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Good point, which I was pondering -- just a smidgen -- while pouting a cup of coffee.
This may be the deciding factor as the season progresses.
 
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Iluvacc2 said:
The Liberty took em to the woodshed last night :eek: this was the first time it looked like Jonquel was in sync with Stewie.

I heard some of the Dream fans were not too pleased with Sabrina :p
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In fairness the fans were already unhappy with the flagrant 1 call on Dolson and the technical Coach Wright incurred arguing the call. Personally, I can see their side because the elbow Amihere took to the face was pretty bad. Heck, I felt the impact watching it in real time and slo-motion.

Ionescu just played up the villian role when she heard the boos while she was shooting. Considering the reason why she was shooting the technical, I didn't find it too becoming of her but it is what it is. If roles were reversed and it was a Liberty player who took that hit, would she tolerate appreciate the opponent doing the same? Fortunately Amihere is okay, but initially it didn't look good when it happened.
 
SECbbfan24 said:
Defensively they just couldn't stop them which I guess can be said about everyone else as well but Indiana has a lot of youth who that is starting to grow a lot.

My only critique is guard play gets kinda spotty at times but team collectively is way better than last season.
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For the 1 of 5 good games Mitchell has she has games like last night.
Too many times coming up court at top speed and putting up a bad shot.
While never looking to pass the ball.
They really need a good point guard to take the ball out of her hands.
 
cancontent said:
Ionescu just played up the villian role when she heard the boos while she was shooting. Considering the reason why she was shooting the technical, I didn't find it too becoming of her but it is what it is. If roles were reversed and it was a Liberty player who took that hit, would she tolerate appreciate the opponent doing the same? Fortunately Amihere is okay, but initially it didn't look good when it happened.
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I’m not sure it should have even been a flagrant 1. Not only was a it a normal basketball move, if you watch the video closely Amihere leans in leans in after the first elbow passes in front of her and that’s how she gets caught by the second elbow. It’s rates for the second elbow to be the contact elbow so I watched it a few times to figure out why.

That being said, in regards to Sabrina, Atlanta fans specially have been harassing her on social media since before the season even started. With her team up 30 salute her for silencing that crowd, especially when they are booing about a call already made in their favor down 30.
 
Iluvacc2 said:


Maybe we’ll see her again in a Merc uniform this summer? The fact that she’s practicing with Bridget Pettis should be a good sign. No?
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I am not sure about this year but I am hoping that Skylar is able to finish her career with Phoenix. Such a great talent that I would hate to see her bounce from team to team. But again, sometimes, change is good. You gotta go where you are wanted vs tolerated.
 
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baggerbob said:
For the 1 of 5 good games Mitchell has she has games like last night.
Too many times coming up court at top speed and putting up a bad shot.
While never looking to pass the ball.
They really need a good point guard to take the ball out of her hands.
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That is why I am surprised, or maybe they did reach out, that no offer to sign a point guard, say a Destanni Henderson, when, as a coach, you know you needed a decent point guard, was made.
 
Blueballer said:
And I'll add that IMO Aja gets incredible deference from the refs. She shoots a ton of free throws every game and gets a LOT of her points that way. In many of the games I watch I just don't see her getting fouled as much as the refs think she is. And I would add to that Stewie gets fouled a lot and it's not called. In fact from what I see Aja seems to get to line more than any player I have ever seen in the WNBA.
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This was interesting. So, for what it's worth, I went to the WNBA and ESPN sites and here's what's on the cyber pages. I believe I read these right.
  • Stewie and A'ja both take an average of 7.1 free throws per game, with Stewie hitting 5.9 (83 percent) and A'ja 5.2 per game (5.2).
Now, whether you think A'ja should get those calls is an entirely different matter. But they're both getting to the line...equally.
  • FWIW, Jewell is next closest at 7.0 attempts per game and she hits 6.0 per game (85.7%).
  • Brittany Griner is next at 6.0 attempts per game and 5.0 made (83.3%).
 
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baggerbob said:
For the 1 of 5 good games Mitchell has she has games like last night.
Too many times coming up court at top speed and putting up a bad shot.
While never looking to pass the ball.
They really need a good point guard to take the ball out of her hands.
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@baggerbob :"That is why I am surprised, or maybe they did reach out, that no offer to sign a point guard, say a Destanni Henderson, when, as a coach, you know you needed a decent point guard, was made."

In this specific case (Indiana vs. Los Angeles), what's interesting is -- as you may recall -- Destanni Henderson was on the Fever team, but they cut her. Instead, they chose to sign Erica Wheeler (who came from Atlanta, along with the new coach) and draft Grace Berger.

So, Lin Dunn, Christie Sides et al seem to have made a decision on who they want distributing the ball. Now whether that's the right decision for now and/or in the future, is another story. As for Ms. Mitchell, she is at her best when she moves downhill, kind of like Arike, but -- like you say -- what you say is what you get.
 
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I think Destanni's capabilities are maximized by the Sparks offense. I believe that factors into her career night with the Sparks and why she was let go by the Fever.
 
Blueballer said:
And I'll add that IMO Aja gets incredible deference from the refs. She shoots a ton of free throws every game and gets a LOT of her points that way. In many of the games I watch I just don't see her getting fouled as much as the refs think she is. And I would add to that Stewie gets fouled a lot and it's not called. In fact from what I see Aja seems to get to line more than any player I have ever seen in the WNBA.
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That is simply not true. Stewie despite her game not being as post centric as a Wilson gets a much more favorable whistle. She leads the league in FT attempts again this season. In recent years I believe A'ja has gotten more veteran like Stewie type whistle but percentage wise I definitely think it's not the same given the amount of contact she often up against all game.

One of my pet peeves with WNBA officiating is that they often overlook true post players in the physicality they deal with, but they are quick to call those players on much less contact on the other end. Players such as Wilson, Syl, BG, McCowan, Bri Jones and currently Boston all suffer from this.
 
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