Lynx win, 88-74 | The Boneyard

Lynx win, 88-74

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MilfordHusky

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With a big 2nd half.

Brunson had a huge game. Seimone scored well too.

Angel scored 33 in defeat.

Maya had 11, 6, 2, 2, and 2. She shot only 2-9 on FGs, but was 7-8 on FTs.
 

Olde Coach

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With a big 2nd half.

Brunson had a huge game. Seimone scored well too.

Angel scored 33 in defeat.

Maya had 11, 6, 2, 2, and 2. She shot only 2-9 on FGs, but was 7-8 on FTs.

This was a terrific basketball game. Lots of great plays by both teams.
Multiple stars on both teams.

Maya's dribbling/ball-handling skills are very much improved. She is controlling the ball very well in very heavy traffic. That has long been a weakness in Maya's game; and it is clear she is now working to improve on it.

Despite a 2-9 shooting night, Maya had a large impact on the game -- coming up with same great plays (blocks, steals, assists at key junctures in the game. It must be a great relief to Maya to play on a team that does not need her to score a lot of points in every game.

Lindsay Whalen was sensational tonight. It will be hard to leave her off the Olympic team next summer.

The rest of the Lynx / Dream games will be very exciting and a joy to watch.
 

MilfordHusky

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I didn't see the game. Was Whalen unable to stop Harding in the first half? Is Lindsay's defense an issue w.r.t. the Olympic team or is it Ok?
 

VAMike23

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I didn't see the game. Was Whalen unable to stop Harding in the first half? Is Lindsay's defense an issue w.r.t. the Olympic team or is it Ok?

IMO, Whalen is strong enough defensively to be effective. She is not as fast as players like Harding, but she has great hands and she is no slow poke. Harding scored on a number of outside jumpers tonight but the team defense against her when she penetrated was generally pretty strong, and I didn't notice them getting away with a lot of kick-outs either.
 
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Agree with most of the analysis. Lindsay Whalen was OK, not quite sensational. Lindsey Harding was winning the matchup until Angel got hot. Then it became the McCoughtry show; A little bit too early IMO. Everyone else got cold.

Minnesota is a very good team. Their risky personnel moves are paying off. Brunson has become my favorite post player not named Tina Charles, and reminds me an awful lot of Pistons post player James Edwards. Georgetown! Whodathunkit?
 

alexrgct

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Maya also had the highest +/- of anyone in this game, FWIW: +23!
 

DaddyChoc

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Agree with most of the analysis. Lindsay Whalen was OK, not quite sensational. Lindsey Harding was winning the matchup until Angel got hot. Then it became the McCoughtry show; A little bit too early IMO. Everyone else got cold.

Minnesota is a very good team. Their risky personnel moves are paying off. Brunson has become my favorite post player not named Tina Charles, and reminds me an awful lot of Pistons post player James Edwards. Georgetown! Whodathunkit?
James Edwards... dude with the huge brostache?
 

Wbbfan1

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What I liked about Whalen and the other Lynx players they didn't rely on their Jump Shots to score. They constantly drove to the basket to score points or get fouls called on the Dream players. Now if only the Sun would learn to do that, they might be in the Finals.
 

HuskyNan

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Maya also had the highest +/- of anyone in this game, FWIW: +23!

Maya was everywhere. She didn't score a lot but she was involved in a lot of plays, tipping balls, double teaming on defense, running the floor on offense and just being around the ball. Very good game from her.
 

MilfordHusky

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From the AP article:

"Maya Moore's sensational reverse layup, a scoop shot that started from clear on the other side of the rim, got the Lynx started on a third-quarter surge that got them back into the game." A classic Maya move!!

"With Augustus healthy for the first time in three years and Moore coming from UConn with the No. 1 overall pick, the Lynx blew the doors off the rest of the league, finishing 27-7, six games better than the second-best team."
 
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That was a very good game fitting a Final! Hopefully the other games will be just as good.
 

EricLA

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agree with what everyone said pretty much. i was very impressed with how active Maya was everywhere on the court, even tho her outside shooting was literally just missing. steals, blocks, tips, hustle, deflections, etc. i was really curious who was going to win the jump ball between her and Angel, and neither touched the ball the first try. that was pretty funny!

not having seen enough games this year, i was not convinced (not that anyone in Minny NEEDS to convince me), that starting 6'2" Taj as the center was a good idea given she gives up so much size against players 6'4"+, but she does so many other things well, like Maya, it's not just about scoring when she's on the court.

absolutely LOVED Maya's reverse scoop shot when she drove along the baseline and made the reverse layup. IMHO the best shot of the game, hands down. should have been a top 10 on Sportscenter.

i can't tell enough about Whalen's defense to know if it hurts the team, so to speak. Minny plays good team defense, and players get beaten off the dribble all the time, and it's clear no matter how fast Whalen moves her feet laterally, she won't be able to keep up with Harding. i agree with the poster that said she's a competent defender given that she's a tad slower than the speedy PG Harding.

i think what Whalen brings overall (to the olympic trials) is impressive, but we will get a very good chance to see a player i think very few gave a shot to make the team in Harding. they both are terrific and both are better at certain aspects of the game than the other. i think Renee has proven she's very good too, and along with her and Vandersloot (altho Courtney's WNBA season was not nearly as impressive as the other 3), it will be a very spirited battle for who else makes the Olympic team. i'd give the edge to Whalen, just because of her experience, but i think an argument could be made for any of the quartet of fantastic guards who will likely back up Bird...
 

