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WNBA Today, 07/12/2013: Quality more important than venue in road victories for Lynx and Sparks

 

Heading into yesterday’s WNBA games, home teams were 51-24 overall in 2013, for a remarkably high .680 winning percentage. There’ve also been a whole host of blowouts this season, the vast majority going in favour of the home side. But there’s also been a pretty noticeable gap between the upper echelon of teams and the remainder of the league. Sometimes, venue doesn’t end up mattering much when there’s a distinct difference in class.

 

Yesterday’s early game was in Indiana, with another franchise offering their Camp Day game for the local kids. It was a re-match of last year’s WNBA Finals, the first meeting between the Fever and the Minnesota Lynx since Indiana fought their way to a surprising but well-deserved championship. The Fever finished off that series despite injuries to Katie Douglas and Jeanette Pohlen, who were both in street clothes yet again for yesterday’s game. Backup center Jessica Davenport is done for the year, and fellow reserve post Jessica Breland was also out for this game due to a sprained ankle. But there was some good news for Indiana, as feisty guard Erin Phillips was in uniform for the first time this season after recovering from the meniscus tear she suffered in the preseason. Minnesota had just one player out, but missing Seimone Augustus (ankle sprain) is always a significant loss.

 

To my amusement (there’s probably no one else that cares), Cheryl Reeve persisted with her gimmick of playing one possession of zone defense to open the game, before reverting to man-to-man for 98% of the remaining action. Once that was out of the way, Indiana had some positive moments in the early going, thanks to hitting a few threes. Shavonte Zellous and Karima Christmas were the hot shooters but it was always a pattern that seemed unlikely to be sustained. Even with Augustus sidelined, getting into a shooting contest with Minnesota is rarely going to end well for anyone other than the Lynx – and their jumpers were already falling nicely at the other end. Led by Monica Wright, who’s relishing the extra responsibility placed on her with Augustus out, Minnesota began to pull away in the first quarter once Indiana’s shooting returned to its typical levels.

 

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WNBA Today, 07/11/2013: Flying Fowles lifts Sky past Mystics; sloppy Mercury upset by Silver Stars

 

We had a pair of early tip-offs in the WNBA yesterday, as thousands of kids descended on arenas in Chicago and Phoenix for their yearly Camp Day games. Sometimes players struggle to wake themselves up time to perform in these games, but it’s always nice if they end up as watchable contests – we have to encourage the next generation of WNBA fans to keep coming back.

 

The first game was in the Windy City, where the Washington Mystics were the visitors. For once, both teams had healthy rosters, with Tamera Young returning from the ankle injury that kept her out of the Sky’s last game to give Pokey Chatman a full bench to utilise. The Mystics reached two significant marks with recent wins – Mike Thibault went past Van Chancellor on the all-time WNBA coaching wins list, and the franchise equalled the highest win-total from the Trudi Lacey era. With 22 games still to go. Now they can just concentrate on continued improvement.

 

While much of the talk last season around the Sky surrounded Epiphanny Prince’s breakout year, and most of the discussion this year has been about rookie starlet Elena Delle Donne, one important player used this game to remind everyone that Chicago already had a superstar before either of those two arrived – Sylvia Fowles. Big Syl was aggressive and active from the very start, running the floor hard, fighting for position in the paint, and leaping after every rebound. While she’s put up pretty solid, consistent numbers this season, too many times she’s been performing relatively quietly while rarely touching the ball in Chatman’s largely predictable offense. This was the Fowles we always want to see, a dominant presence at both ends of the floor who demands the ball inside, or just goes and gets it on the offensive glass. All this despite playing through a bone bruise on her foot and still recovering from a recent ankle sprain. Maybe she needs to be slightly injured even more often, if this is the result.

 

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WNBA Today, 07/10/2013: Lynx dominate Dream in night’s big game, while Liberty hold off sleepy Storm

 

Regular readers of these columns will probably have noticed that games tend to be covered in chronological order. If one game tipped off at 7pm and another at 9pm, details on the earlier game generally come first. However, when two of the WNBA’s mediocre teams bore everyone to tears for a couple of hours, before the two conference leaders face off on national television, exceptions can – and will – be made. So let’s start things off in Minnesota.

