WNBA 2019

John Kelly

Born Gambler
Staff member
Final score: Las Vegas 74 Indiana 71.

Embarrassing situation for the Fever.

Down three points with seven seconds left, head coach Pokey Chatman draws up a play.

Candice Dupree swings the ball to the left side for a Tiffany Mitchell corner three.

What does Mitchell do?

She fakes a shot, steps inside the arc and shoots a 15-foot baseline jumper as time expires.

Twelve-year-olds don't make that mistake.

Ugh.
 

winkyduck

TYVM Morgan William!!!
...............and this from a league that wants better working conditions

Reminds me of the time UNLV was trailing by 3 late in the game. They had the ball. One of their players (Greg Anthony/Anderson Hunt - someone like that) had the ball with an open 3-pointer. Instead they drove it to the hole for a layup and they lost by 1

After the game when asked why he did it th UNLV player said he did it because he shoots better from 2-pt range than 3-pt range

Also says all we need to know about the "value" of a UNLV "Education"
 

Heim

EOG Master
Dallas 74 Los Angeles 62

JK.....'be the team' would have helped. 3 huge efforts games at home.
Something had to give.
 

John Kelly

Born Gambler
Staff member
Be the team.
Be the team.
Be the team.
Be the team.
Be the team.
Be the team.
Be the team.
Be the team.
Be the team.
Be the team.
Be the team.
Be the team.
Be the team.
Be the team.
Be the team.
Be the team.
Be the team.
Be the team.
Be the team.
Be the team.
 

Heim

EOG Master
Taurasi looked like crap tonight... physically and her play. Hoping this is her last season....
 

John Kelly

Born Gambler
Staff member
Will be watching all the WNBA action tonight.

Only one game Saturday: Las Vegas at Washington.

EDD has a broken nose.
 

John Kelly

Born Gambler
Staff member
Los Angeles 90 Indiana 84.

Game 17 of the Indiana Fever's 34-game regular season schedule.

No Candace Parker tonight as she nurses a sore ankle.

Only nine active players tonight for L.A.

Indiana Fever television analyst Deb Antonelli said, "The league is really good this year."

Really good?

Come on now.

Teams are shooting .417 from the field this season, the lowest field-goal rate since the 2003 season.

Sparks play with pace and play position-less basketball.

Phony final tonight.

Sparks led by six after one quarter, by 10 at halftime and by 24 after three quarters.

The Sparks hit the Fever with an 21-3 run to start the third quarter.

L.A.'s biggest lead was 30 at 72-42.

Indiana outscored L.A., 32-14, in a fourth-quarter scrimmage.

The Fever scored 30 of the game's final 39 points, including the last 16 points of the game in the final three minutes.

Strange.

But the Fever committed 20 turnovers at home.

Time to fire Pokey Chatman, she's awful.

Tamika Catchings should take over the team.

She's the vice president of basketball operations right now.

Chatman used all 12 players in the blowout and no player logged more than 24 minutes.

The Ogwumike sisters were both 9-for-17 from the field.

No interior defense for the Fever.

Rookie Kalani Brown appears to be improving for the Sparks.
 

John Kelly

Born Gambler
Staff member
Atlanta 60 Minnesota 53.

Damiris Dantas (calf) missed her fifth straight game for the Lynx.

Awful shooting night for both teams.

Minnesota 23-for-65 and Atlanta 24-for-71.

Atlanta was 4-for-25 (Hayes 0-for-5 and Sykes 0-for-4) from beyond the arc.

Garbage basketball.

Minnesota only attempted five free throws.

Atlanta outscored Minnesota, 23-21, in the second half.

My favorite Minnesota player is rookie Napheesa Collier, who lost only five games during her entire college career at UConn.

The Dream never trailed and enjoyed their biggest lead at 11 points.

Atlanta has now won three of its last four games after opening the season 2-9.

Hard to support either team exiting this game, however.
 
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John Kelly

Born Gambler
Staff member
Chicago 99 New York 83

Coming into the game, Chicago had lost four of five while New York had won five of six.

Curiously, New York's Asia Durr did not play but she dressed.

Hmmm...

The Sky exited a "stinging loss" to the Minnesota Lynx, according to Chicago head coach James Wade.

Numbers are not important, efficiency is everything.

Some players get their numbers (points and rebounds) but are they meaningful and are they accomplished efficiently within the team's system?

A crowd of 7,221 at Wintrust Arena for Friday night's game.

Chicago Sky television analyst Jordan Cornette knows the home team but struggles at times with the opposition.

Still, he offers outstanding commentary compared to most other WNBA analysts.

