WNBA thread

[nwhoopfan]

Storm let Sparks get back wtihin 1 I think. 3 starters did NOTHING for Seattle. Good thing for Stewie and Loyd.

edit--pulled away at the end to win by 9

 

[nwhoopfan]

LV-Phoenix going OT


Aces 15-24 FT shooting biting them in the backside. Young 0-3 and Cambage 2-8. Merc 19-23 from the stripe.

 

[nwhoopfan]

9-0 Merc run in OT. Griner money and Cambage/Wilson bricking everything.

 

[nwhoopfan]

Utter collapse by the Aces. I think they're about 0-7 in the extra session. Phoenix hasn't scored in a while but there's less than a minute left.

 

[nwhoopfan]

Gray finally hit a couple 3's but way too little too late. 2-11 shooting in OT for the team. Phoenix wins by 9.

 

[nwhoopfan]

Griner and SDS combined for 60 points and 16-18 FT shooting.

 

[eebmg]

Storm let Sparks get back wtihin 1 I think. 3 starters did NOTHING for Seattle. Good thing for Stewie and Loyd.

edit--pulled away at the end to win by 9

Stewie was a clutch monster down the stretch.

 

[Rb335]

Stewie was a clutch monster down the stretch.

I watch almost all of the storm games, and it's crazy to say, but it doesn't feel like Stewie has had that great of a year. She has, it's just crazy how high the standards are for her since she is consistently excellent.

Last night was one of those performances that screams MVP. Not because she scored 27 points, but because of when she scored them. With LA increasing the defensive intensity and nearly pulling even in the 4th quarter, Stewie rattled off 12 straight points on an array of different types of shots to seal the win. That is what an MVP does. It was the dictionary definition of taking over a game and being clutch. Always such a joy to watch her play.

 

[Dillon77]

Fun watching Dallas deconstruct down the stretch. Nice Arike sandwich smushed between Napheesa and Clarendon. Again, Pheesa played 40 minutes and her game seemed subpar (on the offensive side at least)

Well, at least I know how you feel about the Wings

I watched quite a bit of that game and the only officiating comment I'll make was, in fact, on that play: something should've been called there. Foul on the Lynx or Arike but that wasn't a "no call." This is not a "no call" situation in the last two minutes (like most soccer or hockey games).

As for "deconstruction," I'm starting to scratch my head about Coach Johnson's avowed strategy to play 10 players at all times at various times and in varying permutations. Maybe she's trying to make a point and/or get to a new approach (waves of young 'uns). But it sure seems to have negative effect on closing out games. Who's in? Are there plays set up for them?

• What is Sabally and Arike doing on the bench with 2 minutes left in the game?
• If you're going for a three, how can Arike or Mabrey not have screens set for them? Thonton was 2-8 in this game and shot a critical brick. Lynx must've been smiling.
• Yes, multiple players are gettiing 20+ minutes, but Wings are also losing games that they should have a chance to win. That's a coach's job, too. If it's frustrating to a fan, I can only wonder how it is for players.

 

[bbsamjj]

I watch almost all of the storm games, and it's crazy to say, but it doesn't feel like Stewie has had that great of a year. She has, it's just crazy how high the standards are for her since she is consistently excellent.

Last night was one of those performances that screams MVP. Not because she scored 27 points, but because of when she scored them. With LA increasing the defensive intensity and nearly pulling even in the 4th quarter, Stewie rattled off 12 straight points on an array of different types of shots to seal the win. That is what an MVP does. It was the dictionary definition of taking over a game and being clutch. Always such a joy to watch her play.

LA has no business being in some of these games, given how undermanned they are. Never though I'd say this, but Derek Fisher is doing a good job this year.

 

[Geew1992]

Well, at least I know how you feel about the Wings

I watched quite a bit of that game and the only officiating comment I'll make was, in fact, on that play: something should've been called there. Foul on the Lynx or Arike but that wasn't a "no call." This is not a "no call" situation in the last two minutes.

