Tag Archives: San Antonio Stars

WNBA Today, 09/19/2012: Playoff Picture continues to clear, as Sky fade meekly away

Most of the important issues in the WNBA playoff race (and a lot of the unimportant ones) were decided a long time ago, which has made it a struggle to retain interest in the closing weeks of the regular season. However, technically, last night’s three games all still had some relevance to either playoff qualification or home court advantage in the postseason. Which isn’t bad with only six days left. On to the Bullet Point Breakdowns.

 

New York Liberty 66 @ San Antonio Silver Stars 77

  • The night kicked off with the only game where both teams had something to play for. Mathematically, at least. New York were the team who needed it more, with a ‘magic number’ of two heading into the night. They still needed a combination of two more Liberty wins or Chicago Sky losses just to sneak into the playoffs. San Antonio still had faint hopes of stealing home court advantage away from Los Angeles in the first round, but it was going to take wins in their last three games, and LA losing their last two, to get there.
  • Throughout the contest, San Antonio’s best player was second-year point guard Danielle Robinson, who’s had a very impressive season. She’s lightning quick, which both helps her get to the rim and pester opponents defensively. It also means that if she pokes away a steal or breaks out in transition, no one’s catching her. She’s also worked hard on her mid-range jumper, which has been falling consistently all season long. You can’t just leave her open to take that shot any more, because she’s shooting 55% from the field and it’s not just layups. In fact, she’s shooting 47% from both 11-15 and 16-20 feet, way above the league averages. Her control of the team as a point guard has improved as well. Since being drafted she’s benefitted from playing alongside Becky Hammon, who takes on a lot of the creative responsibilities, but she’s not just standing on the wing and watching Becky work any more. She’s legitimately the point guard on significantly more possessions, and has increased her assists while lowering her turnovers this season. The PG spot in San Antonio should be in good hands for years to come.
  • Robinson’s primary partner in crime early in the game was Shameka Christon, who seems to have rediscovered her three-point shooting touch recently. Which is a good thing, because she doesn’t do much else. The Silver Stars run plays designed purely to get her open from her favourite spots for three (diagonal from the rim out on the wing, on either side), and she was converting. Continue reading →

WNBA Today, 09/17/2012: Sunday, bloody awful Sunday

Welcome to the new, little-publicised WNBA event: Unwatchable Sundays! Oh alright, that’s a touch harsh. We had an impressive upset to start, and an exciting finish to close, but wow was there a load of dross in the middle. The 2012 WNBA regular season isn’t so much limping to its conclusion as it’s crawling there on its hands and knees, begging for mercy. The playoffs are now only 10 days away, thankfully.

 

Tulsa Shock 80 @ San Antonio Silver Stars 70

  • San Antonio came into this game with lingering hopes of catching the Los Angeles Sparks for 2nd spot in the West and home court advantage in the first-round (although those hopes have been fading since LA started winning a few games). Tulsa have been playing for nothing but pride for quite some time now, but some decent performances have illustrated that they’re still fighting for wins, not ping-pong balls.
  • The central issue in this game all afternoon came down to our old favourite cliché: “it’s a make or miss league”. Tulsa shot well from outside, racking up threes consistently; San Antonio fired away just as often, and kept missing. Sometimes it’s as simple as that.
  • I had the benefit of watching this game via archive rather than live, so having already seen the boxscore and noticed the significant discrepancy in three-point shooting, I kept a close eye on that aspect of the game. There really wasn’t one particular way that Tulsa created their three-point shots. There were a few on drive-and-kicks, which you’re always going to give up occasionally in San Antonio’s typical defensive schemes, where the wing defender is expected to shade in and help protect the lane if necessary. There were a few where defenders went under ball-screens, and the Tulsa shooter simply fired away with the space that created (arguably preventable by the defense if the post shows harder or if you fight over the screen, but they were hardly major breakdowns). And there were a couple which just came off solid ball movement or players moving well off the ball and finding space. There wasn’t one horrible, noticeable failing in the Silver Stars’ defense. They just got lit up.
  • Although this game did send me off looking for team stats on opponents’ three-point shooting percentage, and San Antonio are the worst team in the league in that category. So maybe there is a more systemic issue – all the help necessary to contain opponents in the paint and somewhat fix their rebounding issues may have led to too much room on the perimeter. Continue reading →

WNBA Today, 09/15/2012: Two potential Finals previews, two mismatches, and one running (unfunny) joke

There were five WNBA games last night, but we’re going to split them into three very distinct categories. Firstly, there were two matchups that could’ve been previews of the WNBA Finals coming up in October. Then we’ve got two games which were won by playoff teams against squads that were either seriously understrength or just aren’t very good. Then there’s a final game which I refuse to waste more than a few words on seeing as one franchise is taking the concept of quitting on a season to a whole new level. As you might expect, the level of detail in the coverage is going to decrease significantly as we progress through this column.

