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OtterMommy

By OtterMommy
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PepSinger

PepSinger

Wow. The first playoff game between the Liberty & Sky was incredible. However, I cannot get over the 12 missed shots in the last two-three minutes of the game. It was clear that they were tired, and the Liberty took advantage of that. I'm happy for Ionescu, though. Looking forward to the next game.

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KWalkerInc

KWalkerInc

I don't like that ESPN has the two Game 3's set up to air after Little League, because the Little League typically has long rain delays that wreak havoc with the schedule and make it very difficult to figure out what is airing on what channel.  Of course the WNBA games will still air somewhere, but I was going to watch them on recordings a little later.  I guess I will probably have to find out what channel they are actually on and set up a second recording there. 

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PepSinger

PepSinger

23 hours ago, KWalkerInc said:

I don't like that ESPN has the two Game 3's set up to air after Little League, because the Little League typically has long rain delays that wreak havoc with the schedule and make it very difficult to figure out what is airing on what channel.  Of course the WNBA games will still air somewhere, but I was going to watch them on recordings a little later.  I guess I will probably have to find out what channel they are actually on and set up a second recording there. 

It’s wicked annoying. Luckily, I’m used to it happening because of college basketball, but still.

Congrats to the Chicago Sky!! I am hoping they go all the way again. 

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QueerGirrl

QueerGirrl

(edited)
19 hours ago, PepSinger said:

Now that Chicago Sky is out, I’ll be rooting for the Las Vegas Aces. @QueerGirrl is right; they are unstoppable. Also, I just can’t get behind the Sun. I don’t know why.

Agreed PepSinger.  Vegas, despite kicking the crap outta my Sky this season, is likeable team to me.  They are incredibly talented. 

Edited by QueerGirrl
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Danielg342

Danielg342

On 2/1/2023 at 12:12 PM, mojoween said:

Breanna Stewart is signing with the Liberty.  Who’s shocked?  Anyone?  Bueller?

Courtney Vandersloot, the 2018 MVP, is also signing with the New York Liberty. She's expected to take less salary so she can fit her contract under the Liberty's salary cap space.

I could be wrong, but since the Liberty now have three former MVPs (Stewart, Vandersloot and Jonquel Jones) plus All-Star Betnijah Laney and former No. 1 overall pick Sabrina Ionescu that this is the WNBA's version of "if LeBron, Luka, Ja Morant, Giannis and Steph Curry all came together on one team". Should be a bigger story, you'd think.

I guess we'll see how it goes but this Liberty team could capture wider attention and draw some eyeballs the WNBA badly needs. I don't know how the rest of the WNBA feels about this (probably not very good) but this could be a good story for the WNBA going forward.

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KWalkerInc

KWalkerInc

It's nice that ION is airing Friday night games now, but whoever is in charge of the schedule/guide didn't get the memo that they start at 5 & 7 PM in the Pacific time zone.  I record Liberty and Wings games (for Sabrina, Satou Sabally and now Nyara Sabally also playing for New York), but they listed the Wings-Storm game as starting at 10 PM.  I had to set recordings for a Hawaii 5-0 episode and then the Sky-Mystics game they were listing at 8 to actually get the game.  It would seem like this would eventually be corrected in future weeks, but not so far!  I thought CBS Sports Network taking forever to list the games (they have a generic schedule until maybe a week out) was annoying enough.

The first Liberty game was pretty ugly, but they picked it up in the second half against Connecticut.  I was glad to see Nyara Sabally in and contributing after all her injuries over the years, but then she may have gotten hurt again late.  She was still in the game, but looked pained.

