WNBA -- 2023 Season | Page 52 | The Boneyard

WNBA -- 2023 Season

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

www.canishoopus.com

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 www.canishoopus.com
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Maybe not per some Twitter accounts. The WNBA transaction report has nothing though, but notes Ashley Joens has been waived.
 
GCKSFN4L said:
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.
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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.
 
bballnut90 said:
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.
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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.
 
Notyetready said:
Jessica Shepherd returns from her illness. Lynx released Traylor last week but so far are holding on to Engstler.

www.canishoopus.com

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 www.canishoopus.com
Expand ...
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.
 
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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.
 
cancontent said:


Maybe not per some Twitter accounts. The WNBA transaction report has nothing though, but notes Ashley Joens has been waived.
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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.
 
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.
 
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Just saw Engstler on the bench for the Lynx. A lot of Twitter accounts look to have gotten her being waived wrong.
 
JellyBean said:
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.
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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.
 
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bballnut90 said:
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.
Expand ...

I think L.A. had some pretty bad coaches when Parker was playing.

Some folks say the greatest ability is availability. Injuries are beyond a player's control to some degree, but Maya Moore was like a Lou Gehrig or Cal Ripken. I believe she sat out 1 Lynx game for precautionary measures. That's 1 missed game in 16 years, from 9th grade through the pros.
 
Welp. Looks like my Lynx will play without Phee tonight, in their game against the Liberty.
 
nwhoopfan said:
So, their chances of winning went from slim to none?
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If Sandy keeps playing Willoughby the Lynx will win.
The Liberty really need to get rid of her, she is a walking disaster. Sabally doesn't bring much to the table either.
 
Whoa, Seattle won a game! And I think LA has won 2 in a row. What is the world coming to?
 
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How about Minnesota!? I knew they would beat New York, without Phee (Just kidding):D
Who knew that KMac would have her 2nd best shooting game of the season? Dorka, another game of being aggressive and looking for her shot. Well done young lady.

I was still considering New York's chances of winning the title this season. After this game, those chances are thrown out the window. New York lacks that killer instinct. No way in the world should they have lost this game against Minnesota. But hats off to Minnesota for playing a great game. Shots were falling left and right.

I hope Emily Engstler is okay. She finally got some meaningful minutes out there and suffers a horrible injury. Hopefully the injury is not as bad as it looked.

Up next, Connecticut Sun. Let's go, Minnesota!!
 
JellyBean said:
How about Minnesota!? I knew they would beat New York, without Phee (Just kidding):D
Who knew that KMac would have her 2nd best shooting game of the season? Dorka, another game of being aggressive and looking for her shot. Well done young lady.

I was still considering New York's chances of winning the title this season. After this game, those chances are thrown out the window. New York lacks that killer instinct. No way in the world should they have lost this game against Minnesota. But hats off to Minnesota for playing a great game. Shots were falling left and right.

I hope Emily Engstler is okay. She finally got some meaningful minutes out there and suffers a horrible injury. Hopefully the injury is not as bad as it looked.

Up next, Connecticut Sun. Let's go, Minnesota!!
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Man, what a difference in two days. After NY have their fun beating Atlanta and teasing Howard for her "July 27" tweet, they lose to the Lynx? Definitely need to watch this game as I was out last night. Looks like it was a fun game!
 
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