Monthly Archives: June 2012

WNBA Today, 06/02/2012: Four times the fun

The WNBA really isn’t being considerate of people like me when they put four or five games on the same night (or on the very occasional insane evening, six). Don’t they realise just how much watching, note-taking and writing that results in? Anyway, four games last night, and as always WNBAlien has coverage of all of them for you. As you might expect, we’re going Bullet Point Breakdown style, and trying to keep it moderately succinct.

 

Minnesota Lynx 85 @ Connecticut Sun 72

  • The slate opened with the big matchup of two undefeated teams. Minnesota started their standard five, with Taj McWilliams-Franklin having shaken off the back pain suffered in their last game. Connecticut promoted Kalana Greene back into their starting lineup to replace Allison Hightower, and had Tan White now fit enough to contribute off the bench.
  • Messy first quarter, too much sloppy play from the Lynx, too many bricks from the Sun. Monica Wright, off the Minnesota bench, was the only bright spot.
  • By halftime it was still tight, with Minnesota up 38-36. Massive discrepancies in key statistical categories were all balancing each other out. Connecticut were shooting only 31% to Minnesota’s 49%, thanks to far too many perimeter jumpers that wouldn’t fall. Minnesota were trailing 13-6 on the offensive glass, giving the Sun far too many second chances. And the Lynx had 12 turnovers to Connecticut’s 4. Minnesota have been disappointingly careless with the ball in a few games so far, but been good enough to play through it.
  • Maya Moore was having a wildly ineffective, desperately quiet game, just as she did last year in her only return to the state where she starred in college. Good thing Wright had stepped up to fill in. Continue reading →

WNBA Today, 06/01/2012: Phoenix go down in flames

Only one matchup in the WNBA last night, and it ended up being more like half-a-matchup. The Phoenix Mercury travelled to Atlanta without their leader and star, Diana Taurasi, due to her hip flexor injury. Already without their other best player, Penny Taylor, due to her ACL tear prior to the season, the Mercury are going to be scrambling to survive for as long as Taurasi is out. This was their first test since it was decided that she’d be unavailable ‘indefinitely’.

Atlanta have had some struggles of their own to start the season. A comprehensive win over New York was sandwiched between two heavy defeats to Indiana, which highlighted how much they’re going to miss Erika de Souza while she prepares for the Olympics with Brazil. An opportunity to open up their running game against the short-handed, defense-allergic Mercury seemed like the perfect opportunity to improve their confidence – and their record.

Phoenix promoted Charde Houston into the starting lineup to replace Taurasi, which makes either Houston or DeWanna Bonner the nominal shooting guard. It’s hard to tell which way round they are, and it doesn’t make much difference in Phoenix’s system. Atlanta rolled out the same starters that had opened their previous two games.

The opening possessions were a mess, with sloppy passing and multiple breakdowns for Phoenix, while Atlanta were firing up a host of bricks from outside. Continue reading →

WNBA Today, 05/31/2012: Champs survive a scare

Because today’s column is already running late, we’re going Bullet Point Breakdown on both of last night’s games, and keeping it brief (compared to the usual diatribes, anyway). Tomorrow’s post will be significantly earlier, I promise.

 

Minnesota Lynx 79 @ Washington Mystics 77

  • Same starting fives as last time out for both teams, with Washington resisting the temptation to promote Matee Ajavon from the bench despite the fairly obvious fact that she’s their best guard. People worry too much about starting spots, anyway.
  • The first half was an absolute massacre, and made it look like this game would be about as newsworthy as some of Minnesota’s other blowout victories so far this year.
  • The Lynx were playing with speed and confidence, moving the ball up the court quickly and knocking down the open shot. Washington were struggling to create anything easy. There were some pretty offensive plays from Seimone Augustus, Maya Moore and Monica Wright, anything that didn’t go in was being hoovered up by Rebekkah Brunson’s typically voracious rebounding, and Minnesota just flat-out dominated. Continue reading →