Just the Facts, Ma'am: A slow start for both teams marked the Indiana Fever's 76-63 road win at the New York Liberty. Tamika Catchings led all scorers with 22 points, while Katie Douglas added 15 points and four steals. Cappie Pondexter and Essence Carson each had 18 points for the Liberty, who committed 22 turnovers.
For butterfingers, runaway balls, short tempers, people getting hit in the face, shots off the glass, random guitarists on the PATH, and anticipation rewarded, join your intrepid and rocked out blogger after the jump.
It's one of the mysteries of the relativity of time that this two-week road trip for the Liberty felt longer than the Olympic break. I suppose part of it had to do with the Olympics themselves, but on the flip side of that, your intrepid blogger did take a trip up to Connecticut to break the monotony. I majored in English, not in physics.
At halftime, I'm wondering when we got transported back to the middle of the last decade. The shooting has been putrid, especially in the first quarter. The Indiana centers are setting good screens, and Leilani Mitchell has played phenomenal defense on Jessica Davenport. That's not a typo. There are too many unforced errors in this game that are getting credited as steals- the Liberty and Katie Douglas just can't keep their hands on the ball. Tamika Catchings has spent a fair chunk of the last two minutes kvetching to the refs, though I'm not sure why.
The crowd is depressing. Where are you, people? I'm pretty sure the people on the bench can pick specific cheers out of the crowd. Unfortunately, my section does happen to be full, mostly of hyper kids.
Nicole Powell did not start the second half- she's on the bench with Laura Ramus, and I think they're looking at her right leg somewhere.
Sue Wicks appears to be attempting to go in stealth mode. This doesn't work when you're a six-three blonde, just sayin'.
This was a quintessential Liberty-Fever game. It wasn't all that pretty, it involved good defensive plays and steals, the shooting was questionable, and people got hit. It's tempting to leave it there, but there's always more to the game. Please enjoy these game notes with Antigone Rising in the background, as I am currently rocking out to them as they perform on the Pru Center's floor. (I approve this music. Much closer to country rock than I was expecting from what little I knew of them, but I've always been a bit of a country girl, so rock on!)
Jessica Davenport started the game slowly, getting smushed twice by Leilani Mitchell on consecutive possessions in the first half, but she was a rock for Indiana in the fourth. Those lefty lay-ups started falling, and her long arms got into it on the defensive end. She's not very graceful, but she's somehow always there. Erlana Larkins brought a lot of hustle off the bench, and she paid for it dearly when Cappie Pondexter's heave to end the third quarter got her in the head. Fortunately, she came back into the game, so she wasn't that badly hurt, and that's good. I like Lark. Erin Phillips's one made shot was a heave at the end of the shot clock that had no business going in. Otherwise, she was just generally pesky and in people's way. Jeanette Pohlen hit her shots from deep, but I don't otherwise remember her for doing more than confusing me because she wears #32 and is not Katie Douglas.
Katie Douglas is left-handed. Seriously, this is not a revelation. She likes to go left. She shoots with her left hand. She does her best work from the left side. WHY DO YOU LET HER GO LEFT? Two, three, four times, I watched the Liberty defense sag off her when she was on the left side. Why would you do that? Why would you ever do that? Fortunately for New York, a lot of her shots weren't going down, but not through any effort of theirs. Also, running into her is not a good plan if you're Leilani Mitchell. I'm just saying, if you're five-five and slightly built, don't run into Douglas. I kept thinking Tamika Catchings wasn't really a factor, but it's hard to say that with a straight face when she had 22 points. She just sort of happened, like supernatural phenomena. And she kept trying to pick people up off the floor, which is sweet, but I don't think the Liberty were particularly interested in being friendly with her. Briann January has a very nice crossover, as well as a knack for deflecting loose balls. I'm surprised she was only credited with one steal, as I thought she had more. I guess some of her deflections to her teammates were credited to them? Judo-chopping Cappie's shoulder probably didn't make her too many friends in New York. She seems especially good at that high lob pass to the posts, and Davenport and Catchings are the best at catching it. (At both ends. Why were we going over the top to Pierson?) Tammy Sutton-Brown set a couple of very good screens at the beginning of the game, but didn't play much. Still, she's in there to be tall and get in other people's way, so I guess she did her job. I still don't like her, even if she did draw out some of the Rutgers alumnae. Shavonte Zellous was taking some very stupid shots in the first part of the game, but became more of an option in the second half.
Indiana really likes that high pass, and tonight it worked for them. They play the passing lanes exceptionally well, too. It did make us look pretty bad for passing the ball to Katie Douglas, though.