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KWalkerInc

KWalkerInc

The Liberty-Mystics game on Sunday was really interesting yet nerve-racking!  I had noticed my recording had automatically extended, which suggested the game had gone to overtime; but when Washington jumped out to a 13-0 lead I started thinking maybe it was just some glitch that it extended the recording.  Then New York kept having chances late but missing key free throws, only to end up tying it on VanderSloot's late drive for a lay-up after the Mystics missed some free throws.  Then VanderSloot fouled out in overtime, but Sabrina kept them afloat until the struggling Stewart made the big three-point play.  I still thought they'd lose with 17 seconds left, but they managed to hold on.  I just finished watching yesterday's game with Connecticut, which was also very entertaining.  Sabrina was a total non-factor though, which was disappointing.  I don't know if she will make the All-Star Game this year with so many good players as she has been up and down and missed some time.  I'm happy that Satou Sabally was picked as a starter though (haven't watched yesterday's Dallas game yet).  I hope BG can play but that will depend on how her hip is feeling.

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KWalkerInc

KWalkerInc

It's just one game, but I was rather shocked by Sunday's Liberty-Aces game.  After having tried to watch their first meeting when I had a trial of Amazon Prime (I gave up and opened a different window on the laptop a few minutes into the third quarter), I was just happy New York played a good first half this time but thought that Sabrina would slow down and Las Vegas would pull away.  Even when the Liberty had a fair-sized lead, I wasn't so sure because they tend to let even some of the league's not-as-successful teams back into games quickly.  But they kept hitting everything, and Becky Hammon decided to wave the white flag going to the fourth quarter.  The Commissioner's Cup and the next "regular" meeting are both Prime games, so if things go badly, at least I won't see it!

It still seems a little weird to me that Sabrina (though she had some other points today) is primarily a three-point shooter now.  She'd make a few a game in college, often to beat a shot clock or end-of-quarter clock, but there would be a player whose main role was to shoot threes (usually well, but then there would be games where the other team would not let that player get the ball at all, even if it meant getting beaten a lot by Sabrina, Satou or Ruthy Hebard).  I suspect her role will change a lot next year, because I think Stewart and VanderSloot are only on one-year contracts?

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KWalkerInc

KWalkerInc

The media seems to act like it's all about Las Vegas-New York and everyone else is an afterthought, but I think the Liberty could have a real problem with Washington in round 1.  After coming back from 12 down in the 4th but losing at the buzzer today, New York only split the season series with them.  And one of the wins was the miracle comeback/overtime win I mentioned in an earlier post.  It seems like Stewart always struggles really badly against the Mystics (though I haven't looked up how she did in the third meeting).  I wonder if she was just cold or if it's their defense.

It's not like the Liberty were resting or not giving an all-out effort, especially with #1 seed still on the line (though I would have fainted if the Aces lost to one-win-on-the-road-all-season Phoenix).  When the game was tied, I had a feeling it wasn't going to go well because my recording would have extended if it had been overtime.  I wish it had been another player who made the shot, as she is one of two players in the league I really don't like.  Anyway, I cringed when I checked the schedule afterwards and saw that Washington was the playoff opponent.  Atlanta (who is playing Dallas) might have been better.

Chicago has a tough draw but it's nice that they made the playoffs after being overhauled and seeing their coach leave in the middle of the season.  I've watched some of their games after Ruthy Hebard came back from maternity leave and I'm glad she has somewhat been part of the rotation again.  She's always seemed really nice, her suspension for coming off the bench during an altercation this season notwithstanding!  I hope Copper was just sitting today because they'd clinched and will be ready for Wednesday.

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mojoween

mojoween

Oh so NOW everyone cares about the women’s salaries because their golden girl is getting paid eighty grand a year.  No one batted an eye when Brittany Griner was in the fucking gulag because she was trying to make some more bank.  I hate people.  The women have been complaining about this for YEARS but no one deigned to listen before.

