WNBA 2024 May 2024 | Page 13 | The Boneyard

WNBA 2024 May 2024

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nwhoopfan said:
Ah, a rookie who was mostly an afterthought for her college team is the key, got it. :rolleyes:
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Guilty of not putting a tongue-in-cheek emoji in my post, but at the same time, not at all impressed by Diggins and Loyd.

And the all-time leader in pretty much every assist category was not an afterthought at UConn.
 
Bigboote said:
Guilty of not putting a tongue-in-cheek emoji in my post, but at the same time, not at all impressed by Diggins and Loyd.

And the all-time leader in pretty much every assist category was not an afterthought at UConn.
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Depends on which UConn fans you ask. :rolleyes:
 
She could be a sparkplug off the bench, but can't see her replacing either of their starting guards.

I see Vivians is starting and has a goose egg tonight. One might wonder why Horston isn't starting, certainly has more upside. Maybe cue @baggerbob to offer his opinion about the Storm coaching staff and personnel decisions. :)
 
Oh boy, the Irish duo is a combined 8-30 shooting. Nneka is 7-11. Hmm...Storm had rallied but Lynx pulling away again.
 
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nwhoopfan said:
In the spirit of waaaaaayyyyyy too early predictions, Dijonai Carrington is your runaway Most Improved Player. Book it! Okay, maybe not, but she's busting out in a big way so far.


Is Katie Lou the second best Samuelson in the W? Nice game for Karlie tonight.
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The Fever didn't get the sharpshooting Samuelson.
 
So...nice rally by Seattle or did Minnesota try to give it away? Going OT.
 
Went 2OT, then Minnesota ran away and won by 9.

Loyd is 7-40 in 2 games. that is just awful!
 
nwhoopfan said:
Ah, a rookie who was mostly an afterthought for her college team is the key, got it. :rolleyes:
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Yes, the afterthought, Conference DPOY and UConn all time assists leader. It has also occurred to me that the Storm could use a healthy dose of Nika intensity right now. At a minimum, she would up their defensive pressure and provide some rest for the starting backcourt.
 
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I (kinda) watched this game in between fighting off nodding off. Some impressions:

- Yes, only the second game and one is inclined to say "it takes some time" to mesh the parts, but Minnesota seems to be lynxed a bit better than the Storm thus far; even though both have redone their line-ups. It could be that the Minnesota duo of Williams and Smith played together at Chicago. (Yes, Loyd and Diggins-Smith did, too, at ND but that was 10 years ago and S-D didn't play last year.)

- Speaking of teamwork, Phee and K-Mac have it down, having played together in Turkey. Two of McBride's critical baskets (a three from the corner and a back-door cut and layup) came off dimes from Collier. Once again, familiarity.

- Both Collier and Smith were hitting clutch shots like they were leading their former college teams in the NCAA's (well, PHee does this professionally, too, but Smith is resplendent again.)

- Loyd fouling out on a moving screen 35 feet from the basket was not a smart move, individually or collectively. Why didn't Quinn have one of her bigs out there? And why did Jewel lean her shoulder? I don't care how badly she's shooting, she still facilitates the half-court offense. One she, then Nneka went out, Diggins-Smith reverted to hero ball....:(

- Speaking of Nneka Ogwumike, she limped off the floor in the 2nd OT. If that's serious, uggh for the Storm.
 
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In the "injuries just S+#k" category:

"The Dallas Wings announced that forward Natasha Howard will miss 3-6 weeks after breaking her foot in the team's victory over the Chicago Sky on Wednesday. " One game and down up to/after "the summer break." Get better, Ms. Howard.
 