We had two Alex Montgomery cameos, one in each half, and she was not remarkable. I think the second was born of necessity. She did a nice job not screwing up, which is sometimes all you can expect off the bench. I have no idea why DeMya Walker only played four minutes in the first half, committed two fouls, and was pulled out of the game, never to be seen again. It didn't look like she got hurt, and she looked like she was much less into the game than she usually is. The plot thickens? Kara Braxton got good position inside, and hit her shots when she got them; on the other hand, she was woeful on defense, and she suffered from the same klutziness that assailed the rest of the team. Essence Carson was fantastic off the bench, once Whiz realized that he needed to have her in. a little off with her handle, but compared to the rest of the team, she was a veritable genius.
Nicole Powell actually looked like the player we thought we were getting tonight. She hit the open shots her teammates got her, she crashed the boards, and she even screened a little. Her defense was a little off, but I think we've all figured out that we're getting one or the other from her at this point. Tonight, she had the offense, and I'm okay with that. I have found inner peace and serenity, at least until the next time she leaves Katie Douglas open on the left side for a three. Plenette Pierson looked awful. I don't know if her knee was flaring up or she lost a game of the dozens to the Indiana starters, but she had the kind of chip on her shoulder that I thought she left in Tulsa. A lot of little elbows were being tossed, just little jabs, and the expression on her face could curdle milk. She wasn't mixing it up inside as much as she usually does, she was slow on her feet, and she was visibly limping at points. (Which is what makes the benching of DeMya so weird- this is possibly the biggest need we had for her this season, and Whiz went to Powell-at-the-4?) I hope she feels better, and if she doesn't, that she gets the rest she needs. Kia Vaughn got burned pretty badly by both Sutton-Brown and Davenport, and nearly got toppled by an exceptionally egregious sliding dive by Plenette. Leilani Mitchell was her feisty little self, scrapping with the posts and forcing loose balls. It's hard for her to be effective on offense when everyone's bigger than she is, though. Cappie Pondexter was her superstar self, except for the inexplicable fumbles. Seriously, what was wrong with everyone today catching the ball? She had two or three completely unforced fumbles.
When the doubling down works, it works. The problem is that the better teams in this league have enough threats that doubling down results in a player being open who can hit the shot. And Whiz doesn't generally adjust well when his vaunted plan isn't working.
Capsule moment of the first half: Liberty miss a shot. Rebound goes long, clear out of bounds, after hitting the floor once. Ten players watch the ball go out of bounds without touching it. Really, y'all? Get the damn rebound!
Officiating was pretty solid. Small quibbles with clock, but those are within the realm of reason. But we had both Brooks and Grinter, so I wasn't surprised. Billy Smith rounded out a solid crew. The free throw differential was appalling, but that had as much to do with not driving the lane, or with not being able to hang on to the ball if we were in the paint.
If I had to choose between giving the Klondike bar to Dancer #1 or giving the Klondike bar to Dancer #2, I'd give it to Zachara, who was shimmying behind the Liberty bench.
There was a group of suits on the baseline across from the Liberty bench who were making complete buffoons of themselves. I'm not sure if they were Indiana fans, if they wanted to hit on Erin Phillips, or if they were just drunk, but they were noticeably obnoxious. Stop that. It didn't help that the crowd was sparse tonight, so they stood out even more. We almost went into St. John's mode trying to get the crowd fired up. This is not a good thing at a pro game, guys.
All in all, that third quarter and that postgame concert made the rest of the game worth it.
Thursday, August 30, 2012
August 30th, 2012: Indiana at New York
Monday, August 27, 2012
August 26th, 2012: Chicago at Connecticut
Just the Facts, Ma'am: A balanced attack and a 43-27 second half score fueled an 82-70 win for the Chicago Sky over the Connecticut Sun. Epiphanny Prince's 15 points led five Chicago players in double figures; Courtney Vandersloot's 11 assists off the bench kept the Sky's offense ticking smoothly. Allison Hightower was high scorer for Connecticut, with 17 points, adding five assists. Kara Lawson had sixteen points and six assists.
For inexplicable choices, an understated tribute to Nykesha Sales, a good cause, wild theories, the smug self-satisfaction of a Johnnie, and seriously bad ideas, join your intrepid and juggling blogger after the jump.
That seemed like one of the most uncharacteristic games I've ever seen from either of these teams. I don't think I like it when the Sky and the Sun are uncharacteristic. It doesn't look good for anyone or anything.
I do not know what the crazy woman in yellow was screaming about on our bus, but I'm glad she stopped in time for the movie with a very young Jackie Chan to start. Not that we could understand anything that was going on, but it was refreshing to recognize one of the actors for a change.
