Just the Facts, Ma'am: The New York Liberty jumped out to a big lead, lost it all in the third quarter, and then built it back in the fourth to take down the short-handed Sun, 80-66. Epiphanny Prince led New York with 18 points, adding four steals and four assists. Kelsey Bone of Connecticut led all scorers with 22.
For billions, a supreme faux pas, earrings on clearance, sandwiches, pizza, chips, cupcakes, sodas, souvenir cups, rowdy fans, promises kept, and a team to love, join your intrepid and blurry blogger after the jump.
Good afternoon, Swish Appealers, Bloggerers, and other internet wanderers! Your intrepid blogger comes to you from Geno's Fast Break at Mohegan Sun, as the playoff-bound Liberty visit the injury-bitten Sun. We eschewed the Chinatown bus and the Mohegan comps for the pleasure of our Liberty family, going up on the Liberty fan bus.
I put a twenty in a slot machine and came away with forty-five dollars, so I consider today a good day already.
The bus trip was really, really nice. Poor Morgan and Genesis ended up waitressing the entire bus, but the provided meal was very thorough (Potbelly sandwiches, bags of chips, cookies/mini muffins, and drinks). Plus we get hot dog vouchers!
At the end of the regular season, I'll provide y'all with my 2015 mix, but I listened to that to get hyped up.
So someone at the Sun's ticket office is going to be in trouble, and I don't know whether it's going to be by getting a call from Sienko, from Kristin Bernert, or from Chiney Ogwumike and Elizabeth Williams. Our group was stretched across a back row in sections 14 and 15. The problem with that? Section 14 is the section directly behind the Sun bench. Other Liberty fans were seated lower in the same section. You do NOT put road fans behind the home bench. You DO NOT do this thing. You do not put road fans in a one-row radius of player families, and I suspect a trio of our travelers were behind Jasmine Thomas's family. Whoever did the group sale treated us like any other group and did not take into account that it might be a bit rude to the Sun players to pile fifty-odd people in enemy colors on the logo for a postgame photo.
(Seriously, Chiney kept turning around at every timeout and staring up at our row as if plotting our collective painful demise. And then she got Elizabeth Williams into the act, and I don't want to die!)
Sugar Rodgers is popular among the fan base, but she's got to be less afraid to shoot, which are words I never thought I would apply to Sugar Rodgers. She's been consistently passing off shots that she took last year, and I think it's reducing her effectiveness. Brittany Boyd saw some time in the second quarter, and brought a burst of speed. Not always an effective burst of speed, but a change of pace. Candice Wiggins annoyed Kayla Pedersen, and probably everyone else she was on, but especially Pedersen. She had a good look at a corner three, which has become her offensive specialty.
Essence Carson looks off. Her shot is way off, even more than it has been with the eyewear, and she did not have an extra step on defense tonight. I love Essence- rock the black jersey, have the white on the wall, even named a portable hard drive after her- but she's been a disappointment on the court for much of the season. Kiah Stokes got beat with surprising consistency by Kelsey Bone, but held down the middle against all other comers, and converted on the chances she was given on backdoor cuts and offensive rebounds. I like when Kiah does good things, and not just because she's so endearing- her name is fun to say. Stooooooookes. And her Cheesy Musical Hook fits so well with its relentless beat.
Tanisha Wright played light minutes tonight- I think Bill wanted to rest her even more than the superstars. She looked like she was walking a little gingerly, and as one of the older players on the team, she might be a little more banged up and worn down than others. She was solid on defense when she was in, and that third quarter three kept us in the game. Epiphanny Prince is cold-blooded when it comes to the end of the shot clock. Near the end of the second half, I was worried she was going to go into ballhog mode and try to do it all herself (it's like we had a Rutgers scorer who used to do that), but someone talked sense into her during the break, and she got back on the right side of the balance.
Swin Cash did yeoman's work down low. She took a lot of contact and made it abundantly clear that she did not approve of said contact. She did a little bit of everything. Carolyn Swords got beat on a consistent basis by Kelsey Bone- this is not a recording. She didn't look terribly mobile, but that tends to happen on the back end of back-to-backs. Tina Charles was efficient, and found people cutting through the backdoor with pinpoint accuracy. She absorbed a lot of contact without a call.
Nikki Greene saw some minor minutes in the second quarter, but I think those were either to see if she had anything tonight or just to make sure the posts didn't fall over in the second half. She was physical, but Tina was able to get around her. Kayla Pedersen hustled on the boards and made a legitimate attempt at stretching the Liberty's defense with jumpers.
Shekinna Stricklen must have decided she didn't feel like being pigeonholed as a three-point shooter, because she took major advantage of her broad build to overpower smaller defenders (usually Candice), and unveiled a wicked fast first step. She doesn't look that fast, but she might be kinda quick. Chelsea Gray seems to have inherited some of Jasmine Thomas's puck luck- that three hit everything but the kitchen sink before it went in. The rim giveth and the rim taketh away, Chelsea; always be painfully aware of that. If she ever ends up in New York, I'm doing what I did with Kara Braxton and giving her the card to my favorite bra shop, because I get sympathy pains if she's running hard.
Jennifer Lacy ought to know better than to commit some of the fouls she commits, given how long she's been in the league, but she's a gamer. She sticks in this league because she can stretch a defense and because she can get the little things done. She's better as a reserve, though. Camille Little put in a lot of work down low on the boards- not much of it shows up in the boxscore, but she was working on the glass, boxing out hard and hustling. Kelsey Bone started off hot, with wicked spin moves and nice jumpers, but when her shot was off, it was very badly off. But she was the only thing keeping Connecticut in the game for most of the night. I'm really happy for her that she's having such success in Connecticut.
Kelly Faris brought the defense, but she's not the person who should have the ball when the shot clock is running down. I admire her hustle. Jasmine Thomas looks like she's been developing her jumper, which only took how long? I call shenanigans on the four blocks in the box score- I can only think of two, and one of them might have been a steal- it's not clear whether that wa a shot going up or not.
I think Connecticut ultimately just wore down. You can only play eight for so long, knowing that you should have more, knowing that whenever you look at the bench there are four starters in street clothes. I imagine it's emotionally draining.
The officiating was inconsistent, in terms of how tightly it was called from quarter to quarter, but if there were calls that needed a good hard questioning, they were in the Liberty's favor. Except for when Kayla Pedersen elbowed Candice, and even then Candice got to do some hitting of her own.
It was really fun being around all those crazy Liberty fans, but it got frustrating when some people started being sore winners to the Sun fans. Haven't they suffered enough?
Piph, don't yell at the ref. Piph, don't roll-block the ref.
Choral anthem, highly approved.
Got the #shareacoke Chiney and Camille cups, which just leaves Alyssa for the 13th.
Morgan and Genesis really busted their butts on the bus. There was some chaos with the tickets before the game, but it was sorted out.
Shoutout to Swin Cash for coming out of the locker room after the game and huddling us all up for a "WE ARE! NEW YORK!" battle-cry. Perversely, I think it mellowed some of the more exuberant fans out before the group photo.
20 wins. 24 is the magic number. We can do this. I believe in this team, and they believe in this team.
Sunday, August 30, 2015
August 29th, 2015: New York at Connecticut
Saturday, August 29, 2015
August 28th, 2015: Minnesota at New York
Just the Facts, Ma'am: Epiphanny Prince (22 points) and Tina Charles (18 points, 11 rebounds) were the stars, but a team effort powered the New York Liberty to a playoff-clinching win over the Minnesota Lynx, 81-68.
