WNBA Today, 08/16/2011: Liberty stop the rot; Fever keep rolling

Nothing happened in the WNBA on Monday, but there were five games Tuesday night so I figured I’d offer a little quick-fire coverage for once. We’re going to look at the games featuring Washington in New York and Indiana in San Antonio in this piece, with tonight’s other three games coming in tomorrow’s article. Apologies for the fact that this piece will only truly be released on August 16th for those on the US West Coast. Or maybe Alaska. It’ll be a nice little taster for you over breakfast if you only found it the following morning.

So first up, the latest round between the Washington Mystics and the New York Liberty. All four meetings between these two teams have occurred within the last three weeks, and tonight’s game was the third in the space of eleven days. They were probably sick of the sight of each other. After losing their last two encounters with the Mystics, both at home, New York desperately needed to win this one. They were starting to fall away from Connecticut for second-place in the Eastern standings, and dropping perilously close to the likes of Atlanta and even Chicago behind them. More simply, you’re just not supposed to lose to the freaking Mystics three times in a row. Once is pretty bad, twice is a nightmare. Three times would’ve been verging on the ridiculous. Washington are essentially playing for pride at this point, but they’ve been showing a fair amount of it lately, with some decent performances. Playing spoiler with the pressure off can be fun.

The starting fives were the usual groups for these teams, but New York’s bench was a little shorthanded. Quanitra Hollingsworth, who’s been doing a solid job as Kia Vaughn’s backup at center (and lately stealing some of her crunch time minutes as well), was out with an ankle sprain. She’s listed as day-to-day. That put extra pressure on the remaining post players – starters Vaughn and Plenette Pierson, recent addition Kara Braxton and emergency option Ta’Shia Phillips – to produce.

The early stages made it look like New York were determined to avoid that third straight defeat to the worst team in the East. Continue reading →

WNBA Today, 08/15/2011: Welcome to Big Syl’s World

Well I waited and waited, but it wasn’t to be. Unless some unlikely news is about to slide out beyond the deadline, the final day for WNBA teams to make trades this season passed without even a mild whimper. Not one single move. I’m not remotely surprised, but I am a little disappointed. Trades are fun, and they shake things up. It’s not like there are a plethora of teams who don’t need any help this season. Practically everyone has a hole somewhere, and in most cases more than one. The problem is that we’ve only got twelve teams. It’s hard to make a deal when the trading partners are so limited. Ah well, guess we’ll just have to concentrate on the basketball instead.

Two games yesterday, but the late tip involved Tulsa so it’s more like one-and-a-half. The game featuring two actual professional basketball teams was in San Antonio, where Chicago were the visitors. After losing four of their last five, and with Atlanta on a hot streak, the Sky had dropped 1.5 games out of the playoff spots in the East. It was starting to look like Pokey Chatman’s first year in charge was going to end exactly the same way as every other Sky season – counting lottery balls. So they had every reason to be up for this game. San Antonio were coming off their most impressive performance since Danielle Adams started missing games with her foot injury, a 13-point win in Connecticut that was significantly more comprehensive than that sounds. With Phoenix and Seattle having lost in previous days, San Antonio had the chance to create a little separation from those two in the Western standings if they could maintain that level of performance. Considering Chicago’s 2-9 road record, they seemed to have every chance.

However, the opening minutes of the game offered a glimpse of how the entire afternoon was going to play out. Sylvia Fowles hit a layup; Sylvia Fowles grabbed a board; Sylvia Fowles grabbed another board; Sylvia Fowles hit another layup – I think you can see the I’m trying to paint here. Continue reading →

WNBA Today, 08/14/2011: Sun rise; Fever warm; Storm rained on

Okay, before we look at last night’s games, first the really important news. Tomorrow is the WNBA’s trade deadline. After that there’ll be no longer be the possibility for LA to dump their vets, or Kara Braxton to be traded again, or practically every GM in the league to sit around doing nothing whatsoever. Oh wait, they can carry on doing that last one. Outside of free agent pickups, they’ll be stuck with what they’ve got when the clock runs out tomorrow night. Considering Braxton-for-Spencer alone makes this one of the more eventful periods leading up to a deadline in recent seasons, I’m not expecting a flurry of movement in the next 24 hours. But you never know.

I know I say this a lot, but we really are going to skate through yesterday’s games with more speed than usual. I promise. Plus the analysis is going to become briefer as we work our way through the games, because the games became progressively less competitive. First up, Connecticut hosted Washington, which despite featuring second vs. last in the Eastern Conference, was ultimately the closest game all day. The starting fives were the same as usual, and Danielle McCray even managed to open the game well enough to stay on the floor rather than being benched inside the first two minutes, as has often been the case recently.

The entire first half was nip and tuck. Connecticut were cold from outside early on, which allowed Washington to develop a 17-10 lead, but that quickly disappeared once McCray and Tina Charles hit a couple of shots. From there, no one could break away, and the scoreline was repeatedly tied or separated by only a single point. The Mystics were hot from downtown, with Marissa Coleman and Kelly Miller especially firing away and hitting more than they missed. Even power forward Crystal Langhorne knocked down her first triple of the season. Connecticut couldn’t find any consistent offensive rhythm, but created enough turnovers and scrambled enough points to stay right in the contest. In fact, the Sun led 44-43 at halftime, a surprisingly high-scoring game for these teams.