 

Minnesota Lynx 66 @ Indiana Fever 64

  • For the third straight game, Minnesota were without star shooting guard Seimone Augustus due to a sprained right foot. It still seems like a precaution more than anything to worry about. The Lynx have virtually everything sealed up in terms of home-court advantage, so there’s no need to rush her back. Monica Wright once again deputised, while Indiana had their regular starting unit in place.
  • Indiana have been rolling lately, winning 10 of 12 since the Olympic break, but they’ve beaten a lot of poor teams or sides mired in losing streaks over that stretch. This was a chance to really test themselves against one of the best. The opening minutes didn’t look good, as jump shot after jump shot clanked off the iron for the Fever, and even on rare drives they were failing to convert. Point guard Briann January attacking Lindsay Whalen was the only option offering any success.
  • Meanwhile, Minnesota started quickly behind transition baskets and Rebekkah Brunson’s mid-range jumper. This was the first time we’d seen Indiana face the Lynx since Tamika Catchings’s full-time move to power forward, which created a direct matchup between her and Brunson. Each obviously creates problems for the other – Catchings has perimeter skills that make it hard for Brunson to cover her; Brunson is a bruiser inside and frequently a demon on the boards. Early on Brunson had the edge.
  • Indiana finally started to make some shots as the opening quarter progressed, with January and Catchings both connecting from outside. Katie Douglas was still ice cold, which allowed Minnesota to maintain their lead. Once again, this has become the fear for Indiana – if their shooters go cold for a night from outside, can they create enough offense via any other route to survive?
  • The defenses were active and dangerous for both teams, but Indiana’s continued to break down slightly more frequently as the first half progressed. They were switching constantly, but also pushing into passing lanes and trying to cut off entry passes. A team like Minnesota was smart enough to use that against them, and reverse passes or backdoor cuts found gaps behind the Fever defense on several occasions. Continue reading →

WNBA Today, 09/13/2012: Four blowouts and a windbag

It’s fair to say that last night was not exactly an evening of WNBA basketball for the ages. Four games, all ending in double-digit margins, three of them featuring teams who would love the 2012 season to just end. While the fourth game involved a team missing its entire starting backcourt. It was a night of blowouts and minimal excitement, and Carolyn Peck. Yeah, if you missed it, I wouldn’t worry too much.

 

Washington Mystics 62 @ New York Liberty 75

  • This game was yet another repeat of countless other Mystic appearances over the last couple of years – enough fight in them to make it competitive for a while, but not enough quality or composure to play a full 40 minutes.
  • For the first three quarters, Washington were in this. They spent most of the first half trailing by 5 or 6 points, with Cappie Pondexter dominating the ball even more than usual for the Liberty. Monique Currie was aggressive going to the rim, constantly creating layups or free throws, and Noelle Quinn hit a couple of shots from outside. Against a New York team that looked a little anxious, and was sometimes playing too quickly for their own good, that was enough to be within 37-34 at halftime.
  • It was still all Currie for Washington in the third quarter – by the end of 30 minutes she had 22 points with only one bucket that wasn’t either at the rim or from the foul line. Fortunately for New York, Currie’s opponent at small forward – Nicole Powell – was having one of her rare effective scoring nights, with 15 points of her own on a perfect 5-5 from the floor. Considering Pondexter was receiving little help from anywhere else, it was a good thing for New York that Powell’s offense had decided to show up for once.
  • In fact, the recent additions to New York’s starting lineup – Essence Carson and Kara Braxton – who’d been moved into the starting unit precisely to provide more offense, were benched for virtually the entire fourth quarter. Braxton played less than 9 minutes all night. Instead, it was Leilani Mitchell and Kia Vaughn given the opportunity to help New York home.
  • And despite a 55-55 tie heading into the fourth quarter, it was ultimately very comfortable for the Liberty. Vaughn kept knocking down her mid-range jumper (and the Mystics kept leaving her wide open to take it), Plenette Pierson was linking up with Pondexter and sliding to the rim to finish (Washington struggled to cover the pick-and-roll and slip-screens all night long), and that was enough. Currie cooled off in the fourth quarter, and no one else could buy a basket for the Mystics. That was it. Continue reading →