Whatever that pregame show was, please never let them do anything anywhere near a microphone again. Bad rapping, bad scratching, bad random screaming into a microphone- it was just bad. Not only was it horrifying in every single aspect of the actual performance, it was a horrifying mismatch of artist- and I use the word artist as loosely as it is possible to use it- and audience. The people who were arriving early at this game were mostly white, mostly older, and mostly not interested in anything this man had to say, scream, sing, or chant at high volume directly into the mic, while his free hand lingered in the Michael Jackson grab area. By the end, he was practically pleading for hometown sympathy and reminding people he was working with a seven-year-old boy. The only saving grace of this debacle was that it didn't involve prepubescent girls in inappropriate costumes attempting to display body parts that had not yet blossomed.
The anthem singer was solid and very Irish. His accent was pronounced while singing. This is not a bad thing.
Demonstrating my superior acuity, I didn't even notice that Tamera Young wasn't with the Sky. Fowles I noticed, but not Young.
Major thumbs-down to the Sun MC, who boasted about the TWO Olympians going up against each other, Asjha Jones and Swin Cash. First of all, nice job forgetting that there are two Olympians on each of those teams. Second, nice job forgetting that Asjha Jones was in street clothes. Granted, this was before we noticed Fowles wasn't with the team, but how do you forget Tina Charles?
Courtney Vandersloot demonstrated an amazing ability to end up in corners and on the floor after loose balls, both the ones her team fumbled and the ones she forced from the Sun. I never even noticed her getting the assists- she didn't look as good as the stats showed. Le'Coe Willingham set screens well, and did do some work on the inside. She was called on for serious post play when the Sky went small in the second half, and she answered. Ruth Riley wasn't able to hit some of the chippies inside (and a 12-year veteran should be able to hit a lay-up from the left side of the basket), but you'd think someone would have figured out that she has that pretty little midrange jumper that she's been hitting for a very, very long time. She also made her presence felt on the boards and with her picks and screens. Sonja Petrovic was pretty much there to bring the offense and switch up some of the matchups- her height made her a bad assignment for Tan White or Kara Lawson, and she burned both of them badly.
Carolyn Swords is a bulldozer. This isn't an insult. She uses her body well for a young player and isn't afraid to get physical with players she knows are more skilled than she is, or with players who are just as willing to bang with her. She only showed one or two moves- spin and lay-up, or drive and scoop- but they were effective. Swin Cash woke up in the third quarter, going off both from long distance and in the lane. In the first half, she looked like she wasn't sure what she was doing, and like she was letting the officiating take her out of the game. Ticha Penicheiro didn't stand out for me, except at the end of the game where she was getting awfully excited about winning- look, I know it's been a while for Chicago, but you lose the right to dance around in the end zone for winning a regular-season game when you have a title under your belt. Epiphanny Prince was almost more of a factor on defense than offense, helping force and chase loose balls. If anything, on offense, she was as much a decoy as she was a threat, forcing the Sun to spend resources on stopping her and letting other players get loose. Shay Murphy was more effective from beyond the arc than inside, and she is about my third choice for person to take the shot when the clock is running down in that Chicago starting lineup from today. Not sure why the ball kept ending up in her hands at that point.
I'm not sure how a team coached by a point guard, starting one of the best point guards in the league's history, and having another distributing point guard on the roster, managed to commit two shot clock violations in the first quarter. Overall, their offense ran very slowly- which became an advantage for them when they got the lead in the fourth quarter, because they were able to combine running the clock down with their offensive rebounding to really put the screws to Connecticut. Swords took exceptionally good advantage of Connecticut's rotations, sneaking to the basket as much as a 6-6 player can sneak when her defender sagged off her.
Oh, Renee Montgomery, no. This was not one of her smarter games- for every quick poke-check she made against Chicago, she fumbled the ball or took a bad shot or just made a very bad mistake of some kind. This was just not her day. Danielle McCray made her usual cameo appearance followed by a swift disappearance, never to be seen again. So did Jessica Moore, when it was made clear that she was once more in over her head. I have no idea why they signed her, other than her pedigree; she's lost too much weight to be physical, and hasn't demonstrated the skills to be a finesse post. Tan White played out of control, and while her hustle was appreciated, it wasn't very useful. Kelsey Griffin did a great job on the boards, scrapping hard and hitting two strange shots, but she needed to be more careful with her handle and her catching of passes. It was nice to see her doing her job, but she needs to get her act together.
Tina Charles was surprisingly passive. I'd really like to see her get more into the paint, on both ends of the floor. Her rotation out on defense led to too many easy baskets for Chicago. She had a beautiful block, though, which led to Connecticut possession after Murphy fumbled the recovery out of bounds. But she should have been able to work around Swords and Riley, and she didn't. Kalana Greene started and had a nice defensive play in the first, but didn't play much in the second half, to the point where we wondered whether she was injured and that was why she wasn't playing. She would have been useful in the fourth quarter. Mistie Mims brought the physicality that we've all learned to expect from her, but she's got to convert those easy shots inside. It would have been a lot worse if Allison Hightower hadn't played out of her mind today. She did a little bit of everything on both ends of the floor, and was especially hot in the first quarter. Watching her develop has been one of the joys of this season. Kara Lawson was her typical solid self, though I thought she took some panic shots that were atypical of her.
