Tag Archives: Atlanta Dream

WNBA Today, 09/10/2012: Sunday afternoon’s for basketball too

Paying no heed to the opening Sunday of the NFL season, there were five WNBA games on the slate yesterday. But we’ll get to those in a moment – unusually, there’s been some moderately worthwhile news emerging from our league over the last 24 hours.

Firstly, as announced by Cindy Brunson at the WNBA’s Inspiring Women Luncheon (and then first reported by Mel Greenberg via @womhoopsguru), the WNBA draft lottery will be televised by ESPN for the first time on September 26th. That’s much earlier than they’ve held the lottery before, but it should help build some buzz for the league heading into the playoffs. The extra interest this year obviously surrounds the 2013 graduating class that’s led by Baylor center Brittney Griner, with Elena Delle Donne and Skylar Diggins considered pretty nice consolation prizes. It’s good to see both the League and ESPN showing that they’re invested in coming up with new ways to draw people into the WNBA, and get them talking about its potential.

The WNBA also announced today that they’re bringing back the concept of involving fans in the Most Valuable Player Award voting. It’s something they tried in 2008 when Candace Parker won the award, but there’s been a little more thought (and significantly more sense) put into the idea this time. Four years ago the fan voting was weighted as 25% of the overall vote, with the media balloting accounting for the remaining 75%. This time, the entire fan vote will count equal to one media member, with the results sliding in alongside the 41 individual voters. So rather than 25%, the fans’ opinions will be worth about 2.4% this time around. That’s a much better idea, if they really want to give the great unwashed a hand in the MVP award. Many of the media who are given a voice may not actually watch enough games for my taste, but the MVP shouldn’t be allowed to become just a popularity contest. Even I will take the media over the general populace in a vote like this. If you want to join in, you can vote daily here.

In less pleasing news for the WNBA, Mechelle Voepel at ESPN.com published a piece last night revealing that Kayla Pedersen and Temeka Johnson have both missed games recently due to yet another staph infection hitting the Tulsa Shock. It’s the third time in three years that Tulsa players have suffered from staph issues, and it’s not something that paints the franchise or the league in a nice light. It’s also slightly disappointing in the way it highlights the obvious lies that get spouted by teams and the league in relation to injuries. Pedersen was out with ‘flu-like symptoms’, and then just out with no explanation; Johnson had an ‘ankle/abdominal injury’. All of that might be true, but it’s also obviously an attempt to fudge reality.

While Voepel was revealing that unsavoury news on ESPN’s online portal, the TV branch was messing around with their schedules. In case you were expecting to see the Seattle @ Indiana game on ESPN2 on Wednesday night, be aware that you’ll now need either NBA TV or LiveAccess to see that game. Instead, ESPN2 will now be showing the far less interesting Connecticut @ Phoenix game several hours later. The Sun have also already stated that star center Tina Charles will be staying home from that game to rest hip and groin injuries, and recover from general fatigue.

And having got all that out of the way, let’s take a look at the basketball that was actually played yesterday.

 

Minnesota Lynx 81 @ San Antonio Silver Stars 62

  • While San Antonio are back in one piece after center Jayne Appel returned on Friday, Minnesota began this game with star guard and leading scorer Seimone Augustus in street clothes. She was out due to a sprained foot suffered against Atlanta a couple of days ago (although she had been ready to go back into that game, so it’s unlikely that it’s particularly serious). Monica Wright replaced her in the starting lineup. Continue reading →

WNBA Today, 09/08/2012: Finals Rematch Produces Instant Classic

There were five WNBA games played last night (all of them overlapping – thanks for making my job as difficult as possible, WNBA). All of them had at least some relevance to playoff positioning or qualification, but ultimately one stood head and shoulders above the others in terms of pure entertainment value. So it gets its own column (the other four games will be covered in another piece later tonight).

In a lot of ways, Atlanta’s visit to Minnesota was one of the least meaningful games played last night. The Lynx had opened up a four-game lead at the top of the West, and it’s going to take something unlikely to shift Atlanta out of third in the East before the playoffs. But neither team was going to treat this game lightly.

Minnesota have been rolling since the Olympics, winning all seven games before this encounter (9 in a row including games prior to the break). However, their bench has been in something of a slump, and this was one of only two home games left for the Lynx in the regular season. This was no time to relax. The Dream are still in recovery mode after the departure of head coach and general manager Marynell Meadors, and the return of Angel McCoughtry from suspension. Recent wins over Connecticut and Indiana have shown signs of piecing things back together, but they need to keep that push going heading into the postseason. There’s also the basic fact that the Lynx swept them in the WNBA Finals last year, beat them again a couple of weeks ago, and could well be awaiting Atlanta if they find a way to the Finals again next month. The Dream were tired of losing to this team.

