Sun Head West Up 2-0

[psconn]

What an amazing first two games! I'm sure no one saw this coming; I certainly didn't. The atmosphere in the Arena has been wild... so much fun. Tonight's game in a nutshell:
Sun 46 rebounds, 16 offensive; Sparks 24 rebounds, 4 offensive

AND the Sun have Alyssa Thomas and the Sparks don't.

A couple words on AT: she played 76 minutes in the two games. She took her first break of the series tonight with about 4 minutes to go. This is a woman with two severely damaged shoulders (torn labrum) who does not shoot outside 8 feet, yet she is a powerful rebounder, she drives the Sun's offense up court like a runaway train, she dishes like a point guard, and at 6'2" she Ds-up the best forwards in the league (Charles, Parker, Della Donne, Stewart, etc.). Every opponent knows just what she's going to do and only a few time has a team been able to stop her.

Check out the sequence in the first semi-final on Tuesday @2:10 in the 2nd quarter... pure athleticism and hustle.

Despite all the good vibes, we know the Sun just held serve. They have not been great on the road and there's a LONG way to go.

 

[MilfordHusky]

The Sun wore down L.A. Let's see what happens when the Sparks are at home. They have not been firing on all cylinders yet. Maybe they won't.

 

[psconn]

Agree. As good as the Sun have played, the Sparks just haven't looked right. They will be greatly energized by being one loss from elimination AND being home in front of 10,000+ fans.

LA has only 2 losses at home this year. It will take an epic game from the Sun and a <A-game from the Sparks to end this thing in LA.

 

[JoePgh]

What has surprised me is the AWOL status of some of LA's big names: Chelsea Gray and Riquna Williams in Tuesday's game, and Candace Parker in Thursday's game. Parker last night had 3 points (1 3-point make) and (gasp) 1 rebound. She had 3 assists and two turnovers, playing (as I recall) 26 minutes. This is after a very impactful game that she played on Tuesday night.

Of the Sparks' stars, only Nneka Ogwumike has really lived up to expectations in the first two games. By contrast, the Sun have gotten scoring and other contributions from top to bottom in their lineup.

If LA is able to mobilize all its resources at home (they're not really at home, since Staples Center is unavailable and the games will be in Long Beach), they could still make a comeback. I'm not quite sure whether to attribute the no-show of their star players to some unusual defensive scheme by the Sun (which wasn't apparent to me) or some serious problems with the commitment of LA's players to win the games.

 

[willtalk]

The Sparks haven't looked right all season. Sure they have a game, every now and then, where they look Super, but those are scarce. Their roster is just not built right. They are too frontcourt loaded, especially with vets who do not always give their best effort. Fisher is a new coach, who looks like he has not watched much past WNBA and doesn't recognize individual players patterns. Parker never plays well back to back and Williams is as streaky a player as there is. Gave Parker too many minutes while he had other options and did the same for Williams in the first game when she was so cold that she couldn't even hit free throws. Why the WNBA is used as on the job training positions for ex players is beyond me.

They brought in Cheney sort of as a favor to her sister. She is a good player but redundant on the Sparks roster. Plays the same role basically as her sister and Parker ( an undersized Mobil non physical post player ). He seldom if ever uses Brown or Vadeeva because they are stuck behind Parker and the two sisters. Brown, I could see, because she is a rookie. Vadeeva, even though she is young, has had 5 years professional experience. Both of them are very strong physically and bring a different look to the tam.
It would not surprise me if she Vadeeva , due to not being played, decides to not come back next season. Then Parker and Cheney retire and the Sparks have nothing. Fisher is either too dense or too cowardly to make proper in-game tactical rotation adjustments.

While they have all this underused depth on the frontcourt, their backcourt is very thin. Gray has logged massive minutes every game this season. Basically, because they have no one to pick up the slack when she is off the court. The opposing teams have targeted her on defense every game. They know she is the key to beating the Sparks. She had a really bad first game but she still ended up with the most minutes on the team out of necessity. I would not lay all this on Fisher, because the GM is certainly at fault as well for putting this unbalanced roster together. Still Fisher, with some better tactical rotations could do more to mitigate that problem.

There just seems to be too much "good ole boy/girl" incestuous hiring involved in the choice of WNBA coaching and front office hiring. . It's sort of a chicken and egg thing in respect to the WNBA. Is the league struggling because of poor staff hiring or do the not get good people because they are struggling. I do know that no top-level college coach would leave their programs to coach in the WNBA.

 

[Beemer]

I expected more from the Sparks. I didn't expect what the Sun have accomplished at all. I knew they'd give the Sparks a hard fight but go up 2-0? And beating the **** out of them in Game 2? Not at all.

It's good to be wrong sometimes.

 

[willtalk]

What has surprised me is the AWOL status of some of LA's big names: Chelsea Gray and Riquna Williams in Tuesday's game, and Candace Parker in Thursday's game. Parker last night had 3 points (1 3-point make) and (gasp) 1 rebound. She had 3 assists and two turnovers, playing (as I recall) 26 minutes. This is after a very impactful game that she played on Tuesday night.