No player in the league takes more jump shots with a foot on the 3-point line than Chicago's Jantel Lavender.

Maddening.

Chicago played its best game of the season as all five starters finished in double figures.

Team shot an incredible 54% from the field.

Thirty assists on 38 field goals.

Yowza!

Do not bet against the Sky anytime soon.

New York's Amanda Zahui B., Bria Hartley and Marine Johannes are back from EuroBasket 2019.

Astou Ndour returned to the Chicago bench after winning the MVP of EuroBasket2019 while representing Spain.

Ndour is a back-up post player for the Sky.

She scored no points in 12 minutes of action.

Makes you wonder about the quality of European women's basketball.

Kia Nurse, my favorite player on the Liberty, scored 11 of her team-high 18 points in the first quarter.

Nurse's father played in the CFL and she is the niece of former NFL quarterback Donovan McNabb.

Nurse's brother plays for the NHL's Edmonton Oilers.

Chicago hit New York with a 28-2 run over the final seven minutes of the first half.

Why doesn't Diamond Deshields play with the edge she displayed against New York all the time?

Chicago should put New York on the schedule for every game.

Halftime score: Chicago 55 New York 35.

Because of the blowout nature of the game, no Chicago starter played more than 30 minutes.

Chicago's first-round draft pick Katie Lou Samuelson, featuring a heavy black wrap on her right hand, played the final 6:52 of the game, logging a -11 in the plus/minus department.

Her only shot was an air ball.

Chicago head coach James Wade has been preaching to his team, "I'm tired of us being mediocre."

Wade's tell-it-like-it-is style is refreshing,

He provides his team an emotional edge.
 
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Valuist

EOG Master
Congrats to Jewell Loyd for being named as a WNBA All-Star starter. I used to date one of her aunts a number of years ago. Jewell was just a little kid back then but very accomplished as both a tennis player and bball player. She honed her skills playing against her older brother, who would go on to start at point guard for Valparaiso.
 
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John Kelly

Born Gambler
Staff member
Congrats to Jewell Loyd for being named as a WNBA All-Star starter. I used to date one of her aunts a number of years ago. Jewell was just a little kid back then but very accomplished as both a tennis player and bball player. She honed her skills playing against her older brother, who would go on to start at point guard for Valparaiso.


Good story, Valuist.

Jewell belongs in the Notre Dame Athletes Hall of Fame but until she graduates, the school does not allow her to be enshrined.

I appreciate ND's high standards.


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John Kelly

Born Gambler
Staff member
Connecticut 79 Phoenix 64

Diana Taurasi makes her seasonal debut after undergoing back surgery on April 24.

She was cleared to play last week but suffered a slight hamstring injury during practice.

Larry Bird, Scottie Pippen, Brad Daugherty and Bill Walton famously endured back issues which effectively ended their careers.

Phoenix won five of six entering the game.

The Sun enter the game with a five-game losing streak.

They've also lost six straight against the spread.

Yikes!

Jonquel Jones picked up two fouls in the game's first minute-and-a-half.

Game tied at 17 after one quarter.

Halftime score: Phoenix 36 Connecticut 30.

Taurasi played only 16 minutes (12 minutes in the first half) and went 0-for-4 from the field.

DT shied away from contact on the defensive end of the floor.

She served as more of a facilitator (four assists) than a scorer.

First WNBA games since September 4, 2018.

Lots of WNBA players are physically sloppy, including Connecticut's Shekinna Stricklen, Rachel Banham, Brionna Jones and Morgan Tuck.

Hard to find an ABC or ESPN nationally-televised game without at least one female official and one African-American official.

DeWanna Bonner scored 20 points for Phoenix but no other player had more than 10.

Phoenix was 2-for-16 from beyond the arc.

Connecticut featured balanced scoring with six players in double figures.

Connecticut outscored Phoenix, 27-12, in the decisive third quarter.

The Sun scored the first 13 points of the second half.

I like the announcing team of Pam Ward and Rebecca Lobo calling the game.

Ward does her homework and Lobo offers excellent insight.

Sancho Lyttle missed the last 18 games last season with a torn ACL and she re-injured her left knee early in the third quarter in a collision with Jonquel Jones.

Lyttle may never return to a WNBA court.

Phoenix cut the Connecticut lead to three at 57-54 but then Essence Carson missed a layup and Alyssa Thomas raced the length of the court for a layup and one.

Jonquel Jones hit a 3-ball on the subsequent possession.

Connecticut's Bria Holmes and Alyssa Thomas are underrated players.
 