The starting fives were as anticipated, which meant McCoughtry coming off the bench again (based on how she’s played so far, that doesn’t seem to be bothering her. Yet). The opening minutes were ugly, with neither team making anything, but when the points did start to flow, it was only at one end of the floor. It was all Atlanta. The Dream weren’t just on top; they were dominating on Minnesota’s own floor. Continue reading →

WNBA Today, 09/07/2012: Dream hold off Fever in likely playoff preview, while it’s blowout-city elsewhere

Apologies for the lack of update yesterday – your WNBAlien correspondent was at the Paralympic wheelchair basketball, watching the USA lose to Australia in the semi-finals for a change. For the record, the women’s semi ended with the kind of screw-job by the officials that would’ve caused years of bitching and moaning from Americans, if it happened in a version of the game they actually pay some attention to. Fortunately for the referees in question, the Paralympics appears to be an even smaller blip on the radar in the US than the WNBA.

So, back to our regularly scheduled programming. In an effort to catch up, we’re going to discuss the one game from the last couple of days that’s worth talking about in detail, then Bullet Point Breakdown the remaining two (which were such consummate blowouts there’s not much to go into). So first up, the probable playoff preview from Wednesday night in Atlanta.

Indiana were the Dream’s visitors, and while nothing’s set in stone just yet, there’s a strong chance that these teams will be meeting in the first round of the postseason. Indiana had narrowed the gap with Connecticut at the top of the Eastern Conference to two games before this matchup, but it’s still going to take a strong finish to have any chance of overhauling the Sun. Atlanta, even while enduring the recent mess surrounding their coaching change and Angel McCoughtry, have continued to win enough games to comfortably hold off New York and Chicago in third. So there was a little extra spice to this game, because everyone knew going in that they were likely to meet again in three weeks’ time, in far more meaningful circumstances.

Indiana opened the game with the same starting five we’ve grown used to; Atlanta still had Angel McCoughtry coming off the bench behind rookie Tiffany Hayes, although Armintie Price regained her starting spot ahead of Cathrine Kraayeveld at the other wing spot. Inside five minutes, Price had picked up two fouls, leading to another sign that the Dream’s recent history is starting to be put behind them. When the same thing had happened a couple of weeks ago (while Marynell Meadors was still running the team), Kraayeveld came into the game as Price’s replacement, sending a message to McCoughtry. This time, McCoughtry subbed in. The franchise is trying to move on, and the only reason Angel is still a ‘reserve’ at this point is that Hayes has played so well as a starter. Continue reading →

WNBA Today, 09/03/2012: Atlanta’s conquering heroine returns, while Sparks are exposed again

Maybe the USA should have more public holidays. Two WNBA games yesterday, and anyone who took the time to catch them during Labor Day weekend saw some decidedly entertaining basketball. Or for those of us in different countries, it was just a nice Sunday.

The games began with what hopefully was also a conclusion. Atlanta were hosting Connecticut, and Angel McCoughtry was in uniform and ready to play. She’d missed two games prior to Marynell Meadors’s departure as Dream head coach and general manager, then missed two more while ‘indefinitely suspended’ by Meadors’s replacement, Fred Williams. On Wednesday, he’d reportedly presented her with a written list of requirements that she needed to sign and comply with before being reinstated to the team. Presumably, she’d agreed to his terms, because Angel was back.

Not back in the starting lineup just yet, however. Rookie guard Tiffany Hayes continued to start, and the only change for Atlanta was Cathrine Kraayeveld beginning the game ahead of Armintie Price (possibly because Price missed a practice to attend a funeral, rather than a strange coach’s decision). Connecticut once again had Kelsey Griffin starting at power forward, with Asjha Jones and Mistie Mims still out due to injury. The Sun post corps is scraping by with about two-and-a-half options at the moment.

Besides the inevitable McCoughtry drama, the post is where much of the interest lies in this matchup. Connecticut were a better team than Atlanta for much of last season, and finished ahead of them in the standings, earning home-court advantage for their first-round playoff series. But largely because of the job that Erika de Souza did on Sun star center Tina Charles, Atlanta swept Connecticut out of the postseason. With Erika having skipped the first half of the 2012 WNBA season to prepare for the Olympics with Brazil, this was their first encounter since that playoff series (meaningless USA-Brazil international friendlies don’t count).

