WNBA Thread - Post Olympics

[nwhoopfan]

Candace Parker in a nutshell--followed up a huge game against Seattle by completely disappearing against Phoenix. Scoreless, only 2 shot attempts in 24 minutes. I can't understand how such a talented player has so many games in which she makes almost no impact.

Merc ran away in the 2nd half, won by 20. Good games for SDS, Taurasi, Griner, Nurse and Peddy chipped in 11 off the bench.

 

[eebmg]

Pheesa got her rebounding mojo back with Fowles out . 21 pts and 14 reb. (4OReb). But I found it weird that she took Pheesa out of the game in crunch time with 1' 30'' left. Sometimes too cavalier with the ball?

Actually, looking at the news coverage today

Lynx battle through injuries, foul trouble to beat New York 74-66 - StarTribune.com


Collier, playing despite a cold and fighting plantar fasciitis, scored 21 points, matched her career high with 14 rebounds, had two steals and a block.

"I think, knowing people were out, you have to give even more than on a normal night,'' said Collier, who played 38 minutes. She got a 40-second rest in the second quarter. Reeve sat her for 79 seconds in the fourth quarter when she was afraid her star forward might fall over in exhaustion.

 

[darkstar1]

Actually, looking at the news coverage today

Lynx battle through injuries, foul trouble to beat New York 74-66 - StarTribune.com


Collier, playing despite a cold and fighting plantar fasciitis, scored 21 points, matched her career high with 14 rebounds, had two steals and a block.

"I think, knowing people were out, you have to give even more than on a normal night,'' said Collier, who played 38 minutes. She got a 40-second rest in the second quarter. Reeve sat her for 79 seconds in the fourth quarter when she was afraid her star forward might fall over in exhaustion.

Just shows how valuable Pheesa is. A star: but a true team player. Reminds me of the one year she actually had a post in Azura Steven’s while at UCONN. Her points and rebounds may have taken a hit, but she was just as valuable. Without Fowles the team needed her rebounds. So there she was.

 

[Dokey]

I can't believe my eyes for the big loss by Storm.

Quinn put an odd lineup on the floor even for her. Usually she waits to the end of the game to screw up the lineup. I guess she wanted to lose early.

 

[ochoopsfan]

 

[ochoopsfan]

Cambage out . Tested positive.

 

[nwhoopfan]

Well people whining about Canada starting instead of KLS won't have to worry about that now.



That was not the reason they lost by 32.

 

[UConnCat]

Well people whining about Canada starting instead of KLS won't have to worry about that now.



That was not the reason they lost by 32.

Who whined about that? Who said it was the reason they lost by 32?

No one. You just continually make stuff up.

 

[Dillon77]

Cambage out . Tested positive.

And Hamby, as well. That hits the front-court depth hard for the Aces.
The Sky should hit the offensive boards early and often....

 

[eebmg]

Actually, looking at the news coverage today

Lynx battle through injuries, foul trouble to beat New York 74-66 - StarTribune.com


Collier, playing despite a cold and fighting plantar fasciitis, scored 21 points, matched her career high with 14 rebounds, had two steals and a block.

"I think, knowing people were out, you have to give even more than on a normal night,'' said Collier, who played 38 minutes. She got a 40-second rest in the second quarter. Reeve sat her for 79 seconds in the fourth quarter when she was afraid her star forward might fall over in exhaustion.

More details at

Hard-working Collier keeps finding ways to help the Lynx win - StarTribune.com

Napheesa Collier's cold is better than it was last week, but it still lingers.

According to Lynx coach Cheryl Reeve, it settled in her star forward's chest, making it difficult to breathe. "Just constant yuck,'' Reeve described it. "It's been hard on her, physically.''

Collier has been dealing with plantar fasciitis pain in her foot for a while now. But she plays through it. She rests when she can, she gets rehab when necessary.

And then she plays, and the Lynx win.

 

[Dillon77]

There's been a steady give and take on the Seattle line-up switch in this thread. Richard Cohen of "Her Hoop Stats" weighs in on this (and other areas in the league) in this edition of HHS newsletter. His take is in segment #5, "Lineup Minutiaes" if you want to read the full segment and/or other stories.

