Tag Archives: Connecticut Sun

The Daily W, 07/02/2014

 

San Antonio Stars 74 @ Connecticut Sun 71

 

Lineups: Same again for both teams, with Danielle Adams and Alyssa Thomas continuing to retain their spots ahead of former starters Sophia Young-Malcolm and Allison Hightower. Thomas was in a face-mask after breaking her nose in practice the day before.

 

Story of the Game: An utterly forgettable first half saw Connecticut lead for most of the 20 minutes, but not by much. The advantage they had was that a significant portion of their points were coming at the rim, by running out in transition or working on the offensive glass. San Antonio were relying more on jumpers, which typically produce a lower rate of success even with the shooters on the Stars roster.

The third quarter was thoroughly dominated by San Antonio. When they’re in full flow they’re a lovely team to watch on offense. Endlessly unselfish, always willing to give up a good shot for a great one, they took apart a Connecticut team that looked like they’d taken a nap at halftime and not woken up in time for the restart. Becky Hammon, Danielle Robinson and Kayla McBride were the key players doing the scoring, moving the ball beautifully and exploiting Connecticut’s overplaying defenders by getting in behind them. With everyone on the floor a threat to score, bar Jayne Appel, San Antonio have the luxury of not having to run plays for anyone in particular. They can put all the pieces in motion, watch the defense bend or break, and then take whatever gap opens up. Connecticut both left shooters open and gave up lanes to the basket in the third quarter, and San Antonio moved ahead by double-digits.

But it wasn’t quite over. Katie Douglas played the central role in dragging Connecticut back into the game, attacking the basket on drives rather than settling for jumpers. San Antonio had become a little too one-on-one offensively, losing the team flow from earlier, and a Kelsey Bone layup eventually tied the game with under three minutes to play.

Then it was San Antonio’s turn to bounce back. They scored the next seven points of the game, on a rare Appel post move, a McBride three off a nice staggered-screen play drawn up by Dan Hughes in a timeout, and then free throws once Connecticut started fouling to extend the game. At the other end, San Antonio’s 3-2 zone had the desired effect of slowing the Sun down, forcing a 24-second violation. Then Bone barreled over Young-Malcolm on a post move for another turnover, and the Stars were back in charge. Between Hammon, Robinson and McBride they were 8-8 at the foul line in the closing moments, helping San Antonio hold on despite some late threes from the Sun.

 

Key Players: The perimeter trio of Hammon, Robinson and McBride did most of the work for the Stars, especially in their push in the third quarter. That’s two wins out of two for San Antonio since losing Jia Perkins to her hamstring injury, both featuring strong performances from the remaining perimeter players. It’s a small sample-size to this point, but they’ve stepped up when they needed to without the usual burst of scoring from Perkins off the bench.

Douglas and Bone were the main weapons for Connecticut, although Bone would’ve been more efficient if not for several missed layups. It was a disappointingly quiet night for Chiney Ogwumike, and she’s had a couple of those lately. It’s always hard for rookies to keep playing to their absolute potential throughout their first professional seasons. They’re not used to playing this often, or against this level of competition night-in and night-out.

 

Notes of Interest: Bone was drawing a double-team from the Stars in the low post, which was interesting. There aren’t too many players around the league who gain that kind of respect, but clearly Bone’s offensive game is starting to earn it for her. The defensive end is still where she needs to put in the most work.

 

—–

 

Tulsa Shock 74 @ New York Liberty 90

 

Lineups: As expected for both teams. Riquna Williams didn’t even travel with the Shock due to her knee problem. Anna Cruz was playing with strapping on her left hand after dislocating a finger during New York’s previous game.

 

Story of the Game: The opening stages were a joy to behold for Bill Laimbeer and Liberty fans – this was the Tina Charles that they’d been waiting for all season. Charles was in the low post, demanding the ball, and then making aggressive moves towards the basket rather than drifting away from it. That led to baskets, fouls, free throws, and general positive outcomes for New York. Tulsa made things a little easier by trying to single-cover her most of the time, but the effort and method of attack was all Charles.

Continue reading →

The Daily W, 07/01/2014

 

Connecticut Sun 65 @ New York Liberty 67

 

Lineups: Both teams used the same starting lineups we’ve seen in recent games. So Allison Hightower continues to come off the bench for Connecticut since returning from her knee problem.