For dodgy officiating, unmitigated glee, dysfunctional cats, questionable dancing, gymnastics, green hair, and the general admission shuffle, join your intrepid and sweaty blogger after the jump.
So, as we all expected, the best of the West come to visit the beasts of the East tonight. It's a showdown at the Garden, and best record in the league is on the line for the New York Liberty and the Minnesota Lynx. I am hyped like you wouldn't believe.
Public transit does not have good omens today, given that it took half an hour just for a bus to arrive, whereupon three of them arrived at once, and now we're being held because of trains ahead of us somewhere west of Union Square. I cannot be having with this today, MTA.
Preliminary reports indicate a lot of tickets sold just on pregame word of mouth. Looks like it's going to be another big crowd. I love it. We're not yet back to the golden days where even the upper bowl was occupied on a regular basis, but we're getting there.
It's going to be interesting how seriously New York takes a potential Finals opponent and best record, as opposed to how seriously they take tomorrow's road game at Connecticut; after all, we have a rivalry with Connecticut, built on the roll of the dice and the whims of a Husky, and games in conference are more important than cross-conference games. On the other hand, tonight could be clinch night.
Seimone Augustus will not be playing this evening. She looks very well put together, but that medical boot just ruins the whole look. :P
Pregame entertainment this evening has been a young gymnastics group and a dance group with glittery dresses (but at least they're over the age of consent).
Got the chance to chat with a couple of simply darling Lynx fans who were in town on vacation from Minnesota and decided to check out the game while they were here. Sweet folks. Lynx-green hair is a bonus.
At halftime, the Liberty are up on the Lynx 43-38. The general admission shuffle continues to be a bit of an issue. It's been punch-counterpunch. The D clamps down at the right times. I also highly disapprove of the calls against Essence Carson.
This team. This beautiful clutch team. This team that comes together and communicates and has two stars to light the way and a whole beautiful constellation around them. My team, y'all. My team.
I don't know what's wrong with the Lynx, but from my one-game-in-opposing-stands view, it does not look good. I don't see communication. I see Cheryl Reeve blowing through her timeouts like Chestnutt at a hot-dog eating contest. I don't see a consistently flowing offense. I see a team with deep-seated trust issues. I don't think Reeve trusts the bench. I don't think the starters trust Reeve. I see a team with the two playbooks Reeve talked about when she talked about the trade, except that they are two disparate playbooks and they're trying to use both of them at the same tim, instead of putting some pages from one into the other.
Renee Montgomery played in the first half, but not in the second. She had a little shake-and-bake, but she was otherwise unremarkable. Tricia Liston played the entire fourth quarter. She used her build well defensively against smaller players, but she seems scared to shoot anything that isn't either wide open or a three-pointer. She passed off a couple of good midrange looks.
Devereaux Peters, who I really need to get to know just so I can call her Dev and not have to spell her full name, played a lot of minutes, especially in the second half. She boxed out well. She's still foul-prone, though. Asjha Jones was unafraid to shoot, and to shoot jumpers. She showed moments of the All-Star she once was, but she settled too easily for offense on the perimeter.
The maestra Lindsay Whalen didn't look as in command as she usually does. There were moments where the passing was crisp and the ball was moving, but there was a lot of stagnancy and a lot of one-on-one play. Whalen seemed to be taking on a lot of offensive responsibility early, but she was bottled up pretty much after the first quarter. Anna Cruz had drives that should have been made, yet weren't, which I'm okay with as a Liberty fan. I feel like she might have wanted to assert herself as a point guard more, yet took a step back because of Whalen.
Rebekkah Brunson barely played. She had a couple of nice plays on the glass, but I wonder if she tweaked something, and that was why Reeve leaned so heavily on Peters. (If that's the case, then playing the big lineup with Moore at the 2 was a riskier move than I thought at first glance.) Sylvia Fowles was competent down low, but got outclassed by Tina Charles. She's great at what she does, at both ends of the floor, but she feels like a square peg that is somehow not fitting the square hole created by the aging of the Lynx rotation. I don't get it. Maya Moore did Maya Moore things, but her shot looked really off. She had a couple of bad misses, and seemed to be relying more on her athleticism to make plays on off-balance shots than she was her talent. The second quarter was her time, as much on free throws as on shots from the field.
Sugar Rodgers provided a couple of big threes to really break Minnesota's collective back. She's still streaky, but oh, when she's on. Candice Wiggins was pesky on defense and came up with a couple of shots late. Brittany Boyd was way too hyped up for this game- she played about two speeds too fast, her shots going too long, her passes a little too far ahead. But that drive at the end of the first quarter was a momentum swinger.
Essence Carson brought some defense, but Maya Moore outclassed her. And she knew it. She doesn't have the step she needs to keep up with a superstar like Moore, but as soon as she was beaten, she called for help. Avery Warley-Talbert is a sweet person, but she has no business in a game that's still competitive, which includes pretty much the first half of any game. Kiah Stokes was a beast on the boards, and she changed a couple of shots- didn't get credit for the blocks, but you can't always get what you want.
Epiphanny Prince came up with a couple of big shots to beat the shot clock, and played solid defense. Much was asked of her, and much was received. Tanisha Wright locked down on defense and got the team started on the right foot, no pun intended.
Tina Charles was fantastic down low. She took more long jumpers than I would have liked, but they went in, for the most part, especially in the second half. I can't complain when they go in. Swin Cash was gritty and gluey and set the tone early. I tend to underestimate what she brings to the table, but tonight, she showed why she's still starting. So did Carolyn Swords. One would think she'd be outmatched against Fowles. One would forget that she spent some time as Fowles's practice buddy in Chicago, and she knows more than just about anyone in the league about Big Syl's tendencies. She started the game on fire, and for the first time in a few games, I objected to Kiah coming in for her on the usual rotation. (Which is nothing against Kiah. But you ride the hot hand until it cools.)
What doesn't come through in the player-by-player notes is the sheer amount of communication amongst the team. Essence gets beat by Maya Moore? Maya's still in that first step when Essence calls for the switch. Tina's being held? She calls for Essence to leave her assignment and crash the boards.
Piph was involved in both plays of the game. The first to mention, of course, is the four-point play, taking "three the hard way" to a whole new level. The other was a hustle play. Kiah gets the rebound, saves it on the baseline, hurling it wildly towards the sideline by the scorer's table. Tanisha makes an equally fantastic save on the sideline, out to Piph, and the crowd goes wild. That kind of hard work is what wins a New York crowd.
I don't even know what to say about those officials, only that I find it very strange that a team that relied more on midrange jumpers took twice as many free throws as the team that primarily took the ball into the paint. I don't necessarily ask for competency; I ask for consistency, and especially after a second quarter with an 8-2 differential, I question the consistency.
Really big crowd tonight, and it looks like MSG is starting to get the message tht 9K is the new normal. More food stands were open, more ushers were around, and more security was available at the gates. Made the experience a lot easier for people. The general admission shuffle is still a problem, but one that's sort of inevitable for the concept. I do think the sections need to be more clearly articulated, but if people are coming through the door, and they're enjoying the game, and they're planning to come back, I can't really protest too much.
A couple of baby Knicks showed up, as did Allan Houston and one of the Property Brothers. This is one of the other things I like: we're starting to see a sort of Celebrity Row. Liberty games are a place to be seen.