Of the Sparks' stars, only Nneka Ogwumike has really lived up to expectations in the first two games. By contrast, the Sun have gotten scoring and other contributions from top to bottom in their lineup.

If LA is able to mobilize all its resources at home (they're not really at home, since Staples Center is unavailable and the games will be in Long Beach), they could still make a comeback. I'm not quite sure whether to attribute the no-show of their star players to some unusual defensive scheme by the Sun (which wasn't apparent to me) or some serious problems with the commitment of LA's players to win the games.

Yes all those players had really poor games, Chelsea and Williams in the first and Parker in the second. Most of that is on Fisher. Players will have off games, but some of that can be mitigated by proper in game adjustments. In the first game Fisher played Williams far too many minutes. He even put her back in at the end even though anyone with eyes and a brain recognized that she couldn't hit a shot if her life depended on it. She missed two straight free throw and was 1-9 and 0-6 on 3pt shots. Williams is a streaky player and if she is off will not suddenly start to hit her shots, even though she will continue to shoot them. Any knowledgable coach would have known that. Chelsea was about as off as she has ever been, yet she still played the most minutes of any other player. In her case there was really no one to replace her, so they had to ride her for max minutes like the did the entire season.

Now Parker played a really good first game. She can when she makes an effort. The problem is that she seldom really does. In the second game, she disappeared as she does far too often in games. Yet unlike in the case of Gray and the backcourt, the frontcourt is deep. Yet Fisher played Parker her usual minutes, even though he inserted the backup post players once the game was totally out of reach. With Parker, her lack of effort often does not show up in her stats, but rather the opposite. Her biggest failing is not blocking out. Conn had 16 offensive boards- 7 by Jones alone. Her minutes should have been drastically reduced. Even Parker fans acknowledge that she does not play well back to backs. Fisher just doesn't have the guts to pull her in a playoff game. One reason was that she was instrumental in his getting hired. Parker has too much power on the Sparks.

An observation with respect to Parker. It hinges on why she doesn't play well back to back. The fact that she does not says a lot in respect to her effort level. SHE COASTS. It is like she has a gage that dictates a line of effort that she will never go beyond. Really good athletes will push themselves beyond their physical limits when necessary, but she never even lets herself get close to that limit. That is why she shuts off on back to backs. Most athletes performances are diminished by fatigue. Parker stops giving an effort before she even gets tired. She never leaves it all on the floor. A complacent player is not someone that you want as the face of your franchise. That attitude will bleed down to the rest of the team. The Sparks will be better off once Parker is gone.

 

[Carnac]

The Sun wore down L.A. Let's see what happens when the Sparks are at home. They have not been firing on all cylinders yet. Maybe they won't.

The Sun have been one of the best teams in the W all season. They’re playing well right now. The Sparks cannot compete with them at this point. The Sun took the Sparks behind the woodshed those 2 games in Connecticut.

This series is over. LA might get the next one at home, and they might not. The Sun and the Mystics have a commanding 2-0 lead going into game 3. They will be your finals participants. I like the Mystics to give Mike Thibault his first WNBA championship. They finished with a league best 26 wins. If you can’t tell this is their year, you haven’t been paying attention.

 

[Beemer]

Yes all those players had really poor games, Chelsea and Williams in the first and Parker in the second. Most of that is on Fisher. Players will have off games, but some of that can be mitigated by proper in game adjustments. In the first game Fisher played Williams far too many minutes. He even put her back in at the end even though anyone with eyes and a brain recognized that she couldn't hit a shot if her life depended on it. She missed two straight free throw and was 1-9 and 0-6 on 3pt shots. Williams is a streaky player and if she is off will not suddenly start to hit her shots, even though she will continue to shoot them. Any knowledgable coach would have known that. Chelsea was about as off as she has ever been, yet she still played the most minutes of any other player. In her case there was really no one to replace her, so they had to ride her for max minutes like the did the entire season.

Now Parker played a really good first game. She can when she makes an effort. The problem is that she seldom really does. In the second game, she disappeared as she does far too often in games. Yet unlike in the case of Gray and the backcourt, the frontcourt is deep. Yet Fisher played Parker her usual minutes, even though he inserted the backup post players once the game was totally out of reach. With Parker, her lack of effort often does not show up in her stats, but rather the opposite. Her biggest failing is not blocking out. Conn had 16 offensive boards- 7 by Jones alone. Her minutes should have been drastically reduced. Even Parker fans acknowledge that she does not play well back to backs. Fisher just doesn't have the guts to pull her in a playoff game. One reason was that she was instrumental in his getting hired. Parker has too much power on the Sparks.

An observation with respect to Parker. It hinges on why she doesn't play well back to back. The fact that she does not says a lot in respect to her effort level. SHE COASTS. It is like she has a gage that dictates a line of effort that she will never go beyond. Really good athletes will push themselves beyond their physical limits when necessary, but she never even lets herself get close to that limit. That is why she shuts off on back to backs. Most athletes performances are diminished by fatigue. Parker stops giving an effort before she even gets tired. She never leaves it all on the floor. A complacent player is not someone that you want as the face of your franchise. That attitude will bleed down to the rest of the team. The Sparks will be better off once Parker is gone.