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 (Part Two): East meets West, while the Sky keep hope alive

So while we’ve already looked at the standout game from Friday night, there were four other games of varying levels of interest as well. Three were cross-conference matchups, which are always more intriguing purely because the teams play each other far less frequently. The squads don’t know each other quite as well, and players clash with different opponents for a change. The fourth was the vital matchup between the two teams still squabbling over the only playoff spot yet to be decided. So let’s get to it.

 

Los Angeles Sparks 96 @ Washington Mystics 68

  • We’re getting this one out of the way as quickly as possible, rather than giving it pride of place at the top of the column because it deserves it. The starting fives were the same again for both teams.
  • There were actually a few positive signs for Washington early on. They were creating points by being aggressive off the dribble, and exploiting the flaws in LA’s pick-and-roll defense (which had been highlighted for them in several recent LA losses to better opponents).
  • Unfortunately for the Mystics, Candace Parker opened the game actually scoring in the paint. Yes, Parker was posting up, looking for feeds down low, and running for finishes in transition as well. That’s what we’ve needed to see from her for a while.
  • LA started to take control towards the end of the first quarter, when Alana Beard was on the floor with a bunch of Sparks backups. It was Jenna O’Hea’s second straight impressive outing, and her arrival looks to have given the LA bench the shot in the arm they were hoping for. She knows her role, she can consistently hit that corner three, and she doesn’t try to do too much in other aspects of the game. So kind of like what Marissa Coleman was supposed to be offering all year, but has largely failed miserably to provide. Continue reading →

WNBA Today, 09/02/2012: Triple-header topped off by Merc surprise

Triple-header Saturday in the WNBA, with the three games neatly spread out so that you could catch all of them with a little rest inbetween, or pick and choose to your heart’s content. Of course, inevitably, the only one worth watching finished when the sun was coming up in my part of the world, but you still have to applaud the effort of the schedulers. This was a significant upgrade on nights when four games take place simultaneously, WNBA.

On to the Bullet Point Breakdowns.

 

Washington Mystics 73 @ New York Liberty 79

  • Both teams made changes to their starting lineups. Trudi Lacey shuffled her Mystics pack yet again, promoting Noelle Quinn over Matee Ajavon at shooting guard (for the second time in 10 days), and Ashley Robinson over Michelle Snow at center. Shifting deckchairs on the Titanic, again.
  • New York’s changes at least seemed to serve a purpose. Essence Carson replaced Leilani Mitchell in the backcourt, while Kara Braxton came in for Kia Vaughn at center. Essentially, John Whisenant was putting all his scorers on the floor from the beginning. Using Carson over Mitchell would seem to put more pressure on Cappie Pondexter to run the offense, but Carson can pass the ball as well and offers more of a threat to score. Vaughn’s barely been involved in the offense lately, while Braxton is always looking to score while she’s on the floor – even if she can’t keep moving for long. This was a clear effort to create more offense.
  • It sort of worked in the early stages, but a lot of New York possessions were boiling down to Carson or Pondexter going one-on-one. That’s useful on occasion, but you don’t want to revolve your entire offense around it.
  • For Washington, Monique Currie was driving, drawing fouls as she often does. Crystal Langhorne was finishing inside, as she typically does when they can get her the ball. And the guards hit a couple of threes. That was enough to hang around in the first quarter.
  • However, Washington’s offense disintegrated in the second period, as their common affliction – turnover disease – returned with a vengeance. The Liberty still had Pondexter and Carson making plays, and received a boost when the aggressive and effective version of Kara Braxton made an appearance. She and Michelle Snow – a similarly talented yet painfully frustrating center – went at each other, and both scored buckets past the other’s half-hearted defense. Braxton eventually came out on top by making one or two extra plays, and having guards who could find her in better positions. The Liberty were up 45-32 by halftime. 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, 08/26/2012: 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 →