Tag Archives: Chicago Sky

WNBA Today, 09/01/2013: Favourites all take care of business as playoff picture continues to clear

 

Four games on Saturday night in the WNBA, all four won in varying degrees of comfort by the favourites. So the playoff picture is continuing to resolve itself – mostly by default because we’re running out of games – but there weren’t exactly a lot of shocks to go around. With two weeks to go in the regular season, if you can’t make a pretty good guess at what’s coming by now, you haven’t been paying attention.

 

Los Angeles Sparks 80 @ San Antonio Silver Stars 67

  • At stake in this one: Los Angeles continue to chase Minnesota for the #1 seed in the West, coming into the day one game back. As a sideline, Chicago are right up with the pair of them for home-court advantage in a theoretical WNBA Finals. San Antonio were still in with a mathematical chance of chasing down Phoenix or Seattle for a playoff spot, albeit a very small chance. Bizarrely enough, a Silver Stars loss in this game would confirm Seattle’s place in the postseason, while Phoenix would still be catchable – despite Seattle sitting in fourth while Phoenix were in third. Schedules, tie-breakers and mathematics can be strange bedfellows.

 

  • LA had their usual starting lineup, and their roster as healthy as ever, but San Antonio began the game with yet another new starting unit. Danielle Robinson was still out with strained/sprained knee (the team have used both words to describe it), and now her replacement Davellyn Whyte was missing as well (reportedly with a foot problem). That shifted Shenise Johnson over alongside Jia Perkins in the backcourt, with Shameka Christon coming in to start on the wing. It’s a perimeter that had some success in their win over Tulsa the night before, but obviously their bench became even shorter.

 

  • While LA led by as many as 11, it was ultimately a fairly tight first half. The Sparks were looking to push whenever they could, but becoming a little ponderous and static when forced into halfcourt sets. San Antonio started slowly but came back into the game late in the first quarter through better defensive energy and Jia Perkins making plays on offense. Dan Hughes would love to have Perkins as his sixth woman energy from the bench, but the injuries have forced her into a much bigger role this season. She’s not always the most efficient scorer, but sometimes she can be electric.

 

  • The other place where San Antonio found success in the first half was on the offensive glass. With Candace Parker and Nneka Ogwumike, LA have a clear athleticism advantage in this matchup over players like Danielle Adams, Jayne Appel and Cathrine Kraayeveld. While Parker was doing her typical job of filling the stat-sheet in a number of areas, the Sparks were getting outworked on the glass and the Silver Stars were staying alive with second-chance opportunities. They took 11 more shots than LA in the first half, thanks to a 10-2 advantage in offensive rebounds, and it allowed the Silver Stars to trail only 35-30 at halftime.

 

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WNBA Today, 08/25/2013: McCoughtry hosts a brick party and everyone’s invited, while Moore leads Lynx past Fever

 

We had a pair of contests in the WNBA last night, and there was a striking contrast between the two. In one, the offenses were flowing, shots were falling, and both teams finished with offensive efficiency numbers well above the best averages in the league. The other game featured an excruciating pile-up of turnovers, missed shots, and floundering offense. You can probably guess which game we’re going to look at first.

 

Over the course of the season, venue hasn’t made that much difference to the Indiana Fever. Coming into last night’s game they were 7-7 at home, and 5-7 on their travels. But recently they’ve looked much more comfortable with the Bankers Life Fieldhouse crowd behind them. A winless three-game Western swing had been broken up with a quick trip home to beat San Antonio, but now they were back out on the road in Minnesota, beginning another four-game road trip. From the way they’ve played since midseason you’d think Indiana would be relatively secure in playoff position, but they were still only a couple of games up on New York before last night. Another run of Fever losses and even the Liberty might scrape together enough wins to make things awkward by the end of the season.

 

Indiana also had the problem of yet another injury, with guard Erin Phillips sidelined again due to her right knee. She looked like she’d finally shaken off the lingering problems from preseason surgery on a meniscus tear, before her leg went out from under her after jumping for a rebound in their last game. She didn’t even make the trip. Minnesota had everyone available once again (although considering Cheryl Reeve’s typical rotation, it wouldn’t matter much if players on the end of the bench stayed home).