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Calvada

Calvada

I wasn't surprised to hear it was Gregg Doyel who made an inappropriate comment to Caitlin Clark at her press conference in Indy.  I've thought the guy was a jerk since his time with CBSSports.com when he mocked Brian Butch, a University of Wisconsin basketball player, for crying as he left the floor after suffering an injury.  Butch had dislocated and broken his elbow, he was in extreme pain, and the injury ended his season. Doyel made some type of half-assed apology after the outrage of Wisconsin fans (and others with a sense of decency) was made loud and clear.  That happened 17 years ago and it is clear Doyel has not improved with age.  He's moved on from mocking the injured to making inappropriate remarks to a female athlete. 

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baldryanr

baldryanr

On 4/16/2024 at 7:09 PM, mojoween said:

The women have been complaining about this for YEARS but no one deigned to listen before.

Well, let's see if the players union has the juice to get a better deal in 2025 when they're expected to opt out of the current collective bargaining agreement.  NBA players get 50% of the revenue while WNBA get 10%.  Regardless, they'd still have vastly smaller salaries than their NBA counterparts and people looking to score cheap points would still get all worked up about the pay disparity. 

If the owners do what they'll probably want to do (i.e. cheap out), will the players be willing to hold the line and dare them to have a lockout? 

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BuckeyeLou

BuckeyeLou

Yikes!  The whole city of Indianapolis(and beyond) was Excited for Caitlin Clark's first home game at Gainbridge Fieldhouse, but the Fever got wiped out by the NY Liberty!  It was hard to watch at the end.  I feel like people are expecting too much from Caitlin right as she is starting her career, she must feel enormous pressure to help the Fever win.  I think it will take awhile for her to gel with her Team-mates and for her to be used to playing in the "Big Leagues".  So many young fans look up to Caitlin.

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baldryanr

baldryanr

Didn't some of it already start a while back?  Sure, two F4 appearances, but no championships.  Plus Indiana isn't exactly off to a great start, but good teams don't get the first pick.

Oh, and quite convenient that the talented player who brings in the masses just happens to be straight, white, and from the Midwest. 

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Black Knight

Black Knight

I watched today's Fever-Sky game to see Clark and Reese face off for the first time in the WNBA.

It's abundantly clear why the Fever was in a position to draft Clark. She already has a stunning number of assists for a rookie, but wow, she'd have so many more if her teammates could hit wide open shots more often.

It was good to see Reese tearing up the boards as she did in college. And Cardoso, making her debut, is going to be an impactful player.

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baldryanr

baldryanr

20 hours ago, Black Knight said:

It's abundantly clear why the Fever was in a position to draft Clark. She already has a stunning number of assists for a rookie, but wow, she'd have so many more if her teammates could hit wide open shots more often.

Maybe she should settle for having her teammates stick up for her?  That's blatant, and no one could be bothered to do anything.  If Lebron or Steph gets hipchecked their teammates wouldn't just kind of mosey around the court.

 

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Black Knight

Black Knight

Her nearest teammate came over to help her up. I always find the bench-clearing crap silly. It's mostly posturing that causes injuries and leads to ejections, fines and suspensions, and it doesn't really make a difference. That foul gave Clark a free throw which she drained, and the Fever beat the Sky by one point, so Carter has to live with that and with the embarrassment of the Sky being the team to give the Fever their first home win of the season. Clark basically said herself that's how to do it: don't get mad, get the points. (Now that Fever teammate, I forget who, who was fouled attempting a three-pointer and missed all three free throws? Yikes.)

Reese was practically clotheslined a couple of games ago, too. But instead of ratcheting up the drama you let the refs call the fouls, and sink the free throws, and the opposing coaches will get irritated at the points and the nonsense will eventually stop.

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rcc

rcc

Don't understand the need for a review. That was  flagrant as hell. Carter should have been fined and suspended. 

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Stats Queen

Stats Queen

On 5/21/2024 at 6:01 PM, baldryanr said:

Oh, and quite convenient that the talented player who brings in the masses just happens to be straight, white, and from the Midwest. 

???????