 

Story of the Game: This was not an offensive showcase, by any means. Credit the defenses to some extent, but basically both teams struggled to hit shots all afternoon. Connecticut in particular had problems knocking down anything from more than two feet, but compensated to some extent by working harder than New York in transition and on the offensive glass. It was a little embarrassing for the Liberty how often Connecticut produced layups simply by beating their opponents down the floor.

After her first ever zero-point game in the WNBA on Friday night against Chicago, Cappie Pondexter still wasn’t afraid to let fly, and hit a few shots in the first half. Also, with the addition of Charde Houston and incremental development of Sugar Rodgers, for the first time it seemed like New York had a bench group that might help them rather than lead to a collapse. It all balanced out to a fairly even first half.

New York crept ahead by as many as nine points in the third quarter, without seeming to do anything particularly special. Connecticut still couldn’t hit a shot unless they were right at the rim, so breakaways and offensive rebounds remained their only forms of attack with any real success. Tina Charles was drawing all kinds of attention whenever she touched the ball in the low post, but still not seeing enough of it down there. New York need to realise that even if she doesn’t score, when the ball reverses out of there they’ll generally get great shots. They often seem to start games and second halves by looking for her inside, and then she drifts away as the play progresses. But she did at least produce a few finishes for the Liberty to help the offense in the second half.

With Katie Douglas and Alex Bentley finally starting to make a few shots – Douglas’s first bucket came on a deep three when New York ignored her, and she almost seemed to shoot out of disgust – Connecticut made it a game in the fourth quarter. It was a one-point game for almost the entire last two minutes, while both sides traded misses. A dismal ‘play’ from Connecticut in the final seconds saw Bentley go nowhere, eventually reverse the ball to Douglas, who had to force up a three that never had a chance. After Anna Cruz added a free throw for New York, another Douglas heave was nowhere near at the buzzer, and New York had clung on.

 

Key Players: Pondexter and Charles led the scoring for New York with 14 apiece, without either playing particularly well. Plenette Pierson and Rodgers had productive appearances off the bench. But the game was won with their team defense and the awful shooting from Connecticut.

Chiney Ogwumike finished 8-14 for 22 points and 17 rebounds, including 8 offensive boards. Between her and Kelsey Bone the Sun thoroughly outworked New York on the glass and in running the floor, but it just wasn’t quite enough without their teammates being able to hit anything from outside. Ogwumike herself repeatedly turned down the mid-range jumpers that New York were offering her all afternoon. She’s extending her range – as all posts working under Anne Donovan are generally tasked to do – but for now she’s much more comfortable doing her work right around the rim.

 

Notes of Interest: Essence Carson didn’t make it off the bench at all, drawing her first ‘Did Not Play – Coach’s Decision’ for a long time. While Anna Cruz and Alex Montgomery have started to become more effective offensively as role players, the complete lack of production from Carson this season has been a major problem for New York. She was meant to be the third wheel for Pondexter and Charles, even if she wasn’t entirely back from her ACL tear. Instead she’s gotten progressively worse, and finally fallen off the end of the rotation. Hopefully she rebounds next year.

 

—–

 

San Antonio Stars 73 @ Washington Mystics 65

 

Lineups: Dan Hughes changed up his lineup for the first time in a while, with Danielle Adams supplanting Sophia Young-Malcolm in San Antonio’s starting lineup. Adams has been finishing plenty of games ahead of Young-Malcolm, but it still sends something of a message to remove the veteran from her long-established starting spot. Coming off her own ACL tear, Young-Malcolm hasn’t been as poor as Essence Carson in New York, but there hasn’t been that much in it. The Stars were also without key reserve Jia Perkins, who’s out for at this road trip after straining her hamstring in the game against Atlanta on Thursday night. Washington opened with the same group we’ve seen in their recent games, and had Kara Lawson available again off the bench after missing one game due to dehydration/flu.

 

Story of the Game: The main difference for much of this game was simply shooting. Emma Meesseman produced some points early for Washington, while Ivory Latta drives and Stefanie Dolson finishes added on later in the first half, but San Antonio consistently out-shot them from the perimeter. The ball movement to create the looks for the Stars was pretty good, but having people like Becky Hammon who are a threat to drill threes as soon as they cross half-court was the key element. She had four triples in the first half, three of them from so deep that normally you wouldn’t worry about the player letting fly. But Becky Hammon isn’t exactly a ‘normal’ player, even in the midst of – for her – a pretty mediocre season.

