Just the Facts, Ma’am: Strong bench play anchored the New York Liberty’s 92-62 win over the Chicago Sky. Tina Charles had 22 points in 22 minutes to lead New York, with every active player on the Liberty roster contributing at least one point to the effort. Stefanie Dolson had 22 points to lead Chicago.
For unraveling, hustle, rebounding, defending, high energy, and a Chicago team that maybe isn’t sure they want to make the playoffs, join your intrepid and distressed blogger after the jump. (Distressed for non-basketball reasons. Try not to worry about it too much, but I apologize in advance if my notes are even less than coherent over the next couple of weeks.)
Good afternoon and welcome to Madison Square Garden, the World’s Most Famous Arena, as the New York Liberty look to keep their winning streak alive against the Chicago Sky. One team’s chasing the playoffs, the other chasing a bye. It’s nice to have a game be meaningful to both teams this late in the season.
If youu’re going to call your group Sparkle and Shine, you should have glitter or sequins on their uniforms, or something like that. I was underwhelmed by both the costumes and the dancing.
Nice touch: both Katie Smith and Teresa Weatherspoon spent a good bit of time talking to Adut Bulgak before the game. I get the feeling that the Liberty never wanted to cut her in the first place, so I’m glad she was able to make it back into the league. (Given the current political climate, I’m happy she was able to get into the country, period.)
Girl Scout anthem and color guard. Girl Scouts are awesome, and your intrepid blogger will never let you forget it.
At halftime, the Liberty are up 46-29 behind Tina Charles putting up 18 points and the team playing awesome defense.
JJ! Hiiiiii! (At least I am, like, 99% sure that was Janee Johnson, one of my most favorite Pirates in the history of all things pirate-y, including actual literal pirates.) (Actually, scratch that qualification. JJ is one of my most favorite collegiate people in the history of ever.) (And we are inches closer to the ultimate goal of spending a game next season with JJ, Phee, and Coach Del Preore and possibly getting banned from Mohegan Sun.)
I can’t say enough about the defense we’ve been playing. Lots of poke checks on the ball, lots of hustle plays.
Sue, if you’re going to try out the hair chalk, go all in.
I was not expecting to butt-whoop Chicago this badly. I thought we would win, but not dominate so thoroughly. Not when Chicago still has position to play for. Not when they’re fighting just to make the playoffs. (Unless they’re not.)
Amber Harris played briefly in the fourth quarter, when the bench was in the game, and was pulled quickly for Kahleah Copper. I didn’t remember her being so stocky. Makayla Epps had one nifty acrobatic lay-up off a steal, but was otherwise unremarkable in her limited time. I’m surprised Stocks hasn’t tried to use her more; it seems like there’s a shortage of guards on that roster, and trying to rotate 3s into the 2 spot isn’t a great decision. Bashaara Graves got her name messed up by the announcer when she entered the game, and provideda little physicality down low.
Man, has Adut Bulgak put in work since she left New York. She was fantastic. She rebounded well, sliding into small spaces. She defended well at the rim- trying to defend Tina Charles isn’t easy for anyone, but especially a second-year reserve. I suppose she had an advantage from a few months of practicing regularly against her, though. Jordan Hooper got a lot of run, brought some energy, and gave Chicago a halfway decent outside threat. I guess. For lack of a better word. Cappie Pondexter reminded everyone why New York doesn’t necessarily miss her. (And honestly, I don’t know how she piled up the assists. But it’s hard for me to look at Cappie objectively.)
Stefanie Dolson was the star of the show for the Sky, especially in the second half. She finished at the rim and in the midrange, even extending her jumper out ot the three-point line. But I think the deficit got into her head, slowly but surely; by the middle of the third quarter she was starting to show a lot of negative emebounding that’s a good sign she’s figuring out where to be.rself a technical for yakking at the refs. She doesn’t take well to not doing well. (And I miss the purple hair. It’s the little things.) Jessica Breland started off on fire, going to the rack and shooting jumpers with equal aplomb. Clearly our defensive game plan did not consider her a priority. We did a better job of helping on her in the second half. She’s just so solid for them. Good to watch, if you’re into the success of the Chicago Sky. Some people are, I hear. Kahleah Copper’s agility and ability to bend into tiny spaces is astounding. She twists around defenders like she’s the secret love child of Reed Richards or something.