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KWalkerInc

KWalkerInc

(edited)

I don't really understand some of the rules about coaches' challenges on calls.  In Tuesday's Mercury-Liberty game, a foul was called on Diana Taurasi late in the game, and Fiebich (?) was going to the line with a chance to tie the game or give the Liberty the lead.  The coach challenged and the call was overturned, which did seem to be correct (didn't look like a foul).  But instead of resuming the possession where it had been, it was a jump ball.  Of course Brittney Griner won the jump (I'd be surprised if she ever hasn't!), then Taurasi made a three and the game was basically over.  The Liberty had plenty of other chances throughout the game, I just found it weird that they automatically revert to a jump ball after any successful challenge or something.

ETA:  In today's Liberty-Dream game, a foul on Jordin Canada was overturned, but they still counted Sabrina's basket and then continued with Atlanta now having possession.  Maybe the other game had a jump ball because the disputed foul was on a rebound?  I had thought that it was a play under the basket before Jonquel Jones took a shot, but maybe it wasn't.

ESPN3, which is hard to get to work anyway, had a replay of the Liberty-Dream game, but it only went up to about two minutes into the third quarter.  That is weird, but nothing much changed in the game after that, so I guess they didn't care enough to fix anything.

Edited by KWalkerInc
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KWalkerInc

KWalkerInc

After watching the Liberty-Aces game today, I was wondering how close the Liberty were to clinching a playoff spot.  Then on the ESPN ticker several hours later (it hadn't before), it says the win clinched this.  I'm surprised that it was never mentioned during the game or in the interviews afterwards, unless there was some weird tiebreaker that hadn't been taken into account.  The broadcasters are usually up on those kind of things.  I hope they can avoid Indiana in the first round, as they could be very dangerous in a short series--especially if they still have the format where the lower seed gets the deciding game if it goes three.  (It seems very weird already talking about a playoff berth now after the way the Liberty had to scrape their way in and get help in Sabrina's first two healthy (ish) years.)

This was a pretty low-scoring game, which it didn't look like it would be after the first quarter.  Vegas could have been rusty, or maybe jet lag since practically their entire starting lineup was playing in the Olympics.  The Liberty had already played the Sparks on Thursday, and pretty much did whatever they wanted.  I think L.A. has a lot of significant injuries.

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KWalkerInc

KWalkerInc

(edited)

I've been recording some Wings games again now that Satou Sabally was able to return.  They had been down at the bottom of the league, but have looked very scrappy the last couple games.  They were getting creamed by L.A. going into the fourth quarter and somehow scored 40 in a quarter and came back to win.  Then tonight they were struggling against Las Vegas as I was in and out of the room not paying much attention.  Then they started getting closer before having a good fourth quarter and pulling it out, even though A'ja Wilson scored 42.  (Wilbon on PTI today was yelling about how Wilson should be MVP, as if anyone's really going to argue against that.)  The Wings have some really talented players and I was surprised they were down quite as far as they were pre-break without Satou.  They did win that game right before the break where Catilin Clark set the assists record, but that was the exception.

ETA:  I hope Jonquel Jones will feel better soon, as the Liberty obviously have some weaknesses without her.  They have missed three of their other starters at various times without slipping, but couldn't beat LA without Jonquel though Nyara Sabally played well.  Nyara is very tough and basically carried Oregon's team on her back the two years she was able to play (she was injured when her sister and Sabrina were still there).  Then on the day she declared for the WNBA after four years in school (after scoring 35 in a tournament loss), practically the entire team entered the transfer portal and they basically have never won another game.

Edited by KWalkerInc
Note about Liberty.
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baldryanr

baldryanr

Well, one of them shoots around 25%(!!!!) if she's at least 3 ft from the basket (and only 50% at the rim), which not so coincidentally produces a lot of rebounding opportunities.

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Black Knight

Black Knight

I think that's overblown. Roughly 61% of her rebounds are defensive, and she rebounds plenty of her teammates' missed shots. I used to play, enough to know it's not really any easier to rebound your own shots, because other players get a chance to position themselves while you're still coming down from getting your shot off, plus when you do land your feet are not in the ideal position for moving quickly in the needed direction. And at 6'3", she's not height disadvantaged but nor is she getting any special advantages from it either. She gets her rebounds because she has a motor and outworks the other players.