 

With the breakdown of the halfcourt camera it was hard to see the action clearly in the first half, but several aspects of the play were clear throughout the evening. The contrast in defensive philosophy is interesting between these teams. Indiana, even more than ever, were switching constantly on screens. They’ll stick when they can, but at any tiny hint that a player is being held up on a pick, they’ll just switch it. That basically meant Minnesota could create any matchup they wanted without a great deal of effort, and obviously led to mismatches. It also leads to occasional complete defensive breakdowns when one player switches and the other doesn’t react at the exact same moment. Indiana are very good at swarming and helping, and they’ve got lots of practice at switching and rotating, but it’s hard to do perfectly. Minnesota make much more strenuous efforts to stick with their assignments, despite having the size on the perimeter to play like Indiana if they wanted to. They’ll switch guard-to-guard or post-to-post when it’s obvious, but they expect their players to fight through or around screens much more consistently. Both approaches can be equally viable, but it made for an intriguing contrast.

 

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WNBA Today, 08/24/2013: Eastern playoff picture beginning to clear, while Storm complete Mercury sweep

 

Last night’s WNBA slate featured an upset that really shouldn’t have surprised anyone; another extraordinary gambling cover; a team finally celebrating a playoff berth three days after they actually clinched; and a team everyone wrote off before the season began completing a season sweep over the preseason darlings. Just another night in our favourite little league, ladies and gentlemen.

 

Atlanta Dream 64 @ Washington Mystics 74

  • This is the one we all should’ve seen coming (I was kicking myself all night for missing this one and only going 3-1 with yesterday’s picks as a result). Atlanta came in on a three-game winning streak, including a win over the Mystics, but they did it all at home. They were 11-1 at home and 3-8 on the road before this game, and those three road wins came way back at the start of the season when they were rolling. The lineups were as expected, with Kia Vaughn retaining her starting spot ahead of Michelle Snow after Vaughn’s offensive explosion in their last game after becoming the starter.

 

  • The first half was rather less than gripping. It started off okay, with both teams creating more layups that the opposing defenses could’ve been comfortable with. But both sides shot poorly from outside, and the officials didn’t help with a seemingly endless stream of whistles. When they couldn’t create any momentum, moving Angel McCoughtry’s first half rest to later in the second quarter didn’t work as well for Atlanta as it did in their previous game. Instead of avoiding their offensive lull without her on the floor, it just shifted it a couple of minutes later. Outside of McCoughtry, no one on either side stood out, and the game crawled to a 37-35 halftime scoreline. The highlight was an Ivory Latta crossover dumping Le’coe Willingham on her butt before a layup, and Willingham getting her revenge with a comprehensive block on the next possession.

 

  • The second half wasn’t all that different. Both teams had a little success when they went inside to their centers, with Vaughn and Erika de Souza converting at the rim, but both squads were still firing up a host of bricks. Neither team could gather any momentum and sustain a run.

 

  • The pivotal moments came early in the fourth quarter, and unsurprisingly it was inspired by someone finally making a couple of shots. Atlanta were 0-13 from behind the arc to that point, with Washington 3-8 (those makes were hard to remember), when Ivory Latta nailed a triple with seven minutes left in the game. There’d been nothing between the teams for most of the night, but it was immediately after the 13th long-range miss from the Dream and created a six-point gap that felt huge. When she hit another one a couple of minutes later, pushing the Mystics’ advantage to 10, the game felt finished even with five minutes remaining. There were several offensive rebounds for Washington in that sequence as well, as the Mystics outworked and outshot the Dream. They did a solid job all night keeping Atlanta away from the rim, and it was the old story for the Dream – they couldn’t hit anything from outside to punish the collapsing defense. Atlanta’s own defense was solid enough, but the scoring they’d managed in their recent run of victories just wasn’t there.

 

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WNBA Today, 08/21/2013: Western leaders lose, Eastern leaders win, and Shock fall to Mercury yet again

 

It was a busy Tuesday in the WNBA this week, with four games competing for our attention last night. As always, all of them are covered for you right here. On to the Bullet Point Breakdowns.

