WNBA tips off tonight

P

pro analyser

EOG Dedicated
Beaverball kicks off today.

Phoenix Mercury without Brittney Griner a homedog vs Las Vegas with new coach Becky Hammon.
 
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John Kelly

John Kelly

Born Gambler
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It's the 26th WNBA season.

Where does the time go?

Sue Bird and Sylvia Fowles are retiring at season's end.

I'll go with an Aces-Storm championship series.

Look for Becky Hammon to outcoach her 11 counterparts.

Keep an eye on injuries.

This is the longest WNBA season ever (36 regular-season games) and the ladies do a poor job of staying on the court.

Historically, women have a tough time with knee injuries because of the extra weight they carry to support their child-bearing hips.

Nowadays, mental health is a concern for a lot of the women.

Asia Durr, Chennedy Carter, Courtney Williams, Liz Cambage, Jonquel Jones, Kayla McBride, etc.

The list seems endless in a league comprised of only 144 players.

Only one team will be happy in the end.
 
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John Kelly

John Kelly

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About Asia Durr: They changed their name to simply "AD."

AD is nonbinary.

Traditional pronouns no longer are acceptable.

AD will use they/them instead of she/her.

And you thought "Who's on first?" provided some light-hearted humor.

But please don't joke about gender issues.

My preferred pronoun?

Your royal highness.
 
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John Kelly

John Kelly

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My favorite basketball-playing "AD" is not underachieving Anthony Davis of the Los Angeles Lakers, but overachieving Adrian Dantley, best known as a member of the Utah Jazz and Detroit Pistons.
 
John Kelly

John Kelly

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Halftime score: Mystics 50 Fever 31.

Indiana cannot overcome the damage done by its all-time greatest player and worst-ever general manager, Tamika Catchings.
 
John Kelly

John Kelly

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Indiana was 40-116 in five seasons with Catchings in charge.

That's an average record of 8-23 or thereabouts.

And she got a pass from what little media covers the league.

There were more stories written about Tamika's off-court philanthropy than her on-court failures.
 
John Kelly

John Kelly

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Final score: 84-70, Washington.

Eighteen turnovers tonight for Indiana.

New season, same old Fever.
 
John Kelly

John Kelly

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asportsguy said:
Are those LAS vegas Aces any good this year JK
Click to expand...

Best team in the league, Thomas.

Excellent use of the 3-point line under the direction of Becky Hammon.

Remember, Bill Laimbeer's teams rarely utilized the three-point shot.

The Aces were dead last in shots from beyond the arc for many years.

You can tell the quality of a WNBA coach by a team's shot selection, especially shots from beyond the arc.

The best long-range shots originate from inside-out.

Time for A'ja Wilson to shine.

She should flourish now as the focal point of the Las Vegas offense.

Getting rid of erratic Liz Cambage was addition by subtraction.

She cannot be trusted.

The Aces opened the season 2-0 straight-up and 2-0 against the spread.

Hammon's NBA apprenticeship will pay immediate dividends in the WNBA.

As my friend David Dineen texted me earlier today, analytics haven't reached the WNBA for most old-school coaches.

After sitting courtside on the Spurs bench for the past eight seasons, Hammon is acutely aware of all the important numbers.
 
choslamshe

choslamshe

EOG Master
I don't doubt that the final this year will be Conn/LV. Both teams return most of their teams from a year ago while most other teams continue a carousal of making significant changes. If Alyssa Thomas is back to 100%, the front court of Thomas, Jonquel Jones and arguably the most improved player (from last year) in Brionna Jones will be near impossible for most of these rosters to compete with.

Of course, NY just pulled out an upset over Conn a few days ago, but I think this year more than years past towards the last third of the season we will see the bad teams go on massive losing streaks to end the year.

Indiana, Minnesota (without Collier), Atlanta, and even Chicago I think are in for putrid seasons...
 
John Kelly

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choslamshe said:
I don't doubt that the final this year will be Conn/LV. Both teams return most of their teams from a year ago while most other teams continue a carousal of making significant changes. If Alyssa Thomas is back to 100%, the front court of Thomas, Jonquel Jones and arguably the most improved player (from last year) in Brionna Jones will be near impossible for most of these rosters to compete with.