I do incline towards Clark for MVP because I love what a player great at assists can do for an entire offense.

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KWalkerInc

KWalkerInc

Portland was announced today as the 15th current franchise, to begin play in 2026.  (The Golden State Valkyries begin play in the SF Bay Area next year, and Toronto will start in 2026.)  Portland previously had a team from 2000 to 2002 that was felled by the inability to find a new owner.  Sabrina Ionescu reportedly advocated for Portland to get a team, and her contract will be up after 2025, so I wonder if she would be interested in joining the new team?  Hopefully her shooting slump will end before then.  My father argued that "she's not a great shooter anyway, she's streaky."  During the seasons when the Liberty were a fringe playoff team, it's true that I would put on my recording of games not knowing if it would be one of those days when everything would go in for her...or not.  But she had grown more consistent and I don't remember things being this bad for an extended time period.  The team will need more than Stewie to get far; if they advance to the semis, they likely will have to face Las Vegas, which doesn't sound like fun regardless of how the regular season went.  I'm not sure how a Minnesota-Las Vegas matchup would go, but the Lynx have been great since the Olympics (and have also basically owned the Liberty, beating them three times even if the Commissioner's Cup game doesn't officially count).

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KWalkerInc

KWalkerInc

(edited)

After Sabrina's strong performance in game 2 of the first round, she was interviewed, and I kind of cringed when she used the phrase "unfinished business."  That was the same phrase that she used when she declared that she was returning for senior season at Oregon, and was brought up frequently during that ultimately ill-fated season.  She did declare in a video that aired after the team clinched the regular-season conference championship (several weeks before the NCAA tournament ultimately had to be cancelled) that the "unfinished business" was their journey and not necessarily winning a championship, but you'd think she'd be a little traumatized by those particular words (I know I am).  And now ESPN has used her saying that as a sound byte for commercials for the semi-finals.  That's just great.  It would just be nice if they could figure out the times for the games on Tuesday (on ESPN U?  Really?  With basically nothing on ESPN2 opposite the baseball.  That wouldn't have happened to Caitlin, I would guess).

ETA: The Tuesday games have now been assigned to ESPN2.

Edited by KWalkerInc
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KWalkerInc

KWalkerInc

I'm really happy for the Liberty and for Sabrina after they even mentioned her being still affected by not having an NCAA tourney in 2020, though her performance in this game was rather painful!  At least she has Game 3 and it did end up meaning something.  And Nyara Sabally totally saved them.  She was a huge factor on both ends of the court.  I hope they mentioned her on the local news here if they showed highlights and didn't just show Sabrina's one basket and call it good.

I noticed the shocked expression on Jonquel when the commissioner said she was Finals MVP.  She probably thought Stewie would get it, but Jonquel was consistent in all games.  Stewart hung in though and gave her all defensively too.

I wonder if Courtney Vandersloot will retire?  She wasn't even bringing the ball up late in the regular season, so replacing her with Fiebich as a starter was smart (not just because it was what a friend and I thought should happen).  Sloot has had a great run, and I wonder if they wished they could have had her wife, Allie, "un-retire" partway through this game and come in to see if she could make a few threes, LOL.

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baldryanr

baldryanr

1 hour ago, mojoween said:

The Lynx coach claiming that the refs stole the game from them would hold more weight if Minnesota had, you know, made *any* field goals in overtime.

If the Lynx are right then that's irrelevant - they would have won it in regulation without the refs blowing things.   See them missing the travel call:

Then the extremely questionable foul call itself where contact seemed minimal at best. 

Besides, making field goals is hard - see Sabrina Ionescu doing her best John Starks impression.  If the Liberty had lost she'd be roasted for a long time.

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