 

Minnesota Lynx 75 @ Atlanta Dream 88

  • Having ended their surprising three-game losing skid with a comfortable win over New York on Sunday, the Lynx came in looking to build another winning streak against the team they swept in the 2011 WNBA Finals. In fact, the Dream hadn’t beaten Minnesota since 2010, back before Maya Moore turned pro. However, after two consecutive wins Atlanta looked like they might’ve found some form, ending a horrible streak of eight losses in nine games. Plus, they came in with a 10-1 record at home this season, the best in the WNBA.

 

  • Minnesota had Monica Wright available again after she missed a game due to a bruised quad. Le’coe Willingham continued to deputise for the injured Sancho Lyttle for Atlanta.

 

  • The Dream got off to the much quicker start in this game, and although Minnesota briefly came back into it as the first quarter continued, Atlanta dominated most of the first half. Early on it was Lynx turnovers and Dream offensive boards that were leading to Atlanta’s edge, with Erika de Souza making the most of her size advantage in the paint. As the half progressed, it was the active hands and constant energy of the Dream defense which kept Atlanta on top.

 

  • As always, Angel McCoughtry was a major part of the Dream’s success, but she had help. First from Erika, then from Tiffany Hayes, who continued her impressive recent form. Hayes brings such energy and hustle to the team at both ends of the floor, and even if her shooting can be streaky (and she shoots her threes from somewhere down around her knees) she gives Atlanta another legitimate threat from the perimeter. Fred Williams also seems to have decided – partly because of how good Hayes has been – that the small lineup with McCoughtry sliding to power forward has become his ‘first-change’ option. He’s gone to it in the first quarter of both their last two games and used it for long stretches, with Aneika Henry used purely as Erika’s backup at center. It keeps their energy constantly high, because that small group know they have to work their butts off to move and help each other due to their lack of pure size.

 

  • Williams also smartly switched up his rotation a little in this game. Leading 20-17 at the end of the first quarter but on top, he left McCoughtry in rather than benching her for her typical rest at the start of the second quarter. The Dream have suffered ugly lulls in that period in many recent games, but instead they kept their momentum rolling, built a lead, and McCoughtry still got some rest later in the half anyway. Williams recognised that they couldn’t afford the lull against Minnesota, and navigated around it nicely for once.

 

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WNBA Today, 08/20/2013: Home wins come easy, medium and hard, while Laimbeer crosses the line

 

Sunday saw three WNBA games, and ultimately three double-digit home victories. But each was achieved in a very different way, and we even had a little bit of controversy to spice things up as well. Bullet Point Breakdowns follow.

 

Washington Mystics 58 @ Atlanta Dream 76

  • This was a battle between two teams hoping to cement signs of an upturn in form. After playing some poor basketball to lose six out of seven and slide back into the pack in the East, Washington had run off three straight wins – starting with a shocking upset win in Minnesota. Meanwhile, Atlanta had lost eight of nine before destroying Connecticut on Friday night, which they were obviously hoping could begin their own new streak. The Dream came in with oddly competing statistics – they hadn’t beaten anyone besides the Sun since June, and beating Connecticut this season barely counts; but so many of their recent games have been on the road, they still held the best home record in the WNBA. At 9-1 at Philips Arena coming into this game, they had every right to be confident on their own floor, despite all those losses elsewhere.

 

  • In a frantic, end-to-end opening quarter, it was Washington who got off to the better start. They were pushing the ball hard, looking for quick offense, and attacking Angel McCoughtry off the dribble. It was hard to tell whether Angel was meant to be guarding Matee Ajavon or Monique Currie – McCoughtry seemed to pick up whoever she felt like on any given possession, assuming she made it back down the floor in time to guard anyone. But early on, Washington were both breaking down Atlanta’s defense, and hitting their open shots from outside.

 

  • McCoughtry was still getting plenty back at the other end, attacking and getting to the rim as usual. Dream head coach Fred Williams also showed a willingness to try the small lineup with McCoughtry at the 4 earlier than usual, which was a positive. It’s rarely come into play in the first quarter this season.