Connecticut came out for the second half with a clear mandate to pound the ball inside with Charles. She wasn’t scoring much, but she was drawing repeated fouls, including Langhorne’s fourth of the game inside the first minute of the third quarter. Whenever you can force the other team’s best player to the bench, something’s going right. Continue reading →

WNBA Today, 08/13/2011: Sometimes, prayers are answered

Who knew that the basketball gods were WNBAlien readers? The day after I give in, admit defeat and ask for close games over any kind of tedious blowout, they deliver with three nailbiters. They even spaced the schedule out nicely so that the games didn’t clash. Do you think they only deal with basketball, or would the same powerful beings respond if I asked for Megan Fox?

While I wait for Megan to arrive, let’s take a look at last night’s games. Forgive me if I gloss over the first 35 minutes of most of them – we’ve got a lot of crunch time to deal with today. The opening game of the evening was in Washington, where the Mystics had returned to their familiar style of finding a way to lose against Atlanta on Tuesday night. Yesterday the visitors were New York, who were looking for revenge after losing in the same arena less than a week earlier. When you’re fighting for playoff position, you’re not really supposed to lose to the worst team in the East once, never mind twice.

There was nothing much in it for most of the first quarter as the teams felt each other out, but late in the first and running into the second, the Liberty made a push. It was mostly on threes that they built their advantage, with rookie Alex Montgomery knocking down a couple, Leilani Mitchell adding one and then Nicole Powell joining in. In the face of the barrage, Washington lost their rhythm and started turning the ball over, which only made it more difficult to halt the tide. New York led 34-21 by the middle of the second period.

Matee Ajavon, the primary perimeter weapon for Washington most of this season, had been kept quiet to that point. Directly up against former college teammates Cappie Pondexter and Essence Carson, you never know quite how a player is going to respond to facing people who know her game inside and out. Continue reading →

WNBA Today, 08/12/2011: Let there be blowouts

You may have heard me talk in the past of the basketball gods. The supernatural beings who rule over out beloved game. Well last night, they were toying with me. After my complaints about all the defensive slugfests we’ve had to sit through in recent weeks, they decided to show me just how tedious an evening of basketball can be – high-scoring or not – when everything’s a blowout. So we had three games, all involved at least a moderate amount of points, and none of them were particularly engaging. Unless you happened to be a fan of one of the winning sides. I give in, oh creatures of unnatural power; give me a 57-56 defensive duel every night if it’s going to come down to the wire. Enough with the games that are over by halftime.

The night got underway in Connecticut, where if you’d had to bet on one team winning in a landslide, it would’ve been the Sun. Their 9-1 home record has been the bedrock of their season, and until recently it was pretty much the only place they could win (Washington doesn’t count). San Antonio came into town having lost four of their last five, including an ass-kicking in Indiana last time out. Without Danielle Adams they’ve struggled to score against good defensive teams, and over the course of the season that group has included the Sun.

But there’s a reason that they play the games. Continue reading →

WNBA Today, 08/11/2011: Everybody’s Still Playing!

On to the second-half of Tuesday night’s WNBA sextuple-header. Apologies to the fans that had to wait until I got to their team – there are only so many hours in the day, even for me. Plus, y’know, abject laziness tends to play a part too.

Atlanta and Washington went into their game on Tuesday night as technically the bottom two teams in the Eastern Conference, although the Dream only sat behind Chicago on percentage points. The comments to the press from Mystics brass about still making a playoff push were pure PR spin, but if they had even a miniscule belief that it was possible this game was a must win. Chasing down Chicago and Atlanta was only ever going to be possible if they won all their remaining games against the those teams. After blowing out New York on Saturday, the Mystics also should’ve been heading into this game with renewed confidence that they were capable of winning games. Coming off their own overwhelming win over Seattle on Sunday, the Dream were hardly lacking in belief either.

After spraining her ankle in the game against Seattle, Armintie Price was replaced by Coco Miller in Atlanta’s starting lineup. Price was in uniform, but stayed on the bench – for the time being. Continue reading →

WNBA Today, 08/10/2011: Everybody plays!

So, six games yesterday in the WNBA, because apparently the league wants to punish me for something I did in a previous life. However, they made the mistake of leaving today free, which means I can spread things out. In this column you get the top teams from either conference, because if you’re in first you earn the right to be discussed first. Plus I threw in the LA-Tulsa game because I figure barely anyone watched it so a recap might be useful. The other three games will be covered tomorrow. The WNBA’s plan to exhaust me by overloading their schedule on certain days is foiled again.