The problem with loving this team this much is that it's hard to put squee and warm fuzzy feelings into words. I just want to hug them and squish them and tell them all how wonderful they are, how much fun they are to watch as basketball players and how great it is to see them be teammates to each other.
Playoffs, baby!
Friday, August 21, 2015
August 21st, 2015: Atlanta at New York
Just the Facts, Ma'am: New York shook off a slow start to take off in the fourth quarter for a 78-67 win over the Atlanta Dream. Tina Charles had a game-high 25 points, with Epiphanny Prince adding 18. Tiffany Hayes led Atlanta with 17.
For school supplies, bugg waggling, so many dancers, questions about officiating, flashlights, random cricket noises, and bringing the noise, join your intrepid and bleary blogger after the jump.
Good evening! It's game day at the Garden, where the league-leading Liberty take on the Atlanta Dream.
School supplies have been donated, and tiny bright flashlights have been received in exchange.
Atlanta, it's hard to be sympathetic to your plight when y'all don't sign. Okay, except for Angel McCoughtry. McCoughtry also provided amusement for wandering off the court. There's an aisle directly behind the court, where she was stretching out her legs by kicking out. Unfortunately, said aisle is also a pedestrian area. That's not how you're supposed to kick butt, Angel. Security gently suggested to her that her stretches might better be performed on the court.
Looks like it's going to be a pretty good crowd. Cheap seats are already filling up pretty solidly. The general admission policy is not working out as smoothly as security might like- too many people think it means any seat in the house, when it's restricted to certain sections. We're seeing a lot of seat jumpers and idiots standing in the aisle.
At halftime, the Liberty are up one, in a game that hasn't been very pretty. It's Garden of Dreams night, so we're seeing a lot of talent from the Garden of Dreams talent show. I'm not terribly impressed, but I've seen far, far worse.
There's a dude a couple of rows in front of us (or possibly was- haven't seen him since the middle of the second) who's kind of a ridiculous Sugar Rodgers [url=http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Stan]stan[/url]. Bill will put Sugar in when he's good and ready to do so, sir.
From an uninspired first half rose a much more competitive second half, and a fired-up Liberty team that decided they weren't going to lose to Atlanta. They drew the crowd into the game in a way I haven't seen in a long time. That energy is so crucial. That's the energy that becomes homecourt advantage.
Roneeka Hodges rocking the preppy look today. It's a good look for her.
Sydney Carter played briefly in the third quarter. She's got a strange three-point shot. She spent most of the pregame with a giant pad wrapped around most of her back, so I'm not surprised she didn't play a lot. She was vocal during stretches before the game. Matee Ajavon annoys people on the floor (someday someone will put a mic over her matchups with Candice Wiggins and I think it will be glorious and profane). She cooled down in the second half drastically.
DeLisha Milton-Jones still has a little bit of that pretty jumper, but her greatest asset on the court is still her immense length, those long arms that get in the way of everything opponents try to do. Reshanda Gray showed a little bit of offense and a lot of defensive intensity, if not necessarily full execution of said defense. She'll have time to work through her mistakes in Atlanta, but I'm not sure she has the coaching she'll need to learn from those mistakes. Aneika Henry seems to have lost many of her minutes to Gray- she always seemed to be around the basket, but not necessarily making plays at the basket.
Shoni Schimmel is starting to look like a point guard again. She didn't look like an All-Star point guard yet, but she looked like a point guard. She showed a propensity for taking too many unnecessary shots, whether they were threes with the intent to break the Liberty's will or crazy drives with the intent to get fouled. Tiffany Hayes falls down a lot. Her diving irks me. I appreciate the hustle, but get up, woman. She kind of sneaks up on you. Angel McCoughtry... early in the game it looked like she was all for playing within the team dynamic and trying to keep her teammates involved. But when the pressure's on and the ship starts to flounder, Lori Ann comes out to play, and she gets rough, and she gets so easily frustrated. I think McCoughtry is trying to be the person she wants to be, and the person her fiancée wants her to be, and the person her team needs her to be, but she falls too easily back into her old habits.
Damiris Dantas is a nice addition for this team. She's not the answer at center, if only because of her size and style of play, but if they can pair her with a more traditional center, the Dream should be in pretty good shape. She has nice flexibility to her game. Sancho Lyttle did a lot of complaining and melodramatic gesturing to the referees, which is pretty hilarious given how bad they were to the Liberty tonight. I don't remember her being that much of a whiner, but she did a lot of it. She's sneaky on the offensive rebounds.
Atlanta seems like a team with a lot of pieces but not enough edges to the puzzle, so that they don't know where all the pieces should go. But I don't think they can keep trying to build around McCoughtry unless she has a complete personality transplant.
Avery Warley-Talbert played briefly and reminded us all why she doesn't play more. She's a sweet kid, and she's definitely not your stereotypical alumna of an evangelical college, but she's a deep reserve at best. Kiah Stokes needed a little push to get started on offense, but she locked down the defense, and had a really nice punchout of a rebound to Tina Charles for the putback. Essence Carson drew the difficult task of guarding Angel McCoughtry, and helped at least keep her from shooting.
Brittany Boyd is an energizer, a firestarter, the person who initiates the great and glorious feedback loop that powers the homecourt advantage. The three she hit to beat the buzzer was phenomenal. Candice Wiggins was a disruptive presence on offense, and managed to get into Atlanta's heads enough that she was getting thrown around by the end of the game. Sugar Rodgers played briefly, showing hustle but nothing for it except rebounds.
Tanisha Wright got hammered in the lane with no call, repeatedly, and her jumpers weren't falling. But she was a defensive stopper and a fantastic distributor. I kind of like the idea of her nd Boyd in the backcourt together. Epiphanny Prince hit a cold streak in the second quarter or so, but got hot again right in time. I like her play on the ball defensively as well. Even with the super scorers, you can tell the Rutgers pedigree.
Tina Charles leaned heavily on her outside jumper, which is really the only complaint it's possible to register about her play this evening. She looked rock solid. Swin Cash got going early, but we went to smaller lineups with a three-guard set, so she didn't see as much time. Carolyn Swords looked like she was finding her groove once more, though she's still having a little trouble handling some passes. She and Swin had some beautiful two-man game stuff going on.
Both teams came to play, and for the first half, Atlanta dominated stylistically and on the scoreboard. But New York punched back, and once we found our groove, we took over in the fourth.
Refs who allow blatant wrestling moves and don't blow their whistles can take a long walk off a short pier. Honestly, I don't know what Candice does to get so many non-calls against her, but she got a couple of brutal ones today. Everything seemed to be going against the Liberty for most of the game. It was frustrating to see what appeared to be a one-sided officiating job. In the fourth, at least the inconsistency was inconsistent and both sides saw calls they had reason to disagree with.
The only reason for the Liberty not to continue on this hot streak is because MSG staff doesn't seem prepared for a sudden attendance spike. Security is slow, too many stands are closed, and facilities staff doesn't seem inclined to do their jobs. The folks in front of us had an accident and spilled their sodas and nacho cheese. Right at the start of the second half, I attempted to get the attention of someone who could handle it. The shift supervisor led me to the usher of the next section over, who spoke to security, who said they'd radio for a mop. No mop ever came. C'mon, man. And while I'm venting at ushers, can they please urge people not to stand in the aisles, especially during play?
I love my team. I think it might be their time. Maybe.