 

  • Atlanta just about survived the early second quarter minutes where McCoughtry rests – it’s been a struggle to avoid collapsing in that period lately – and then made a push when she came back. They had positive moments both with Le’coe Willingham at power forward – a much more reliable option to guard Crystal Langhorne than McCoughtry – and with the quicker, more aggressive small lineup. By halftime, while it felt like Washington had been on top for much of the first half, the Dream were in front 38-37.

 

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WNBA Today, 08/16/2013: Staggering comeback saves Sky in Seattle

 

Just the one game in the WNBA last night, but it was crazy enough to entertain all on its own. Chicago made their yearly visit to Seattle to face the Storm, but took the floor without rookie phenom Elena Delle Donne. Her mid-foot sprain, suffered in their previous game against Los Angeles, is expected to keep her out for a couple of weeks. The chances of losing their top spot in the East look slim, simply because there aren’t any teams in the chasing pack who look capable of stringing together a run to catch them. But with the Sky’s history, where they’ve consistently found ways to miss the postseason from whatever position they happened to be in, their fans aren’t taking anything for granted. Tamera Young came into the starting lineup again as Delle Donne’s replacement.

 

Seattle continue to sit in fourth place in the West, where they’ve been for quite some time now. Whether a playoff spot and likely first-round exit is actually preferable to owning some ping-pong balls in the lottery remains open to debate, but they continue to fight their way to enough wins to hold that spot. San Antonio and Tulsa aren’t dead yet, but Seattle remain in pole position.

 

With Delle Donne out, the likely focus of Chicago’s offense was obvious. Epiphanny Prince hasn’t been able to hit water from the side of a boat lately, so finding Sylvia Fowles in the paint was always going to be their primary option. However, the one thing Seattle have been good at year after year after year under Brian Agler, is preventing teams from taking layups. They consistently force opponents into taking a smaller proportion of their attempts from inside 5 feet than any other team in the WNBA. With Fowles as the first, second and third option for Chicago, their defensive focus was going to be pretty damn obvious. Everyone sagged into the paint for Seattle, making passing lanes to even get Fowles the ball difficult in the first place. Whenever she did touch the ball inside, defenders swarmed all over her immediately, forcing it back out unless she managed to score within moments of receiving the pass. And in case you haven’t noticed over the years due to Fowles being such an athletic and effective finisher inside – she’s a terrible passer. She has 9 assists this season. All season, in total. That’s not helped by the limited number of players on her team who can shoot, but it tells the story. Force her to pass out, and you’re more likely to create a turnover than give up a bucket.

 

The other problem that Chicago had offensively in the first half was that Epiphanny Prince continued to play like she has for at least a couple of months. She’s been awful. Her jump shot accuracy has disappeared, and she was shooting a miserable 31% in July and August combined coming into this game. This team was meant to become an unguardable 3-headed monster with the addition of Delle Donne, but lately Prince hasn’t been holding up her end.

 

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WNBA Today, 08/14/2013: Sparks hold on to beat Sky, as Delle Donne’s foot causes concern

 

Just one game in the WNBA last night, as the Chicago Sky completed their pair of games against the West’s elite with a trip to Los Angeles. The Sky beat Minnesota in overtime on Sunday, and now they had the chance to back-up that victory with a result against the Sparks. But it wasn’t going to be easy. LA had just come home from a successful road trip, winning four in a row after a rocky start in Tulsa. With the chance to move within a game of the Lynx at the top of the Western standings, LA were just as up for this game as Chicago.

 

The same starting lineups we’ve grown used to with these teams over the season began the game. The defensive matchups were always going to be interesting, because both sides have players that are so difficult to deal with. Chicago had Sylvia Fowles on Candace Parker, and Swin Cash on Nneka Ogwumike, hiding Elena Delle Donne as usual on the weakest offensive option available – Alana Beard. At the other end of the floor, LA started with Parker on Delle Donne, creating a matchup between the Sky’s prized rookie and the established veteran whose skillset most closely resembles her own. That left Ogwumike trying to handle Fowles in the post, and Kristi Toliver sliding over onto Cash – so that Beard could guard Epiphanny Prince. With that much cross-matching, inevitably the teams couldn’t always line up as they desired when the action switched quickly in transition, but that was what they were trying for.