The let down for Chicago came straight from their backcourt. Courtney Vandersloot tried too hard to make fancy passes and ended up losing the ball a lot to the intense Liberty defense. She wasn’t ready for it. Everything that normally makes her one of the best point guards in the league was missing in this game. Allie Quigley couldn’t get her looks to drop, no matter what, and I think it got into her head a little bit as the game went on. Vandersloot got her points in the fourth quarter, when the game was decided and Chicago’s starters were playing against the Liberty bench.
I have no idea why Stocks decided that Copper should be the starter running with the reserves at the end of the game. I don’t know if it was a positional thing, or if somehow Stocks was blaming her for the loss (since I guess blaming the Golden Duo in the backcourt would be blasphemy).
You get a basket! And you get a basket! Everyone gets a basket! (Except for Kia, who only gets a free throw, but that’s fine, it’s still a point.) I love when even the deep bench players get a chance to shine.
Amanda Zahui B went on a scoring run in the fourth quarter, and I don’t know who was more excited for her, the fans or her teammates. She still needs to get stronger, or at least play stronger- she missed too many easy shots on the inside. But she rebounded better than I was expecting and made her presence felt on the defensive end of the floor. Rebecca Allen showed some offensive firepower in the second half as well, and I like how her rebounding has progressed over the course of the season. She still has work to do on defense, but the energy is there, and if she’s rebounding, she’s at least figuring out what good position might be. Nayo Raincock-Ekunwe needs to work on her shot- she still seems way too reliant on getting the right bounce for it- but I can’t fault her motor under the basket. She brought so much hustle off the bench. She’s the kind of player who dives for a loose ball when you’re up 30 in the last minute of the game. “Springy” is a good word for her.
Kiah Stokes made herself a target down low for passes, and she finished well at the rim (except for one skeep carrying us against higher-octane offenses.hysically dominant games, and this was one of those days, with the double-double and all that. I like that she got the rebound part first, then the points. Sugar Rodgers’s shooting woes continue, but hey, at least she hit something today. She’s starting to remind me of Essence after the eye injury, only I don’t recall hearing about any kind of similar injury to Sugar. But while her shooting has suffered, she’s more than made up for it with relentless defense. No dribbler was safe from her quick hands. I’d still like to see her shot come back, but I’ll settle for her being a defensive dynamo. I thought we also got good minutes out of Lindsay Allen- she still seemed to be in a little over her head in the first half, but in the second half she seemed to have better control of the offense. She got caught on switches on defense, but that might be her teammates’ fault as much as it was hers. (Guys, seriously, don’t make Lindsay have to defend Jessica Breland more than once.)
It was really nice not to see the starters as much as we usually do. They’ve been putting in work; they deserve a rest. Tina Charles was brutally efficient in the first half, staking the Liberty to a double-digit lead. She’s just awesome. Even in a season where the MVP is obvious, she still plays like an MVP. Kia Vaughn had a quiet game, though we really didn’t need her to have a big one. She seemed to do a good job antagonizing Dolson, which got into Dolson’s head. Shavonte Zellous’s baskets were well timed, and her defense was solid. She got a lot of rest late in the game, so my impressions of her are the fuzziest. Stupid fouls, sometimes unnecessary, certainly didn’t help her stay on the floor either.
Bria Hartley’s stamina still concerns me, but I think we can scrape together enough play off our bench to give her the rest she needs. She’s been coming up with big plays at the right times. Epiphanny Prince brought back some of the Rutgers defense, though I’m still questioning her shot selection at times. She showed some nifty ballhandling, too.
I can’t stress the team element of the defense and rebounding enough. There were loose ball scrambles everywhere. There were relentless attacks on the ballhandler, leaing to turnovers, everywhere. There were sze in advance if ine and sideline. There was a lot of work from everyone on the floor, and it was so much fun to watch. I’m worried about some of our inability to finish at the rim (Sugar, Nayo, I am especially looking at you) and I don’t like that we had so many shots and missed so many shots. I don’t know if our defense can keep this up against a higher-octane offense. But it’s fun to watch while it’s working.
Officiating was marvelously inconsistent. We got the best of it on some out of bounds calls, but the refs were really letting both teams play on both ends of the floor- lots of physical contact, but a curious emphasis on handchecks. I don’t get it either.
Quieter crowd than the last game, but they got into it once the lead started to grow and grow. (Amusingly, this is when we usually check out emotionally from the game- if it’s that much of a blowout, they don’t need us to go crazy anymore, do they?)