So we start out with Indiana, looking to rebound from their disappointing loss in Chicago on Sunday with a home game against San Antonio. The Fever haven’t had to face a great deal of adversity this season, besides working out what to do when Briann January went down (which was a pretty straightforward decision). Losing one game to the Sky was hardly a disaster, but the manner of the 19-point loss to a team that they’ve dominated in the past necessitated a response. You don’t want games like that to linger. San Antonio have been patchy themselves lately, losing three straight before beating Tulsa by just eight points on Saturday. The recent record would look a lot prettier if they’d had just a little more luck in either of two last-second losses to Minnesota, but their offense has struggled at times since Danielle Adams suffered her foot injury. They’re still battling for wins, but everything becomes more difficult when you lose a key weapon.

The first quarter was dominated by defense. There were several turnovers on either side, but this was less the sloppy giveaways that we’ve seen from teams like Tulsa, LA, Phoenix and Seattle this season, more two hard-nosed defenses fighting each other tooth and nail. These were forced turnovers, not aimless passes sailing over teammates’ heads for no good reason. Continue reading →

WNBA Today, 08/09/2011: Sextuple Tuesday

Yes, six games tonight in the WNBA, as every team in the league takes to the floor. In honour of that (and the fact that there were no games yesterday), WNBAlien brings you some game notes and things to watch out for in all six contests.


Atlanta @ Washington, 7pm ET (ESPN3 in the US, LiveAccess in most other places)

This one could actually be pretty interesting. The Mystics have played some decent stuff lately, finally grabbing their fourth win of the year against New York on Saturday. They also keep claiming that they’re still chasing a playoff spot, and if they honestly believe that then this is one of the games that they have to win – Chicago and Atlanta are the obvious suspects to track down if they were to somehow pull it off.

Crystal Langhorne and Matee Ajavon have been carrying Washington of late, Ajavon especially exploding against New York, but they may struggle against Atlanta’s weapons. The Dream can match up with the Mystics’ speed, although after Armintie Price hurt her ankle in the last game they might be without the most natural option to guard Ajavon. An increasingly healthy Sancho Lyttle could make things difficult for Langhorne inside, but when she’s in the mood Lang can score against anybody. On the opposite side of the ball, Marissa Coleman’s defense may be improved from what it once was, but it’s still hard to see how she’ll keep up with Angel McCoughtry. The Mystics defense will have to be alive and offer Coleman a lot of help to keep McCoughtry quiet.

After two disappointing losses, Atlanta creamed Seattle on Sunday afternoon, and will be looking to carry that momentum on into this game. Continue reading →

WNBA Today, 08/08/2011: Lesson One – Turnovers are Bad

A quad-game Sunday in the WNBA this week, and we’re going to start at the very beginning – because apparently it’s a very good place to start. Seattle went into Philips Arena in Atlanta on a three-game win streak, but also with a 4-7 road record for the season that’s a little misleading. Two of the wins were in Tulsa, one in Washington, and only the victory in Phoenix just after the All-Star break really meant anything. This is a team that’s still struggling to perform without the support of the Key Arena crowd. That simultaneously makes winning a few of these games even more vital, because they’re in a three-way battle with San Antonio and Phoenix for second-place in the Western Conference. Which would result in home-court advantage for at least one round of the playoffs. Hopefully Lauren Jackson will be back by then, and perhaps lower the Storm’s reliance on their own floor, but that #2 spot could mean more to them than any of their rivals.

Atlanta are in the midst of their own playoff battle, but in their case it’s a matter of overtaking Chicago to even make the postseason. Losses to New York and Connecticut in their last couple of games haven’t helped, so they needed to get back to winning ways. Head coach Marynell Meadors shook up her starting lineup in the hope that it would reenergise her team, reinserting Angel McCoughtry and Sancho Lyttle as the starting forwards. It’s still unclear exactly why McCoughtry was ever removed, but it makes sense to open the game with your leader and star on the floor. With Lyttle, it was just a matter of waiting until she seemed healthy enough to take her place – she’s clearly the best option at power forward for this team, as long as she’s in one piece.

The opening stages were, unfortunately for the Storm, a microcosm of the entire 40 minutes. Continue reading →

WNBA Today, 08/07/2011: It’s a Kind of Magic

Two games in the WNBA on Saturday, one East, one West, and each featuring the worst team in the respective conference. So it was another night of blowouts and garbage time, right? Not so fast.

The Washington Mystics have been playing slightly better basketball lately. They’d lost nine of their last ten and sported a hideous 3-14 overall record coming into this game, but they keep coming close. In fact, their last four games were lost by seven, six, four and two points, in that order. Keep up the pattern, and barring an even more excruciating one-point loss, they had to finally win this one. New York broke their own pattern on Thursday, finally winning two games in a row for the first time in weeks. But they managed it by beating Chicago in one of the more hideous games the WNBA has seen in recent times, so we’re trying to forget that one.

Recent Liberty addition Kara Braxton was yet to join the team, although Sidney Spencer has already made her way to Phoenix, so New York were down to ten for this game. Washington’s injury issues are still the same – no Beard, no Currie. The first quarter set the scene for most of what was to follow – in other words, it belonged to Matee Ajavon. Continue reading →