 

The entire first half was a tight, competitive contest, with 15 lead changes taking place. Delle Donne hit a couple of shots early, as Parker failed to extend all the way out to guard her so Delle Donne simply fired away right over the top. As always, LA did everything they could to push up the court quickly, and find early offense in transition. It resulted in a few cheap points for LA, but also a few unnecessary turnovers when Lindsey Harding or Kristi Toliver were a little too desperate to try to force something.

 

The mismatches both teams had and their effectiveness in trying to capitalise on them were intriguing. Obviously, the reason you can hide weaker defenders on players like Beard and Cash is that you’re not afraid of them hurting you with their offense. But both of those players are former All-Stars, and it’s tempting to go to them when they’re handed a clear advantage on the offensive end. At the same time, it’s a generally a win for the defense if Beard is trying to hit a reasonably open jumper, or Cash is trying to post up Toliver and create a lane for an entry pass. You’d generally prefer to see that as a defense than one of the offensive stars taking the shot. So we saw a couple of efforts from Beard, and we saw both Cash and Tamera Young trying to post up Toliver, but the offenses didn’t go back to that well very often. Better to just let the weaker defenders hide than take yourself out of your own offense while trying to attack them.

 

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WNBA Today, 08/13/2013: Five-star day for WNBA

 

Apologies for this piece arriving a day later than usual. Hopefully you won’t all think it’s a dollar short as well (but as it’s free, that would seem difficult). Sunday saw another quintuple-header in the WNBA, and the first meeting this year of the two teams who’ve been atop either conference for the last few weeks. Let’s start the Bullet Point Breakdowns with that headline matchup.

 

Minnesota Lynx 86 @ Chicago Sky 94

  • The Lynx arrived off the back of having a 10-game winning streak broken by Washington on Thursday, and not having lost consecutive games since last year’s Finals they were obviously hoping to bounce back quickly. Janel McCarville was still out due to concussion, and this time Cheryl Reeve went directly to Devereaux Peters as the replacement, rather than messing around with Amber Harris as the starter. The Sky had stuttered a little since the All-Star break, with Elena Delle Donne’s concussion upsetting their rhythm and playing a part in back-to-back losses against Indiana. It’s games against teams like the Lynx where they really needed to step up and prove their credentials as a potential championship contender, after so many years of underperformance.

 

  • As most would’ve expected, Delle Donne was hiding on Peters defensively, with Sylvia Fowles taking Rebekkah Brunson and Swin Cash trying to chase after Maya Moore. The Lynx switched the post pairings at the other end, using Brunson as their first option on Delle Donne, and leaving Peters to do her best against Fowles.

 

  • Chicago got three blocks from Delle Donne and three taken changes from Courtney Vandersloot in the opening period – two players who aren’t exactly known for their defense but who’ve done their bit this season. Vandersloot’s worked hard to get stronger, and her feet appear to have become quicker in the process. Opponents don’t quite seem to quite realise how tall and long Delle Done is. She might not be the greatest individual defender in the world, but she’s very coordinated and size makes up for a lot. She broke Chicago’s rookie-record for blocks in this game – a record previously held by Fowles.

 

  • However, it was Minnesota who built the first leads of any significance, pushing ahead by as many as seven midway through the first quarter, and eight early in the second. Brunson and Seimone Augustus were both knocking down jumpers, while Epiphanny Prince continued her recent run of offensive futility. She’d had a good game against the dismal Sun on Friday, but in general her shot’s been missing in action for well over a month.

 

  • You could see that both head coaches were taking this game very seriously, well aware that it was a real test (and a potential WNBA Finals preview). Pokey Chatman didn’t mess around with Allie Quigley at point guard, using Prince whenever Vandersloot needed a brief rest. Amber Harris got a couple of minutes here and there, because without McCarville someone had to spell the posts, but Harris was pulled quickly when Fowles went right at her (and basically abused her). Neither coach wanted to give anything away cheaply.

 

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WNBA Today, 08/10/2013: Two road blowouts and Mercury win with, uh, defense and rebounding?