WNBA Dissected: Tanks, techs and secs, plus more from 2021 Week 11

How good is Teaira McCowan, are some teams better off losing, who might miss games due to technicals, and more important questions from this week in the WNBA

herhoopstats.substack.com

If not, here are some excerpts:

- "After...struggling to contain Kahleah Copper in last Friday's game against Chicago, Seattle switched to a three-guard lineup for the rematch with the Sky. Inserting Jordin Canada for Katie Lou Samuelson was presumably intended to offer someone who could better contain Copper, wake the team up with some extra energy, and maybe allow Samuelson to concentrate on the backup power forward role that she's been pressed into since Candice Dupree was waived. It didn't work. Canada had a useful game offensively but virtually everything else went badly for Seattle with Chicago shooting the lights out from the perimeter (an insane 15-22 from 3) and Candace Parker taking advantage of their lack of size inside."

- "The worrying element for Seattle ... at this late stage in the season (is that) they're feeling it necessary to make these tweaks and search for answers. By this point last year they knew who they were, what their best lineups were and which players were coming off the bench. This year it seems like they're still not sure. They've basically proven that Bird/Loyd/Stewart and anyone else you want to throw out there is going to be pretty good, but it may well not be enough to win another championship. For that, they need to work out what they're doing with the other spots, and how they're going to utilise their bench."

 

[Dokey]

I often don't see what you see. Russell has been abused recently by Big Syl and Parker, but generally she's a decent defender. She's currently leading the team in FG% by a wide margin, 2nd in rebounding and tied w/ KLS for 4th in scoring. I am absolutely not convinced that switching Russell and Magbegor would make much difference. If Russell is a questionable starter for the Storm, you have to admit KLS is as well. The 3 spot is every bit or more worrisome than the 5.

Actually, I see the problem with the Storm is in not playing KLS more. The team seems to do much better with her on the floor. It is tough to have been a shooter all your life and then defer to Stewie, Jewel, and Sue. Has no one noticed her defense has improved to the point she is almost more important at the other end of the court. Certainly, in the 3 x 3 qualifying rounds, her defense was key, especially with opponents breezing by Plum.

 

[cancontent]

UConn on UConn abuse: Stefanie Dolson leveled Kia Nurse with a pick. Nurse shook it off and she's having the best game she's had in a while.

Guessing having a brother and a cousin who are professional hockey players may have helped here. Learning how to deal with blindside/unexpected body checks is important in that sport.

 

[Reypl21]

Actually, I see the problem with the Storm is in not playing KLS more. The team seems to do much better with her on the floor. It is tough to have been a shooter all your life and then defer to Stewie, Jewel, and Sue. Has no one noticed her defense has improved to the point she is almost more important at the other end of the court. Certainly, in the 3 x 3 qualifying rounds, her defense was key, especially with opponents breezing by Plum.

KLS has improved defensively, but you are grasping at straws. She is not a defensive specialist, and she hasn't been assertive enough offensively to warrant more playing time. She has her moments, but I dont think she's a starter in the W. The Storm couldnt afford Clark, and KLS is still on her rookie contract.

I'm with some posters that the Storm should have gone a bit bigger on the bench, and get a player that allows Stewie to slide to the 3.

 

[UConnCat]

Kevin Pelton writes about what's up with the Storm. The biggest issue has been poor shooting, most notably by Stewart and to a lesser extent Bird and Loyd. As has been said recently, this season's Storm can't and won't beat the best teams without the Big 3 shooting well. Is fatigue the cause of the poor shooting? We'll find out as the Storm's remaining schedule should allow for some rest.

With the exception of Sunday's game, the Storm's defense has not been terrible, even since the Olympic break. Hopefully the Sky's barrage of made 3s turns out to be just one of those games where an opponent can't miss.

Fatigue, missed shots and defensive drop-off: Inside the Seattle Storm's slump

Seattle is 2-5 since the WNBA resumed. What has caused the Storm's slump, can they fix it and how does it hurt their chance of repeating as WNBA champs?

www.espn.com

 

[clbabson]

Not many people talking about how well Phoenix is playing right now. Since the Olympic break, they've also been on fire. I think the playoffs are going to be great this year!