 

The vagaries of the WNBA schedule had given the Atlanta Dream eight days off between games prior to last night’s matchup with the Lynx. On the bright side, it had given them time to bring Sancho Lyttle back into the fold after her successful EuroBasket Women campaign with Spain, and she slid straight back into her starting power forward spot. However, when you’re 10-1 and rolling, the last thing you want is a midseason vacation. They’d also lost a rotation player during the gap, with backup guard Tiffany Hayes undergoing surgery on a torn meniscus in her left knee. She’s expected to miss 3-4 weeks, according to the Dream.

 

Minnesota were missing an even more important piece of their puzzle, with star wing Seimone Augustus sidelined by the sprained left ankle she suffered in their game against Phoenix on Sunday. Regular sixth-woman Monica Wright slid into the open starting spot.

 

Lynx head coach Cheryl Reeve used one of her favourite pet gimmicks to open the game – a single possession of 2-3 zone defense, before playing man-to-man for virtually the entire remaining 39 minutes and 45 seconds – and then it was off to the races. It was a high-paced, energetic opening period, but despite that being Atlanta’s favoured style, it was the Lynx in control. Wright’s promotion into the starting lineup allowed Minnesota to use her as the primary defender on Angel McCoughtry, and from the very start Wright gave McCoughtry fits. She’s a quick, active defender, capable of constantly staying in front of players like McCoughtry to make it difficult to convert on drives or hit from outside. She’s also noticeably smart defensively, invariably in the right place at the right time. On top of that, Wright was doing an impressive job on offense, ghosting right by McCoughtry on her way to the rim for multiple layups. Atlanta’s help-defense was a step slow – Lyttle perhaps taking some time to fit back into the Dream system – but the initial defender also isn’t supposed to be beaten that easily off the dribble.

 

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WNBA Today, 07/08/2013: Sky and Lynx expose frailties of Liberty and Mercury in dominant wins

 

Only two games yesterday in the WNBA – which is pretty light for a Sunday this season – and on top of that, both turned out to be very one-sided. This was not a day for nail-biting drama in the WNBA.

 

Our first game was in New Jersey, at the Prudential Center that the New York Liberty are calling home for the third straight year (back to Madison Square Garden next season, assuming everything goes to plan). Considering they’ve been far more successful on their own floor this season, it should’ve been a welcome return for the Liberty after a four-game road trip. However, their visitors were the Chicago Sky, who finally seem to have amassed enough talent that even they can’t avoid winning basketball games. They also had center Sylvia Fowles back in the lineup after missing just one game due to her sprained ankle.

 

The first 15 minutes of the game were relatively even, with Katie Smith once again tasked with guarding Elena Delle Donne and doing the best job she could. Neither team was shooting particularly well, but Cappie Pondexter was finding her way to the rim often enough to keep the Liberty in it. Then the Sky discovered a very simple way to create points. Whether it was Courtney Vandersloot, Epiphanny Prince or Delle Donne, someone would penetrate slightly into the New York defense from the top of the key. They didn’t need to get to the rim, or even beat their defender – it just needed to be enough to attract attention from the strong side defender guarding the Sky player on the wing. As soon as that defender took a step inside to help prevent the penetration, the easy kick-out pass went to the shooter who’d been left in extra space, and that player knocked down the shot. Remarkably simple, and it worked several times in the space of a few minutes for Chicago. It’s essentially the basis of beating any reasonably solid defense – you make them bend, and then exploit whatever space they’ve left behind. It turned a three-point game into a 41-32 halftime lead.

 

The same semi-penetration and kick move worked for Chicago in the third quarter, and so did a lot of other things as the Sky turned the game into a rout. Even when it was simple one-on-one basketball through Prince or Delle Donne, offense was coming much more easily for Chicago, while New York were having to work incredibly hard for anything they got. Pondexter has looked better in the last couple of games, but she’s scoring much more efficiently on catch-and-shoot opportunities than dribbling into shots herself – and the team doesn’t have enough alternative weapons to create chances for her. Playing her off the ball a little more would be nice, but it feels like the Liberty would probably turn the ball over before she could run around a couple of screens and break open to receive a pass. The offense is still too ponderous and predictable, still too prone to trying to make the perfect pass through invisible gaps, and it allowed the Sky to pull away to a comfortable lead.