Continue reading →

The Daily W, 06/28/2014

 

Phoenix Mercury 81 @ Indiana Fever 76

 

Lineups: Phoenix stuck with the big lineup that’s been working for them lately, but Indiana made yet another switch to their starting lineup, this time specifically tailored to the Mercury. Former Phoenix center Krystal Thomas, who’s barely played for most of the season in Indiana, came in to start the game and guard Brittney Griner. Karima Christmas dropped to the bench, while Erlana Larkins slid over to power forward.

 

Story of the Game: Indiana were in front and on top for the vast majority of this game, but could never quite kill it off. They played with fantastic energy in the first half, doubling and rotating when they needed to on defense but recovering well to challenge every shot. They got caught out a couple of times with Candice Dupree scoring over smaller defenders in the post after switches, but in general they kept Phoenix very quiet.

On offense, the Fever did a good job of attacking the rim and maintaining their aggression despite the Mercury’s size and length. Obviously, that was easier when Griner was resting, but they kept it up even when she was in the game. Marissa Coleman was also having one of those nights when pullup jumpers and fadeaways were dropping, which helped boost the offense.

Thomas had the first half of her WNBA life, playing effective defense against Griner and the Mercury drivers in the paint, and even chipping in with a couple of buckets when the ball fell her way. She was getting lots of help whenever necessary, and Phoenix struggled to get Griner the ball in the first place, but when Lin Dunn dreamed how inserting Thomas into the lineup would play out, that first half was almost exactly it. Indiana led by nine at the break.

The Fever looked outstandingly well prepared for playing Phoenix, knowing where the holes in the Mercury’s defense were going to crop up before they showed themselves. But Phoenix wouldn’t go away. They still had Dupree finishing plays inside, and Penny Taylor helped in the third quarter as well with her familiar tricky spinning drives into the lane. Phoenix were also starting to shoot a heap of free throws, with Diana Taurasi leading the way after being antagonised by Briann January’s physical defense earlier in the game. Opponents often find they don’t like Diana when she’s angry.

January had a poor game, and was the central figure in the turnover problems that seriously damaged Indiana in the second half. Too many passes went flying out of bounds, or hit a teammate in the feet rather than the hands. And in the final period Phoenix finally completed the comeback. Indiana’s offense had tired and stagnated, while the Mercury were still energised by their charge back into the game. DeWanna Bonner – whose defense has been deservedly castigated here many times in recent years – had two crucial steals in the latter stages. The first created four points because it led to a clear path foul, the two resulting free throws, and then a Dupree finish in the lane. The second came on the ensuing inbounds play, just to further demoralise the Fever.

Indiana were given a chance when Taurasi fouled Shavonte Zellous on a late three, with the resulting foul shots making it a one-point game. But Sandy Brondello drew up a beautiful play in the timeout that followed, confusing the Indiana defense and leaving Taurasi open for three. She drilled it, and that was just about the end of Indiana’s chances.

 

Key Players: Dupree was the most consistent threat for Phoenix over the course of the night, but Taylor’s ‘old man game’ moves helped drag them back, and Taurasi’s driving and big-shotmaking finished it off. Griner was swallowed whole by Indiana’s defense and faded from the game badly, which was a discouraging sign, despite her six blocks.

Indiana actually played a heck of a game, but just couldn’t keep it up for all 40 minutes. After recent close losses to Tulsa and Minnesota, they’ll be very disappointed to let this one slip away as well. Thomas did what was asked of her on the defensive end, and may well have earned more minutes even against other opponents. Lynetta Kizer is the far more talented offensive player, but Thomas is the vastly better defender. Coleman and Zellous did most of their scoring, with some help from Larkins and Christmas, but it was a collective effort that nearly held off one of the better teams in the league. Unfortunately, ‘nearly’ doesn’t count for anything in the standings.

Continue reading →

The Daily W, 06/26/2014

 

Chicago Sky 69 @ Connecticut Sun 79

 

Lineups: Probably the most exciting moment of the night for Sky fans came before the game even began, with the confirmation that both Elena Delle Donne and Sylvia Fowles would be returning to the lineup. Delle Donne had missed five games due to illness related to the Lyme disease she’s suffered with in the past; Fowles had been out all season recovering from surgery on her hip. They both came straight back into the starting group, putting together the five that Pokey Chatman had been hoping to use all season. Connecticut were still without guard Allison Hightower due to her knee problem, while Danielle McCray is also going to be out for a while after breaking her right thumb. Kelly Faris was expected to be out due to a sprained wrist, and surprised even the Sun commentator when she appeared on the floor.