The big centers started going at each other from the opening possessions. Charles wasn’t backing down, but as always the physicality of de Souza was making things difficult for her. Erika forces Charles to work hard for everything she gets, including the initial post position she can set up in. While many of the efforts were moves and shots that she typically takes against everyone, it was noticeable that every attempt Charles took in the early stages – and for most of the rest of the game – was either a face-up jump shot, or a post move that took her away from the basket. Practically nothing was with Charles moving towards the rim. Continue reading →

WNBA Today, 08/31/2012: Five games, zero trades

Apologies for the lateness of this posting, but while yesterday was the trade deadline in the WNBA, today was the transfer deadline for English Premier League soccer teams. And because something actually happens on deadline day over here, following those events was higher up my priority list than detailing last night’s WNBA action.

In case there’s anyone still wondering, no trades whatsoever took place before the WNBA deadline. No big deal for Angel McCoughtry, no tiny deal for the 11th player on the end of a lottery team’s bench. In Connecticut, Tan White signed contract extension for an extra year and Jessica Moore was signed through the end of this season. That was it for transaction news league-wide. Ah well, maybe next year. On to the basketball.

 

Indiana Fever 76 @ New York Liberty 63 and

Washington Mystics 59 @ Atlanta Dream 82

  • Yes, for the first time in WNBAlien history (but probably not the last) we’re combining two games into one Bullet Point Breakdown entry. Two tight but exceedingly dull first-halves led into comfortable second-half victories, so this is all they deserve.
  • New York and Indiana had their expected starting fives on the floor again, while Atlanta and Washington were also both the same as in their previous appearances. Which meant Matee Ajavon kept her starting spot for the Mystics, and Angel McCoughtry was still nowhere to be seen for the Dream.
  • Again, remarkably tedious first-halves. In New York, Indiana’s offense was largely coming down to whether Tamika Catchings and Katie Douglas could hit shots, and their limited accuracy kept the Fever’s offense from being particularly effective. The Liberty themselves were turning the ball over so often that they barely even seemed to have the chance to take a shot. Indiana led 30-26 at halftime.
  • Meanwhile in Atlanta, the turnovers were just as plentiful, but more evenly spread between the opponents. Sancho Lyttle – thank the heavens – was looking to pass more from the top of the arc rather than fire up threes, but the Dream were missing a host of layups even when they held on to the ball long enough to shoot. Between Crystal Langhorne’s ability to actually finish inside and Monique Currie hitting a few shots, Washington were actually competitive in the first half, and finished it up 33-31. Continue reading →

WNBA Today, 08/29/2012 (Part Two): …and the Basketball

Yes, in amongst all the off-court shenanigans, they’re still playing some games. However, if the players can do whatever the hell they want, so can I. So chronology is going out the window today, and the Bullet Point Breakdown is kicking off with far and away the most entertaining game of the evening. Who cares if it was the last one to finish? Coverage of all the other games is here as well, you just have to scroll down a little.

 

San Antonio Silver Stars 84 @ Minnesota Lynx 96

  • While the maelstrom has been whirling elsewhere, both these teams just keep on riding the waves. Minnesota came in having won six straight, while San Antonio’s only loss in their last 14 games was last week in Los Angeles. Both teams had their well-established starting lineups out there to open the contest.
  • The matchups when these teams face each other continue to be absolutely fascinating. Compared to most teams, Minnesota are big on the perimeter. Lindsay Whalen isn’t huge, but she’s muscular and physical for a point guard; Seimone Augustus and Maya Moore are both pretty tall and strong for wings. San Antonio, on the other hand, are kinda tiny. Danielle Robinson and Becky Hammon make a diminutive backcourt, and while Shameka Christon is a similar size to Augustus and Moore, 5’8” Jia Perkins sees plenty of minutes as the de facto small forward. So inevitably, San Antonio has to deal with Minnesota shooters by using significantly smaller defenders on them, challenging as much as possible, and sending help. The Lynx, at the same time, have to worry about keeping up with the quick and tricky Silver Star guards.
  • Minnesota coach Cheryl Reeve blinked first in the initial chess match, replacing Whalen and Moore with Candice Wiggins and Monica Wright less than 4 minutes into the game. That fixes the matchup problems for San Antonio, because there are instantly enough smaller players on the floor for them to guard more naturally. It was odd to see Reeve make that move even earlier than her usual rotation would dictate.
  • While the use of Hammon to defend Moore in the past has been particularly interesting and effective – and we saw that again periodically throughout this game – San Antonio also seem to have developed a fondness for using Robinson to guard Augustus. Presumably it’s because they like Robinson’s ability to use her quickness chasing Augustus around all the screens that Minnesota set for her, and at least be somewhere near her to challenge on jump shots. Because in straight-up matchups, Augustus can shoot right over her.
  • This was a fun game, played by two teams that are obviously brimming with confidence. Both teams were more than happy to push the pace whenever they had the chance, and both have the necessary team ethos to play effective defense. Neither could create much separation on the scoreboard. Continue reading →

WNBA Today, 08/29/2012 (Part One): The Drama

Edited to add: After writing, the Associated Press stated that Fred Williams had given Angel McCoughtry a written list of requirements she must sign and comply with before he will consider reinstating her. None of that changes anything written below.