Saturday, August 15, 2015
August 15th, 2015: Tulsa at New York
Just the Facts, Ma'am: Tulsa was up by as much as 20 in their 81-76 win over the Liberty at Madison Square Garden, though New York put up a spirited fight in the fourth quarter behind 13 of Brittany Boyd's 22 points. Odyssey Sims had 27 to pace the Shock.
For shirts, no shoes, no soap radio, distressing injuries, a distaste for night games, so many tourists, and being unable to see straight, join your intrepid and dehydrated blogger after the jump.
A quick turnaround, and here we are again back in New York, as the Tulsa Shock come to town. Today may be shopping day. We'll see what's on sale. Mama needs a new pair of shoes. (No, literally. My sneakers have holes in their soles.)
No shoes to be found, but I did buy a new shirt at the MSG team store, and determined that the rest of my shopping will be done when my 20% coupon kicks in on the 11th. It looked like we're going to get a lot of walk-up ticket sales for this game, and a lot of groups.
We're going to have to like the halftime entertainment- they're sitting two rows in front of us, just in front of the lovely Australian tourists. (One of them went to school with LJ!) (Also, Aussies tend to be cool in general. Come back next year, Bec!)
Entertainment continues to actually wear clothes- pregame was a hip-hop troop whose routines reminded me a little of St. John's, only not as expertly rendered, and halftime is a Bollywood dance group whose photographer is an utter jackass, followed by another hip-hop troop,
Tulsa's been shooting the lights out, and we're panicking in response by taking too many threes. We're not a three-point shooting team. That's not our offense. Our offense is strongest in the interior and crisply passing to the open man.
Epiphanny Prince's dumb foul on Odyssey Sims behind the arc really messed up the momentum and took the crowd out of the game. We just have to hope that we can outlast them and their lack of depth.
We almost did. Brittany Boyd took the bit in her teeth and decided that we weren't going down this easily. But you can't complete a comeback if you get a golden opportunity like a foul on a three-pointer and miss the free throws. Tulsa freaks out in the fourth quarter, and we had a chance to at least close to within one possession.
Amanda Zahui B. looked solid, but I'm hedging my bets only because her counterpart was just that bad tonight. She used her size well to box out, and I'm not completely sure she doesn't use the hair to cloud her opponents' vision, like an octopus squirting ink. Tiffany Jackson-Jones has that familiar footwork shuffle that used to drive us nuts in New York. She seems to be moving well, and has put on muscle. I'm happy for her. Vicky Baugh got a little help with the rim, but I like that little jumper she has. Jordan Hooper was spectacularly unremarkable.
Brianna Kiesel powered through the lane for one nice drive, but overall seemed to be trying too hard on offense. Her strength is not scoring, and she can't be Sims or Williams. Also, I have just noticed that Kiesel was the only guard who came off the bench.
Courtney Paris is a very large woman. Yes, I know, instant grasp of the obvious, but when there is that much movement under the jersey, I feel sympathy pains in my chest. She positions herself well under the basket for rebounds and uses her bulk to clear people out of the way. Plenette Pierson's perimeter game is inconsistent and strange. She defended well on interior passes, deflecting with her fingertips. Karima Christmas did a little bit of everything. She's not spectacular, but she's surprisingly versatile and seems to be very useful.
For most of the game, it didn't seem like Odyssey Sims could miss a shot, whether it was from the field or the line. Puck luck and fearlessness helped, as did a sweet long-range shot. I'm not as good at seeing assists, but she seems to have her team firmly in hand (one play comes to mind immediately- Hooper moved and immediately Sims started yelling "no, no!"). I think the loss of Diggins has forced Sims to develop more as a point guard, and it'll be interesting to see the dynamic next year with Diggins back, both of them true combo guards that can make the offense very fluid. Riquna Williams has such a pretty shot, but absolutely no common sense on the other side of the floor. She committed a couple of stupid fouls near the end of the game that gave the Liberty a chance to make the game competitive again. Tula will be much better off once she can go back to being the super sub.
Brittany Boyd decided that if we were going to lose this game, it wasn't going to be because of anything she did. In the fourth quarter, she took the bull by the horns, the bit between her teeth, and the clichés to the max, and drove the lane repeatedly. Three straight possessions, three times she drew contact. She brought energy and fire, and reminded the Garden crowd how she won our hearts in the beginning of the season. Sugar Rodgers came up with some big shots and a ton of defensive hustle. Candice Wiggins was pesky defensively- Tulsa seemed to take pleasure in running her into screens over and over again- but all the good she did was overshadowed by her simple inability to hit a free throw at the end of the game. (Something that got to her too, given that she was practicing free throws after the exhibition post-game.)
I don't know what happened to Kiah Stokes, but I don't like it. At least last game she still had the blocks, but this time she didn't have the strength on the inside that we so sorely needed from her. More worrisome, she couldn't hang on to the ball. There were at least two rebounds that she should have had cleanly that fell out of her hands and into the hands of a Shock player. I think both of those resulted in Tulsa baskets (and as a demonstration of how scrambled my brains are, I almost typed "Detroit baskets" there). If she's hit the rookie wall, we might have a problem. Avery Warley-Talbert was stronger today than yesterday, but still not an acceptable alternative in the post. Essence Carson was all right defensively, and brought a little bit of offense, but she, like many of her teammates, had a problem finishing at the rim.
Epiphanny Prince's shot wasn't falling tonight. Part of the problem was that she was taking threes that weren't in the flow of the offense. She and Sugar were both trying to answer Tulsa's long-range assault, and that isn't this team's strength. It's something that we have in our arsenal, sure, but it's not something we should be attempting to rely on. Tanisha Wright got into foul trouble very early in the game, sitting after two minutes with two fouls. Then she picked up an early one in the third quarter, and between that and Boyd coming on like a house on fire, she spent most of the game on the bench.
Swin Cash barely played, and I don't remember much of what she did. Because Tulsa was often going with a smaller lineup, we often went with a three-guard set, or with Essence at forward. Carolyn Swords continues to take steps backwards. She overran the basket an awful lot tonight, and was very stiff. I'm worried about her, and I really don't think starting is agreeing with her- but with Kiah regressing in the last couple of games, our options are becoming limited. Tina Charles was tightly defended all night, and she was forced into a lot of bad shots by Tulsa shutting down her passing lanes. She rebounded well, but she was taking the shots that drive us nuts- but because she couldn't get the better shots, not because she thought it was a good idea.
There were a couple of points during the game where it looked like Bill had given up on the game, was already planning ahead for San Antonio and Atlanta- but the team wasn't ready to give up. I like that fight. We dug too deep a hole for ourselves with Tulsa's outside shooting, and though we had the fire to come back, we ran out of time.
The Pierson injury: everyone's saying it looked like a knee, but I'm not so sure. I didn't see how she went down, but while she was down, she was holding first her shoulder, then her knee. She was very ginger to get up, but she seemed to be putting weight on both legs. The trainers put a couple of towels over her head when she finally got up, and when she came off, her steps were very small and unsteady. I think there might be a concussion in play here. (As an aside, I was impressed with Laura Ramus. She was on the scene pretty fast, and Plenette's not even one of her players anymore.) Lots of love from the New York fans for PP, both during intros and when she came off the court.
Charlottesville was honored during one of the timeouts, though we didn't stay for the exhibition game after the Liberty game. If we'd won, I might have, but I was too cranky to stick around. Part of me likes the "Girls DON'T Sit on the Bench" t-shirt concept, part of me thinks wait, doesn't that imply that no one should be on the bench at all, even if you need to have reserves? I get the message, but I question the phrasing.