 

Story of the Game: Chicago came flying out of the gate, energised by their returning players, and dominated the early stages. They looked for Fowles in the post immediately, and she spun right by Kelsey Bone for a layup. Big Syl’s size and length under the basket continued to provide a target for her teammates to toss the ball up to as the first quarter wore on. Delle Donne looked a little further away from her best, and they kept her minutes restricted all night, but it was a strong, positive start for the Sky as a team. Backup point guard Jamierra Faulkner came off the bench and kept their momentum going by attacking the rim, and even hitting a jump shot (which really showed the basketball gods were smiling down on the Sky in the first quarter).

But the biggest the gap ever became was 12 points, and the Sun kept hanging around despite Chicago’s speedy onslaught. A few hustle plays, some transition points, and a couple of messy turnovers from Chicago, and Connecticut were right back in it. Delle Donne found some energy to provide a burst of offense for the Sky late in the first half, enabling Chicago to lead by six at the break, but Connecticut were very much involved in the contest despite Chicago’s quick start.

And then in the second half, it was all Sun. Chicago had lost their flow entirely, and there were too many possessions with a scary resemblance to their stagnant, static offense from the past – where the desperate focus on trying to feed Fowles in the paint drags all movement to a halt. The impressive thing about the early stages was that Chicago were playing with the same pace that we’d seen from them early this season, only with all the stars back involved. As the game wore on, that pace and fluency completely disappeared.

But credit the Sun for forcing many of Chicago’s problems. From the second quarter on they played with much better energy and focus on the defensive end, and the second half saw them constantly forcing the issue against an increasingly nervous Chicago team. Alyssa Thomas had probably her best half so far as a pro, using her strength and size to attack the basket from the wing. She also combined with the rest of Connecticut’s frontcourt players to overwhelm Chicago on the glass. With Fowles, Delle Donne and Jessica Breland all involved for Chicago, they should’ve been able to battle it out on the boards, but they were utterly dominated.

Continue reading →

The Daily W, 06/18/2014

 

Indiana Fever 67 @ Connecticut Sun 89

 

Lineups: Chiney Ogwumike was back for the Sun, after missing one game to attend her graduation ceremony at Stanford. Allison Hightower was still out due to her knee problem, so Alyssa Thomas continued to start. Tamika Catchings is still out with her sore back, so it was the same group we’ve seen virtually all season for Indiana.

 

Story of the Game: It was a stuttering, messy first half, punctuated by endless whistles from the officials. I try to avoid discussing the referees here, because they have a tough job that they do to the best of their ability, and most complaints about them come from fans with an obvious bias. But sometimes it’s an unavoidable aspect of discussing the game. Besides some strong moves from Sun center Kelsey Bone late in the half, there wasn’t much worth talking about from the opening 20 minutes. Even those were aided by Natasha Howard being on the bench in foul trouble, and Erlana Larkins desperately trying to avoid picking up any more than she already had. The Sun held a four-point lead at the break, due largely to that late Bone burst and the number of free throws they’d shot already.

Then everything completely fell apart for Indiana in the third quarter. Credit Connecticut for pressing their advantage, running the floor hard, and attacking the Fever defense at every opportunity. Ogwumike in particular, after a completely anonymous first half, picked up nine points in the first five minutes of the third quarter, largely by running the floor as hard as possible to finish in transition and pick up scraps around the rim.

But after already being upset by the 15-8 personal foul discrepancy from the first half, Indiana lost their composure entirely in the third quarter when the whistles continued to go against them. Amongst the whining, Lin Dunn picked up a technical, probably to try to protect her players from getting them. But moments later Connecticut broke down the floor, and Ogwumike drove straight into Karima Christmas’s chest and knocked her over. Christmas had been stood there a long time, and it looked like a clear charge, but it was called as a block on Christmas. Shavonte Zellous showed her displeasure by leaping up and down, then probably added something with her mouth, and was tossed for two consecutive technicals.

The resulting free throws made the Connecticut lead 18 points, and the game was essentially over.