All in all, a satisfying and necessary win. Now it’s on to the Texas teams, and what happens next will be a very good question.
Monday, August 28, 2017
August 27th, 2017: Chicago at New York
Sunday, July 16, 2017
July 14th, 2017: Chicago at New York
Just the Facts, Ma’am: Another slow start for the Liberty led to another spirited comeback led to another late loss, this time 78-68 to the Chicago Sky. Tina Charles had 23 points and 19 rebounds to lead New York, with Shavonte Zellous adding 14 points and 11 rebounds. Stefanie Dolson had 23 points to lead four Chicago players in double figures.
For long jumpers, forgotten height, not having had nearly enough to drink, and mismatches, join your intrepid and confused blogger after the jump.
Good evening, fellow travelers! It's been a long, strange road trip for the Libs (interspersed with a Sun game I should have hiked up to, but nooooo, I had to be all budget-conscious), but the squad is home and ready to rumble against the Chicago Sky.
Normally I would be doing autographs right now, but I looked through my clipboard and I have everyone who’s out there except Amber Harris, and I’m too tired for this. So I’m working on notes and arguing with the wi-fi. It would be in the wi-fi’s best interest to work.
Y’all did not see Sugar Rodgers looking at her name and number Garden of Dreams tee like she was embarrassed to be seen with it.
Jessica Breland’s been having fun with one-handed shots. I wonder if that explains the extra-deep followthrough on her jumper.
Someone with a WNBA nedia pass appears to have buttonholed Imani Boyette. I don’t know how much shootaround time she’s actually gotten. She appears to have spent a lot of time talking to people and being talked at.
This is a torch night. (It’s also a Timeless Torch night.) I miss Cierra Burdick checking to see if her hair was on fire.
All right, we’ve got a biddy game! Would a Princeton basketball camp call its participants Tiger cubs?
Look, kid, I’m going to need you to stop kicking my seat. Like, now. (Update: kid has stopped kicking seat, but loud video games behind me are also no bueno.)
At halftime, Chicago is up 38-34 in a game that has not exactly been a sterling display of professional basketball by either team. Tina Charles has 12 and 9 to lead the Liberty, but it’s on some dumb shots. Stefanie Dolson has 10 and 5 for Chicago.
Shoutout to the dance troupe at halftime, who not only did a Prince medley, but did so in awesome purple costumes with the big white ruffle in the front. The older ballroom dancers who followed them were good, but not great.
Am pleased to report that the no-fun league has skipped this game; the family in their seats is much better behaved and is at least a little into the game. (Update: my least Yankee fan arrived midway through the third quarter, was quite insistent on taking her seat, talked through almost the entire game, and left early. Seriously, lady, why do you even bother?)
I think I’m starting to see part of the problem with the Liberty: we don’t have a proper point guard. Not one that fits our needs, in any case. Epiphanny Prince is not a natural distributor, and when she does play point, it's slow-down-my-eyes-are-bleeding Rutgers offense. Lindsay Allen is a rookie, who’s still making college mistakes and isn’t ready to take the reins of a WNBA offense. Bria Hartley has been hot trash on a platter and makes worse defensive mistakes than the aforementioned rookie. Brittany Boyd is behind the bench with long hair and a pensive look. We are in trouble.
So let’s talk about Chicago, the team that can’t even tank right. (And maybe shouldn’t be.)
I don’t like Keisha Hampton much, and I have this really strong feeling Shavonte Zellous might not be fond of her right now either. She went in gooning (please don’t step on the back of someone’s knee) and next possession Shavonte got her wiped out by a screen and called for a foul for it. And of course she hit a three on us, because she went to DePaul and that’s what Doug Bruno players do. Imani Boyette shows flashes of such great potential with the way she can create offense, but so much of the time she seems to forget that she’s 6-7 and she makes stupid reaching plays that she doesn’t need to make. You just get the feeling that her head isn’t completely in the game (and that’s not necessarily a bad thing- she’s one of the most globally-minded people in the league). Cheyenne Parker was physical defensively, and her bodying up on the boards was part of why our offensive rebounding opportunities mostly just turned into more rebounds.
I did not know copper had that kind of tensile strength! Kahleah Copper is very bendy- hit one shot at what appeared to be at a very painful obtuse angle. She made a lot of good things happen for Chicago with her slashing and her occasional jumper. Makayla Epps saw brief time at the end of the first quarter to relieve Vandersloot and was unremarkable.