The fourth quarter played out as if Coach Thibault had attempted to plan it like he'd been hit in the head. Repeatedly. While under the influence of mind-altering drugs. And suffering from amnesia. He ran his five into the ground in the fourth quarter, and either his team refused to execute his game plan, or his game plan involved having the team take stupid shots and rotate away from open players repeatedly. When he needed a stop and someone to take the right shot, Kalana Greene remained on the bench; whatever Greene's flaws are, she's learned to pick her shots, and she's an excellent defender. When he needed a steadying hand on the offense and someone with solid judgment, Montgomery was at the point instead of Lawson, and Montgomery's tendencies to pound the ball for five, six seconds did not help the Sun at all. It was a badly strategized fourth quarter, which is so atypical of Mike Thibault and the Sun that we were starting to concoct conspiracy theories about injuries or trades to explain it.
The officiating was mostly unremarkable, though Kara Lawson hit the ground a lot. The crowd tends to be unhappy with them a lot in Connecticut, but most of the calls that they detested, we felt were reasonable.
It was Autism Awareness Day, so blue totebags were handed out, announcements were made, and we attempted to keep from scaring people with loud noises (the woman in front of us flinched at some of our comments; I think she might have been high-functioning, but I'm not a professional and didn't want to ask). The people around us in general were very nice. It's sort of strange to be that friendly with Sun fans, but that's because I was undercover, en una camiseta del Sol.
The crowd really didn't get into it until late. I was kinda disappointed. But then, I have a weird love-hate relationship with the generalization that is Sun crowds.
Shoutout to the woman in the Tamika Whitmore shirt. I may have a strong distaste for Whitmore, but I can appreciate the level of fandom it takes to still wear that shirt all these years later.
Overall, I was disappointed in the ending of this game. I don't like seeing a game decided because of incompetence, and I think that fourth quarter was sheer incompetence.
Apologies for the delay; the bus was very full and had very narrow seats; of course, this is the bus we get stuck for three hours on because of very badly placed road work in Bridgeport.
Saturday, August 18, 2012
August 18th, 2012: New York at Connecticut
Just the Facts, Ma'am: 26 New York turnovers and 3 20-point performances from Connecticut gave the Sun an 85-74 win in Uncasville. Tina Charles's 23 points and nine rebounds led the Sun; Kara Lawson added 21 points and five rebounds, and Allison Hightower had 20 points. The Liberty were led by the 17 points each of Cappie Pondexter and Essence Carson.
For bad passes, bad judgment, bad luck, bad shots, bad ideas, and really good Mexican food, join your intrepid and seething blogger after the jump, but remember to dodge the flying basketballs.
Nothing says the start of the season like a home and home series with your nearest rival. You know, I'm getting a bit of déjà vu about this.
As usual, due to the Sun's rather stupid, paranoid, and insufficiently clear security policies, you will be getting no notes from inside the arena. I'd have to get a press credential, and that defeats the purpose of going as a fan. So everything is postgame, which does not bode well for the mood of them.
I will give a shoutout to the awesome kid at Burger King in Flushing who correctly recognized our jerseys, the Connecticut team (okay, he called them the Suns, but there are league people who do that), and likes Kia Vaughn. That's the kind of thing that makes me so very happy. Less joy to whoever or whatever caused the accident that tied up 95 so badly that we ended up taking the Post Road through Lyme. Not that Lyme and Old Lyme aren't beautiful places to travel through, but when it's 3:15 and you think you're trying to make a 4PM tip, you don't want to be admiring the lovely old houses of Connecticut.
Yes, for some reason, I recall the Liberty's giveaway calendar reading 4PM for this game; you can understand if your intrepid blogger and your dashing guest reporter were a bit unnerved when there were no game preparations going on at 3:45. Fortunately, some helpful Sun folks straightened us out, so we had dinner before the game (oh, Sol Toro, how I love you and your taquitos) and joined the Usual Suspects, Connecticut Chapter, down by the rail so we could wish our Libs good luck. (And maybe, just maybe, get DeMya Walker and Kelley Cain on this jersey so I can get it hung up and out of my hair already?)
Mohegan Sun staff seem so weirded out by Liberty fans. It's like they don't expect opposing fans to make the trip. You give us tickets, you give us food, you give us cheap bus fare, why are you so surprised at our existence, and why do you think we've never been here before? I wasn't sure if they were expecting us to grow fangs, or if they thought we were aliens. Maybe it was the leis.