 

Key Players: I’ll resist just naming the three referees. Bone and Ogwumike combined to give Connecticut the focus and presence they needed in the paint, while Katie Douglas once again earned a load of free throws in a game against her former team. The one negative for the Sun was that point guard Alex Bentley hobbled off late in the third quarter, after her left leg slipped out from under her while trying to play defense. She never returned, but that may just have been due to the game being over as a contest. It didn’t look too serious.

Backup post Lynetta Kizer got a lot of minutes for Indiana due to the starters picking up so many fouls, and once again showed that she’s more than happy to shoot virtually every time she touches the ball. She can sometimes be pretty effective as an offensive player, but it’s the defensive end where she needs to improve and earn Dunn’s trust. It’s actually a similar story for Bone in Connecticut, where developing defensively is the clear requirement. Both can be too easy to escape from or back down in the low post.

 

Notes of Interest: Dunn was given a rocking chair and a Sun blanket by the Connecticut franchise, which was a sweet gesture to a coach who’s in her final season in charge and has done an enormous amount for the game of women’s basketball. She was probably happier when receiving the gifts before the game than she was for much of the rest of the evening.

 

—–

 

Minnesota Lynx 94 @ Los Angeles Sparks 77

 

Lineups: Same starters as expected for both sides. Rebekkah Brunson (knee), Kristi Toliver (overseas playing for Slovakia) and Candice Wiggins (knee) were still out for their respective teams. Los Angeles had made one change to their bench earlier in the day, releasing Samantha Prahalis and signing Darxia Morris instead, swapping one backup guard for another.

 

Story of the Game: When you’ve lost five of your last six, barely showed up for your last game, and are struggling badly on the defensive end, the last team you want to see is the reigning champs. The Lynx may have had their own problems of late, but they happily took LA apart from the very start of this game. Minnesota were pushing the ball for quick offense, driving into contact to earn free throws, and otherwise moving the ball with pace to find the open spaces in LA’s defense. As Carol Ross has admitted, the defensive communication is poor for the Sparks, so Minnesota were moving around the floor, forcing LA to either chase or actually talk to each other on switches. LA weren’t successful at either, so the points piled up for Minnesota. The Lynx shot 71% in the first quarter.

Continue reading →

The Daily W, 06/17/2014

 

Apologies for this post not arriving until now. The WNBA tends to take Mondays off, and occasionally I follow suit. Analysis of all Sunday’s action below, along with previews for tonight’s matchups.

—–

 

Phoenix Mercury 80 @ Minnesota Lynx 72

 

Lineups: The starters were as expected for Minnesota, but Phoenix promoted Penny Taylor for the first time this season, with Erin Phillips dropping to the bench. It was more to shift Sandy Brondello’s rotations than a benching of Phillips. The big perimeter of Diana Taurasi, DeWanna Bonner and Taylor have too often been playing together when Brittney Griner rests this year, highlighting their defensive deficiencies. Starting all three put Griner behind them immediately, helping to cover for them. Minnesota had sixth woman Monica Wright in uniform and available to play for the first time this season after recovering from her knee surgery.

 

Story of the Game: After winning their last 14 encounters with the Mercury, it’s fair to say the Lynx were strong favourites for this game. But it was Phoenix who dominated the first half. They outplayed Minnesota in virtually every area. They moved the ball better, and hit the shots they created around the perimeter. They attacked quickly when they had the chance, with the Lynx transition defense leaving a lot to be desired. They played good enough defense, leaving Minnesota mostly settling for jump shots, which weren’t dropping with their usual rate for the star perimeter of Lindsay Whalen, Seimone Augustus and Maya Moore. And at the head of it all, Diana Taurasi was leading the way, hitting shots, drawing fouls, and flashing the ball around the floor for her teammates to score as well. The Mercury led by 19 at halftime.

It was an odd, unfortunate combination of issues for Minnesota. Sometimes they looked like they were playing in a rush, firing up shots quickly rather than working their offense and picking Phoenix apart as they’ve done in the past. Sometimes they looked lifeless, the ball failing to move around the floor enough to open up the defense. Griner hadn’t even managed to finish any of her efforts in the paint and was barely a factor offensively in the first half, limited by Janel McCarville’s physical defense. Griner finally got involved in the third quarter, especially once McCarville was on the bench and Devereaux Peters was trying to defend her. Peters looked thoroughly overmatched.

There was no real hint of a comeback until late in the fourth quarter, by which stage Cheryl Reeve had given up on all her big names. Rookie big Damiris Dantas was the only starter left on the floor, with Wright making her first appearance of the season with under six minutes left in the game. Phoenix looked nervous in the final stages, almost shocked that they were on the brink of finally beating Minnesota, and unsure of how to finish it off. But ultimately the gap was just too big, and six points was a close as the Lynx came.