 

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WNBA Today, 07/07/2013: Sparks blowout, Charles blow-up, and Thiabult breaks a record

 

Pretty typical trio of WNBA games this Saturday – another blowout in Los Angeles, another serious-looking injury, another disappointing night for Connecticut and Tina Charles, and a game that was virtually unwatchable until the final couple of minutes. Sometimes, we end up with exactly what we should’ve expected – the interesting part is how we got there. On to the Bullet Point Breakdowns to take a look.

 

San Antonio Silver Stars 66 @ Los Angeles Sparks 93

  • It was all change for San Antonio at the start of this one, but in a good way. Four new starters began the game, with Becky Hammon, Jayne Appel, Shenise Johnson and DeLisha Milton-Jones all returning from injury. Johnson and DMJ had only missed the loss in Atlanta, but Appel had been sorely missed for five games since suffering a concussion in practice. Hammon, the team’s leader for years now, was making her first appearance all year after breaking a finger in preseason. Shameka Christon was out after hurting an ankle in their last game against Atlanta, but four in, one out seemed like a positive exchange.

 

  • The Sparks have been dominant at home this season, but San Antonio kept pace with them through the first 15 minutes of action. There were far too many turnovers at both ends of the floor, with LA in particular giving the ball away too cheaply and allowing San Antonio to run back at them. All the returning players looked in pretty good shape for the Silver Stars, with Hammon sliding into the backcourt alongside Danielle Robinson like she’d never left. Appel was maybe a little rusty, but she gave them the physical presence inside and on the glass that had clearly been missing in recent games. San Antonio also created space and mismatches with their movement and off-ball screening, leading to the switches that LA’s defense always falls back on. When Kristi Toliver ends up trying to guard Danielle Adams under the basket, something’s gone wrong.

 

  • Then disaster struck for San Antonio. Driving along the baseline, Hammon’s left leg buckled and went out from under her. There’s been no official diagnosis yet, but she had to be carried from the floor and everyone fears the dreaded ACL tear – something Hammon’s suffered before, although it was the other knee and a decade ago. We can only hope for the best when she undergoes further examination back in San Antonio.

 

  • The Silver Stars didn’t noticeably fall apart due to Hammon’s injury. Obviously, they’re used to playing without her at this point, and she hadn’t even done that much during her 12 minutes on the floor. But a Milton-Jones jumper put them ahead 24-21 seconds after Hammon was carried off, before LA ran off an 18-5 push before halftime that eventually became 26-5 when you included the start of the third quarter. More than anything else, the death of San Antonio’s offense led to the Sparks’ steak, with perimeter jumpers bouncing off and turnovers allowing LA to push. The Silver Stars also struggled all afternoon to handle the athleticism and activity of Nneka Ogwumike, who was involved in the LA offense from early in the game and kept her momentum rolling through the entire contest. While Appel could at least put a body on Candace Parker inside, without Sophia Young the Silver Stars didn’t really have an answer for Ogwumike.

 

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WNBA Today, 07/05/2013: Ultra-hot Sparks shoot Liberty off the floor

 

I don’t pretend to understand the whims of the WNBA schedulers, but for whatever reason they left blank dates either side the 4th of July, while finding time for a game in Los Angeles yesterday afternoon. On the bright side, it was a pretty entertaining game with plenty to talk about, so let’s get to it.

 

The LA Sparks came into this matchup with New York at 6-0 on their own floor. More than that, despite having played Western Conference champions Minnesota twice already at Staples Center, the Sparks had a ridiculous average margin of victory of 24 points across those six games. So it probably wasn’t the place New York would’ve picked to complete a week-long, four-game road trip, especially considering they were 1-4 on the road before this encounter.

 

LA were healthy and unsurprisingly stuck with their usual starting five, considering they blew the Lynx out again on Tuesday night. Bill Laimbeer maintained the same starting five from the Liberty’s last outing as well, although Avery Warley didn’t last long before Plenette Pierson took back her regular spot at power forward.