MilfordHusky

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Goodies--Thank you!!!

Maya, a keen student of the game, is mimicking one of the great shots in NBA playoff history, from a decade before she was born:

 

wire chief

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I feel sad that the coach can't find a function for Charde, who 2 seasons ago was an all-star.
 
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I thought of that shot after watching Maya do hers !! I loved the Doctor and the Sixers

The size of the Doc's hands cannot be overexaggerated. From pinkie to thumb, 13 1/2 inches.
 

VAMike23

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The size of the Doc's hands cannot be overexaggerated. From pinkie to thumb, 13 1/2 inches.

I remember reading somewhere, maybe SI, that Doc's hand is 10.5" from the base of the hand (down by the wrist joint) to the tip of the middle finger, and that Michael Jordan's hand is only slightly smaller at 10". Monster mitts for both of them!
 

VAMike23

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I feel sad that the coach can't find a function for Charde, who 2 seasons ago was an all-star.

I do, too, and with the minutes she has gotten this season, you can see she has the ability to make things happen. Brunson is a true all-star, and Adair has got several inches on Charde at the forward position, so it's tough to break through. I think Charde is 'smoother' in some aspects of her offensive game, but Adair is really improving rapidly. I wonder what will happen with the Lynx in the off-season....? I have no idea what their various contracts are like, or what other teams' needs are. I would have to think that there are teams where Charde could definitely make an impact.
 

CamrnCrz1974

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Charde was an All-Star in 2009, before the Lynx acquried Brunson.

Charde has had the same issues as she had in high school. She is not a great shooter when the offense is not designed to run through her or run plays for her. She has had bursts, but when she played her best was when she was more of the focal point of the offense. It is no coincidence that her best year was 2009, the year Augustus was injured (only playing six games) and the year before Whalen (trade) and Brunson (Sacto contraction) arrived. Wiggins basically ran the point (though Miller started most games and Montgomery started some, Wiggins was the main facilitiator). Anosike was the perfect complement to Charde, as Nicky knows how to play with other talented players around her, while being effective when the ball isn't in her hands (it is not accident Anosike led the team in steals, assists, rebounds, and points, when you take away Seimone's six games...amazing, given she was the center).

When more talented players arrived, Charde could not and did not adjust. She is only an average ballhandler at best, turning the ball over several times when she puts it on the floor. She basically has two go-two offensive moves that she uses over and over: a blindingly quick spin move that almost always frees her up for a drive or short shot; and a pull-up jumper from about 10 feet that she loves to take on the run.

She still needs to develop counter-moves...moves that she can use when her primary ones are taken away. She also needs to learn how to contribute when the ball isn't in her hands or when she isn't the focal point of the offense. She has not shown that she can do that. Her other problem is that she is basically a 5-11 power forward, the classic tweener (think LaQuanda Barksdale, Tracy Reid, etc.). She isn't big enough to play the four on a good team and isn't quick enough to play the three. So she is best suited coming off the bench, in terms of height. But her game needs to get there as well.

This is why Charde will put up great numbers on a bad team and bad numbers on a great team. Had she been on Tulsa, she might have put up 13 ppg. But until she learns these things set forth above, she is going to be on the bench for a good team...and toward the end of that bench.

The talent is there. The work in the offseason needs to be.
 

CamrnCrz1974

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As an aside, it was a very, very entertaining game.

While I was pulling for Atlanta because of the Duke connection (Bales and Harding), it was a wildly entertaining game. There was a lot of "high skill level plays" on display, from McCoughtry's third quarter, to Maya's swooping foray under the hoop, to Brunson's alley-oops, to Seimone's mid-range jumper (especially from the baseline).

High quality game that was wildly entertaining. Good to see.
 

JoePgh

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IceBear -

Did you have a chance to watch the game? I'm interested in whether the play of the Lynx met your standards for team play and offensive flow. I thought they played as well on offense in the second half as the best UConn teams. The fact that 22 of their 35 field goals were assisted gives some statistical corroboration to that conclusion.
 

Icebear

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I have it recorded and hope to watch it tonight when I return home from teaching our Bible Study.
 

MilfordHusky

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I remember reading somewhere, maybe SI, that Doc's hand is 10.5" from the base of the hand (down by the wrist joint) to the tip of the middle finger, and that Michael Jordan's hand is only slightly smaller at 10". Monster mitts for both of them!
I shook his hand, and he shook my wrist and forearm. :)
 

DaddyChoc

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the party AFTER the game looked like fun...

BTW Seimone is awesome!
 
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