WNBA Thread - Post Olympics

[nwhoopfan]

Or maybe Phx is a bad matchup for them and Phx is playing really good defense? Turner is a defensive beast, Nurse is as intense as it gets, Griner is an excellent stopper in the post, and Peddy is turning into quite a solid WNBA pro.

Wilson played 30 minutes and was -31, not only the worst on the team, but the worst by 9 points compared to the 2nd worst. Phx had 13 O-boards to 3 for LV, probably the biggest team in the league. Phx outrebounded LV by 58-29, a gargantuan number for a team with their size and strength.

And assists were 24-12 in favor of Phx. Yes Phoenix beat the snot out of them, but that indicates way more 1 on 1 play for LV vs Phx sharing the ball. 24 assists on 35 made baskets. They are trying to be like UCONN

Could be on the bad matchup. Not giving you the defense though. Aces scored 96 and 91 in Game 1 and 2.

Sometimes really poor shooting is just...really poor shooting.



See my earlier point about Gray though. Something keeps happening to her teams in the playoffs, and it ain't a good thing.

 

[nwhoopfan]

Come on, nobody is going to bite?

2019 Sparks get swept in the semis by the Sun. Lose by 9, 26 and 22.

2020 Sparks get sent packing in round 2 in a one off against the Sun again, lose by 14.

This year the Aces eek out a Game 1 win, then lose Game 2 and 3 by 26 and 27.

Who is the starting PG for all of those teams? Is there a more important position, especially during the playoffs?

I know a certain poster is going to be very mad at me for this, but seriously something seems to be wrong w/ whatever team she's been playing for in the post season 3 years in a row now. That has to at least rouse some curiosity.

 

[baggerbob]

#5 vs. #6 in the Finals? It's about to happen.

Williams and Plum not scoring like in the first 2 games, and nobody picking up the slack. Aces absolutely suck today.

That is what I hope happens, good basketball, not a rugby scrum, which Connecticut and Las Vegas would be.

 

[eebmg]

Come on, nobody is going to bite?

2019 Sparks get swept in the semis by the Sun. Lose by 9, 26 and 22.

2020 Sparks get sent packing in round 2 in a one off against the Sun again, lose by 14.

This year the Aces eek out a Game 1 win, then lose Game 2 and 3 by 26 and 27.

Who is the starting PG for all of those teams? Is there a more important position, especially during the playoffs?

I know a certain poster is going to be very mad at me for this, but seriously something seems to be wrong w/ whatever team she's been playing for in the post season 3 years in a row now. That has to at least rouse some curiosity.

I cant figure it out. Her skill set is among the best but she zones out at times.

 

[nwhoopfan]

I cant figure it out. Her skill set is among the best but she zones out at times.

That 2019 series in particular, the Sparks flat out quit. Nneka was the only player trying. I put a lot of that on Parker, but she's been balling in the post season this year and her team is way beyond competitive. The blowout losses have followed Gray to her new home.

 

[donalddoowop]

She has...until today. The rebounding aside, she missed her first 4 shots, all from point blank range. She's 4-16 now. That's pretty brutal.

edit--I see she's +12 in the +/-...often have to take those w/ a large grain of salt.

Is it all based on the number of points scored? Are not other aspects of a player's game taken into account?

 

[bballnut90]

That 2019 series in particular, the Sparks flat out quit. Nneka was the only player trying. I put a lot of that on Parker, but she's been balling in the post season this year and her team is way beyond competitive. The blowout losses have followed Gray to her new home.

Not to deflect but the 2019 series was largely on Derek Fisher. Parker was coming off an injury and just wasn't very good that year. She missed a third of the season and only averaged 11 points per game. Looking at the series, she was an absolute stud in game 1 and no showed in game 2, then was benched all but 11 minutes of game 3. The decision to bench her was a major head scratcher as Fisher appeared to just throw in the towel. Gray no showed that series and LA got clobbered by a very very good Connecticut team.

I've defended Gray in the past since she was instrumental during their 2016/17 runs but I agree she has been a no show yet again aside from her stellar game 1 this series. She's as talented and crafty as they come but hasn't been showing up for big playoff games the last few years.

 

[Hayven]

Asking for a friend. Are we allowed to talk about that video of some Dream players? Or is that against terms of service?