Officiating was the usual inconsistent mess, but you take it and you deal with it.
Do I want to know why Amanda Zahui B. was smacking one of the guards on the butt with a folded up piece of paper as they came onto the floor? Probably not.
Turns out that Swin and Tina both lip-sync pretty well.
We almost needed a game like this, to be honest. Better to be tested, and to rise to the challenge and almost meet it, than to not be tested until it really, really matters. Like Indiana or Washington. Better to be reminded of what we have to do when we play the West.
August 14th, 2015: New York at Connecticut
Just the Facts, Ma'am: Tina Charles matched her jersey number with 31 points, and Epiphanny Prince filled all the statistical columns as the Liberty fended off repeated runs from Connecticut to win 90-78.
For car accidents, wandering notes, sharing a Coke, indigestion, ridiculous shots, knee concerns, traveling fans, identifying autographs, duels, and too many geek references, join your intrepid and easily distracted blogger after the jump.
Hello once again, faithful and loyal readers! (And, I suppose, to the dabblers and dilettantes out there.) Your intrepid blogger comes to you from the aftermath of the New York Liberty's visit to Connecticut to take on the much-injured Sun. (Seriously, what eldritch abomination did Anne Donovan offend?)
As usual, you will not be getting detailed notes from the inside of the arena, since the Sun have a thing against backpacks and laptops for some reason.
School supplies drive at Mohegan; if I get to Flushing early enough, I'm bringing pencils. Also the night that Katie Douglas will be honored by the Sun. If it weren't a Liberty game, I'd have brought my Miracle jersey, but well, it's a Liberty game, so my Essence Carson jersey is tucked in my backpack. Next week, I'm sure someone will give me grief about being late to the party.
I brought pencils, and a few other things too, because that's how I roll. The trip to the bus wasn't the hard part; the hard part came after a car flipped over at the exit 15 on-ramp and halted traffic for half an hour. A two-and-a-half, maybe three, hour trip turned into just over four hours.
Connecticut is doing the #shareacoke thing with their beverage cups, which I find utterly adorable. I currently have the Connecticut Sun generic in my backpack, along with "Share a Coke with Kelsey". I really want a "Share a Coke with Chiney" cup one of these days.
Tiny anthem singer who wandered all over the map, but with style, where did you even put all that voice? So much power in such a small frame.
Plenty of Liberty fans in the house- a pleasant surprise for a Friday night, and a good omen for the 29th.
When will Connecticut learn that Bill Laimbeer gets a kick out of being the villain? Yes, play the Imperial March for him, your hate only makes him stronger. Boo him with all your power, he will only rise again more powerful than before.
I was not comfortable with Avery Warley-Talbert coming into the game as early as she did. She seemed very passive- if a loose ball is directly at your feet, Avery, perhaps you should make some effort to retrieve it? Kiah Stokes had some trouble keeping up with Kelsey Bone's spin moves- the first defensive effort was often there, but then Bone would change direction and away she went. But Kiah also came up with a couple of massive blocks in the fourth quarter when we needed them. Essence Carson's vision seemed off- a couple of really bad misses, her usual foot-on-the-line long jumper that kind of thing. She was moving well on D, though.
I never thought I'd see the day when Sugar Rodgers was afraid to shoot, but two possessions she received the ball with the shot clock running down, and both times she hesitated. That's very un-Sugar-like. The one shot she hit was big, though, extending the lead at a crucial moment. Candice Wiggins seems to be becoming more comfortable in her roles, and Bill seems to be trusting her more. She played more off the ball tonight, sharing the backcourt with Brittany Boyd. She's remarkably pesky on defense. I'm starting to wonder if she's one of those players like DeLisha Milton-Jones or Plenette Pierson who is a complete jerk on the court, but a total sweetheart off it, because she always seems to get knocked around by opposing players. Boyd was the last player off the bench, which might be messing with her confidence a little bit. She blasted Connecticut's defense at the end of the third quarter on a high-speed fast break lay-up. I'm not a fan of playing the three of them together, no matter how awesomely brilliant their conversations could be.
Carolyn Swords grows less effective as a starter by the game. I really think the bad knee has started barking at her, much as happened to Plenette Pierson as the season wore on last year. She's super slow to react and move, and she doesn't seem to be as well-integrated into the offense as she was earlier this year. If it weren't for the need to conserve Kiah's fouls, I'd say move Carolyn back to the bench where she was producing, and bring Kiah back as the starter. Tina Charles had a few moments today where were were yelling, "no, no, don't take the long jumper!" But she had many more moments where it was abundantly clear that she's an All-Star center, and that she's fluid in the paint. She just seems to find an extra step once she's down low. Swin Cash had a scary moment in the second half where she went down hard and was holding her knee, but she came back- she was stiff for a while, but came up with a basket late. I'm still worried about her for tomorrow.
Tanisha Wright was quietly, calmly, and mostly intelligently consistent. How's that for adverb abuse? She and Alex Bentley went hard at each other. You've got to love those point of pride rivalries. She provided the veteran leadership we needed to stabilize us whenever Connecticut made a run. Epiphanny Prince was on fire. She had a cold stretch in the second quarter, but even then, she made up for it with aggressive on-ball defense and good hustle. She set the tone early and finished up late.
The resiliency of the Liberty has been fantastic. Even on nights where the defense isn't there, they find ways to win. In this case, the superstars became superstars. I was actually worried that Tina was going to keep scoring- I'd run out of room on my scoresheet for two-point baskets for her!
Kayla Pedersen set one nice strong pick and hit a perimeter jumper, but those were the only impressions she left. Nikki Greene got a fair amount of time, more than I'm used to for a seven-day temp getting in her first game with a team. She was very physical- hard hits seemed to happen when she was in the game whether she was delivering them or just happened to be in the vicinity of them.
Shekinna Stricklen sure has a pretty shot. It didn't go down today, but it's still pretty. I've always been rough on Kelly Faris, since I believed- and still believe- that she only gets her chances because she's a pedigreed Husky, but her defense has improved markedly since the last time I saw her, and that was her one calling card as a professional. With roster expansion, that one strong skill might be enough to keep her employed. I like Chelsea Gray at the point more than Jasmine Thomas; she brings offensive firepower that Thomas doesn't necessarily have consistently. I'm waiting for the day when Donovan decides to try to run Gray with the starters. I do not want that day to happen against the Liberty. She's powerful and she's flashy, and she's got excellent vision.
That is not to say anything against Jasmine Thomas. She has her advantages- she's a very sticky and determined defender. And she hit shots tonight, which seemed uncharacteristic but was surely a pleasant surprise to Sun fans. Her offense seems to rely on "puck luck"- the luck of the draw, the friendly or the unfriendly roll off the iron. It's probably for the best that Alex Bentley plays for the Sun and thus is not allowed to gamble at Mohegan, because I think she uses up all her luck with those one-handed runners that always seem to fall, or with those crazy fadeaway threes. She seemed to let things get into her head by the end of the game, when she fouled Tanisha hard once or twice. Kicking people is inappropriate behavior on a basketball court. When she's not being stupid, I like her defense.
The Jennifer Lacy start worked out a lot better than one would think from the final score. She forced the defense to extend out beyond where it was comfortable, and she set screens for her teammates. That's pretty much what has been expected of her for something like ten years. I didn't realize Camille Little had been practicing her threes, but she seems comfortable out there. I think it takes away from her strength down low, but I could be wrong. Kelsey Bone looked like she wanted to show up her former team and the player she was traded for. I'm really impressed by her spin move- that's something she's polished and honed. She needs to watch those elbows, though.
