WNBA -- 2023 Season

[GCKSFN4L]

How about a combination of both?

This, Coach Sides seems to enable some bad habits of her players and her rotations are questionable. Using VV as the 4 primarily against taller teams like LA and NY is a recipe for failure.

As for the players, these vets aren't playing like vets, especially the backcourt. There is too much financial stock ($200k+) in both Wheeler and Mitchell for them to consistently make low percentage and/or bad plays every single game, especially in crunch time.

This doesn't seem like a winning roster. They need some more poise and consistency from the backcourt.

 

[cancontent]

This, Coach Sides seems to enable some bad habits of her players and her rotations are questionable. Using VV as the 4 primarily against taller teams like LA and NY is a recipe for failure.

As for the players, these vets aren't playing like vets, especially the backcourt. There is too much financial stock ($200k+) in both Wheeler and Mitchell for them to consistently make low percentage and/or bad plays every single game, especially in crunch time.

This doesn't seem like a winning roster. They need some more poise and consistency from the backcourt.

The roster isn't perfect but the team seems to be improving in some areas. While some may not see it, the season has been successful so far and there's many more games to go. How Indiana builds upon this for next season is what fans should focus on is my opinion.

 

[GoChips20]

Her shot was off but she was super critical in extending possessions, as she got a ton of offensive boards. Impressive and mature performance.

She’s been the subject of much controversy over the last few weeks but Ionescu’s a better player in the W than most give her credit for, in my opinion. She’s also probably the best case study for projecting Clark’s future success in the league. I consider Clark to be an upgraded version of Sabrina in most aspects.

 

[GCKSFN4L]

The roster isn't perfect but the team seems to be improving in some areas. While some may not see it, the season has been successful so far and there's many more games to go. How Indiana builds upon this for next season is what fans should focus on is my opinion.

Indiana is way more competitive than in previous seasons for sure. There's an alternate universe where they are 16-7 this season, but I still think the leadership of this team is the difference between all these close losses and actual wins.

 

[bballnut90]

L.A. underachieved for years, so I doubt it.

Maya was the ultimate winner. Her 2018 final season stands out as an anomaly. With her in the lineup, they went:

27-7
27-7
26-8
25-9
22-12
28-6
27-7
18-16

Since Maya stepped away, they have gone:

18-16
14-8
22-10
14-22
10-13


The year before Maya arrived, they were 13-21.

If my math is correct, that's 200-72 for .735 with Maya and 91-90 for .503 without her.

Their 2 best years without Maya were 2020 and 2021, when they had Crystal Dangerfield, interestingly.

I thought I'd look up numbers with Parker for comparison. I looked at game by game records for seasons where Parker missed notable stretches (2009-2011, 2015, 2019) but just included overall team record for the years where she played 30+ games.


Sparks with Parker:
2008: 20-14
2009: 15-10
2010: 3-7
2011: 8-9
2012: 24-10
2013: 24-10
2014: 16-18
2015: 11-5
2016: 26-8
2017: 26-8
2018: 19-15
2019: 14-8
2020: 15-7
221-129, 63% win percentage


Without Parker:
2007: 10-24
2009: 3-6
2010: 10-14
2011: 7-10
2015: 3-15
2019: 8-4
2021: 12-20
2022: 13-23
2023: 8-15
74-131, 36% win percentage

27% difference with Parker vs. 23% difference with Moore. Numbers don't tell the whole story and there are many different factors that go into a team having success, but I'd argue Parker is there too when looking at franchise impact. Same with Catchings with a 30% difference. (55% win percentage over her career, 25% win percentage year prior + years after)

Diving deeper into LA, they had a stretch of glory days prior to Parker, as LA was elite from 1999-2006, going 192-89 (68% win percentage) over those 8 years. In 2007 Leslie was out the full year which is why the team success dropped off but then picked up again in 2008/2009 when they had both Leslie/Parker. Parker had injury problems in 2010/2011 and the franchise didn't turn a corner until they landed Nneka in 2012, which led to a very successful stretch from 2012-2020 until Fisher dismantled the team and the franchise has struggled since.