 

Key Players: Taurasi was at her imperious best, while Candice Dupree continues to play with her trademark smoothness and happily knocks down the open shots teams keep offering her. That’s how it’s supposed to work for this team on offense – put so many dangerous weapons on the floor that the opponent has to pick their poison, and then you kill them with whatever’s left open. The big starting group clearly worked, and Brondello will probably stick with it for the forseeable future. It’ll be interesting to see if it’s as effective against teams that start quick, nippy little guards, rather than the big, physical perimeter players that the Lynx use.

It was a pretty miserable game all around for Minnesota. None of their star scorers ever really found a flow, and it took players like Tan White and Asia Taylor to really give them any impetus. It’ll be a matchup of two teams trying to regain their energy and end ugly runs when they face the Sparks tonight in LA.

 

Notes of Interest: Griner finished with a +/- of -7 for the game, showing that much of Phoenix’s lead was built when she was on the bench. That’s a big positive for a Mercury team whose defense has been falling to bits when Griner rests for much of the season. They were flowing so nicely by the time she sat that the offense kept going and Minnesota never took advantage.

Reeve picked up two technical fouls, but didn’t get ejected. How did that happen? Well the first was a ‘non-unsportsmanlike’ technical for leaving the coaching box, similar to a delay of game, defensive three-seconds or hanging on the rim technical for a player. The second was the more traditional mouthing-off tech. Those don’t add up to ejection, under the rules, so Reeve got to stay.

 

—–

 

New York Liberty 72 @ Connecticut Sun 76

 

Lineups: Plenette Pierson was out for New York, after the renewed knee injury she picked up against the same opponent on Friday night. Avery Warley-Talbert stepped into the hole. Connecticut were also missing their starting power forward, with Chiney Ogwumike attending her graduation ceremony at Stanford. Kelsey Griffin filled that spot, with Alyssa Thomas continuing to start as well due to Allison Hightower’s knee strain keeping her out again.

 

Continue reading →

The Daily W, 06/14/2014

 

Chicago Sky 68 @ Washington Mystics 79

 

Lineups: Chicago had the same major injury problems as Tuesday night, with Elena Delle Donne (illness related to Lyme disease) and Jessica Breland (shin) joining Sylvia Fowles (hip) as absentees. Gennifer Brandon started at power forward again, while Epiphanny Prince got her first start of the season after her strong finish to the Seattle game on Tuesday. Allie Quigley went back to the bench.

Washington promoted Monique Currie back into the starting lineup, moving Tierra Ruffin-Pratt back to the bench.

 

Story of the Game: It was a scrappy first half, with Washington eventually developing a small lead via a few transition baskets in the second quarter. Emma Meesseman’s interior passing was an early highlight, while Kara Lawson came in and got the ball where it needed to be later in the half. Her shooting touch is still proving pretty elusive, but she’s an experienced guard who can run the team as well.

Chicago had Prince breaking down the defense early on, but it failed to result in many points. Quigley hit several shots once she came off the pine, which kept the game close. Washington weren’t really moving the ball well enough as a team to exploit all the holes in Chicago’s defense that Seattle had illustrated in their previous game.

Mike Thibault keeps talking in interviews about how they need Meesseman to be a more forceful player offensively, to look to score and be a central figure for them when they have the ball. She’s young and doesn’t have the selfish personality to make her naturally want to do that, but maybe Thibault reinforced the message again at halftime. We saw more aggression from Meesseman in the second half, finally going right at defenders like Brandon who really can’t guard her. When Brandon sat, Tamera Young was the emergency power forward, which gave Chicago even less chance of surviving inside.

The Mystics finally started to take over the game early in the fourth quarter, perhaps awakened by the scare from Chicago taking a brief lead. Washington used Meesseman and Tianna Hawkins together in the post for that stretch, a pair we haven’t seen much this season (they usually sub in and out for each other). They were both too big and too quick for the Chicago options. On the perimeter Washington had rookie guard Bria Hartley providing a scoring balance, and also ran a couple of plays specifically designed to get shots for Lawson – and she actually knocked them down.