 

After Phoenix’s giant lineup gave New York – and Leilani Mitchell in particular – matchup difficulties in their previous game, Los Angeles presented rather different problems. Kristi Toliver is one of the few off-guards in the WNBA that doesn’t have a significant size or strength advantage over Mitchell, so the Liberty gave her the job of chasing Toliver around while Cappie Pondexter took on Lindsey Harding. It would be unfair to blame what followed on Mitchell, but it’s fair to say that the plan didn’t work. Elsewhere, Kara Braxton started the game on Candace Parker, which led to Parker scoring six points in the opening 92 seconds of the game. Yeah, Candace was pretty confident she could attack Kara.

 

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WNBA Today, 07/03/2013: Sun, Mercury and Sparks all defend their home court, while Sky crumble without Syl

 

With no games on July 3rd or 5th (but bizarrely one on the 4th itself), the WNBA packed four games into the schedule last night. So to cover it all, it’s a midweek WNBAlien Bullet Point Breakdown.

 

Tulsa Shock 69 @ Connecticut Sun 88

  • Shock head coach Gary Kloppenburg moved Liz Cambage back to the bench to start this game, with Jen Lacy taking her starting spot back from the big Aussie. Maybe he wanted to keep Cambage out of early foul trouble, or just didn’t like the matchup between her and Tina Charles. Fortunately, Glory Johnson was healthy to play after an awkward twist to her knee in their previous game, and making sure she was part of the action may also have played into the decision to bring Cambage off the bench. Johnson rather disappeared from their offense when the focus was on Cambage in their last game. Connecticut had the same list of injuries as in recent outings – Kara Lawson, Renee Montgomery and Tan White all sidelined – so Iziane Castro Marques started at shooting guard once again.

 

  • We got a taste of vintage Izi in the opening quarter, with some crazy-looking floaters that found their way in, and “no, no, no… yes!” shots from outside. She didn’t do much after the first quarter besides play deplorable defense and turn the ball over, but the Sun have been so desperate for perimeter offense lately that they’ll have been happy to see her come alive – however briefly.

 

  • Once Cambage did enter the action you could clearly see why Kloppenburg had been wary of using her against the Sun. On defense Tulsa kept her as far away from Charles as possible, afraid of what even this year’s version of the Sun center would do to her. When the Shock had the ball, Connecticut dropped down to double-team every time she touched it, and it was reminiscent of Bad Kara Braxton. The double-teams weren’t just pressuring Cambage into giving up the ball, but were forcing errors and creating turnovers. Even when the double-team wasn’t imminent, she became so conscious of the possibility that she was rushing into offensive moves and missing. She’s got lots of talent and obvious physical gifts, but there’s still some way to go for Cambage at this level.

 

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WNBA Today, 07/01/2013: Blowouts and pain, as injuries and defense dominate Sunday’s action

 

After two games that failed to catch fire on Saturday night, Sunday featured three matchups in the WNBA. And it’s fair to say that if you’re reading this to find out what you missed – you didn’t miss much. But don’t go away just yet. There were one or two moments of interest as the league finished off its June schedule, so check out the Bullet Point Breakdowns below for the details.

 

San Antonio Silver Stars 67 @ Atlanta Dream 93

  • With Atlanta sitting pretty at 9-1 before this game, it’s fair to say they’d have been strong favourites over visiting San Antonio (3-6) even if both had been using the same squads they’ve had available for most of the season. But when news emerged before the game that DeLisha Milton Jones (medial tibial stress syndrome – shin splints) and Shenise Johnson (sprained right knee) would be joining Becky Hammon, Sophia Young and Jayne Appel on the sidelines for the Silver Stars, it became even more of a mismatch. That’s basically five of their top eight players – similar to the injury list that’s led to Indiana’s horrendous start to the 2013 season.

 

  • There was an atmosphere of inevitability around this game from the opening tip-off. Atlanta broke out to an 8-1 lead, and ultimately led for the entire afternoon. The Dream were racking up their usual pile of steals and breaks in the first quarter, leading to a lot of layups, and only their own sloppiness with the ball limited their lead. There were 16 turnovers between the teams in the first quarter.