The Minnesota Lynx, quite frankly, were not good prior to Moore joining and didn't find success until she arrived. It wasn't just Moore that made the difference (landing Whalen in 2010 set the tone, plus Augustus was finally healthy in 2011) but when looking at overall franchise history, Minnesota's success has been centered around Maya's career. Tamika Catchings is another parallel and probably the most applicable example, though Indiana at its ceiling was never at Minnesota's level, but the franchise has been truly abysmal since Catchings left.

 

[cancontent]

Indiana is way more competitive than in previous seasons for sure. There's an alternate universe where they are 16-7 this season, but I still think the leadership of this team is the difference between all these close losses and actual wins.

No argument there. Hopefully this gets addressed in the off-season, if not sooner somehow.

 

[cancontent]

Interesting quote from this article talking about rookies with respect to Sabally of the Liberty. I'm obviously not seeing what the writer has been able to determine off of statistics.

"Playing just over 10 minutes a game, she’s averaging 3.3 points and 2.8 rebounds and has the fourth-highest scoring efficiency on the team."

Fighting For Minutes

WNBA rookie round-up, 7/11 – 7/25

herhoopstats.substack.com

 

[Notyetready]

Jessica Shepherd returns from her illness. Lynx released Traylor last week but so far are holding on to Engstler.

Lynx Center Jessica Shepard to Return After Missing 14 Games

The Minnesota Lynx center last took the floor on June 11, missing time ever since with a non-COVID illness.

www.canishoopus.com

 

[JellyBean]

The roster isn't perfect but the team seems to be improving in some areas. While some may not see it, the season has been successful so far and there's many more games to go. How Indiana builds upon this for next season is what fans should focus on is my opinion.

Totally agree. The season has been successful for Indiana, not in terms of record but you can see the gradual signs of improvement. Coach Sides has given the Fever a new vision and standard for their program. There have been noticeable changes in the team's approach and level of competitiveness vs the past few seasons. With the addition of Boston, the Fever could be building something decent for the future. The key will be what happens over the rest of this season and during the off-season.

 

[cancontent]

Jessica Shepherd returns from her illness. Lynx released Traylor last week but so far are holding on to Engstler.

Lynx Center Jessica Shepard to Return After Missing 14 Games

The Minnesota Lynx center last took the floor on June 11, missing time ever since with a non-COVID illness.

www.canishoopus.com

Maybe not per some Twitter accounts. The WNBA transaction report has nothing though, but notes Ashley Joens has been waived.

 

[bbsamjj]

Indiana is way more competitive than in previous seasons for sure. There's an alternate universe where they are 16-7 this season, but I still think the leadership of this team is the difference between all these close losses and actual wins.

I think it's leadership and experience. Boston and Smith are in their first two years in the league. Kelsey Mitchell is great but has never been on a winning team in the W.

I actually see Indiana as somewhat similar to last year's Atlanta, which needed a huge culture shift and did much better than people thought. Atlanta has (for the most part) made the leap from top of bottom tier to middle of the standings this year. That's the path for Indiana to be on as well.

 

[TheFarmFan]

I thought I'd look up numbers with Parker for comparison. I looked at game by game records for seasons where Parker missed notable stretches (2009-2011, 2015, 2019) but just included overall team record for the years where she played 30+ games.


Sparks with Parker:
2008: 20-14
2009: 15-10
2010: 3-7
2011: 8-9
2012: 24-10
2013: 24-10
2014: 16-18
2015: 11-5
2016: 26-8
2017: 26-8
2018: 19-15
2019: 14-8
2020: 15-7
221-129, 63% win percentage


Without Parker:
2007: 10-24
2009: 3-6
2010: 10-14
2011: 7-10
2015: 3-15
2019: 8-4
2021: 12-20
2022: 13-23
2023: 8-15
74-131, 36% win percentage

27% difference with Parker vs. 23% difference with Moore. Numbers don't tell the whole story and there are many different factors that go into a team having success, but I'd argue Parker is there too when looking at franchise impact. Same with Catchings with a 30% difference. (55% win percentage over her career, 25% win percentage year prior + years after)

Diving deeper into LA, they had a stretch of glory days prior to Parker, as LA was elite from 1999-2006, going 192-89 (68% win percentage) over those 8 years. In 2007 Leslie was out the full year which is why the team success dropped off but then picked up again in 2008/2009 when they had both Leslie/Parker. Parker had injury problems in 2010/2011 and the franchise didn't turn a corner until they landed Nneka in 2012, which led to a very successful stretch from 2012-2020 until Fisher dismantled the team and the franchise has struggled since.