Nice anthem until the very end- she just didn't have enough to carry it all the way through. That's not as much of a knock as you might think. There's some crazy stuff at the end of the Star-Spangled Banner.
Somehow, we ended up sitting with another group of Liberty fans. It was awesome. And we did get the chant going when the Sun staff played the opening to "Car Wash", which is an integral part of the Liberty's opening routine.
The women of inspiration were indeed inspiring. And Rebecca Lobo's words about Margo Dydek were very touching. Why did we have to lose Margo so soon?
Tan White had some nice defensive plays and brought the hustle. Renee Montgomery was the bad Renee today, hoisting up stupid shots (though that dagger through the heart at the end of the shot clock, the one that got reviewed, was a heave). She was frustrating on defense, but she was an easier matchup to plan for. Kelsey Griffin did a surprisingly good job of imitating a Big Ten player for a Big XII player- she had one throwdown on Essence Carson that looked straight out of a wrestling match. And then she threw a fit that the ref called a foul on her, and then she kvetched about not getting a call at the other end. This is why you don't kvetch to the ref when you do something exceptionally stupid. I like her scrappiness, but it was less effective today than it was on Thursday. The one turnover on Danielle McCray was questionable- I do happen to think it was the right call, but a lot of Connecticut fans didn't.
Tina Charles went into beast mode tonight. She went at our posts and took advantage of bad rotations- Cappie Pondexter and Essence Carson both ended up trying to guard her more than once. This is a bad plan and if it was Whiz's plan, he should feel bad for doing it. Allison Hightower is positively blossoming. She was the player who took advantage of being the open woman this time. She was the one who found the seams and got to the line. I'm happy to see her doing well. I just wish she'd do it against someone else. Mistie Mims knows every trick in the book, which is impressive for someone only from, what, the 2005 class? I mean, she had a good apprenticeship in Houston with some folks I'd rather not talk about, but she's picked up that element of her game. I thought she and Plenette Pierson were going to drop the gloves by the end of the game. Plenette certainly seemed to be in that kind of mood. Kalana Greene almost got forgotten again, which I shouldn't have- she was half of why our offense couldn't get going. Her size and speed was a bad combination for our guards. She was picking pockets like a professional working Times Square. The other half was Kara Lawson, who channeled everything from her football days when dealing with Leilani Mitchell and Nicole Powell. She used her build very effectively and viciously. She was a crucial part of the double-teams that hobbled Leilani's ability to get the offense started, and she was impossible to stop on offense for most of the game.
There's a reason I love watching Mike Thibault work. He adapts. He learns. He changes his plans, and then he wins.
Asjha Jones, did you really wear jeans and sneakers? Even if they were very nice burgundy jeans and fancy sneakers? Or am I wrong? I'd like to be wrong.
Kara Braxton needs to grab the ball with authority and hold on to the ball. She kept bringing it down, then fumbling it to Sun players. Hang on to the ball, Kara. I swear on my honor as a former Girl Scout of the Greater New York Council that it won't bite. Alex Montgomery didn't manage to mess things up too badly in her brief minutes, though I do wonder why she was attempting to dribble the basketball with her crotch. This is a family show, Alexandria! DeMya Walker couldn't get herself out of the lane with anything remotely resembling speed, and when she did, she usually managed to commit an offensive foul. Two games in three nights, with a bus trip in between, did her no good. Essence Carson was one of the only players out there who seemed to care about the game and the results of the game every time she was in. She brought energy, she brought nerve, she brought fire, she brought emphatic blocks and drives in the lane.
Nicole Powell... not so much. The first few minutes were great, when her shot appeared to have returned to her and she was actually moving without the ball. But maybe her battery ran down, or maybe her back got tight, because then it all stopped. She lost her positioning on defense. She stopped moving without the ball on offense. Then... forgive me, but I'm about to be really geeky. Then she acted like Lore had installed the bootleg emotion chip in the back of her neck. Yes, her defense on Kara Lawson was better, and it was crucial to the comeback attempt, but the way they were going at each other, one would have thought someone's mother had been gravely insulted. I was genuinely worried when Lawson went down that someone was going to start a fight. And it might have been Plenette Pierson, whose temper was flaring all night with Mistie Mims. It's a shame, because the overacting as she bodied up overshadows the work she put in to try and take care of her team- the ridiculous height of her jumper and her scoops in the lane, the defense and the blocks and the energy. Kia Vaughn should have been more aggressive, or at least more active, but she was getting boxed out and making dumb mistakes. The problem with Kia sometimes is I think she lets her teammates' issues get into her head- if Powell has beef with Lawson, she's going to try and find a way to let Lawson have it; if Pierson and Mims are having words, she's going to interject herself with a hip or a shoulder. Her teammates might appreciate her loyalty, but the expression of it isn't always effective. Leilani Mitchell was flat-out a liability in this game, on both ends of the floor- too small to defend Lawson or Greene, too slow to defend Montgomery, unable to escape the traps on the other end of the floor. When she was used as a spot-up shooter, she was useful, but if I wanted a spot-up three-point shooter who wears #5 and went to college in the state of Utah, I'd really rather have Erin Thorn. Cappie Pondexter ended up running the point for much of the game, which inhibited her offense, but still doesn't excuse some of the stupid shots she took. And the bulk of her points came when the game wasn't really a game, when the comeback hadn't started yet. She went on a little run in the second half to cut the lead back to 12 or so, but when the chips were down, somehow other people were the option. Whether that's on the opposing defense or on the way Pondexter compiles her stats, I don't know.