Of course, NY just pulled out an upset over Conn a few days ago, but I think this year more than years past towards the last third of the season we will see the bad teams go on massive losing streaks to end the year.

Indiana, Minnesota (without Collier), Atlanta, and even Chicago I think are in for putrid seasons...
Click to expand...

Here's the problem with the Connecticut Sun: They always roll through the regular season and disappoint in the postseason.

I like Curt Miller as a head coach and the Sun players are tough-minded sorts, but they always come up short in the playoffs.

Does the team focus too much on its stifling defense at the expense of an offense that plays slowly and scores infrequently?

The grinding style works in the regular season, but falters in the postseason against elite teams.
 
John Kelly

John Kelly

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How much is Breanna Stewart worth to the Seattle Storm.in a road game against the Phoenix Mercury?

The betting marketplace provided the answer.

Seven points.

The line went from Seattle -5 to Phoenix -2 after Stewart was declared out about one hour before tipoff.

One other note: Like Breanna Stewart, Epiphanny Prince also missed last night's game due to COVID-19 testing, so if you want to argue Stewart is worth 6 or 6.5 points, be my guest.
 
Heim

Heim

EOG Master
Aces Plum has become a decent pg. Definitely most improved player in 2021.

You can actually trust her 3 point shooting now.
 
John Kelly

John Kelly

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Heim said:
Aces Plum has become a decent pg. Definitely most improved player in 2021.

You can actually trust her 3 point shooting now.
Click to expand...

Every player on the Aces has the "green light" to shoot the 3.

That was Becky Hammon's game.
 
John Kelly

John Kelly

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Las Vegas took more than half its shots (35 of 68) from beyond the arc last night.

The Aces hit 16 3-pointers in a 96-73 road win over Atlanta.
 
John Kelly

John Kelly

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Hammon's team off a loss: 1-0 straight-up and 1-0 against the spread.

I think this angle will make money in 2022.

Only one problem: We may have only 8-10 opportunities at this angle.
 
P

pro analyser

EOG Dedicated
Angle to make money: Phoniex Mercury games over,already 2-0. No Griner to clog the paint or block shots. She was a good offensive player, but a game changing defensive player.
 
John Kelly

John Kelly

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Thanks for sharing, PRO ANALYSER.

Dead under today in Seattle.

Sue Bird was 1-for-11 from the field, including 0-for-8 from beyond the arc.

Yuk!

Any chance these players spend more time with their off-court issues/interests than time invested in improving their game?

I don't expect any media outlet to shine a light on that angle.
 
svbettor

svbettor

EOG Veteran
John Kelly said:
Thanks for sharing, PRO ANALYSER.

Dead under today in Seattle.

Sue Bird was 1-for-11 from the field, including 0-for-8 from beyond the arc.

Yuk!

Any chance these players spend more time with their off-court issues/interests than time invested in improving their game?

I don't expect any media outlet to shine a light on that angle.
Click to expand...

Sue Bird going to retire after this season maybe.
 
John Kelly

John Kelly

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Sue Bird is 41.

She'll be appearing in Sports Illustrated's Swimsuit Issue which hits newsstands (Are there still newsstands?) later this month.
 
Heim

Heim

EOG Master
Lol at the two heated confrontations between Diggins and Taurasi on the Mercury bench last night causing teammates to seperate them.

WNBA...the only work place where heterosexuals (Diggins) are abused. 😅
 
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John Kelly

John Kelly

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Murphy’s Best said:
Thank goodness there were no fans in attendance to watch the shouting match… 😂
Click to expand...


Did you see the attendance figure last Tuesday night in Indianapolis?

Don't laugh, how about 960 people?

That's only 5% capacity in a place (Gainbridge Fieldhouse) that holds 17,923.

Do NOT accord these WNBA teams much of a home-court advantage.

There's nobody in the stands.

Average attendance for a WNBA game last season was 2,600 or thereabouts.

Incredibly bad.

And yet the women continue to complain about their situation (low pay, poor travel accommodations, lack of television coverage and media attention, etc.).

They have nobody to blame but themselves.

On a brighter note: I'm glad to see the ladies are focused on food insecurity and mental health issues.

WNBA players are going to need food and counseling, if the NBA and ESPN ever decide to pull the plug.

#WelfareSport
 
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