August 25th, 2017: Washignton at New York

Just the Facts, Ma’am: The Liberty put the defensive clampdown on the Mystics in the fourth quarter to pull away in their 74-66 win. Tina Charles and Epiphanny Prince each had 20 points to lead the way for the Liberty. Krystal Thomas had a team-high 17 points for Washington.

For energy, defensive pressure, chemistry, concerns in the backcourt, and how ridiculously much I love this team, join your intrepid and continuingly optimistic blogger after the jump.

I think it’s safe to say I’ve had better days, so I’m hoping that this match-up between the Liberty and the Mystics helps me exorcise some of today’s frustration.

Tonight’s the Liberty’s Planned Parenthood night, though they backpedaled on how heavily they were emphasizing it. In other words, Dolan got backlash and didn’t have the guts to stand up to it.

I don’t know what they were filming, but someone was interviewing Rebecca Allen and Nayo Raincock-Ekunwe for something.

I think some kid got dared to ask Bill for an autograph and a handshake. They certainly seemed very “I am doing a daring thing by doing this” about it.

As usual, Mystics fans have done a respectable job of traveling up to MSG. It’s still very early, but I’m already seeing some blocks of red in the stands.

Tina Charles is doing a lot of work out there. Someone’s frustrated with her performance, and it might even be her.

I don’t think the two teams intentionally turned their back on the flag- they were set up to face the anthem singers. (And boy howdy did Elena Delle Donne look like she wanted out from between Tina Charles and Kiah Stokes. Me, I’m petty, I might have put her between Shavonte and Piph.)

This halftime game has some pretty good fundamentals and better skills than I was expecting from kids that small. We’ve already seen a foot-on-the-line two and some sweet passing.

At halftime, the Liberty are up 43-41. Tina Charles got her MVP on in the second quarter, with something like three straight buckets among her 17 points. Epiphanny Prince has 13 in support. Emma Meesseman has been the star of the show for DC with 10 points. Krystal Thomas has been solid down low; the battle between her and Kia Vaughn has been rough.

The folks behind me are pretty cool- they don’t know the team, but they know the game (and that the refs are not good).

This team. This team. The way they’ve been shutting opponents down late has been nothing short of amazing. The supporting cast has been taking turns being clutch. (Sometimes there are disadvantages to that. But they’re dealable ones. And I don’t care if that’s a word.)

Washington almost seemed like they weren’t sure what to do with Delle Donne and Meesseman on the floor at the same time. I think it messed up their schemes somehow.

Asia Taylor played just long enough to commit the shooting foul that got the Liberty their halftime lead. I guess Coach Thibault wanted her length on defense. Allison Hightower’s shot has not returned, and I don’t think Thibault’s faith in her has, either; after all, why else would he keep her on the bench when a guard of her defensive mindset was needed on the floor in late-game defensive sets?

Tianna Hawkins looks very different with her hair down in a simple ponytail; I barely recognized her without her crown. She’s gotten inordinately fond of the long jumper (I’m pretty sure even her twos were long ones). I don’t know if that’s a road I’d go down if I were her. Ivory Latta was surprisingly quiet, in more ways than one. She was a bit pesky defensively, but I don’t know if she’s been hurt or if time is starting to catch up with her. (That is one of the most personally depressing sentences I’ve ever had to write. I’m the same age as Latta’s class...) There just seemed to be something missing from her, whether it was energy or something else. There’s something I like about Shatori Walker-Kimbrough, and I can’t quite put my finger on it. It’s certainly not how WNBA jerseys are not equipped to handle her name. I think she’s learning how to put herself in good defensive position, and use her length to her advantage. She was the pest I think I expected Latta to be.

Kristi Toliver hit her first shot, and I was convinced that after a quiet, disappointing season, this was going to be the game where she busted out, hit all her shots, and generally caused Liberty fans to tear out handfuls of their hair. But though she got some looks, they were often contested, and not the shots she seemed to be looking for. She played a lot of defense with her feet, in the “deflect the ball by whatever means possible” sense, not in the positioning sense. She lost her footing a lot, and I think it might have been the sneakers. Tierra Ruffin-Pratt brought physical defense on one end of the floor, but wasn’t much of an option offensively- even token defense was enough to change her shot. She had an open jumper and hit it, but everything else was hurried and hassled. She showed great hustle on the glass, though.

