WNBA Thread - Post Olympics | Page 33 | The Boneyard

WNBA Thread - Post Olympics

I didn't get to see this game, but I'm shocked Phoenix was able to win without Kia Nurse. But it's clearly a mistake to ever underestimate the clutch-ness of Taurasi, especially in an elimination game, and clearly Griner had a huge performance as well.
 
GoChips20 said:
I don’t think Wilson would have been at mid-court swearing at the other team, no.

Maybe Cambage would have
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Ditto on Wilson, that's not her style. Cambage on the other hand I could see doing this.

I like DT and it's clear she's hobbled but she and Griner were unstoppable tonight. When Griner shows up she's almost automatic.

DT is the Larry Bird of women's basketball. She's loud, a trash talker, not someone you want on the other team but you want her on yours. Father Time is catching up with her and her injuries but last night she was clutch when she had to be. Her block on Cambage was really the play that won the game.

It should be an entertaining finals.
 
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Watched the entire second half, which was riveting. Wanted to see what thoughts popped up after a night of sleep before posting.
  • End of third quarter came at a bad time for Aces. That -- along withe the Young/DT flareup -- seemed to take the air out of the Aces. As pointed out by many, the players missed some key follow-ups. Got a lot of second chance opportunities.
  • Jackie Young, in all my years of watching her, doesn't get into these types of altercations. I'm not saying the play between them wasn't physical or that DT was looking for a mark, but DT got under Young's skin in a major way and raised her game in a major way. Her line-drive three and block(s?) on Cambage were major.
  • Peddy was gassed by the 4th quarter, Diggins-Smith was ok (at best) on offense and Bri Turner was not a threat, so Griner and DT were the main (almost only) offensive threats. It was enough.
  • That said, Turner was a force in the things she normally does: 11 rebounds, 4 steals and 3 blocked shots. Plus, she hit two pressured lay-ups no problem. Every point counts.
  • Did anyone on the Phoenix Bench sit down all night? Cunningham and Smith were full-throated all game.
  • Finals start....Sunday? Sky are set up to steal a game right from the get go. Have to hope Cunningham can give some minutes and get one streak of three's next series.
 
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Dillon77 said:
Watched the entire second half, which was riveting. Wanted to see what thoughts popped up after a night of sleep before posting.
  • End of third quarter came at a bad time for Aces. That -- along withe the Young/DT flareup -- seemed to take the air out of the Aces. As pointed out by many, the players missed some key follow-ups. Got a lot of second chance opportunities.
  • Jackie Young, in all my years of watching her, doesn't get into these types of altercations. I'm not saying DT was looking for a mark, but she got under Young's skin in a major way.
  • Peddy was gassed by the 4th quarter, Diggins-Smith was ok (at best) on offense and Bri Turner was not a threat, so Griner and DT were the main (almost only) offensive threats. It was enough.
  • That said, Turner was a force in the things she normally does: 11 rebounds, 4 steals and 3 blocked shots. Plus, she hit two pressured lay-ups no problem. Every point counts.
  • Did anyone on the Phoenix Bench sit down all night? Cunningham and Smith were full-throated all game.
  • Finals start....Sunday? Sky are set up to steal a game right from the get go. Have to hope Cunningham can give some minutes and get one streak of three's next series.
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I dunno man. As a rule I have no interest in the vegas team so don't see many of their games. I don't know if Young usually plays defense by constantly bumping into her assignment regardless of whether they have the ball or not but if you go back and watch for only that you'll see how things got started. I can hear her coach telling her to do it as easy as I can remember him doing the same thing when he played. If a few quick fouls had been called on the extra contact the whole thing might have been avoided. When DT crowed about beating him in the interview I knew what she was talking about.
 
Oh just wow. I've been waiting for this to happen with DT. She does it again and stop with the poor Young stuff. She was absolutely outplayed and out maneuvered and she asked for it. This is a player who has gotten away with jumping into people all year long and getting garbage fouls when she was the one causing contact, tries the same stuff with the GOAT and that's what happens. The whole Vegas team showed who they are, no chemistry all for themselves and a bunch of smack talking when they are spilling stuff elsewhere. Hoping their stuff will finally be spilled because ALL the W knows and it aint pretty. The Tea needs to be spilled LOL just ask Nigeria, and yet Courtney Williams gets all the headlines SMH.
 