Seeing Courtney Vandersloot on the floor, finding open looks for her teammates on offense and directing her teammates into position on defense, made it abundantly clear that we don’t currently have that kind of a guard, and it makes me sad. It seemed like she couldn’t hit water falling out of a boat, but she did better from the floor than I realized. I think it was the misses that went in and out, or didn’t get the bounces off the backboards, that colored my view of her shooting. Allie Quigley was open more times than she shot, and certainly made herself available for her teammates. She and Vandersloot keep that backcourt running and keep the pace up. Makes it funnier when they miscommunicate (the pass that flew into the endcourt seats, bounced off the top edge of a chair, and ended up about fourteen rows back was especially funny).
I would very much appreciate if Stefanie Dolson would not lead her screens with elbows. (Though when it backfires and she absolutely wipes out a teammate like she did with Copper... funny is the wrong word, satisfying might be closer.) I would also appreciate if she would stop hitting jumpers against my team. She’s a match-up problem in that way. Tamera Young hit two threes, so I think the world might actually be coming to an end, which means I should really hurry up posting these notes before it does. Her interior shots tended to be hilariously off, though. I think she hit every part of the rim but the inside. Jessica Breland kept her motor running, and took full advantage of Kia Vaughn’s inability to dribble.
Bria Hartley came in, committed two stupid fouls, got burned on defense, and was exiled to Coventry. It was particularly noticeable because she came in right after Sugar got pulled for committing a stupid foul. Bria. Bria, you’re not helping. We got better minutes from Lindsay Allen, who is shaping up into a moderately acceptable backup point guard. She’s still thinking like a college player, not yet adjusted to the speed of pro players and some of the quirks in the rules that change from college to the W. Her decision-making is getting faster, though. I like that. Rebecca Allen provided a little offense and a little effort on defense, but not enough for her to be relevant for most of the game.
Amanda Zahui B provided decent minutes, albeit limited ones. She’s still got the back pad whenever she’s on the bench (except when she’s demonstrating dance moves during official reviews) so I don’t know how much more she can be doing. She and Shavonte had a weird moment near the end of the third quarter after Amanda missed a three- it was the right shot and not the wrong player, so I don’t know what Shavonte’s problem was with that. Kiah Stokes was okay defensively, but I expect a lot more out of her than we got in this one. She seems much more passive than she had been in the past, and that makes me sad.
Tina, what are you doing? I know, I’m being rough on someone who was one board away from 20-20. But so many of her failed shots were long jumpers taken with no one in rebounding position, and so many of her successful shots happened when she went hard in the paint. I mean, I’m not a championship-winning coach, but this seems like a fairly simple pattern to discern. Tina Charles plays like a post, she crushes innocents under her heel and makes opponents cry. Tina Charles takes hurried perimeter shots, we lose. I also have this horrible feeling that her teammates were backing off rebounds to make sure she got the record as quickly as possible. That is a stupid plan, people. Kia Vaughn needs to stop bringing the ball down where tiny people can get at it. Go up strong, Kia! You’re really good at it when you just do it and you don’t overthink it! Sometimes I think she forgets how tall she is. (Kia is a sweetheart, don’t get me wrong, and there are times when she’s utterly adorable... but I also think she might be scatterbrained enough to forget how tall she is sometimes.)
I would like to see the more offensively aggressive Shavonte Zellous more often. I really enjoyed watching her and Tina throw double-teams at hapless Chicago ballhandlers, and she never, ever let up on the boards, especially the offensive glass. But she’s got to keep her head in the game and not lose her temper. I love the passion she brings, but sometimes she needs to rein it in before she gets a technical. Epiphanny Prince is the best option we have at the point right now, and this is not a good thing. She’s capable, but it doesn’t play to her strengths, it doesn’t play to her teammates’ strengths, and it bogs the team down. When she’s a point guard, she’s not thinking about shooting, and we need her to shoot. I’m not sure what’s going on with Sugar Rodgers, either. The effort is there, but it seems to be coming to naught. I don’t know if she needs to have her confidence put back together, or to spend more time in the gym, or what.