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There’s been so much off-court nonsense going on around the WNBA this week, that we’re splitting today’s coverage into two parts: first up, the soap operas.

Back in Atlanta yet again, even with Marynell Meadors removed from her position as head coach and general manager, the drama continues unabated. Just as last night’s home game against Tulsa was tipping off, the broadcasters revealed that star player Angel McCoughtry had been suspended indefinitely by the team, news that was quickly confirmed by the franchise.

Beyond adding to the impression that the Dream are in disarray, all this does is raise more questions. Primarily, if McCoughtry was going to be suspended for whatever she’s done in recent days and weeks, why was Meadors fired in the first place? The widespread impression has been that there was a power struggle which was won by McCoughtry when Meadors was forced out, but apparently there’s still dissatisfaction or conflict remaining. Alternatively, McCoughtry did something else – on top of whatever she’d done to aggravate Meadors – in the 24 hours following the promotion of Fred Williams as the new head coach and GM. Which seems ridiculous, but at this point would hardly be a surprise.

Of course, this could just be a small effort by Williams and/or the Dream ownership to try to suggest that McCoughtry isn’t running the franchise. Get rid of the coach just like she wanted, suspend her ‘indefinitely’ for a couple of games, then bring her back with everything forgiven. Watching from the outside, it certainly seemed like Meadors was dumped at McCoughtry’s behest. If that was the case, any coach coming in – whether Williams or someone else in future – would’ve known that they had to kowtow to McCoughtry to keep their job. A suspension at leaves gives some mild sign that maybe – to borrow Geno Auriemma’s choice of metaphor – the inmates aren’t completely running the asylum. Continue reading →

WNBA Today, 08/26/2012: Superstars return, as WNBA leaders keep on winning

So with four games yesterday in the WNBA, and four comfortable wins for the obvious favourites, most of the interest was focussed on the soap operas. Would Angel McCoughtry return from her ‘personal reasons’ for Atlanta? Would Dream coach Marynell Meadors let her? Would Diana Taurasi finally play for Phoenix? Or would her dog eat her shoelace to keep her off the floor? Would the stars of Los Angeles and New York become so tired of all the attention drifting elsewhere that they’d start a fight to compete?

Well that last one’s a little unfair, but I had to throw in something from the other games. On to the Bullet Point Breakdown, where all will be revealed.

 

Minnesota Lynx 84 @ Atlanta Dream 74

  • As reported by Rebecca Lobo and her ESPN cohorts an hour or two before tip-off, McCoughtry was in uniform and ready to play in the nationally televised rematch of last year’s WNBA Finals. But there was still no coherent explanation for the absence, and Angel was ‘no longer a captain’ (they used to have three, now it’s just Armintie Price and Sancho Lyttle). So something happened, but we still don’t know exactly what.
  • Tiffany Hayes kept her starting spot ahead of McCoughtry. Minnesota, typically free from drama, had their standard five on the floor.
  • As she’d already illustrated in the two games Angel spent off-court, Hayes is developing into a pretty useful alternative. She was the one driving into the paint to create offense for Atlanta in the early minutes, while Minnesota settled for – and missed – a series of perimeter shots.
  • Barely three minutes into the game, Meadors got to make a pretty obvious point to her returning star. Armintie Price had picked up two quick fouls, and the straight swap off the bench would clearly have been McCoughtry. Instead, Meadors went to Cathrine Kraayeveld, who’s barely a small forward at the best of times – never mind when Maya Moore and Monica Wright are playing that spot for the other team. That was a pointed “the team’s bigger than you, Angel” statement from the coach. Continue reading →

WNBA Today, 08/25/2012: Who needs Angel? And Sky suffering continues

Just two games last night in the WNBA, and it wasn’t exactly the high-flying, top-end teams providing the entertainment. In fact, heading into the matchups, the four franchises were a combined 27-59 this season. But as a Dolphins fan whose other option was watching that miserable team slog their way through another preseason defeat, basement-dwelling WNBA basketball was looking pretty appetising. And just because they’re down at the bottom, doesn’t mean the games can’t be close and exciting.

