August 12th, 2007: Detroit at New York

New York Liberty 85, Detroit Shock 84

ERIN THORN!


It's nice to have one of the Maalox Moments go our way for a change. Funny thing is that the boy and I were joking around that with Katie Feenstra on the floor for Detroit, we'd have to worry about suspicious rolls; after all, the last time she was in the building, she came into the game and one of the light bulbs blew. How were we to know that the luckiest roll of all would come on a shot by the Brigham Young alumna?

Detroit really is a quirky team. I know they were profiled in the Times as being a bit odd, but they really are strange. Lots of dancing. Serious need to switch to decaf, especially for Latta; I think Latta's problem is that the same dose of caffeine that makes a bigger teammate hyped for the game has her bouncing off the walls. I think my favorite moment was when Pierson kept trying to escape during the stretching portion of the program. Finished out my Detroit set, got confuzzled by both Katies signing next to each other, got to hear Ashley wonder at the facts of life (one of the Usual Suspects had a kid with her, and Ashley asked where the kids kept coming from).

Young anthem singer. She cracked the first couple of lines, but her high, clear voice was solid through the rest of the song. Those shoes looked like they were going to be trouble if she had to do any more than just stand on the court, though.

Swin Cash may have been absent, but her spirit- or at least her nickname- were present. That was without a doubt the strangest starting lineup I've ever seen a team run out- and Laimbeer's second line was just as bizarre. Okay, the starters were Powell, Nolan, Johnson, Smith, and Feenstra. When they went out for the tip, the four perimeter players were around Feenstra in a square formation: he thought it looked like some kind of marriage ceremony, I thought they were going to take out those stretching bands they use and use Feenstra as a maypole. The second line was… well, everyone else. The four guards went to the bench. In other words, Detroit went from Katie Smith at power forward to Plenette Pierson at shooting guard. Most of the rest of the subs were pretty normal, but that starting lineup and that line change just had me in hysterics.

You can tell a team's post play is either short, indifferent, or some combination of the above when both Kara Braxton and Katie Feenstra play well against it. Braxton did a really good job of getting in position for rebounds, while Feenstra was very adept at getting position for shots. Seriously, if you could put them together, you'd have an Olympian center. Okay, you'd have an Olympian center with some serious mental issues to work with, but she'd be big, strong, reasonably nimble for her size, and good at getting in position. We were really lucky that we didn't get torched when Katie Smith was left open a couple of times. On the other hand, who the hell puts together a game plan that involves leaving Deanna Nolan open? Or, for that matter, involves Janel repeatedly attempting to guard a player fast as lightning and smooth as quicksilver? I hope Janel was just trying to pick up someone else's slack, because otherwise that is a matchup from hell. I think part of why the Shock didn't recover from the Liberty's last big run was because Powell's unraveling helped unravel Tweety. And Pee-Wee just needs to get her head back together; she was more out of control today than I've seen her in some time. I know she's nearing the end of her career and she was probably disconcerted by starting at small forward, but she just didn't seem to be stable. I know that seems to be the Shock's MO, this barely controlled chaos, but it seemed to be really out of hand today, and part of me wonders if that had anything to do with the absence of two starters, including Cash (who at least was a captain, even if she isn't still). Other than that little fracas with Janel- and I admit that I didn't see the whole thing, only the collision that caused Janel to get the tech- I don't remember Katie Smith doing much other than winding up a really bad shot and being really pale. Pierson really does have good instincts for the ball and a surprising amount of grace in getting the offensive putbacks. Tausha Mills… well, for one thing, she looks even bigger than she did in Washington, and she was pretty fracking huge in Washington. And that new hairstyle does her no favors. She didn't do much other than the one shot that I recall. Latta, while she was a hoot during warm-ups, was rather irritating during the game. I loved the wrestling move especially. In general, it seemed like the Shock weren't really working well together except for the four-guard set that started. They seem to have good chemistry, and presumably do with Cash and Ford as well, but they just don't seem to click properly with the rest of their team.

What really amazed me about the win today- okay, other than Erin Fucking Thorn, bay-bee- was how balanced it was. How many players did we have hit double figures on the scoreboard? Five? Six? They spread the wealth, and that's when they're most lethal. We got less rebounding than I would have liked out of Janel and Cathrine, although at least Janel had some nice backtaps that she wouldn't be getting credited for. Then again, Cathrine and Janel both had trouble with the big Detroit centers all night. That's where Jess came in really handy, being a bit big herself and having that long wingspan. I recall one play on defense where she made Feenstra's life rather miserable. And then everyone else proceeded to score. If it wasn't Erin and Loree bombing from outside, it was Tiffany driving inside and putting up those soft shots that were falling today (they don't do that all the time, and I do wish she'd learn to aim a little better). I was so glad to see Tiffany playing well and playing tough today. Sista Christon… the hair of the first half has already been discussed, as part of a very loud "DO NOT WANT" discussion. It was bad. Good thing she went to something more standard for the second half and came out a little more balanced, although I do think the play where she didn't chase the loose ball and thus allowed Detroit to come up with another offensive rebound was in the second half. I think what saved us in this game was that we got strong bench play from the Libkids. Okay, so technically Detroit got strong bench play because they had to start two reserves in the absence of Cash and Ford, but for all intents and purposes, they played nine and we played nine. (I am not counting Lisa Willis's ineffectual 2:56 as being very critical to the game here.) Ashley came in, hit the shots she needed to hit, played solid defense, and was critical in carrying a triumphant Erin around the floor. Barbara's 22 seconds might have been the most efficient 22 seconds of her life. I'm still half-convinced that That Moron did not have the notion to put Barbara in after 39+ of sitting her; either one of the assistants relayed the order or Barbara took matters into her own hands and checked herself in for Cathrine. But seriously, folks, Barb always plays well against Detroit, she always boxes out, and she always defends well in the post, all of which would have come in handy earlier in the game- hell, they came in handy for the one possession she played!

Ball movement on both sides was really great, one thing that impressed me about the game- with so many bigs on the floor for both teams, the sharp and quick passing really took me by pleasant surprise.

We knew it was going to be a foul derby when we recognized Bonita Spence's big poufy hair warming up, and that there were going to be borderline calls because of her and Gulbeyan. I'll give Laimbeer credit for legitimately flipping his shit at the "travel" on Pee-Wee, because they should really have called the tackle on Sista Christon (and there's something you don't see every day). On the other hand, I recall a couple of hits from behind that weren't called. If the Shock want to blame this loss on anything, I think they should look to their own tempers and inability to keep their hands on the ball before they look to the referees.

More baby pictures! Cute lil Erin and Barbara looking sharp in her school uniform. Awww, I love literal Libkids. Liberty Ad-Libs, too: Ashley was a Chutes and Ladders kid (somehow, I'm not surprised; she strikes me as a careful planner and just a little ruthless), and Jess was damn tall as a kid (not that she's not damn tall now, but she was *damn* tall as a kid).

After the game, wishing to bask in the glee, we sought the side door. Kara Braxton wandered out, ignored by the loyal Liberty fans. Fortunately for their sakes, the referees also went unrecognized. Madam President couldn't say the same. And there's a rumor going around that the Libkids have been told not to use the side door because of the lack of security. Something seems kinda ass-backwards about that, but maybe that's just me.

Shouldn't dwell on the negative, though. That was a helluva game, and I was privileged to be there. That's the kind of game that ensures a whole bunch of return visits.