 

  • When her head’s locked into the game – and to be fair, that’s been the case for the majority of this season – Angel McCoughtry is an outstanding offensive leader for this team. She’s shown off her scoring talents and ability to get to the rim or draw fouls during her time in the WNBA, but she’s exhibiting more of a willingness to pass this season. She seems to be showing a greater appreciation of the fact that if two (or more) defenders are challenging her, then there’s a teammate wide open somewhere to dump the ball off to. It makes her a nightmare to defend, and she’s one of the primary candidates for league MVP so far this year.

 

  • McCoughtry’s also leading the league in steals, but she can be a remarkably frustrating defender. There are only so many times you can get away with standing around and whining or pouting after an offensive breakdown, while your teammates are playing 4-on-5 defense at the other end. She does it repeatedly, and it’s not cute. She also gambles constantly – but that’s pretty much intrinsic to the Dream defense, so it’s usually acceptable – and often loses track of her man so just randomly double-teams instead. She’s got great instincts for the ball, and incredibly quick hands – it’s just the basic stuff that sometimes breaks down.

 

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WNBA Today, 06/30/2013: Mercury beat Sun amid flood of fouls; Sky hold off Sparks despite loss of Fowles

 

Two oddly similar games in the WNBA last night. There were a grand total of zero lead changes in either game, but both drifted along for much of the evening while threatening to become competitive, without ever quite managing it. It was a meandering night of basketball, that never quite took off.

 

The first game to tip off was in Connecticut, where the Sun played host to the Phoenix Mercury. Connecticut continue to work without Kara Lawson, Renee Montgomery and Tan White, leaving Iziane Castro Marques to start once again at shooting guard. With Asjha Jones taking the year off, the frontcourt was supposed to be the Sun’s big problem this year – as it turns out, they’ve had just as much trouble with their guards. Phoenix had the same starting lineup that’s been successful recently, and came in having won six of their last seven games. They also had a nice surprise for everyone available off the bench.

 

The early minutes suggested Tina Charles was energised for her first professional clash with Brittney Griner, as we saw more direct attacking in the post from Charles than has been evident in her play this season. She was going right at the rookie, trying to prove that there were already some pretty talented centers in the WNBA before the mega-hyped youngster arrived. Early on, Charles also had the benefit of Phoenix leaving Griner isolated to defend Charles straight-up, rather than the endless double and triple-teams that have been sent her way this season. However, even Corey Gaines and the Mercury aren’t that dumb defensively, and the double-teams quickly started to arrive.

 

Phoenix’s offense was unsurprisingly led by Diana Taurasi, continuing to illustrate her awesome scoring ability and her willingness to create, which helped Candice Dupree join the scoring. One no-look feed that led Dupree in for an easy layup was particularly pretty.

 

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WNBA Today, 06/29/2013: A busted streak, two blowouts and a brick-fest for Friday night

 

Four games in the WNBA last night, but it wasn’t exactly a feast for the basketball fan. A couple of blowouts, a losing streak broken more by will than skill, and a messy slugfest to close out the evening. But there were still plenty of moments of interest. On to the Bullet Point Breakdowns.

 

Tulsa Shock 69 @ Indiana Fever 80

  • Indiana came into this contest looking to break a seven-game losing streak, and their chances were given a significant boost before tip-off with the news that Tamika Catchings was ready to play. Their leader and star player had missed two games due to lower back pain, but she was in the starting lineup for this one. Tulsa had the same starting five they’ve been working with lately, with a bonus of their own available off the bench. Big center Liz Cambage was in uniform and available for the first time since the end of May.

 

  • The game opened with Tulsa jacking endless threes – mostly bricks – while Indiana blew a series of layups. Neither was a surprise. Tulsa have taken far more threes than any other team in the league this season; Indiana are the only team in the WNBA shooting under 50% from inside 5-feet (the league average from that range is 56%).

 

  • While injuries have been the major factor in the Fever’s horrible start to the season, they also haven’t been helped by the introduction of the defensive three-seconds rule. As much as any team in the league, Indiana’s defense expects players to float towards help positions and bring double-teams whenever the ball goes down low. They aren’t committing a significant number of violations – it’s just that you can sometimes see the hesitation that the new rule has implanted in their minds. Playing ‘on a string’ defense where everyone shifts into the right position has become more difficult – or at the very least, distinctly different – with the new rule. And the Fever are still adapting.

 

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