Crowning moment of the game for the Sun- Kara Lawson's flip pass to Tina Charles for two in the first half.
Most notable moment to me for the Liberty- I swear on my grandmother's grave I saw Plenette Pierson smack Cappie Pondexter upside the head after a bad pass leading to a turnover. Plenette, I think you did what almost every Liberty fan wants to do to her.
Who were you passing it to, Liberty? Really? I want to know. The inexplicable passes out of bounds were ridiculous. Absurd. Downright offensive to the game of basketball. How can a team with a Stanford alumna and a former Virginia Cavalier be so dumb? Because I swear this is the dumbest basketball team in the Women's National Basketball Association. I love them, but I just can't sometimes with them.
Disappointed in the second-half officiating. They let things get a little chippy out there, though finally calling the technical on Powell put the kibosh on most of it. Still, you should not have a player attempting to reenact the chariot race from Ben-Hur, without the chariots.
We were in the autograph section, but since we're both trying to get Walker and Cain on items of clothing (my jersey, his hat), staying behind for Sun players seemed counterproductive, so we gave our stubs to a Sun fan and headed out, hoping to catch some Libs. No luck. I swear, my team is one of the most difficult to catch for an ink junkie. It's one of their less endearing qualities, and those are more numerous as time winds on.
There are a lot of ways a team can go from looking great in one game to awful in the next. I'm not sure in this case whether it was a fluke on Thursday or preparation by the Sun today. I think the Liberty are somewhere between these extremes, somewhere between dominating defense and abhorrent offense. I just wish I could be sure of the heart and hustle.
Thursday, August 16, 2012
August 16th, 2012: Connecticut at New York
Just the Facts, Ma'am: The New York Liberty started the second half of the season in decisive fashion, with a 79-66 win over the Connecticut Sun. Cappie Pondexter's 24 points led all scorers, while Plenette Pierson made her return to the Liberty lineup with 16 points and four rebounds. Connecticut outrebounded New York 39-30, but committed 17 turnovers. Renee Montgomery's 16 points off the bench led the Sun; Tina Charles was 1-of-7 from the field, but had 12 rebounds.
For mixes, bouncing, frenetic activity, many happy returns, screeching Husky fans, and the miracle of the White Line, join your intrepid and steadily cooling blogger after the jump.
Ready, steady... go!
Watch the clock, tick tock, put on the playlist, watch the boss go out the door at 5, unbutton blouse, untuck Liberty t-shirt (going 50/50 tonight, nothing else is clean), pull out Lobo jersey, pack up everything to be ready to fly out the door, close down at 5:25, make a pit stop, clock out at 5:27, speed down two blocks of dirt and rocks and broken glass, run for the 5:29 bus, watch and wait and calculate...
Ready, steady... go!
Down the stairs at Grand, swear at the Manhattan-bound countdown clock, watch and wait and pace, cram on board with the giant bags around me, stand and stand, ears popping under the river after Bedford, stand until Union Square (that screaming kid better be going uptown), two stops to 8th Avenue and the exodus, that momentary pause before the doors open as the signals get cleared, into the flow of traffic, around the downbound crowds and in with the upbound crowds, rub the statue's head on top of the bannister for luck in one quick hurried movement, catch a blocker and fly down the stairs to the E, swear at the silhouette of a departing train passing the front of the station, be relieved that it's a C, snag a corner seat on the E (sorry, tourists, been commuting since Brooklyn, don't care about your kids), watch the clock, signal problems, train traffic, wait, wait calculate, desperately wanting, gliding into World Trade, everyone up and at 'em, the slight pause as the conductor gets ready to go...
Ready, steady... go!