John Kelly

Born Gambler
Staff member
Natasha Howard has been married to Jacqueline for the past two-and-a-half years.

Get the divorce papers ready.
 

John Kelly

Born Gambler
Staff member

John Kelly

Born Gambler
Staff member
Seattle 95 Dallas 81

Site: American Airlines Arena on the campus of the University of Washington.

Attendance: 6400+.

Seattle lost its last three games but enjoyed a weeklong layoff before tonight's game.

Dallas started the season 0-5, but then went 5-4 over its next nine games.

Coaches are friends of nearly 40 years.

Dan Hughes is a disciple of Brian Agler's.

Jewell Loyd (ankle) still out for Seattle.

Izzy Harrison (concussion) did not dress for Dallas.

Seattle 33 Dallas 13, end of the first quarter.

Ballgame.

The Wings are limited offensively, dead last in the league in 3-point shooting percentage.

Seattle's Sami Whitcomb hit three 3-pointers in the first three minutes of the game.

She played her college ball in this gym.

Whitcomb was 1-for-9 from distance in Seattle's last game.

Seattle finished the game with 14 3-pointers from 23 attempts for a 61% rate from beyond the arc.

Halftime score: Seattle 52 Dallas 29.

The Wings are still winless (0-7) on the road this season.

Seattle announcer Dick Fain said the Storm looked as fresh as they have all season long.

Fain mentioned Seattle head coach Dan Hughes and his ability to prepare his team after an extended layoff.

Dallas committed eight turnovers in the first quarter.

Seattle recorded 28 assists on the night from 34 made baskets.

Frontcourt teammates Natasha Howard and Mercedes Russell work well together.

Two more overweight players in the WNBA: Seattle's Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis and Courtney Paris (picture coming up).

Mosqueda-Lewis is back with the team after missing time with an ankle injury.

No Seattle starter played more than 31 minutes.

Megan Rapinoe sitting courtside alongside injured Breanna Stewart.

I had to turn off the game.
 
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John Kelly

Born Gambler
Staff member
Without any overnights, a few I'll be looking at in the morning:

LA/Atlanta Under
Conn/Indiana Over
Liberty +


I don't follow the totals as closely as you, Cho.

Good luck with the three early leans.

I assume Natasha Howard will play for Seattle tomorrow.

Innocent until proven guilty.
 

John Kelly

Born Gambler
Staff member
A few injury updates:

Sancho Lyttle did NOT suffer a career-ending knee injury against Connecticut last Friday.

But she will not play Sunday against Minnesota.

Diana Taurasi is also doubtful after tweaking her back and knocking knees in her seasonal debut.

New York's Asia Durr missed last game because of a strained groin.
 

Heim

EOG Master
I feel for ATL bettors. Opened +4.5 closed +3
Sparks win by 5 in OT. 1.5-2 point move for Parker (out) not warranted imo. Maybe 5 years ago.
 

John Kelly

Born Gambler
Staff member
I feel for ATL bettors. Opened +4.5 closed +3
Sparks win by 5 in OT. 1.5-2 point move for Parker (out) not warranted imo. Maybe 5 years ago.


Indeed.

The Sparks seem to get a more focused effort with Parker on the sidelines.
 

John Kelly

Born Gambler
Staff member
Plenty of pace and plenty of opportunities but no points today in Atlanta.

L.A. shot 34.5% from the field and Atlanta only 32.9%.

Teams combined for 159 field-goal attempts in the 45-minute game.
 

John Kelly

Born Gambler
Staff member
No games today or Tuesday in the WNBA.

Easy league to follow with only 12 players on 12 teams.

Most teams feature a regular rotation of 8-10 players.

So many injuries in the league this season.

I know the product well and I'm just waiting for Wednesday morning for the early numbers to appear.

There's a game this Friday between Atlanta and Connecticut which should be a low-scoring contest.

I expect the total to hit the board in the low to mid-150's.

Fourth meeting between the two teams over the past six weeks.

Phony final last time around when the teams combined for 14 points in the game's final 39 seconds.

Shhhhhh…
 

John Kelly

Born Gambler
Staff member
If you've been betting underdogs and unders in the WNBA this season, your account balance is looking good.

UNDERDOGS are 58-39-3.

UNDERS are 59-41.
 

Heim

EOG Master
The Williams suspension is going to hurt Sparks perimeter game, plus their best perimeter defender.
 

John Kelly

Born Gambler
Staff member
The Williams suspension is going to hurt Sparks perimeter game, plus their best perimeter defender.

Indeed.

Ten-game suspension for domestic violence charge in a 34-game regular season.

She plays like a hooligan too.
 
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