Connecticut didn't have the firepower to compete tonight, but the pieces are starting to come together. I'm not sure that Donovan's the person who can put them into place, though.
Officiating was inconsistent tonight, but inconsistent both ways (Sun fans were righteously furious at a blocking call on a wild Tanisha Wright drive). Fortunately, the game ended before anyone could seriously lose their temper.
I don't think the "throw the socks at the clothesline" contest is going to come back next week. Or the "shoot free throws while wearing a foam finger" one.
It still bothers me when Faris gets more applause than All-Stars.
Katie Douglas is really doubling down on that "signing with the Fever was a lapse in sanity" thing. It plays well in Connecticut, but I hope she isn't planning on ever doing anything in the state of Indiana again.
I'm looking forward to the Tulsa game- it'll be a quick turnaround, but I think we can survive.
Tuesday, August 11, 2015
August 11th, 2015: Chicago at New York
Just the Facts, Ma'am: Epiphanny Prince had 22 points to spearhead a balanced Liberty attack in a 84-63 win over Chicago. Cappie Pondexter had 23 points in her return to the Garden, but she and Jessica Breland (11) were the only Sky players in double figures.
For bright pink, outdated checks, jumping for joy, friendly wanderers, tasteful entertainment, teamwork, disappointed Delawareans, the Scrabble look, small children, increased security, and adroit use of timeouts, join your intrepid and content blogger after the jump.
Good evening, ladies and gentlemen and those who prefer not to be constrained by outdated manners or the gender binary! Your intrepid blogger comes to you on her usual tape delay from Madison Square Garden, The World's Most Famous Arena (or so I'm told), as the New York Liberty host the Chicago Sky in a game with heavy playoff implications. New York looks to put more separation between themselves and the rest of the pack, while Chicago seeks to escape the peloton.
So far I'm feeling good about today, despite the rain-soaked streets transferring their water to my shoes. Free lunch, two smooth transfers (we'll see about the last change at 8th Avenue)- what's not to like.
No word the last I saw about Elena Delle Donne and her ankle- she played through it magnificently on Sunday, as anyone watching on ESPN could have told you, but those things stiffen up and twinge at the slightest excuse, especially in damp weather. (Source: my right ankle.)
I'm looking forward to seeing how Cappie Pondexter's return is taken by the fans, and how Pondexter chooses to react to them in turn. Epiphanny Prince put on a show in her return to Chicago- is Pondexter going to feel obligated to do the same in New York? And if she does, does that take away touches from Delle Donne, to the Sky's detriment?
It's BHA night at the Garden, which means the Liberty will be wearing the pink jerseys. I'm not looking forward to it, and not just because of my long-held antipathy towards pinkwashing- the cut of the new jerseys bothers me a lot, and I don't like the lack of a number on the back. (Plus, I fear that with her coloring, Carolyn Swords is going to look like six and a half feet of pink glowstick, especially once she's been in the game for a few minutes.)
New at the Garden: metal detectors! I blame whichever idiot called in the bomb threat at Wrigley Field. I'm used to them from St. John's, but it's still disconcerting to have things get changed all of a sudden.
Chicago does the Zerg rush that so many teams do nowadays. No sign of Delle Donne so far, but she's listed as a probable starter. Surprisingly little Delaware/Sky blue so far, though one poor girl in a Delle Donne jersey got tickets behind the wrong bench.
Normally I get cranky about tourists asking me to play photographer, but ma'am, you're wearing lots of pink and have no visible hair left, so in this case, I'm honored to help you out.
(I am not wearing pink. I'm wearing a Rebecca Lobo jersey. My husband's wearing an Edna Campbell jersey, with a Shay Doron jersey to change into for gametime. This is how we do BHA. Well, that, and we donate $ at every BHA game we end up at.)
Today's giveaway is a strange bandana sort of thing. It's not going over well. Small child, please do not put the bandana over your face, security has enough of a headache today trying to enforce the general admission policies. (Personally, so long as you're not in my seat, I don't care where you sit. Just don't be a jerk, and try to sit by the opposing bench if you're a road fan.)
No Delle Donne as the teams come out onto the court to warm up, and she's in street clothes, wearing a shirt that's poised between Liberty green and Sky blue. She looks good, but she usually does. She's awfully pretty.
At halftime, it's 45-36 in favor of the Liberty, and it could honestly be more; my math suggests that rimouts have been 10-4 against the Liberty.
Our halftime entertainment has been a nifty martial arts exhibition, followed by a dance exhibition, thankfully by adults.
Jimmy Smits in the house! So is C. Vivian Stringer, sitting on the sideline by the Liberty bench (strange to me, given that her goddaughter is on the Sky).
The defense has been a bit looser than I'd like for the Liberty, but the offense looks sharp. Lots of fun to watch.
Chicago's been leaning on Cappie and the supporting cast. I don't know if we have an answer for Breland. We'll see if rotating more players early helps them later.
I don't think it worked. The Liberty were flat defensively for stretches in both the third and fourth quarters, but Bill Laimbeer used his timeouts really well to arrest the momentum. We got a lot of energy off the bench, and it resulted in points. This was one of those nights where this team was fun to watch, even through the flat moments.
I really think the Liberty should update their charity checks, unless John Whisenant got kicked all the way up to treasurer after he got fired as coach and GM. Still, raising $10,000 for breast cancer research is nothing to sneeze at.
I like Clarissa Dos Santos for Chicago. She reminds me of the role Jayne Appel plays for the Stars, or that Janel McCarville was famous for whenever she played in Minnesota. She's not an offensive threat, no matter how many long jumpers she takes, but I love her tenacity on the boards. She was surrounded by two, three, four Liberty players in the paint, and she still came away with rebounds. She set a nice pick to free up Pondexter for a jumper, and came up with a stylish block on Carolyn Swords. Cheyenne Parker threw her body around on the outside with screens that were perhaps not legal. I'm not quite sure if Betnijah Laney is considered inside or outside anymore; she seemed to be taking the jumper more towards the perimeter. I'm wondering if that's the tweener transition at work, or if the inside strength of Dos Santos has taken away the interior space where she expected to work.
Allie Quigley got her open looks, but they didn't go down. I have to look at the play-by-play to determine when she got them, because if they were in the second half, I'd be less surprised. The rim across from the Liberty bench did weird things all night. Jacki Gemelos showed hustle in the brief minutes she played. Jamierra Faulkner showed her speed and her moves in the brief minutes she played. If I'd been coaching Chicago, I might have given her more time; from where I was sitting, it felt like the Sky's offense ran more quickly with Faulkner at point.
Jessica Breland started off hot, but the defense came on her, and the offense moved away from her. She did what she could on the glass as well. Érika de Souza was solid to the point of immobility, or perhaps simple inability to be moved, down low. I'm surprised she didn't get more touches, or at least I would be if I didn't know the Chicago backcourt. Tamera Young got the start, but Chatman went to Dos Santos early and often; I don't think Young re-entered after she came out in both halves. Her shot was as technically unsound as ever, and the turnover she had was sheer stupidity- the ball fell through her hands on a lay-up attempt.
