July 15th, 2005: Minnesota at New York

Minnesota Lynx 64, New York Liberty 60

Games like this are what the phrase "what the shit?" was invented for.


Games like this were what the phrase 'what the shit?!' was invented for. Seriously. We *had* that game, and we should have won it, but we killed ourselves at the line, and the Lynx killed us on the boards, plain and simple.

The problem with having two Euros as your two main post players is that your interior defense suffers. A lot. Usually Ann brings enough offense, and Elena brings just enough rebounding, that it isn't as obvious, but that doesn't work when facing physical post players as the Lynx have. They put Ann off her game and chased Elena back into her slump. Crystal, fortunately, shows signs of coming out of her shooting slump, but what on earth was she thinking with her last shot? Her defense is also suffering. That is NOT of the good. Then again, everyone's defense was suspect tonight; too many Lynx players were left open in spots that were far more to their convenience than to the convenience of the Liberty. Becky seems to have swapped brains with Ticha Penicheiro; tonight, she wasn't even looking for her shot, forget about hitting it. I don't know if that was because of the Lynx D, to be fair, though. VJ looked like a Pod Person; there were a couple of very uncharacteristic and selfish moves on her part that surprised all of us. La'Keshia brought sorely needed physicality when Elena and Ann faltered, but neither she nor DeTrina were assertive enough to combat the Brickhouse in the lane. Loree was quietly effective, and I think she might have been more useful if she'd gotten more minutes, but then, isn't that the story of the Liberty bench's life? Shameka... no. I don't know what to say. In the first half I wanted to scream. In the second half, I did scream, but in a good way. When she went off, I thought for sure she was going to have a full-fledged Meek moment, but just as quickly as it came, the flash was gone, and we were left with with plain old Shameka, lost and a little confused. With a couple of years more of seasoning, she might have been enough to pull us through, but not here and now. Coach needed to give the crack pipe back to Blaze, 'cause that was some pathetic coaching out there. She made some moves that had us up in the stands scratching our heads in confusion. Apropos of not very much, it's nice to have someone on the IR with a lick of fashion sense. Amisha cleans up nice. Who knew?

Do not leave Katie Smith open. Do not leave Svetlana Abrosimova open. Really, are these such hard things to remember? You'd think Liberty players would equate the number 25 with solid long-range shooting just from association with Becky, but yet they managed to slip up again and again on her. Also, Geno must have been having a conniption somewhere in Connecticut; four years he had her and he could never get her to play defense, and suddenly she's hawking the ball like she was born to it? She's really turned a corner, and I'm happy for her. Now if she can only stay healthy... Katie was quiet, but you know, in all the talk of her shooting and her offense, what's forgotten is that she's a *big* guard. She's a fierce rebounder, a solid defender, and a great playmaker. Why Katie Smith gets so little love outside Minnesota and knowledgeable hoops fans is completely beyond me, and I'm not ascribing the reasons to it that the Lynx commentator did against Detroit, because I don't like to think in those terms. It's also nice to see Kristi Harrower back in the league. That little floater in the lane is a thing of beauty, and a heady point guard is a nice thing to see on a basketball court. Vanessa Hayden... man, that is one big woman. If she learns how to use it better, centers across the world will tremble in fear and have nightmares of being devoured by the Loch Ness Monster. As is, she's pretty damn intimidating, and the laws of physics are squarely on her side. She scared the crap out of Ann, I think, or at least made Ann very leery of going into the lane. And Nicole Ohlde is the perfect complement to her, because while Ohlde is a solid inside player, she seems more comfortable facing the basket; between one thing and another, a post defender can be easily confused and decide 'to hell with this, I'm going to jump out and scare a perimter player'. For the sake of the game, I hope this tandem doesn't get broken up any time soon, because it'll give Lynx fans something to look forward to for years; Hayden brings the power, while Ohlde, so far, seems to be the better playmaker. Tamika Williams... you would think the highest-percentage shooter in league history- possibly the only player in league history to shoot better from the field than the stripe- miiiiiiiiight merit some coverage. Then again, these are the Euros we're talking about. Yes, Elena, I'm looking at you. Okay, so La'Keshia and DeTrina weren't all that effective either, but still. Amber Jacobs played back-up point guard this time around- Tyger was a DNP-CD, so far as I know. Solid, although she didn't take advantage of a couple of times when shewaas open.

The refs blew, but they blew more or less equally, so I can't really use that as an excuse for the game. However, both teams need to take some FT shooting lessons, mmm'kay?

Special props must go to Amber Jacobs, for having what might be one of the funkiest and coolest signatures in the league- very stylized and angular, but with every letter legible. I'm a handwriting geek, and I love to see a neat and nifty sig. Special props must also go to Stacey Lovelace-Tolbert for stopping for us even though she was running dangerously close to late. I'd like to think it was the sight of her rookie card that gave her pause. (If we got her in trouble, I'm really sorry.)

We need a banger, and we need one bad. I keep thinking Wendy Palmer-Daniel would be a good fit for the Liberty; in the three games I've seen her now (CT, NY, and Sac), she's been a beast on the boards. If San Antonio starts looking to dump veterans for youth, I would not be averse to getting her and maybe Tai Dillard or a lower-round pick for the Liberty's first-round pick and one of our corps of flawed post players- La'Keshia because she's the best of the trio (and might have the best chance at salary matching), Amisha or DeTrina because of the youth factor. Or if Charlotte were willing to deal Teana Miller. Something like that. We need an enforcer. DeTrina's willing, but she just doesn't have the height, and ups can only do so much.

Frustrating game. Game we should have won. And really, nothing rubs in such a loss like having to walk through horseshit to get across the street.