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noirwestern said:
I dunno man. As a rule I have no interest in the vegas team so don't see many of their games. I don't know if Young usually plays defense by constantly bumping into her assignment regardless of whether they have the ball or not but if you go back and watch for only that you'll see how things got started. I can hear her coach telling her to do it as easy as I can remember him doing the same thing when he played. If a few quick fouls had been called on the extra contact the whole thing might have been avoided. When DT crowed about beating him in the interview I knew what she was talking about.
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Fair points. I've tweaked initial post to include that play was physical. Was it initiated by Laimbeer instructions (for this game)? Maybe. I can say that Young, while a physical player, is generarlly not known for that kind of defense game-in and game-out, whether at ND, with the Aces or on the U.S. 3 vs. 3 team. She's a great athlete and can beat people to the spot. That said, D is known for some physical tricks of the trade as well: she may be the best at knowing how to use her offhand to create space on drives. Not a criticism, just a common observation.

And, lastly, the refs were all over the place on calls. They let some plays go (Shay Peddy virtually got body slammed with no call) while other calls were ticky tack (Kelsey Plum stuck her butt out after coming down from a jumper to draw a call and Bri Turner was called for a reach-out touch after Wilson had passed the ball 20 ft. from the basket.)

My point is that the in-your face/on your body stuff led to a turnaround on many fronts. And D -- as she has so many times -- ultimately used it to her team's and her advantage. As the announcers said, "don't stick the bear." Well done.
 
One thing the Sun and Aces have in common is that, after earning the double bye, they went into the best-of-five series trying to incorporate major players after long absences: the Sun, with Alyssa Thomas; and, the Aces with Liz Cambage.

Did it throw off chemistry? Or flow? Or was that over-rated or just coincidental to Jonquel Jones not really coming alive until the last game?

I woudl argue that Cambage's insertion does create some spacing issues for the rest of Aces, most notably Jackie Young and Dearica Hamby, who like to operate in the paint area themselves. Both were non-factors and, as such, almost negative forces.

Also found the story about how Chelsea Gray took A'jia Wilson out to dinner (while the rest of the team was out) and said we've got to get this team going. Hmmm. Maybe true...are they the straws that mix the drink? And, yes, they had good games, but Williams and Young were non-factors. Plum marches to her own set of orders.

Will Angel come back next year? If so, even more of the same...Young might want to consider getting some floor time somewhere else. And Plum looks like she can make a team her own at this juncture.
 
So can Diana finally win a title without having her wife as a teammate?

Diana has played with some good players over the years but who has been her most important teammate?

1633786516227.png
 
noirwestern said:
I dunno man. As a rule I have no interest in the vegas team so don't see many of their games. I don't know if Young usually plays defense by constantly bumping into her assignment regardless of whether they have the ball or not but if you go back and watch for only that you'll see how things got started. I can hear her coach telling her to do it as easy as I can remember him doing the same thing when he played. If a few quick fouls had been called on the extra contact the whole thing might have been avoided. When DT crowed about beating him in the interview I knew what she was talking about.
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The bumping started in the backcourt after made baskets. It was the plan for sure.

When former Mercury coach Carrie Graf was coaching the Opals (WC and Olympics) she said one of the keys to beating the US was being very physical with Diana with goal of getting under her skin and frustrating her. That strategy worked last night until the 4th Q.
 
Revealing comments from Laimbeer:

Aces coach Bill Laimbeer credited the mental toughness of Taurasi and Griner for getting the Mercury over the top.

"They willed that unto their team," Laimbeer said. "They hung in there, they made the big plays. We need to acquire that trait. Whether it is we grow up or whether we acquire something, but it's something that this team has consistently lacked throughout the course of the year -- a leadership of steeliness. Someone that sits there and says, 'No, this is how we do it. This is what's going to happen.' And, they have it; we don't.