 

[ochoopsfan]

The Storm need to have Russell take more shots. These are the # of fga taken by the starting Centers and Forwards on the top 4 teams.

Conn.
Bonner 360
JJones 307

Vegas
Wilson 377
Cambage 253

Seattle
Stewie 417
Russell 122

Minnesota
Collier 300
Fowles 267

Thats a 300 fga drop from Stewie to Russell. Kind of makes it easy if the other teams slack off Russell, if they arent feeding her the ball. Might be better if Magbegor starts vs Russell as she is more aggressive and can put the ball on the court and drive more than Russell.

When so much of your offense relies on 3 players, expect those 3 players to wear down sooner. The rest for Stewie and Bird, for 2 games, doesnt appear to have a significant benefit.

Loyd looked exhausted in the 4th qtr of the game at NY that she scored 35 points . Loyds first 3 games since the Olympic break showed points of 26, 35, and 29. Her last 4 games since she has scored 8, 15, 12, and 10.

The Olympics have appeared to taken a bigger toll on the Storm then other teams. If they dont start winning they could drop to 5th place and thus be put in a one game playoff, ugh.

 

[nwhoopfan]

If they dont start winning they could drop to 5th place and thus be put in a one game playoff, ugh.

They almost certainly will face that regardless, just a matter of if it's first or second round. Can't see them catching either Vegas or Connecticut at this point.

 

[baggerbob]

The Storm need to have Russell take more shots. These are the # of fga taken by the starting Centers and Forwards on the top 4 teams.

Conn.
Bonner 360
JJones 307

Vegas
Wilson 377
Cambage 253

Seattle
Stewie 417
Russell 122

Minnesota
Collier 300
Fowles 267

Thats a 300 fga drop from Stewie to Russell. Kind of makes it easy if the other teams slack off Russell, if they arent feeding her the ball. Might be better if Magbegor starts vs Russell as she is more aggressive and can put the ball on the court and drive more than Russell.

When so much of your offense relies on 3 players, expect those 3 players to wear down sooner. The rest for Stewie and Bird, for 2 games, doesnt appear to have a significant benefit.

Loyd looked exhausted in the 4th qtr of the game at NY that she scored 35 points . Loyds first 3 games since the Olympic break showed points of 26, 35, and 29. Her last 4 games since she has scored 8, 15, 12, and 10.

The Olympics have appeared to taken a bigger toll on the Storm then other teams. If they dont start winning they could drop to 5th place and thus be put in a one game playoff, ugh.

Ezi playing half the time of Russell has almost as many points. Russell can't take more shots because she has never developed any real post moves, and has no range beyond 10 feet

 

[ochoopsfan]

Ezi playing half the time of Russell has almost as many points. Russell can't take more shots because she has never developed any real post moves, and has no range beyond 10 feet

The Russell I watched while she played in Turkey over the winter vs the Russell I watch during the WNBA season are like two different people.

At Galatarsay she took 240 fga in 29 Turkish League games. In 8 Euroleaague games, vs top Euro teams, she took 82 shots in 8 games. In 26 Storm games only 122 attempts

Her FT attempts are way down, too. Thus not getting the opposing bigs in foul trouble.

 

[UConnCat]

 

[Geew1992]

That sucks. Can they pick someone up?

 

[eebmg]

That sucks. Can they pick someone up?

Just play Napheesa 80 minutes.

 

[Geew1992]

Just play Napheesa 80 minutes.

Doesnt she already??

 

[baggerbob]

The Russell I watched while she played in Turkey over the winter vs the Russell I watch during the WNBA season are like two different people.

At Galatarsay she took 240 fga in 29 Turkish League games. In 8 Euroleaague games, vs top Euro teams, she took 82 shots in 8 games. In 26 Storm games only 122 attempts

Her FT attempts are way down, too. Thus not getting the opposing bigs in foul trouble.

The players she is playing against in the WNBA are a lot better then in the Turkish league. It takes her too long when she gets a post pass to make a consistent move to the basket.