September 26th, 2004: Detroit at New York, Eastern Conference First Round

Detroit Shock 76, New York Liberty 66

Bill Laimbeer is expressive, the Game Notes make a statement about Elaine Powell that they will later regret, and Swin Cash and Tari Phillips are dressed to the nines.


Uh, yeah. Not exactly a sterling performance for New York. Not exactly a great job by the refs, either, but as always we'll get to that.

Bill shook things up, with great effect. Merlakia Jones started on Friday; for the second game Barbara Farris was in the starting five. Both of them played far better this time around. You'd think that anyone who remembered the Rockers of old would know not to leave Lake open for a shot or a board... and Farris was solid on the boards and tough on D. Cheryl Ford was a monster, in more ways than one: fierce on the offensive end, strong rebounding at both ends, and dishing out elbows just like her daddy's. I think she was the one that got in the last shot on Crystal. Deanna Nolan is fast as greased lightning *takes a moment to listen to "Greased Lightning" in my head* and a fantastic shooter. Why do people keep leaving her open? And when will Patty stop playing Becky on six-foot guards? But that's for another paragraph. I was singing the praises of the Detroit backcourt, and while Tweety could beat Elaine Powell in a footrace any day of the week, Powell has a great knack for knowing where the ball is going to be, whether it's because she's decided that's where it's going to be (she ended with nine assists) or because someone threw it where she expected them to (dunno how many steals/deflections she had). She's not a flashy point guard, she'll never make the highlight reels, but I'd have her in my corner in a heartbeat. Ruth Riley was not impressive on offense- most of her points came on a gorgeous free throw stroke I want to steal and dish out to Bethany- but her defense was stellar; her very presence made people change their minds about driving, and she made the zone a success. The Shock bench, other than the previously mentioned senior Jones, was not impressive, especially in comparison with the two-woman tag team the Liberty brought forth. Bill has an interesting method of running timeouts; first, he steps out to talk to the assistants (is that even legal? they're all out at the free throw line), then goes back to the huddle. He's very... expressive. Yes, expressive might be the right word for it.

Oy, our starters. *headdesk* Crystal was the only one I thought had a really solid game. Well, Crystal and rebounder-Elena. The offense otherwise curled up and died. Becky was stifled, utterly and completely, except for a meaningless three or two. Elena was a lump of useless on offense. Bethany had one of those games that ESPN's Board Junkies would make one believe she had all the time without fail: missed chippies, endless passes, flubbed catches, utter passivity. This was a day that we needed Tari, no doubt. VJ was... I don't want to say crap, but for the love of chocolate, I can't think of what else to describe her game. Her offense blew chunks, her defense obviously wasn't stopping much of anything, and she didn't even run the team well. La'Keshia went *off*; she must have still been feeling the buzz from her days as a Monarch, or perhaps she was presaging the win by the Sparks. *shrug* She was feeling her outside jumper, and more than willing to haul into the paint, and the Shock were more than willing to let her score and score as long as the big guns weren't firing. Would someone tell Shameka she's allowed to come a little closer to the three-point arc? It's not even like we have the NBA arc out there to confuse anyone. As if she weren't having an etsy-ketsy enough day, she got called for a couple of questionable fouls, and I felt bad for her. K.B. gave the guards a good rest, nothing spectacular otherwise. DeTrina, while she rebounded, didn't do anything spectacular to get the crowd pumped, and her shots were waaaaaay off. And I didn't know Erin was allowed to play on Sundays. Wasn't that what got the NCAA committee in trouble last year with the men's tourney? Patty turned shades I think I've only ever seen on Richie before. It's not a good look on her.

Bogus calls, bogus non-calls. Crystal got an elbow to the face that I believe was from Cheryl Ford; if evidence proves otherwise, I'll stop maligning her. (As an aside, though... I know Crystal isn't the most attractive woman in the world, but why do people keep trying to rearrange her face? Really, there's got to be a more polite way to tell someone what you think of their looks.) Ruth Riley thwacked a pass out of bounds and they gave Detroit the ball. Seriously, the officiating in this league does blow chunks.

There were some... odd positions that caused... odd mental images. Let's leave it there, okay?

Honestly, I think both games were decided by Chance cards turned over by the gods of sport. Friday night, the Shock couldn't hit free throws and the Liberty couldn't miss threes. Sunday, the Liberty couldn't hit those threes, and the Shock hit their free throws. This game, though, had a lot of weird rolls out for the Liberty and in for the Shock. I don't know if those decided the game, but they make for interesting food for thought. However, the Liberty's position in this series has so far been decided more by luck than the Shock's.

Fashion report: Swin in black pants, red and white top. Tari in black pants, nice shoes, white top. Swin wins from the waist down, Tari from the waist up.

They need to win on Tuesday and get to the next series. My love life (or at least my like-like life) depends on it.