Out the turnstile, dodge the stockbrokers, up the narrow stairs where the mirrored Towers loom, slalom around the tourists, pitter-patter down the escalator, through the turnstile, OW WHY DID IT HIT ME, down the stairs, into the narrow gap, away we go around the curve out of WTC, ears pop as we cross the Hudson, warning about the doors not opening at Harrison, the long haul from Journal Square, chatting with friends in the corner, last stop Newark-Penn Station, out the turnstile, down the escalator, through the skyway, twist and turn, stifling tunnels, bursts of air conditioning as Skyway Center closes for the night, except for the Subways, a woman in a Leilani Mitchell shirt reminding me I don't have my lei, down the escalator, run across the street, unzipping my bag and never breaking stride across Championship Plaza, up the escalator and halfway around the arena-
It never stops, frenetic movement to get from southern Queens at 5:30 or so to Newark at 7. It leaves me breathless and sweaty in two layers of Liberty gear, and I'd only trade it for home sweet Madison Square Garden. This is how it is for me every weeknight game.
(And of course as soon as I theme the opening to the second half to "Ready Steady Go", which was the music from the opening video this season, they do a new video for the second half. I am cursed. Cursed, I tell you.)
We're up by four at the half on the backs of Plenette Pierson, some great defense that's leading to steals and fast breaks, and a Cappie Pondexter buzzer beater three that was as perfectly timed as I've ever seen in my life. It's really good to have Plenette back in uniform. (It is less good that my word processor keeps crashing as I try to type these notes. If they devolve into keyboard-smash, that's why.)
Nice anthem singer- not fantastic, with one awful screech at the end, but solid. I was still coming in when she sang, so I didn't have as much of an opportunity to gauge as I usually do. I do wish the first game back wasn't Garden of Dreams night, because the first game back- the quasi-home-opener- should have had Mike W. doing the introductions, but it is what it is.
Where did Jessica Moore's shoulders go? She looks so much thinner that I'm almost worried for her. I think when Kia Vaughn hip-checked her like a shuffleboard puck, she might have wished for those extra ten or fifteen pounds back. She looked really overmatched and out of place against all the Liberty posts. Danielle McCray was brought in in short spurts, as if she was meant to be a quick fix- presumably for the defense- but whatever Mike Thibault wanted her to fix, she was not fixing. Kelsey Griffin saw extended time as the first player off the bench, and did a nice job of finishing the open shots that her teammates set her up for, as well as scrapping for loose balls. As a basketball fan, I like seeing her revert back to her old form. As a Liberty fan, I was less than thrilled to see her do so. Tan White hit the floor more than I expected, but while I remember a lot of activity and exertion, I don't remember a lot of results coming from them. Renee Montgomery came off the bench like a firecracker in the second half, trying to spark her team. If she could drag them to a win by her teeth, individually or together, she would have. I'm not sure why she didn't start- whether it's some kind of power play or some kind of disciplinary issue or Thibault just decided to smoke some of the good stuff before the game, I don't know, but I think it's lit a fire under her. I'm just not sure if it's a good fire or a bad fire. The answer may determine whether Connecticut has home court or not.
Asjha Jones was not in uniform for this one. I liked the beige jacket, though I probably wouldn't have buttoned it if I were her. I don't know what else she wore with it.
I don't know if Tina Charles was exhausted from the transcontinental travel, or if she was playing possum so she could go for 30 and 20 on Saturday, or what, but she didn't look like she was trying to impose her will on the Liberty posts. It didn't help her cause that the Liberty seem to have finally figured out how to play the White Line. Something just looked off about her most of the night. Allison Hightower killed us from outside early, and just quietly got things done. I really like her, though I like her less when she's playing against my team. Mistie Mims destroyed us inside. The stats don't necessarily show it, but she was getting whatever position she wanted, whenever she wanted. She did the physical work, stepping up to Plenette Pierson and more than holding her own. I don't know why she was so angry, or why she decided to mess with the logo, but I can objectively appreciate that kind of blue-collar work. Kara Lawson was in many places- getting the boards, landing on the floor, setting up outside, doing whatever she could to help her team win. I don't know what got her the technical- honestly, when I saw the aftermath, I thought the tech was on Mims because of her facial expression. Kalana Greene, despite a couple of athletic drives and daring baseline plays, stood out so little for me that I almost forgot to include her in the notes, and had to go to the box score to figure out which starter I was missing.
It looked like Connecticut wanted to speed the game up, since they didn't have Jones in the middle, and they weren't able to figure out the Liberty defense until the end of the game. This doesn't bode well for Saturday. Also, Coach Thibault, I'm going to have to ask you to remember that assistants are not allowed to jump up out of their seats and wander towards the edge of the coach's box the way you are. Please tell Coach Hawk to take a seat. Thank you.