Courtney Vandersloot never seems to impress me when I see her, but then I look at the box score and see the assists, so I assume I'm missing something. She had some pretty dribbling moves, but I just remember a lot of ill-advised shots, including one that went in. Cappie Pondexter was prolific offensively, from the second quarter on, but the Liberty were ready for that and swarmed her whenever they could. I'll give her credit for creating space and hitting the shots she got, but I'm not sure if the margin would have been smaller if the shots had been more evenly spread around.
Chicago didn't look lost, per se, without Delle Donne, but they looked like they were simultaneously searching wildly for a second option and smothering any chance they had of developing one because they were so dependent on Pondexter.
I've been really impressed with how Candice Wiggins has come on, or perhaps come back, in the last few games. She's remarkably pesky on defense, she uses her head in possession situations, and she can even hit threes every once in a while. It's really nice to see her doing well- she seems so cool. Sugar Rodgers was not on her game defensively, but brought just enough offense to be a threat from deep. Brittany Boyd was reckless defensively, which got her in some foul trouble and got into her head a little, but when it came to the end of the game, she put on the afterburners and did her best imitation of her idol, hitting a three with the shot clock expiring, then coming up with the steal and the free throws on the fast break.
Essence Carson still seems to have trouble judging the length of her shots (her three was close enough to the line that Chatman tried to get a review). But she had the midrange game going. Kiah Stokes was strong in the middle defensively, though we had issues with her hands, both on being able to catch passes and holding on to rebounds. She wiped her hands shortly after the flurry of issues after halftime, and was solid thereafter. We were agitating for Avery Warley-Talbert to get into the game earlier than she did.
I don't think I've ever seen us survive this minimal a game from Tina Charles. She missed a lot of close-in shots (though I'd have to go to the videotape to determine how many were due to that rim). She was solid on the boards, but it's a good thing we didn't need her offense today. That being said, she was constantly swarmed defensively, and she passed out really well. Swin Cash opened the scoring- she seems to do that a lot, as if to say that she's still here, that Tina's not the only threat in the paint. Carolyn Swords has not adjusted well to starting. She looks a step slow and a step out of position.
Epiphanny Prince cut through the defense for lay-ups and made space for herself to get loose for jumpers. I think she's got something to prove to Chicago, and I'm okay with this. Tanisha Wright was tough defensively, aggressive almost to a fault, and just... well, tough. Messing with her is a bad idea: Vandersloot knocked her down with no call at one end, whereupon Tanisha came back down, crossed her off her feet, and then did something awesome, but I can't remember what it was. She also had a couple of nice steals on long passes. T, the Jets are looking for a corner, and you don't seem inclined to punch people in the face for owing you money, so...?
Funny of the day: Swin Cash is apparently afraid of dogs. Which, of course, is why she became a Husky.
Brittany Boyd continues to be endearing and adorable. Long-standing Liberty tradition is for Maddie to lead the "L-I-B-E-R-T-Y!" chant by leaping from letter to letter of the center court logo. Boyd jumped in time with Maddie. She didn't do the full arc the way Kara Braxton once did on the road, but still. I like when players are happy to be here. It makes us happy to have them.
I don't think this was our best basketball... but with no Delle Donne and no second option for Chicago, it didn't have to be.
Sunday, August 2, 2015
August 2nd, 2015: Seattle at New York
Just the Facts: Sue Bird hit the big 5K, Tina Charles dropped 29, and the Liberty clamped down on defense to beat Seattle 78-62.
For song lyrics, a perfect storm for an imperfect Storm, the island of misfit toys, big numbers, bling, CAROLYN SMASH, absconding with the beer, many fans, accomplished missions, cute kids, and contentment, join your intrepid blogger after the jump.
As the song goes, today was a good day: a good game, milestones for two remarkable guards, then the company of good friends, good food, and missions accomplished.
I don't think MSG is prepared for larger-than-average crowds. I'm not sure if this is a product of miscommunication or if they've simply decided that there are only so many resources they'll allocate to a Liberty game no matter what. But on a day like today, with so many pieces falling into place for a big crowd- good weather, but enough heat to make air conditioning a pleasant notion; a good Liberty team; UConn fans coming to see Bird and Mosqueda-Lewis; foreign tourists coming for Bishop and O'Hea or for Tokashiki; of course, the Ring of Honor ceremony for Becky Hammon- more than half the security desks should have been manned and more than a scattering of concession stands should have been open. The upper deck was opened, for heaven's sake! Because of that, people were still getting to their seats in the second quarter, and concession lines were insanely long- there were people who went at or before halftime and didn't make it back until almost the end of the third.
Today's giveaway was a very cool ring with the names and numbers of the six players the Liberty have honored. A “Ring” of Honor, geddit? I'm not sure they should have used Bill's fingers to size it, though. My thumb's the only finger it doesn't fall off of, and I have fat fingers.
At last, pre-game entertainment that I can look at without feeling like a sicko! The first round was Camp Broadway, in camp-issue tees and shorts, doing a dance routine; the second round was some kind of dance fitness thing with middle-aged women looking vaguely like something out of the 80's. I'm okay with this. At least they're old enough to know better and old enough to decide they don't care.
I forgot how good Seattle could be with autographs. Most teams have adopted the zerg rush approach to leaving the court- everyone goes at once and you have to scramble for one or two. Atlanta's the worst at that. But the Storm leave pretty much one at a time, and they're friendly. Ramu Tokashiki left with her translator. Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis got held up by a couple of elderly gentlemen on the sideline, and chatted with them for some time... and then got accosted for pics from a youth group. Were it not for security and common sense, she might still be down there taking pics with three or four at a time of a group of nearly thirty. I don't think she realized what she had gotten herself into.
Lovely rendition of the national anthem. We got “God Bless America” too. Yay.
Abby Bishop was first off the bench for the Storm. She showed some nice outside touch, going deep for threes and a long two. She seemed to pick up a lot of mis-matches on defense- I think Candice Wiggins was on her at least once. Markeisha Gatling cleared a lot of space down low with her size. She needs to work on her finishing with contact, but I see why Seattle claimed her off waivers. I just don't know if this is the right team for her to flourish (unless they call Lin Dunn in as a consultant or something). Quanitra Hollingsworth was the last player in, and her first action was to lay out Candice on an illegal screen with no discernible reason. Unresolved issues from the Lynx days?
Angel Goodrich got a lot of time off the bench, sometimes spelling Sue Bird, sometimes taking the point so Bird could swing to off-guard. She's got a lot of vertical for a little bitty guard, and plenty of speed. We overlooked her more than we should have, both literally and figuratively, and she got a lot of open looks. Jenna O'Hea converted her opportunities, but didn't take a lot of them. I think Boucek was looking for her as a change of pace, size-wise, but I'm not sure if the plan worked. Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis was actually set to check in near the end of the first half, but didn't make it onto the floor until the second half, whereupon she missed her one lay-up extremely short. She looks nowhere near ready to be a WNBA player, whether it's in terms of conditioning, vision, or skill set. She might get there, but I think she has to take a long look at herself and realize that all her three-point records and collegiate accolades mean in the WNBA is that she gets chances other players might not.
Crystal Langhorne did her thing, as she's done since the dawn of time, or at least 2008. She takes jumpers, and they go in. She converts lay-ups. She pulls down rebounds. She's not flashy, but she's got the soothing consistency of a metronome. Ramu Tokashiki seemed a little shot-happy, especially from the outside- it's one thing if they go in, it's another when they don't. She needs to work on her footwork if she wants to succeed steadily in the WNBA; she slides the pivot foot constantly, and someday crews will start calling her on it. I see why she's been a successful pro player, and I see why Seattle brought her over and kept her, but I don't know if she has a position. She seems like she should be, and could be, pulling down rebounds and doing more work in the paint; maybe she and/or Boucek changed up the game plan with the big dogs lurking own low. But then again, I didn't realize how young she was.