No matter what condition her hand is in, Elena Delle Donne’s not going to miss free throws. And when she was able to get or create space, she was money. Space was hard for her to come by, though; help defense was always on the way. I was more surprised with her bringing physical defense and hustling after loose balls on the sideline. If she’s learned how to mix a little nasty into her game, I guess that’s good for her. I’m just happy we held her to around 50% from the field and a minimal number of rebounds. Emma Meesseman carried the load for the Mystics in the first half, getting a little bit of space and hitting midrange shots. Our defense on her was far better in the second half; she didn’t get as many looks and they were far more contested when she did get touches. I think the offensive foul that took a basket off the board for her really stuck in her craw. Krystal Thomas impressed me with her touch at the basket, with her physical play on both ends of the floor, and with her hustle. She was a rock for Washington where and when they needed one. She’s put in the work to get herself into this league and stay here for a while, and I have to admire and respect that.

Much to the regret of the nice folks behind us, Amanda Zahui B was a DNP. Sorry, guys. You were fun to talk to, but the Amanda thing probably wasn’t going to happen.

Nayo Raincock-Ekunwe played briefly in the second quarter to give Tina Charles the only rest she was going to get. I thought this would be a better matchup for her, but it turned out not to be. Then again, how much was she realistically going to do in ninety-two seconds? Rebecca Allen hit a shot in the lane and made stupid defensive decisions. (I am also side-eyeing her interest in social media follows.) Lindsay Allen got her lunch eaten on defense and was hesitant to shoot on offense. It was like all the confidence she had in the last couple of weeks evaporated in the last two games. Don’t break the rookie, Bill.

Kiah Stokes rebounded really well, whether it was taking them down with brute force or tipping the ball over to her teammates. I would have liked to see her be more of an option on offense, and she’s got to do better with her ballhandling and holding on to the ball. I love her defense so much. Sugar Rodgers’s shot is still AWOL, and it worries me. She doesn’t have good games when Piph has good, or even passable, games. She gets open looks, and they don’t fall. She takes quick shots, and they don’t fall. She takes stupid shots, and they don’t fall. I wasn’t impressed with her defensive intensity, either. With Bria’s stamina the way it’s been, we’re going to need Sugar and Piph on the floor at the same time, and I don’t think we can ride the see-saw with them in the playoffs.

We might have to blame Kia Vaughn for Krystal Thomas getting loose, but we’re also going to have to give her credit for working hard on the glass and pulling down rebounds and boxing out. She’s started focusing more on her role, and that’s great for her. Credit where credit is due, always. Tina Charles changed the complexion of the game in the second quarter, almost single-handedly turning a five-point Washington lead into a Liberty lead. She went into the lane and she hit hook shots. I like that she has offensive versatility to her game, but sometimes I think she tries too hard to be versatile, and ends up playing to her weaknesses instead of her strengths; she brought the ball up the floor more than a few times, and while she mostly managed it, it was clear she wasn’t comfortable with it (there was one sequence where Kiah was trying to give her the ball and Tina was like GIVE IT TO A GUARD WHAT ARE YOU THINKING, only with emphatic hand gestures.

Shavonte Zellous gave as good as she got in the defensive match-up with Delle Donne- not necessarily as a physical back and forth, but as basket-for-basket exchanges. They were often similar baskets, too- one would jab forward, then fade away for the jumper. The only difference was that Z drove the paint and got free throws out of it. I love her energy. Bria Hartley came up with big plays early in the game, and did a marvelous job of running the clock down late so Washington had no time to come back. (That’s not sarcasm. Milking the clock effectively is a useful skill.) I’m worried about her durability, though; she’s been running out of steam earlier and earlier in games, which has led to the Sugar/Piph combo that hasn’t been working so great. Epiphanny Prince showed off her dribbling skills to create space for herself in the midrange, and brought some old-fashioned Rutgers defense.

The chemistry this team has together really shone. Whether it was the backtaps between pairs of teammates like Kia and Piph or Kiah and Bria, or the incredible work on long rebounds by everyone, or the crisp passing that made the wheel play beyond the arc work so well, or the nice finds in the corners- everyone seemed to be on the same page, except for the bit where pretty much everyone was dropping the ball on passes. Are there drills for pass catching?

Officiating was bad, and I think we got the best of it, but not by much. Counting appeared to be especially difficult for them, with numerous travels going ignored (pretty sure Delle Donne went from the right baseline to the basket without a dribble).

The energy in the building was phenomenal. Everyone was really into the game, even the people who sit in front of us who are usually not paying attention to the game. It was great. I think the crowd knew what this game meant.

Play of the game was the beautiful quasi-alley-oop from Shavonte to Kiah; I think it’s the play that gets called the Jewelly-oop if you throw it to a guard.

Gotta keep on moving forward. Even eight won’t be enough.