 

[bballnut90]

Just finished both games..some thoughts:

Sky/Sun
-Kahleah Copper is blossoming in the role we all thought Diamond Deshields would take. She is absolutely electric and is establishing herself as a true star in the league

-Vandersloot is the best PG in the league by a long shot right now. Such a strong passer and she has that calm but intense Sue Bird like demeanor at the end where you feel extremely confident with the ball in her hands. She knows when to call her own number and when to pass to others. She missed a big free throw at the end but was incredibly good down the stretch.

-Jonquel Jones is as skilled as anyone but doesn't appear to have that "give me the ball and get out of the way" mentality that the best go to players have. Being an MVP and someone who often operates on the perimeter, there is zero reason why she should only have 20 shots in the last 2 games. Time for her to step up with her back against the wall.

-Alyssa Thomas gives Connecticut a huge boost with her toughness and ability to score. Down the stretch she was getting the best of Parker on both ends and nearly willed Connecticut to a win. Gotta feel for January for blowing the last minute layup, she isn't going to sleep well tonight. I expect another highly competitive game on Wednesday.


Mercury/Aces
-I think Phoenix is playing by far the best basketball in the league right now, and that largely is due to Griner. BG just looks SO much more focused and composed out there. She's rebounding well, passing well, and just seems really focused. Happy for her that she's putting it all together now. If she continues this play and can lead Phoenix to a title, I think she'll get a lot more respect from women's basketball fans (myself included) when talking about all time greats since the focus hasn't always appeared to be consistent.

-Brianna Turner absolutely dominated A'ja Wilson tonight. 23 points, 17 boards on 9-12 shooting while A'ja had 8/6 on 2-14 shooting. Former #1 and 2 recruits back in 2014, and they also battled it out as freshmen in the Final Four. A'ja has emerged as a much bigger star, but Turner has established herself as one of the best glue players in the league since she does so many little things well and is comfortable deflecting to her stars while stepping up as needed. Every time she's out there you know she's going to hustle, play good defense, crash the glass and fill her role well. Title teams need players like that to come in and do their job at a high level. Turner is one of the best at filling that role. Always appears to be a great teammate and work hard. Very happy to see her have a career night.

-Speaking of A'ja, what has happened to her? She hasn't had 1 noteworthy game yet and was just awful tonight. I know there's a lot of talk about A'ja establishing her legacy with a title, but she also had consistency issues in the 2019 playoffs and Vegas got slaughtered in the finals last year. I have no problem with a star player losing, but it's how you lose or win that matters. She needs to do a lot more if she wants to get to the next level of being a legend.

-Everyone on Vegas was bad tonight. The body language was awful by several players, they were out hustled and outrebounded 58-29 (and keep in mind, Vegas starts 6-8 and 6-5 in the front court), and just got soundly beat. I don't see them going out quietly on Wednesday but they picked a bad time to start playing some of their worst basketball of the season.

 

[bballnut90]

Asking for a friend. Are we allowed to talk about that video of some Dream players? Or is that against terms of service?

Not sure what this is...do you have a link or more info?

 

[Dillon77]

-Brianna Turner absolutely dominated A'ja Wilson tonight. 23 points, 17 boards on 9-12 shooting while A'ja had 8/6 on 2-14 shooting. Former #1 and 2 recruits back in 2014, and they also battled it out as freshmen in the Final Four. A'ja has emerged as a much bigger star, but Turner has established herself as one of the best glue players in the league since she does so many little things well and is comfortable deflecting to her stars while stepping up as needed. Every time she's out there you know she's going to hustle, play good defense, crash the glass and fill her role well. Title teams need players like that to come in and do their job at a high level. Very happy to see her have a career night.

Well put. I think her coach, as evidenced below, was happy as well. And when "mate" is used by an Aussie, you're doing well.

(tip of the hat to goirish01 at McGraw's Bench for this...)

 

[UConnCat]

-Vandersloot is the best PG in the league by a long shot right now. Such a strong passer and she has that calm but intense Sue Bird like demeanor at the end where you feel extremely confident with the ball in her hands. She knows when to call her own number and when to pass to others. She missed a big free throw at the end but was incredibly good down the stretch.

I'm not so sure about Sloot's calm demeanor at the end. As great a PG as she is, she has been known to gag at the end of games. She had 3 critical turnovers in Game 1 (4th Q and in each OT) that almost cost her team. One of those was a tough pass that could have been caught but the other two were her just coughing the ball up. She did it again at the end of yesterday's game. And then there is the pass against the Aces a couple of years ago. This is something she'll need to overcome for her team to win a championship.