Alex Montgomery got two stretches of playing time and did nothing badly memorable. The crowd roared when she hit the last shot to get on the board as the shot clock expired. Bonus points for helping Renee Montgomery up, because that's all kinds of confusing, #21 Montgomery and #21 Montgomery. Kara Braxton was not completely awful, though her amazing tendency to oscillate between being very good and very bad showcased itself within the game instead of going from game to game. Within the space of two possessions, she would go from tearing a rebound down with authority to bringing a ball down to her knees and fumbling it. She did what we needed her to do and a little more. I can't complain too much about that. Essence Carson came on in the second half with renewed energy and did work. I'm not sure what the thing off the bottom of the backboard was, though. DeMya Walker garnered a run of perfect 10s on the Dive-O-Meter, along with a 2.2 (you get the call, you get higher scores; you don't draw the foul, you lose points for execution). She was rotating well on defense and causing a lot of disruption.
So that's what the White Line is supposed to do! Look at all those dangerous double-teams and interrupted passes!
Hi, Nicole Powell! Your facial expressions when driving coast to coast are hilarious, but the steals are fantastic. I'd still like to see her stroke come back, but I'll take defensive hustle, quick hands, and rebounding ability if I have to. (I mean, I'd rather have all of the above, but then I'd probably have Tamika Catchings. Which is not a bad thing, but rather out of the realm of possibility.) Cappie Pondexter chose her moments. The shooting percentage wasn't great, but she seemed to hit a lot more shots than she missed. I'll take 14 misses if the 9 hits come at the right times. She was also working the passing lanes like a demon, like someone had found afterburners and strapped them on her shoes on a couple of plays. That's a pleasant surprise. I can live with that too. :) Leilani Mitchell quietly did her job, hitting threes and taking care of the ball as it came up court, even if Cappie did most of the actual playmaking. If we keep winning with it, I can live with that splitting of responsibilities. Kia Vaughn was solid in the middle- maybe not as assertive as she could have been, and maybe a bit more personally offended by the very existence of Jessica Moore somehow (at least, that was what her body language said from my reading up in Section 9), but she had one beautiful offensive rebound on a short scoop shot that was a little too short, saving not only the possession from ending, but the two points we needed at that point in the game. To me, the woman of the hour and the player of the game was Plenette Pierson. It was so good to see her back in uniform again. She was working the little shot in the lane, though with an even more pronounced jackknife motion than usual, and making it easier for her teammates to get shots. She was a presence on the defensive end and a physical presence in the paint. I think she inspired the team, more than the points and the rebounds did.
Your dashing guest reporter had brought up a point earlier in the season that seemed to ring true tonight- he was less worried about the second half of the season than your intrepid blogger was, because he recognized the month off as time that the Liberty could use to get more comfortable and familiar with the White Line. It certainly looked like it was working tonight. More than the steals, there were a lot of passes being slapped out of bounds or otherwise disrupted. I don't think we have a chance to pass Chicago if Epiphanny Prince is back and healthy, but we're going to look better than we did.
Moment of the game: Cappie's primal scream on defense that did eventually lead to a turnover. It's not that I haven't heard primal screams on a basketball court before- Katie Douglas comes to mind immediately- but it was the first time I'd heard her do it. I'm easily amused, what can I say?
The officiating was pretty solid, as I would expect from Denise Brooks, Kevin Sparrock, and Daryl Humphrey in combination with those two. I questioned a couple of out-of-bounds calls, but overall, there wasn't anything I could have made a convincing argument for or against in terms of things being missed or mis-called. And Brooks has said that out-of-bounds is the hardest call in the game.
Dear Liberty front office, or marketing people, or league marketing people- whichever group of you encouraged the "Liberty Choo-Choo"- please make it stop. It causes pure chaos in the stands, takes forever to get the kids off the court, and looks to irritate coaches and officials alike. Tonight's endeavor also included some troublemakers who took the opportunity to run onto the court while people were supposed to be clearing off. The officiating crew showed great mercy in not calling a delay of game warning, as long as it took to get those kids cleared up. (As Kara Lawson's technical was announced right after the choo-choo, I do wonder if it was related.) If you must do this, take notes from Seattle: have the kids lined up well before the timeout starts, delineate the times properly, and make it very clear that the kids have to get off the floor NOW, instead of politely chiding them the way you do now.
Kym Hampton was in the stands for this one, instead of behind the mic; Sue Wicks was also in the house, which was a good sign. She hadn't been to a game in a while.
NBC and the New York Times have decided to pick up sponsorships, so maybe we'll actually get media coverage. Sorry, NYT home delivery shill, but I'm not interested in buying your paper if you're not going to cover my team. College Board also had a table, so we got a Leilani Mitchell bookmark.
We gauged the crowd at announced-7K, so 5805 sounds like an accurate assessment of posteriors in the general vicinity of seats.
It was good to see the whole gang again, and even better to see a win, and best of all to see them play the kind of defense that we know they're capable of. This is the kind of team I wanted to see; the result is almost irrelevant. Almost.