First up, we had Atlanta’s trip to Washington. The miserable Mystics actually won a game last week (albeit over one of the poor teams we’ll look at later), so at least they’d found some shred of light in the darkness of their 2012 WNBA season. Atlanta had played some decent basketball since the Olympic break, but were still dealing with the essentially unexplained absence of Angel McCoughtry. So they were only the favourites for this game, rather than the vastly overwhelming favourites.

Atlanta once again went with rookie Tiffany Hayes to fill McCoughtry’s spot, while Washington coach Trudi Lacey had decided she was done with this bizarre idea of playing a consistent lineup, and brought Noelle Quinn back in for Matee Ajavon. In fairness, when you keep losing games, you search for anything different that might help turn the tide.

The yin and yang, joy and frustration of Atlanta forward Sancho Lyttle was illustrated within the space of the opening few minutes. She started the game up on the low block, taking an entry pass, which was nice to see. Then she drifted out to beyond the arc, jacked up a three that missed, and following an Armintie Price offensive board, threw up another jumper from only slightly closer. Brick number two. Then she used those long limbs to poke the ball away from Crystal Langhorne, drove hard from the low post to score in the lane over Langhorne, then moments later ran the floor hard and knocked down another short finish in the lane. These are the things that are great about Lyttle. She can jump out of the gym to score over anyone, she’s got nice touch, she’s a strong defender – but that fondness she’s developed for outside jump shots is aggravating. Okay Sancho, we get it, you can shoot the three now. But you’re shooting 29% out there, and your overall field-goal percentage has plummeted to a career-low of 43%. More of those interior finishes, less of those bombs from 18-feet and out. Please.

As for the overall basketball game, it was about what we’ve come to expect from most Mystics games. Their defense was breaking down constantly, with the number of open layups for Atlanta frankly embarrassing. Offensively, the Mystics were giving the ball up far too cheaply, as lazy, sloppy turnovers once again plagued them. Atlanta happily grabbed the turnovers and ran, as they invariably do, and started to build a lead. It didn’t take long to hit double-digits, and it kept getting bigger. Continue reading →

WNBA Today, 08/23/2012: McCoughtry mystery, while Dream pile on Sky’s misery

Last night the WNBA finally offered up an opportunity to concentrate on a specific matchup, rather than splitting our attention between at least three games. The Chicago Sky made the trip down to Atlanta in a desperate state. They’d lost seven games in a row, and 11 of their last 12. They’d also been beaten at home by New York only the night before, a defeat that left them perilously close to giving up their playoff position in the standings. Not helping matters, leading scorer Epiphanny Prince twisted her right ankle late in that game, in only her second game back after breaking a bone in the same foot. Star center Sylvia Fowles limped off in the final minute as well. Both started against the Dream, but neither looked 100% healthy.

Atlanta had their own issues. They’d beaten this same Chicago team in their first game after the Olympic break, then been turned over fairly comfortably by Indiana the following night. Given New York’s level of performance for the first half of the year, and Chicago’s collapse, Atlanta’s playoff spot had begun to look fairly secure. But a glance at the standings showed that if they dropped this contest, the Sky would move within half-a-game of them and seal the tie-breaker over the Dream. It was a big game for Atlanta to cement their position in the East.

Matters were complicated when it was revealed that star scorer Angel McCoughtry wouldn’t play for Atlanta, for what were described only as ‘personal reasons’ by head coach Marynell Meadors. McCoughtry was at the game, and smiled happily through a pre-game ceremony honouring her and Meadors for winning gold in London. Backup center Yelena Leuchanka was also in street clothes (no one seems to have bothered to ask or report what’s wrong with her). However, while Leuchanka sat with her teammates on the bench and cheered along with them, McCoughtry was on the other side of the floor sitting opposite the Sky bench throughout the game. She didn’t even join the player huddle after the game finished, as far as I could see. Asked afterwards if McCoughtry would play in Atlanta’s next game, Meadors said “I don’t know. I can’t answer that.” So no one outside the organisation seems to know what the hell is going on. McCoughtry’s rubbed coaches and teammates the wrong way with her attitude in the past, so it could be that this is a tacit suspension for something she did, without officially suspending her. It could be a health issue that wasn’t obvious, which the team don’t want to reveal. Maybe there actually is some kind of personal reason that allowed her to attend but not play. At this point, your guess is as good as mine.

Anyway, on to the basketball. Continue reading →