 

[Plebe]

I'm not so sure about Sloot's calm demeanor at the end. As great a PG as she is, she has been known to gag at the end of games. She had 3 critical turnovers in Game 1 (4th Q and in each OT) that almost cost her team. One of those was a tough pass that could have been caught but the other two were her just coughing the ball up. She did it again at the end of yesterday's game. And then there is the pass against the Aces a couple of years ago. This is something she'll need to overcome for her team to win a championship.

Yes. The folks who claim Sloot is by far the best PG in the league overlook her historic lack of clutchness. There's a reason she's never won a WNBA title and has played in only one WNBA final (swept by Phoenix in 2014). Maybe this is the year she finally gets over the hump.

 

[UConnCat]

Yes. The folks who claim Sloot is by far the best PG in the league overlook her historic lack of clutchness. There's a reason she's never won a WNBA title and has played in only one WNBA final (swept by Phoenix in 2014). Maybe this is the year she finally gets over the hump.

As strange as it may sound, I would trust her to make a big shot in a critical moment more than I would trust her to handle the ball.

 

[nwhoopfan]

There's a reason she's never won a WNBA title and has played in only one WNBA final

Yes, the reason is because her 2 superstar teammates forced their way out and the Sky got very little in trade value, and hasn't had enough talent to get back to the finals since.

 

[triaddukefan]

Asking for a friend. Are we allowed to talk about that video of some Dream players? Or is that against terms of service?

Not sure what this is...do you have a link or more info?

Some members of the Dream had a bit of a disagreement with some members of the Atlanta community while at a Food Truck. Its trending on Twitter. I would say more, but I aint trying to get banned before the season starts.

 

[sivad40]

Sloot seems to have a nervous and stressful energy about her in pressure situations.

 

[bballnut90]

I'm not so sure about Sloot's calm demeanor at the end. As great a PG as she is, she has been known to gag at the end of games. She had 3 critical turnovers in Game 1 (4th Q and in each OT) that almost cost her team. One of those was a tough pass that could have been caught but the other two were her just coughing the ball up. She did it again at the end of yesterday's game. And then there is the pass against the Aces a couple of years ago. This is something she'll need to overcome for her team to win a championship.

I must have a short memory, thanks for pointing that out. I put the turnover yesterday more on Parker for not catching it than Sloot, but either way it looks like my statement was off base.

 

[maccca3232]

FiveThirtyEight (538) % to win current series: The Sun are ~ 2 in 5 (41%) while Aces are only ~ 1 in 5 (19%).

Here is link to 538 2021 WNBA Predictions webpage.

%'s after game 3 of the Semi-Finals

 

[ochoopsfan]

I thought this was a good analysis of the Las Vegas Aces in the playoffs

What do the Aces do now?

Bill Laimbeer has won championships as a coach. But is has been 13 years since the Detroit Shock won their last championship. The Aces have not performed as well in the playoffs as their regular se…

fiveoutbasketball.com

 

[eebmg]

I thought this was a good analysis of the Las Vegas Aces in the playoffs

What do the Aces do now?

Bill Laimbeer has won championships as a coach. But is has been 13 years since the Detroit Shock won their last championship. The Aces have not performed as well in the playoffs as their regular se…

fiveoutbasketball.com

Alot of words to say 1) Stokes is invisible and gives BG less resistance than the wind and
2) Plum must start.

No brainers.

 

[Dillon77]

Some members of the Dream had a bit of a disagreement with some members of the Atlanta community while at a Food Truck. Its trending on Twitter. I would say more, but I aint trying to get banned before the season starts.

Apparently, that "bit of a disagreement" reasonated very strongly with Atlanta Dream ownership. And not in a good way for two members of that team. Here's an article:

https://www./features/williams-and-...-the-dream-team-takes-next-step-in-gm-search/

There's been a lot of talk about expansion, but right now league management should make sure one of its current members doesn't blow itself up. Geesh.

 

[eebmg]

Vandersloot out quickly with 2 3pt makes Up 9-2 early

 

[nwhoopfan]

Vandersloot out quickly with 2 3pt makes Up 9-2 early

Maybe she's not sorry January is out w/ an injury?

Seems like Chicago has gotten off to a quick start every game. The difference in this series is that Connecticut has gotten back in it each game. On the other side of the country, fast starts by Phoenix have never been answered at any point by Vegas in 2 of the 3 games.

 

[nwhoopfan]

And there you go. After being down 11, Sun closed to within 3. Which is closer than Vegas has been at any point after about 30 or 60 seconds into the last 2 games.