I can remember Pat Summitt constantly yelling at Parker to play defense, get in there for the rebound, etc. etc when Parker was at Tennessee. And Parker responded, I'll give her that much. However I don't think any of her WNBA coaches have ever called her out the way Summitt did, so Parker just floats out there. I wonder what her teammates through the years have thought about her lazy play. You have to wonder too just how good Parker could be if she truly applied herself.

 

[nwhoopfan]

As I noted during game 1 of the series, Parker can D it up when she tries. She obviously didn't try to play D, or do anything else, in game 2. Someone (a Stanford fan I think) brought up a question about how frustrated Nneka must get with the varying degrees of effort from some of her teammates from game to game.

Agree w/ @willtalk , when it's obviously one of those games where Parker's energy level and production just isn't there, sit her. More minutes for Chiney and let Vadeeva and Brown get into the mix. There may be some duplication between the Ogwumike sisters, but they will both hit the O boards relentlessly, 2 is better than 1 in that regard.

 

[nwhoopfan]

Unrelated, but I noticed a couple of late season acquisitions that were supposed to be significant for post season runs have been much ado about nothing. Plaisance for Connecticut and Prince for Las Vegas have barely been playing.

 

[Bigboote]

Unrelated, but I noticed a couple of late season acquisitions that were supposed to be significant for post season runs have been much ado about nothing. Plaisance for Connecticut and Prince for Las Vegas have barely been playing.

Plaisance has been injured — her back has been acting up. I was glad to see her in briefly last night. If she can get healthy, she may have an impact.

 

[Bigboote]

A couple words on AT: she played 76 minutes in the two games. She took her first break of the series tonight with about 4 minutes to go. This is a woman with two severely damaged shoulders (torn labrum) who does not shoot outside 8 feet, yet she is a powerful rebounder, she drives the Sun's offense up court like a runaway train, she dishes like a point guard, and at 6'2" she Ds-up the best forwards in the league (Charles, Parker, Della Donne, Stewart, etc.). Every opponent knows just what she's going to do and only a few time has a team been able to stop her.

Alyssa’s shoulders have been giving her fits since (at least) college. As a fellow shoulder sufferer, I’m amazed by what she does. I gave up volleyball and basketball in college; she went pro.

She’s as tough as they come. Such a joy to watch.

 

[Shades]

During the regular season, CON and LAS were both very good at home, and they were about equally bad on the road. It wouldn’t surprise me if LAS were able to even up the series at 2-2.

 

[nwhoopfan]

Cool @Shades . So on the road is where the Mystics really separated themselves from the other top teams.

 

[TheFarmFan]

As I noted during game 1 of the series, Parker can D it up when she tries. She obviously didn't try to play D, or do anything else, in game 2. Someone (a Stanford fan I think) brought up a question about how frustrated Nneka must get with the varying degrees of effort from some of her teammates from game to game.

Agree w/ @willtalk , when it's obviously one of those games where Parker's energy level and production just isn't there, sit her. More minutes for Chiney and let Vadeeva and Brown get into the mix. There may be some duplication between the Ogwumike sisters, but they will both hit the O boards relentlessly, 2 is better than 1 in that regard.

Haha yup, that was me re: Nneka quietly stewing about her teammates' mercurial and inconsistent efforts.

To me, the major problem for the Sparks is that they have something of a personnel deficit at the 2 and 3 (Williams is really streaky and draws a lot of bad press, Ruffin-Pratt is IMHO not a WNBA starter-level talent, and Beard is beat up and on the declining tail end of a legitimately terrific pro career) and only so-so backups for Gray at the 1 (Wiese, who admittedly has really improved this season, and Mabrey).

And they are way too crowded at the 4 and 5. I agree with others that when Parker's efforts are flagging, Sparks should sub in Vadeeva - she is great at the high post because she can screen well, step back and take the 3, and is a competent distributor for her height.

I view Chiney as a 6th woman backup for Nneka who can rotate in and play the 4 as well. Agree that she wasn't a high priority need for the Sparks, but I view her as a bonus because at this point I suspect it's LA or bust for her given her soaring ESPN career, and there's no question she's worth a roster spot.

I'm still not sure what to do with Brown. I think she has a ton of talent and size and will eventually develop into a very solid WNBA player, but I'm not sure there's room for a true low-post center the way the Sparks play, because so many of their plays rely on having post players like Nneka and Chiney who are mobile enough to get open for feeds from Parker that aren't just into the paint.

 

[nwhoopfan]

Ruffin-Pratt is IMHO not a WNBA starter-level talent

I've been thinking that too. TRP is kind of a younger version of Beard, more D than O.

Sun guards/wings definitely have been better in this series, although that's mostly been Courtney Williams.

 

[chrisphoto15]

Sun Head Coach Curt Miller Game 2 post-game press conference.

 

[psconn]

Sun Head Coach Curt Miller Game 2 post-game press conference.

Thanks Chris! Much appreciated.

 

[Waquoit]

Rooting for the Sun to wrap it up tonight.

 

[Roger G]

The fact that tonight's game is in Long Beach instead of Staples may work to the Sun's advantage. A sweep and rest would be a great thing for CT.