After growing tired of the ineffectiveness of both Courtney Vandersloot and backup Jamierra Faulkner, Chicago had Epiphanny Prince playing as a virtual point guard for much of the second half. Just setting a high pick for Prince and letting her try to make something happen was typically a better option than trying to run an offensive set. It worked for a while, but didn’t hold up in the fourth, and Washington held on for a relatively comfortable final few minutes.

Continue reading →

The Daily W, 06/13/2014

 

Phoenix Mercury 95 @ Connecticut Sun 96

 

Lineups: Both teams started with the groups that have become their ‘regular’ lineups – Phoenix since the start of the season, Connecticut since Anne Donovan finally settled on a point guard and a center. The only unavailable players were the Mercury’s Shay Murphy and Ewelina Kobryn, both in Europe representing national teams in EuroBasket Women 2015 qualifiers.

 

Story of the Game: On a per 100 possessions basis, the best teams in the WNBA are averaging about 106 points so far this season, the worst about 92. For this game alone, both sides finished at over 120. It’s fair to say that offense ruled the roost virtually all night long.

Neither team led by more than five points in the first half. Connecticut had easily the most active, energetic post on the floor in Chiney Ogwumike, who’s already earning points on the pro level purely by outworking opponents on the glass or by running harder down the floor. Fellow Sun post Kelsey Bone struggled in the first half, and it’s not the first time she’s had problems defensively this season. She doesn’t always use her size and bulk to good effect on that end, and opponents bypass her too often. That was partly why Connecticut ended up using Kelsey Griffin at power forward for much of the first half, pushing Ogwumike over to do her best against Brittney Griner.

Phoenix were moving the ball with their typical fluidity and unselfishness, finding the open player – often Candice Dupree – and converting those chances into points. Griner is also developing as an offensive force, becoming a better roller after setting screens, and doing a better job at recognising and reacting to double-teams. Her instinct is still to turn away from the second defender and try to score, which can still be a good option, but she’s also realising that someone’s open when extra defenders come to her, and that with the offensive talent around her that person is likely to score. Phoenix had 13 assists on 18 baskets in the first half, and Griner had three of the dimes.

The Mercury continue to be a work in progress on defense. They’ve vastly better with Griner on the floor, inevitably, because she protects the paint against drivers and post-ups, even if she sometimes has problems when pulled into space. But their rotations and weak-side help still break down far too often, giving up open shots or easy layups. When Erin Phillips sits, it usually creates a perimeter of Diana Taurasi, Penny Taylor and DeWanna Bonner (although Anete Jekabsone-Zogota and Shay Murphy, when she’s around, are also options). That group looks scarily long on paper, but none of them are great defenders (Taurasi’s never been too interested in defense, Taylor’s lost a step from all the injuries, and Bonner’s deteriorated horrendously on the defensive end). The similar sizes ought to make things easier by allowing them to switch almost anything, but sometimes it just makes them even more confused because the communication isn’t great. Switching is fine as long as both people involved know when it’s happening and do it in sync – it gets you in all kinds of trouble when you half-switch or take an extra half-second to agree on what you’re doing.

Alex Bentley was the most effective guard option for Connecticut, and she’s been giving the Sun a real weapon from the perimeter lately. Five different players made threes for them in the first half, helping keep up with the Mercury, and Renee Montgomery rounded off the scoring by banking in a 40-foot heave at the halftime buzzer.

Continue reading →

The Daily W, 06/08/2014

 

Indiana Fever 71 @ Connecticut Sun 88

 

Lineups: Tamika Catchings was still back in Indiana, but Briann January returned from her ankle injury and Shavonte Zellous’s knee issue from the previous night wasn’t serious enough to keep her out. So Indiana’s lineup looked the same as it has for most of the season. Connecticut started the same group as in recent outings.

 

Story of the Game: A desperately scrappy first half was largely brightened up by the performance of Sun point guard Alex Bentley. Her gunning from the perimeter gave the Sun the offense they needed and carried them into the lead. Katie Douglas also did a better job of attacking off the dribble rather than settling for outside jumpers (very few of which have been dropping for her this season).

The box score told you at halftime that the Fever had shot 58% from the field in the opening 20 minutes, but it certainly hadn’t felt like it. The reason for that was turnovers, which had flooded the Fever’s performance and constantly broken up any flow they might’ve developed. They had 17 turnovers in the first half alone, struggling to handle any pressure Connecticut exerted on the perimeter, or keep hold of the ball inside when surrounded by collapsing defenders.