I went to the home opener for the Lynx last night and oh Mylanta! Minnesota dang near gave the game away. Glad that they held on to get the win. Seattle's Big Three are going to be scary. Skylar still got it. Jewell is a bucket waiting to happen. I am just glad that McBride was able to knock down some shots. That takes a lot of pressure off Phee to carry the scoring load. I have always loved Courtney Williams and her game. Her stop and pop game, when on, is lethal! I am glad that we have her in Minnesota. Overall, great game and great win for the Lynx!!
 
oldude said:
Yes, the afterthought, Conference DPOY and UConn all time assists leader. It has also occurred to me that the Storm could use a healthy dose of Nika intensity right now. At a minimum, she would up their defensive pressure and provide some rest for the starting backcourt.
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Nika did win the Big East DPOY in '22 and '23, but Kelsey Ransom and Christina Dalce shared that honor in '24.

Your point's still valid, Oldude. I'd add Loyd might need to rest her shooting arm, or perhaps put it in mothballs for a while and let her teammates try a few shots.
 
nwhoopfan said:
She could be a sparkplug off the bench, but can't see her replacing either of their starting guards.

I see Vivians is starting and has a goose egg tonight. One might wonder why Horston isn't starting, certainly has more upside. Maybe cue @baggerbob to offer his opinion about the Storm coaching staff and personnel decisions. :)
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I have said before not a fan of Quinn as a head coach.
 
Coaches can have a negtive impact of rookies if the players do not fit into their vision for the game. I remember when Anne Donovan demoted Chelsea Gray not only to the bench, but farther down the reserve list. Why? Because she improvised and did not play in Annes vision of structure. The Sun traded her to the Sparks and Chelsea game took off. UConn got a first roung pick for her and used in to draft Jonquel Jones which might have seemed like a good trade off, except she was their third pick behind two lesser players. They could have had both Chelsea and Jones.

My point is that some coaches are the problem. The fact that she came out and spoke on how CC needed to adjust her game was a red flag in itself. That was totally unnecessary to hash out in public. It seems like it was a way to justify herself and do damage control for what seemed like a team isue at the time. In general the coaches in the WNBA are usually second rate. I mean what successful college WBB coach will leave to get a WNBA job? Except for Hammond and a few others most are entry level or rejects.
 
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The deacon said:
That's magnanimous of you, WBBTakeover. I'm sure Caitlin, her fans and the WNBA appreciate you be willing to give her another game or two before tossing her out of the league.:rolleyes:
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What is the point of this post?
 
nwhoopfan said:
In the spirit of waaaaaayyyyyy too early predictions, Dijonai Carrington is your runaway Most Improved Player. Book it! Okay, maybe not, but she's busting out in a big way so far.
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Interesting considering how critical you were of Connecticut's backcourt coming into this season.
 
GamecockFam said:
Hmm...who will be in the top 5? A'ja, Stewie, and AT are givens. I haven't seen Boston on the list so I'm almost certain she is one of those five (a symptom that this list was determined by fan vote if that turns out to be true...). I don't believe that Jewell Loyd has been mentioned either.

My guess...
5. Aliyah Boston
4. Jewell Loyd
3. Alyssa Thomas
2. A'ja Wilson
1. Breanna Stewart
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Boston looks like she doesn't belong in the league so far this year. I think Boston and Clark are victims of a horrible coach without a game plan and it is making both of them look really bad. I really hope the Fever do something before it is too late.
 
Rowdy831 said:
Boston looks like she doesn't belong in the league so far this year. I think Boston and Clark are victims of a horrible coach without a game plan and it is making both of them look really bad. I really hope the Fever do something before it is too late.
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I've been wondering if the style of play is too different between Clark and Boston. Boston seems to thrive is slow, methodical, grind-it-out offense with her back to the basket, whereas Clark likes fast-paced, light em up offense with lots of movement and screens. I feel like that's where part of the problem is coming from. They're trying to figure out a way to have both and they haven't found the right formula yet. There was some glimpses of its potential in the third where I thought Boston was adapting to Clark's style of play but otherwise it was a complete mess.
 
willtalk said:
Coaches can have a negtive impact of rookies if the players do not fit into their vision for the game. I remember when Anne Donovan demoted Chelsea Gray not only to the bench, but farther down the reserve list. Why? Because she improvised and did not play in Annes vision of structure. The Sun traded her to the Sparks and Chelsea game took off. UConn got a first roung pick for her and used in to draft Jonquel Jones which might have seemed like a good trade off, except she was their third pick behind two lesser players. They could have had both Chelsea and Jones.