"Unfortunately, down the stretch we needed mental toughness. It didn't happen. We lost. And that's the way it goes."

www.espn.com

Taurasi takes over in 4th, sends Mercury to Finals

Diana Taurasi scored 14 of her 24 points in the fourth quarter, helping the Phoenix Mercury rally for an 87-84 win over the Aces to advance to the WNBA Finals on Friday.
www.espn.com www.espn.com
 
UConnCat said:
Revealing comments from Laimbeer:

Aces coach Bill Laimbeer credited the mental toughness of Taurasi and Griner for getting the Mercury over the top.

"They willed that unto their team," Laimbeer said. "They hung in there, they made the big plays. We need to acquire that trait. Whether it is we grow up or whether we acquire something, but it's something that this team has consistently lacked throughout the course of the year -- a leadership of steeliness. Someone that sits there and says, 'No, this is how we do it. This is what's going to happen.' And, they have it; we don't.

"Unfortunately, down the stretch we needed mental toughness. It didn't happen. We lost. And that's the way it goes."

www.espn.com

Taurasi takes over in 4th, sends Mercury to Finals

Diana Taurasi scored 14 of her 24 points in the fourth quarter, helping the Phoenix Mercury rally for an 87-84 win over the Aces to advance to the WNBA Finals on Friday.
www.espn.com www.espn.com
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I Didnt Do It Jimmy Fallon GIF by The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon
 
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Dillon77 said:
Fair points. I've tweaked initial post to include that play was physical. Was it initiated by Laimbeer instructions (for this game)? Maybe. I can say that Young, while a physical player, is generarlly not known for that kind of defense game-in and game-out, whether at ND, with the Aces or on the U.S. 3 vs. 3 team. She's a great athlete and can beat people to the spot. That said, D is known for some physical tricks of the trade as well: she may be the best at knowing how to use her offhand to create space on drives. Not a criticism, just a common observation.

And, lastly, the refs were all over the place on calls. They let some plays go (Shay Peddy virtually got body slammed with no call) while other calls were ticky tack (Kelsey Plum stuck her butt out after coming down from a jumper to draw a call and Bri Turner was called for a reach-out touch after Wilson had passed the ball 20 ft. from the basket.)

My point is that the in-your face/on your body stuff led to a turnaround on many fronts. And D -- as she has so many times -- ultimately used it to her team's and her advantage. As the announcers said, "don't stick the bear." Well done.
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I have to disagree with you here.

I really admire Jackie Young’s play but her stock and trade is out-physicaling (if there is such a word) other players. You say she beats people to the spot; I say she’s allowed stuff in the league which could be called on her regularly.

But for my part, I hope that Jackie finds a better team for herself, one where team play is emphasized more.
 
nwhoopfan said:
Taurasi standing at midcourt barking at the Aces, classy in victory. :rolleyes:
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I rewatched the second half, and this post gives a hugely exaggerated impression of what she did.

She was somewhere near midcourt and, yes, her mouth was moving — briefly. But she wasn't in anyone's face, she wasn't gesturing, and it's not even clear whether she was looking at any of the Aces players at the time. From what we could see on camera, she could've just as easily been looking into the crowd. And even if she was looking at someone, there's no way they or anyone else could hear what she was saying.

As others have noted, the instructions from Laimbeer, clearly, were to bump her early and often. Two seconds of indistinct jawing at the buzzer is, under the circumstances, a whole lot of nothing. Spare me.
 
Haven't seen it mentioned, Cunningham rockin' a Metallica t-shirt on the bench was an interesting look.
 
Plebe said:
I rewatched the second half, and this post gives a hugely exaggerated impression of what she did.

She was somewhere near midcourt and, yes, her mouth was moving — briefly. But she wasn't in anyone's face, she wasn't gesturing, and it's not even clear whether she was looking at any of the Aces players at the time. From what we could see on camera, she could've just as easily been looking into the crowd. And even if she was looking at someone, there's no way they or anyone else could hear what she was saying.

As others have noted, the instructions from Laimbeer, clearly, were to bump her early and often. Two seconds of indistinct jawing at the buzzer is, under the circumstances, a whole lot of nothing. Spare me.
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Oh, that's a surprise, you disagree with me. Not the first and certainly won't be the last time. Carry on.
 