The Minnesota Lynx, quite frankly, were not good prior to Moore joining and didn't find success until she arrived. It wasn't just Moore that made the difference (landing Whalen in 2010 set the tone, plus Augustus was finally healthy in 2011) but when looking at overall franchise history, Minnesota's success has been centered around Maya's career. Tamika Catchings is another parallel and probably the most applicable example, though Indiana at its ceiling was never at Minnesota's level, but the franchise has been truly abysmal since Catchings left.

Thanks for putting this together and doing my work for me! For some reason my intuition was that Parker has been the dispositive factor for the Sparks since the end of the Leslie era, and indeed it does seem that the disparity between with and without Parker is even wider than with and without Moore. And it's telling, because both of them have essentially no weaknesses as a player, and can shoot/distribute/rebound from all over. Stewie is one of the only other players I can think of right now who is so versatile, though Jackie Young is not far off, either.

 

[JellyBean]

Jessica Shepherd returns from her illness. Lynx released Traylor last week but so far are holding on to Engstler.

Lynx Center Jessica Shepard to Return After Missing 14 Games

The Minnesota Lynx center last took the floor on June 11, missing time ever since with a non-COVID illness.

www.canishoopus.com

Glad to have Jess returning but hopefully this doesn't push Dorka to the bench. I still was hoping that Traylor and Engstler would be able to get some quality minutes out there on the court. Traylor & Engstler are going to be valuable players for a team, once they get decent minutes.

 

[Geew1992]

Aces' Williams facing 9 domestic battery charges

Aces guard Riquna Williams is facing nine domestic battery charges after her arrest Tuesday in Las Vegas, according to court records.

www.espn.com

 

[MSSportsGuy]

I get that she's not a fav of some here, but I don't think it's asking too much to give Parker credit for her contributions to the game. While her attitude may not have always been ideal, I believe at her peak she was one of the best 3 or 4 players in the world. She had some injuries over the years but always seemed to come back strong. I know she's in her final years so my hope is she's able to come back solid for one more year or so.

 

[JellyBean]

Maybe not per some Twitter accounts. The WNBA transaction report has nothing though, but notes Ashley Joens has been waived.

Wow. Ashley just signed a few days ago with Las Vegas, which was a head scratcher, considering what they are working with. Hopefully she lands with another team.

 

[JellyBean]

Game Night! Let's go, Lynx!!

 

[nwhoopfan]

Aces' Williams facing 9 domestic battery charges

Aces guard Riquna Williams is facing nine domestic battery charges after her arrest Tuesday in Las Vegas, according to court records.

www.espn.com

Get rid of her. Has barely played the last year and a half. Rest of the team seem to be pretty close to model citizens. This isn't her first brush with the law.

 

[nwhoopfan]

So apparently Williams' back injury must not have been that bad, if the allegations are true.

Hopefully Clark got a few stitches and will be ready to go, not out on concussion protocol or anything. With Stokes being a starter for the indefinite future and now maybe Williams never coming back, that bench just keeps getting thinner and thinner.

 

[cancontent]

Just saw Engstler on the bench for the Lynx. A lot of Twitter accounts look to have gotten her being waived wrong.

 

[Notyetready]

Just saw Engstler on the bench for the Lynx. A lot of Twitter accounts look to have gotten her being waived wrong.

Tight but in street clothes. Hope Lynx see her as a keeper

 

[Notyetready]

Tight but in street clothes. Hope Lynx see her as a keeper

Right, not tight.

 

[awhom111]

Wow. Ashley just signed a few days ago with Las Vegas, which was a head scratcher, considering what they are working with. Hopefully she lands with another team.

She signed a 7 day contract and 7 days passed so the contract ended. It has already been announced that she signed another 7 day contract.

 

[JellyBean]

She signed a 7 day contract and 7 days passed so the contract ended. It has already been announced that she signed another 7 day contract.

Awesome. Thanks. Good for Ashley.

 

[MilfordHusky]

Kiah Stokes had a typical stat line: 6/17/2/1. 17 boards! Despite her offensive limitations and playing 31 minutes, she didn't hold the Aces back, as they scored 107, going over 50 in each half.

As Geno often tells his players, "If your shots are not going in, find another way to help us."