I admire Alysha Clark's defense- she's really made herself a tough defender and one not easily shaken. I'm not sure if she wasn't looking for her offense, or if that's been the trade-off for her improved defense. She's always been a tweener (which, actually, you could make that argument about with half her teammates, come to think of it). Jewell Loyd looked like the rookie that she is- a step slower than just about everyone, a moment behind the play, a foot out of place here and there. The athleticism is there and can be trained, but right now she still looks like she's trying to make the plays she made at Notre Dame, against a much higher class of opponent, and they're reading her far better than college kids can. Sue Bird was missing a lot of good looks. Her passing is still lovely and she finds great angles, but she doesn't seem to get to that second level of vision that she used to. Near the end of the first half and into the second, she really looked like she was forcing her offense just to get to 5000, and I don't think that's her game. (that all being said, congrats on the milestone, Sue!)
The bad news for Seattle is that their starters are not that much better than reserves, for the most part. The good news for Seattle is that means there's very little drop-off when they go to the bench. They're an oddball collection of parts, of players who are the wrong position for their skills or have the wrong skills for their position- but it works, in a strange, strange way. They're going to need their lottery picks, this year's and the next one or two, to develop quickly, though. They can't afford a bust. And I love their defense- very tenacious.
Monica Wright traveled with the team, wearing a lovely orange dress with a white top/jacket/thing.
Avery Warley-Talbert sighting! She did good work on the boards. It's always good to see her get some time; it usually means the win is secured. Kiah Stokes menaced people out of the paint. I'd like to see her finish better at the rim, but you take the defense and you take the rebounds. Essence Carson looks like she's found her offensive stroke, though she did take yet another loooooooong two. I don't know the numbers, but it feels like she takes more of those shots with a foot on the line than anyone else in the league.
Brittany Boyd brought speed and desperate energy, but none of it was harnessed effectively on offense. She was a wrecking ball defensively, but no matter how hard she attacked the rim, nothing went in, whether it should have gone in or whether it should have gone up at all. This was one of those frustrating nights where she looked like the rookie she was, and I think Bill recognized it too- she seemed to be on a very short leash. It helped the breaking of the maverick colt (to borrow a phrase) that Candice Wiggins had the best game I've seen from her in years, on both ends of the floor. She was on Bird like a burr, keeping pace with her on defense and even shaking her off once on offense (though then she wussed out on taking the shot). I don't think her confidence is entirely back, but I'd like to think that hitting the different kinds of shots she hit today, combined with her defense and with Bill's faith in her, will go a long way towards breaking down the block that seems to have plagued her since she injured her knee all those years ago.
Swin Cash brings tenacity and grit to the floor, but I'm not sure we wouldn't be better served bringing her off the bench with that. On the other hand, Bill has a tendency to reward players who've played well off the bench, and he does like to have that super sub (exhibit A: why someday Sixth Woman of the Year has a 33% chance of being named after Plenette Pierson). She started off the game hot, but tapered off quickly. The reverse happened with Carolyn Swords. Carolyn started the game slow, getting pulled quickly for Kiah, but she came on like gangbusters in the second half. She pulled down strong rebounds, pursued balls, and delivered a vicious block on Tokashiki. Tina Charles had herself a night. She's still a little too addicted to the long jumper for my liking, but she did a better job of attacking the rim than before. She had one pretty shot go high off the glass and in, but my favorite was the putback on Swin's waaaaay long and high shot.
Tanisha Wright brought the defense. That's really all I can remember on the court. Epiphanny Prince could get nothing to fall in the first half, then erupted in the third quarter, outscoring Seattle all by her lonesome for a long stretch, and for a moment, a great and wondrous vista opened before me of what the future could hold. Then Bird hit her three and got 5K, and it was back to life.
Michael Price is not good at getting out of the way of jump balls; perhaps the duty should be delegated to another official. They let a lot of things slide today, especially early on, but clamped down a little harder in the second quarter before really kicking back. At least it was balanced.
Loved the energy of the crowd. Saw a lot of old-school fans I hadn't seen in ages.
The first video tribute to Becky actually ran during one of the timeouts. I loved seeing the highlights. So many old friends in there. So many teams I miss- the Rockers, the Sting, the Comets, the Sol (oh, my Sol). And of course, tiny rookie Becky and her unfortunate bangs. SO YOUNG. I thought it was really sweet of Dan Hughes to record a message for the tribute. Loved the gifts she was given- doing the painting on site was a nice touch. I kind of felt like everything was hurried along, but overall it was classy and solid, and I do understand the time pressure. I recall either Sue Wicks or Rebecca Lobo saying she was going to be brief, and then going on until everyone was back out on the court.
The only thing that irked me: right before the half, a couple of the young ladies from the Torch Patrol came through our aisle and earnestly told us that Becky Hammon was getting an award, so they'd like for everyone to chant her name. Well, if you know me, you know I'm about as likely to do that as Donald Trump is to win the Democratic nomination for president, and you know if someone tells me to do it, it's as likely to happen as the aforementioned Trump taking a Mexican lesbian as his vice-presidential nominee. More to the point, you knew some kind of Becky chant would be forthcoming from the crowd without being prodded. In fact, I think trying to organize an official one wrecked any chance of an organic one happening. We're really not stupid. You don't come through a season subscriber-heavy section and condescendingly ask us to shill out for you.
(For the record: I admire what she's done as a player and especially as a coach, but I was off the bandwagon before most people were on it. I loved the trade and I almost wore my Davenport shirt under my jersey today. She absolutely deserves to be honored by both her franchises. Doesn't mean I have to like her. I've never been big on superstars- the hype backlash hits me hard.)
Also didn't mean that we didn't show up to the post-game season subscriber event at Liberty Bar. That was really nice, though it was stifling at first- the venue wasn't quite big enough for everyone who showed up, and it got hot in there. Becky was there briefly, leaving to catch a flight after about twenty minutes or so. I think some of the latest stragglers actually missed her. As people left, it eased up a little bit.
Plenty of the grande dames came through. Of course, Kym Hampton, Teresa Weatherspoon, and Sue Wicks were there to charm and dazzle the crowd. Barbara Farris put in an appearance too. There was a woman who looked like Kalana Greene perched on a stool near the door, but she looked shorter than Kalana (then again, she was sitting). I also thought I spotted Markeisha Gatling in a darling polka-dot number and a couple of friends wandering in and out. Mr. Thomas made an appearance, schmoozing and smarming his way through the crowd. I dared not speak to him, lest I be tempted to do my best Ronda Rousey imitation. Herb Williams had an adorable little girl with him. Kym's daughter A'riel looks like she's gotten her mother's height. I loved Candice's white dress with the gold seams, and Tina's red jacket. Tanisha looked really different with a hat on. There was lots of mingling, but I'm not good at mingling, so it mostly happened to other people. I finished off the hat as much as can be done in this hemisphere. Autographed Hammon jerseys were raffled. I didn't win, but that's okay. My head knows that Kristin took the cooler bowl of beer cans to the players and staff dinner, but I still prefer to imagine that she bogarted it all for herself for the purpose of shenanigans.
It's nice to have a piece of the olden days and the old ways, even if only for a night.