My point is that some coaches are the problem. The fact that she came out and spoke on how CC needed to adjust her game was a red flag in itself. That was totally unnecessary to hash out in public. It seems like it was a way to justify herself and do damage control for what seemed like a team isue at the time. In general the coaches in the WNBA are usually second rate. I mean what successful college WBB coach will leave to get a WNBA job? Except for Hammond and a few others most are entry level or rejects.
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Well said. I totally agree. Coaches can have a positive or negative impact on rookies and their development. A lot depends on the coach and their personality. Some coaches will have the attitude of "It's my way or the highway" approach. Or they have the "Hey. Let's see what we got and build around the talent we have". Of course, you are danged if you do and danged if you don't.

To be fair to Coach Sides, and we will see what develops over the next 8 games, but I believe that we are reading way too much into her comment about CC. Paul Westhead said the same thing about Diana Taurasi when he took over the Mercury after Coach Graf and how DT would have to adjust her game in order for Phoenix to be Championship level. Of course, I believe Year 2 under Westhead they had Cappie Pondexter, who was a bucket a second and Penny Taylor was another a bucket a second type player. But DT scaled back her 20 attempts a game and that allowed more opportunities for Pondexter and Taylor. Then throw in Tangela Smith & Kelly Miller. Jeez. Phoenix had a squad back then! But the point, in year 2 under Westhead, Phoenix went on to win their first title. Was it because of DT making adjustments? Was it because of the System that Coach Westhead ran? Was it an increase in team talent? Who knows. All I do know is, and we all follow sports, if a team is going to grow and reach that mountain top, each player will have to adjust their game to some degree in order for the team to reach its potential.
 
Rowdy831 said:
Boston looks like she doesn't belong in the league so far this year. I think Boston and Clark are victims of a horrible coach without a game plan and it is making both of them look really bad. I really hope the Fever do something before it is too late.
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Boston started slow last season. I will check back in 8 games.
 
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baggerbob said:
Diggins and Loyd need to get Ezi a few more then 5 shots in a game.
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I never understand why players don't share the ball more. Unless I know you can't score then I won't pass you the ball. But if my shot is off and I know you got an advantage, I am feeding you the ball all game. Digs and Loyd need to recognize those moments and share the rock a little more.
 
GamecockFam said:
I've been wondering if the style of play is too different between Clark and Boston. Boston seems to thrive is slow, methodical, grind-it-out offense with her back to the basket, whereas Clark likes fast-paced, light em up offense with lots of movement and screens. I feel like that's where part of the problem is coming from. They're trying to figure out a way to have both and they haven't found the right formula yet. There was some glimpses of its potential in the third where I thought Boston was adapting to Clark's style of play but otherwise it was a complete mess.
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I think that's another argument (made a couple of times further up in the thread) for having Berger in a little more at the point. Also an argument for some stronger coaching.

Clark is perfectly capable of being a shooting guard, although that would take some getting used to.
 
Bigboote said:
I think that's another argument (made a couple of times further up in the thread) for having Berger in a little more at the point. Also an argument for some stronger coaching.

Clark is perfectly capable of being a shooting guard, although that would take some getting used to.
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They (Fever) could use Caitlin the same way that the Warriors started using Steph Curry--by having her run off screens while a different player (a "Draymond") handles the bulk of the playmaking. Steph still serves as a secondary playmaker.

Don't see that happening this season, however. I also still think that Caitlin could work as a primary ballhandler with improvements made in the offseason.
 
So far, this doesn't even look like the same Fever team. :eek:
 
This must be the first time that the Liberty have played in Barclays since that embarrassing night just past mid-October in 2023. I'm sure they love being reminded of what happened last time out:

AP23292096627084.jpg
 
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