A few observations. Teams often take on the personality of their coaches, hence the physical play of Vegas and the blaming of his players for not being mentally tough enough afterward.

Vegas had to know they needed to stop either Taurasi or Griner. They did stop Taurasi for most of the game but great players rise to the occasion. Griner, who has been inconsistent throughout most of her career was consistently an unstoppable force throughout these playoffs.

Guard play had a lot to do with which team won in the end for the playoffs. Connecticut should have addressed their lack of solid guard play during the off-season as that's what hurt them in last year's playoffs. They didn't and it came back to bite them. Vegas has a solid group although somewhat inconsistent in their performance. Williams is the proverbial streaky hot/cold shooter. She needed to shoot more in that last game to get going as Taurasi did.

Finally, there is a reason why Taurasi and Parker are such great players even when they're not having the greatest of games for three quarters. They have that innate ability to "will their teams to victory" even when the other team may have more talent overall.
 
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FanFromMaine said:
I have to disagree with you here.

I really admire Jackie Young’s play but her stock and trade is out-physicaling (if there is such a word) other players. You say she beats people to the spot; I say she’s allowed stuff in the league which could be called on her regularly.

But for my part, I hope that Jackie finds a better team for herself, one where team play is emphasized more.
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I think you and I might have a slightly different idea on what constitutes physical play ;) . I never said she wasn't physical: she has elements of that to her play, particularly in her ability to take it to the hoop and her success in the paint. However, I also think she has quickness, hops and a finely honed set of technical skills. This, after all, is still the leading scorer in Indiana HS history.

(That said, this is coming from a guy who once was a fairly quick wing with hops who now plays power forward in senior leagues. I'm used to the wrestling that takes place in the paint.)

You and I, however, are in complete agreement in hoping that she can find a team where she can get back to fully integrated team play.
 
UConnCat said:
Some players are ready for Game 5 and others not so much. Hardly noticed that Wiliams was even on the court. Young struggled offensively and took some questionable shots.

Plum is a keeper. Would love to see her on the Storm.
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In watching the replay, the one player who really stuck out to me as having a terrible Game 5 was Cambage. Missed numerous layups at point blank. Even on the critical play where she was blocked by Taurasi, she should've scored on the putback, but missed.
 
Dillon77 said:
I think you and I might have a slightly different idea on what constitutes physical play ;) . I never said she wasn't physical: she has elements of that to her play, particularly in her ability to take it to the hoop and her success in the paint. However, I also think she has quickness, hops and a finely honed set of technical skills. This, after all, is still the leading scorer in Indiana HS history.

(That said, this is coming from a guy who once was a fairly quick wing with hops who now plays power forward in senior leagues. I'm used to the wrestling that takes place in the paint.)

You and I, however, are in complete agreement in hoping that she can find a team where she can get back to fully integrated team play.
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It’s the wrestling out front that caught my attention between DIana and Jackie.

I have no problem with players who use their athleticism. Kelly Faris, another Hoosier, is my all-time favorite Husky. She had preternatural physical ability and used it to out-quick bigs and flatten out guards. I recently found a video on YouTube of the 2006 IHSAA class final in Kelly’s first high year. Unbelievable maturity...

And obviously Diana is no shrinking violet. Whether Jackie chose bump-and-run on her own or from her coach’s demand is unknown to me. And sometimes Diana does blow up from the constant pounding. But she always gives as good as she gets. My sense is that Jackie was not prepared for mental as well a physical reply Taurasi would bring.

But this is all speculation on my part...
 
Plebe said:
In watching the replay, the one player who really stuck out to me as having a terrible Game 5 was Cambage. Missed numerous layups at point blank. Even on the critical play where she was blocked by Taurasi, she should've scored on the putback, but missed.
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Do agree with this. Cambage is an enigma to me. She really should be nearly as dominant as Griner but is a far cry more often than not. Another poster here nailed it when they said she seems to lack the overall physical and mental toughness to be the lynchpin of a championship team.
 
How does the Aces defender slack off DT and leave her open for the killer 3? Fight over the screen, or anticipate the screen. Stick to her like glue.
 
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I read elsewhere that Cunningham is not on the injured list for today, so she should be available.
 
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