As for "deconstruction," I'm starting to scratch my head about Coach Johnson's avowed strategy to play 10 players at all times at various times and in varying permutations. Maybe she's trying to make a point and/or get to a new approach (waves of young 'uns). But it sure seems to have negative effect on closing out games. Who's in? Are there plays set up for them?

• What is Sabally and Arike doing on the bench with 2 minutes left in the game?
• If you're going for a three, how can Arike or Mabrey not have screens set for them? Thonton was 2-8 in this game and shot a critical brick. Lynx must've been smiling.
• Yes, multiple players are gettiing 20+ minutes, but Wings are also losing games that they should have a chance to win. That's a coach's job, too. If it's frustrating to a fan, I can only wonder how it is for players.

Pretty sure there was a foul called on Arike, which she was then T'd up for what ever she said to the ref

 

[oldude]

I watch almost all of the storm games, and it's crazy to say, but it doesn't feel like Stewie has had that great of a year. She has, it's just crazy how high the standards are for her since she is consistently excellent.

Last night was one of those performances that screams MVP. Not because she scored 27 points, but because of when she scored them. With LA increasing the defensive intensity and nearly pulling even in the 4th quarter, Stewie rattled off 12 straight points on an array of different types of shots to seal the win. That is what an MVP does. It was the dictionary definition of taking over a game and being clutch. Always such a joy to watch her play.

To dust off a timeless discussion, whether Stewie or DT is the GOAT. One of the arguments for DT is that she could take over a close game down the stretch and impose her will on its outcome. More and more, Stewie is demonstrating that she has that unique ability to deliver when it matters most.

 

[donalddoowop]

Fun watching Dallas deconstruct down the stretch. Nice Arike sandwich smushed between Napheesa and Clarendon. Again, Pheesa played 40 minutes and her game seemed subpar (on the offensive side at least)

Her offensive game was not subpar in the second half.

 

[Shades]

No problem. Aces can't stop Griner or Diggins-Smith, and can't hit anything from the floor. Merc starting to pull away in Q2.

Griner’s sudden emergence of a midrange game is causing some teams problems.

 

[Dillon77]

Pretty sure there was a foul called on Arike, which she was then T'd up for what ever she said to the ref

Ah, then I'm referring to the next sandwich play on Arike, which involved Sylvia Fowles and another Lynxer.

 

[bballnut90]

Griner and SDS combined for 60 points and 16-18 FT shooting.

Pretty remarkable how well Phoenix is doing as a 2 woman team with DT out (5-5 since DT's injury) considering they get next to nothing from Nurse, Walker, Cunningham and Peddy offensively and are still grinding out wins.

 

[Rb335]

Pretty remarkable how well Phoenix is doing as a 2 woman team with DT out (5-5 since DT's injury) considering they get next to nothing from Nurse, Walker, Cunningham and Peddy offensively and are still grinding out wins.

Might be an unpopular opinion, but I feel like Taurasi is a hit or miss at this stage in her career. Defense was never her strong suit, so when her shot isn’t falling, she’s not super effective.

 

[nwhoopfan]

Pretty remarkable how well Phoenix is doing as a 2 woman team with DT out (5-5 since DT's injury) considering they get next to nothing from Nurse, Walker, Cunningham and Peddy offensively and are still grinding out wins.

After the big 2, Cunningham was really good for them yesterday. They don't win that game without her.

 

[nwhoopfan]

Griner’s sudden emergence of a midrange game is causing some teams problems.

I've thought it before, but watching her last night, I was scratching my head wondering why she never developed into an MVP player in the W. If she was consistent, she would be the most unstoppable player in the league.

One of the announcers last night must have declared about 10 times "that's an MVP play" when Wilson did something. Griner had quite a few more "MVP plays" than Wilson did, especially in OT.

 

[Bigboote]

As for "deconstruction," I'm starting to scratch my head about Coach Johnson's avowed strategy to play 10 players at all times at various times and in varying permutations. Maybe she's trying to make a point and/or get to a new approach (waves of young 'uns). But it sure seems to have negative effect on closing out games. Who's in? Are there plays set up for them?