 

It wasn’t exactly a banner day of basketball yesterday in the WNBA, as three games resulted in an ugly slugfest and two blowouts. Because ‘poor but close’ is generally more interesting than ‘desperately one-sided’, and the league’s newest head coach was involved in the tight game, we’re breaking away from our usual chronological order for today’s Bullet Point Breakdowns, and starting in Arizona.

 

Tulsa Shock 67 @ Phoenix Mercury 70

  • Russ Pennell’s first game in charge of the Mercury came against Tulsa, the first of three meetings with the Shock in the space of twelve days. If Tulsa could take advantage of Phoenix’s recent issues to win at least two of those, then the lower reaches of the playoff race in the Western Conference might become distinctly more interesting. Pennell had the good fortune to have DeWanna Bonner healthy to play despite the bruised knee she suffered in Corey Gaines’s final game as head coach. Brittney Griner’s sprained ankle, however, kept her out. Krystal Thomas started in her place. Tulsa continued with the same starting lineup they’ve been rolling out in recent games, but were once again without live-wire sixth woman Riquna Williams due to a right ankle problem that’s expected to keep her out another week.

 

  • The most obvious difference under Pennell, right from the start, was the lack of zone defense. The Mercury were so deplorable playing man-to-man under Gaines that they went to a 1-2-2 zone midway through the season for the majority of defensive possessions, and had some success. Pennell has thrown that out, and went man-to-man throughout. They weren’t switching much either, placing individual responsibility on each player to cover their man. It backfired a couple of times early on, as a few Mercury players failed to offer the effort required to play effective man-to-man. Diana Taurasi, in particular, got caught on screens or just watched Angel Goodrich go by her far too frequently.

 

  • Tulsa’s success in recent weeks has come through the post pairing of Liz Cambage and Glory Johnson, and that was inevitably their focus again. They tried to run their offense through Cambage down low, and when she looked to score she was efficient and effective. Phoenix weren’t even double-teaming her that frequently, often leaving Thomas or Lynetta Kizer to do most of the work alone. It would’ve been nice to see Cambage attack even more than she did – at times it was almost as if she was expecting additional defenders and looking to pass before it was necessary. Johnson was quiet, failing to make much impact on the game. It was back to the story from a month or so ago, when the concentration on feeding Cambage led to Johnson barely touching the ball.

 

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WNBA Today, 08/07/2013: Quintuple Tuesday in the WNBA

 

Yesterday was the first five-game day of the 2013 WNBA season, as the schedulers did their level best to make my life as difficult as possible. But they won’t break me. Not only did I come within inches of going 5-0 with my picks against the spread (got the right winner in all of them, but one failed to cover), all five are examined in the usual detail below. On to the Bullet Point Breakdowns.

 

Washington Mystics 88 @ New York Liberty 93

  • This was one of three remaining meetings between these teams, after New York won their first matchup last week with a dominant post performance. The starting lineups were the same as in that previous meeting, with Washington’s Mike Thibault promoting Michelle Snow back into the starting lineup for Emma Meesseman, after trying something different against LA on Sunday.

 

  • New York were the slightly more successful team in the early going thanks to their interior attack, with Cappie Pondexter drawing extra defenders to create good looks for her teammates inside. She still takes too many of those 19ft pullup jumpers – frustrating because they’d be barely any more difficult from two feet further back, and a low-percentage three-pointer is a much more worthwhile shot than a low-percentage two. But she does at least seem to be handling the ‘lead guard’ position better. There’s been more poise, fewer turnovers, and better patience to her game recently – even if her jump shot still isn’t dropping all that often.

 

  • It was New York’s general inability to hit a shot that helped ease Washington back into the game, although the Mystics were taking plenty themselves. Even with all those perimeter shots, Washington drew plenty of whistles, which also helped them take the lead at the free throw line.

 

  • As the half progressed, the Liberty found some shooting from an unusual source. Wing Alex Montgomery has gradually earned increasing minutes this season, but it’s been due to her defense and hustle more than her points production. Her jumper was falling in this game, giving the posts someone to kick out to and Pondexter a sidekick on the perimeter. That left us with a surprisingly high-scoring first half, which finished with Washington up 46-45.

 

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