Indiana looked like they might make a game of it a couple of times in the second half, with rookie forward Natasha Howard crashing the glass and finishing putbacks, then backup post Lynetta Kizer hitting several shots when Howard picked up her fifth foul and had to sit. But Connecticut always had an answer, through Bentley, or Chiney Ogwumike inside, or a nice little run from Chiney’s fellow rookie Alyssa Thomas. Out running the break, Thomas is a lot of fun to watch, and hopefully we see more of that as she settles in as a pro. But she’s also a strong, athletic finisher inside, and a useful rebounder from the small forward spot. She hasn’t exploded onto the scene quite like some of this year’s rookies, but give her time.

The Sun eventually held on without too much trouble in the final period, and on the second half of a back-to-back Indiana didn’t have the energy or the drive to sustain a comeback. Although they at least took slightly better care of the ball in the second half.

 

Key Players: Bentley was the catalyst for almost everything good that happened for the Sun, and now that Anne Donovan seems to have settled on her at the point and Renee Montgomery as the regular backup, it should help both of them. Players are always more comfortable when they know their spot in the rotation, even if there’s some flexibility depending on who plays well on a given night. It was also a good sign for Connecticut that they managed to put a decent performance together despite Ogwumike being in foul trouble early on, forcing other players to step up. Kelsey Griffin made some hustle plays coming in for her off the bench, several players drew contact for all the fouls the officials wanted to call, and they came away with a solid win.

Rarely will you shoot 53% from the floor and lose a game by 17 points, but that’s what Indiana managed. All those turnovers killed them, and while it was partly how the referees called the game, all the fouls were partly down to tired players reaching rather than playing proper defense. But the Fever will settle for 1-1 on their weekend Eastern road trip.

 

—–

 

Chicago Sky 59 @ Atlanta Dream 97

 

Lineups: Same again for both teams. Chicago had Epiphanny Prince in uniform again, ready to finally make her debut this season. Atlanta continue to start Jasmine Thomas at the point, with Celine Dumerc and Shoni Schimmel snapping at her heels from the bench.

 

Story of the Game: Chicago got run off their own floor by Los Angeles the night before, and Pokey Chatman would’ve been hoping for a response from her team. She didn’t get one, unless an even more dramatic capitulation counts as a response.

Continue reading →

The Daily W, 06/06/2014

 

Washington Mystics 74 @ Connecticut Sun 66

 

Lineups: Rookie guard Bria Hartley got another start in the backcourt for Washington, maybe hoping she’d be energised by returning to play in front of many of the fans who loved her in college. The Sun stuck with the same lineup from their previous game, which meant the Chiney Ogwumike/Kelsey Bone pairing remained in the post, even though Kelsey Griffin was available again after her illness.

 

Story of the Game: Washington were on top for most of the first half. Kia Vaughn and Emma Meesseman were the post pair having the most success, and their developing chemistry could be a big plus for the Mystics in the future. Mike Thibault likes to mix and match his lineups, but if he notices a particular unit working well together he’ll use his rotations to make sure they’re on the floor together as often as possible. Meesseman has the all-round game and mobility to be effective in various areas, Vaughn has the size and work rate to fight in the paint and a pretty reliable mid-range shot. They gave Ogwumike and Bone problems.

Their teammates were chipping in as well, and the Mystics shot a high percentage in the first half to stay in front. The primary source of points for Connecticut was Ogwumike, who continues to impress. She gets those same hustle points off energy plays and offensive boards that we’ve been watching her sister Nneka pick up for a couple of years, but she’s also a focus of their offense within sets (something Nneka’s never been given a chance at in Los Angeles). With a lot of jumpers that weren’t going in from the rest of the Sun players, their deficit would’ve been a lot more than eight at halftime without Ogwumike’s efforts.

The Sun came back into the game in the third quarter. They were much more active and energetic on defense, the Washington offense stalled, and the scoreboard evened out. Connecticut also benefitted from a run of scoring from Alex Bentley. When your point guards are Bentley and Renee Montgomery, you have to accept that you won’t always run a perfect offensive set. They’re both prone to breaking off and looking for their own points at times, rather than playing the classic distributor role at the point. But sometimes that’s what you need to kick your offense into gear and wake your team up. Along with drives to the hoop and an answered prayer for three as the shot clock expired, Bentley tossed in a behind-the-back pass to Allison Hightower for a three. Connecticut were right back in the game.

Continue reading →