• What is Sabally and Arike doing on the bench with 2 minutes left in the game?
• If you're going for a three, how can Arike or Mabrey not have screens set for them? Thonton was 2-8 in this game and shot a critical brick. Lynx must've been smiling.
• Yes, multiple players are gettiing 20+ minutes, but Wings are also losing games that they should have a chance to win. That's a coach's job, too. If it's frustrating to a fan, I can only wonder how it is for players.

I didn't notice Sabally out; I was thinking Arike was sitting out awhile to cool her head off. She'd gotten a technical and continued jawing at the refs.

I think Johnson is maybe trying to be the anti-Reeve. I watched the whole game last night. With about five minutes left and the Lynx up by a few, I was thinking that if this had been 2-3 weeks ago, I'd be betting on the Wings. The Lynx had blown a few games they'd led in the fourth quarter, but they've been finishing games strongly lately.

I hope you watched the second half last night, as Fowles sat quite awhile and Shepard played really well. No points, but she got some rebounds and looked really tough.

 

[bballnut90]

I've thought it before, but watching her last night, I was scratching my head wondering why she never developed into an MVP player in the W. If she was consistent, she would be the most unstoppable player in the league.

One of the announcers last night must have declared about 10 times "that's an MVP play" when Wilson did something. Griner had quite a few more "MVP plays" than Wilson did, especially in OT.

The fact that Griner has never been an MVP and that Phoenix has only made 1 finals trip with her/DT is a major headscratcher to me. You have one of the best players of all time in Taurasi and the most physically dominant post player of all time in Griner, and they've hovered around .500 in 8 of the 9 years Griner has been in the league. DT has missed two of those seasons, but still, a team like Phoenix should be miles ahead of a franchise like Minnesota who lost 4 of their 5 core players in Whalen/Moore/Augustus/Brunson in short time frame and has put up comparable results to Phoenix.

 

[nwhoopfan]

The fact that Griner has never been an MVP and that Phoenix has only made 1 finals trip with her/DT is a major headscratcher to me. You have one of the best players of all time in Taurasi and the most physically dominant post player of all time in Griner, and they've hovered around .500 in 8 of the 9 years Griner has been in the league. DT has missed two of those seasons, but still, a team like Phoenix should be miles ahead of a franchise like Minnesota who lost 4 of their 5 core players in Whalen/Moore/Augustus/Brunson in short time frame and has put up comparable results to Phoenix.

I think this is largely an indictment of the coaching of Brondello, which has been noted many times.

 

[MSSportsGuy]

I think this is largely an indictment of the coaching of Brondello, which has been noted many times.

I can agree Brondello has produced very mediocre results given her talent level. Kim also took a lot of heat on this board for only winning one title with Griner in 4 years. Maybe the common thread here is as good as Griner is and can be she is also very inconsistent with her effort. She doesn't demand the ball often and rarely works to get position during the games of hers I've viewed.

 

[Dillon77]

hope you watched the second half last night, as Fowles sat quite awhile and Shepard played really well. No points, but she got some rebounds and looked really tough.

I watched quite a bit of it and caught Jess doing her work in the paint. Knock on wood, I think she's getting there. Wouldn't be suprised if Coach Reeves is telling her to give the team some minutes doing exactly what you described. The scoring will come. And it will.

 

[bbsamjj]

Especially once DT went down earlier in the season, Griner seems to have taken it on herself to finally play like the dominant player she always could be. I don't know who's to "blame" for why this hasn't happened before on a consistent basis, but it's been a full 5 seasons since she, a 6-9 once in a generation player, has averaged more than 8rpg, and this year she's shot up to 9.5rpg while also being in the top 5 in he league in scoring, blocks and FG%.

But Phoenix is an average to bad defensive team (They rank 9th out of 12 teams in defensive rating), which could work if they had an amazing offense...but they don't (8th out of 12 teams in offensive rating). As others have said, Griner and SDS can get you far, but without DT, the pieces around them are pretty weak.