Why do we act like we’ve never met each other before? Honest question. Paradoxically, I wonder if part of the team’s problem is a fixation on fit, not on who can help the team win basketball games. I’m happy when our players get along, and I’m happy when they get involved with the community (the team got their community assist award before the game), but ultimately they are rather paid to play basketball, and hopefully win games.
Y’all. They’re t-shirts. Like, seriously. Buy them in bulk and they cost maybe four dollars, and that’s including a multi-color screen imprint. I know this because I am a trained professional and Gildan tees are kind of my jam. Y’all do not have to climb on seats, over seats, over each other, and generally act like ants discovering a glass of sugar water for one.
I have met many Sky fans who are lovely people. That doesn’t keep me from side-eyeing the pair of blondes two rows in front of me who got all excited whenever Dolson or Vandersloot or Quigley scored, but couldn’t summon up the same enthusiasm for Breland or Copper. First of all, y’all are on the wrong side of the court, and second of all... do I actually have to spell out “second of all”?
It’s a quick turnaround back in the saddle again; by the time you get to read these notes, we’ll probably be playing the Mystics, or whatever’s left of them. Everything seems so simple from the stands. What am I missing?
Friday, May 5, 2017
May 3rd, 2017: Chicago at New York
Just the Facts, Ma’am: The Chicago Sky steadily built a second-half lead in their 86-75 win over the New York Liberty. Cappie Pondexter had 15 points to lead four Chicago players in double figures. Tina Charles had 14 to lead New York.
For disjointed play, wild passes, dubious footwork, not rebounding, carelessness, clever plans, and a good book, join your intrepid blogger after the jump.
Six hours of sleep, give or take, and here we go again. I probably could have slept another hour or two, but my alarm clock left around 8ish, and I didn’t dare let him let me sleep in. Last thing I’d need is to sleep until noon and miss the bus that I’ve already paid for.
I’m killing the next half hour or so at the Flushing library, recharging the tablet and typing this very prologue. I should probably be weirded out by the fact that the dude across from me just pulled out a bottle and chugged a gulp of something. I think it might be rum.
It’s cooler today. Good thing I’m already wearing my jersey.
I’m sure y’all were waiting with bated breath to find out whether my clipboard was located. It was. We’re all good. It’s now currently in my backpack with all its usual contents.
Well, that could have gone better. It could have been worse, to be sure, but that’s not a Chicago team we line up well against.
I married a very smart man, who suggested I call Mohegan directly to see if any comps were available, and lo and behold they were. Hurray for free stuff!
Chicago came off the court in a neat, orderly manner that made it easy on the two of us collecting autographs. New York came off neatly, too, but at the other end of the floor. If I’d known that was going to happen, I would have left my hat home.
The box score claims that Jessica Breland started. The box score lies. Breland didn’t start. She came off the bench and played more four than three this time out. Her three was well-timed. I just really love what she brings to the floor. I like what she brings off the floor, too; I was impressed with the headdress she made out of her towel and disappointed when she had to disassemble it to go back into the game. Cheyenne Parker brought good height off the bench, but I don’t remember precisely what she was doing with it. Amber Harris has good size, but you get the feeling sometimes she wishes she didn’t, that she’d rather be a smaller player and spend more time on the perimeter. There’s something about Shayla Cooper that sets my teeth on edge, and I don’t completely know what it is, but it makes it hard to write about her, and for that I’m sorry.
I don’t know if Chicago knows what they’re doing with Betnijah Laney. I think they want to convert her to three; I think it’s equally likely this project will fail. Rebekah Gardner hustled hard and had a really nice chasedown of a rebound. I don’t think she’ll make the roster, but she’s doing the important job of pushing the people who will. (I think that’s an underrated aspect of fringe players- they have to be willing to work harder than anyone else with less guarantee of a reward.) Makayla Epps was out of control. I don’t think Stocks trusts her- I mean, she is a rookie in her first couple of weeks of action, so that’s not inexplicable or inexcusable, but she’s going to need some time to adjust to the speed of the game. Tori Jankoska seemed more in her groove than she was the night before, getting the deep three looks and making good decisions on the baseline.
I think Tamera Young heard everyone coming for her roster spot and was like “LOL NO”. Maybe the jump shot is a preseason mirage, but if it is, it’s a convincing one. It’s not the most beautiful jump shot in the world- it’s still flat and her follow-through isn’t great- but it’s there. She had trouble with pass-catching, though. Imani Boyette got a lot of support from her teammates on the bench- more than anyone else, they were cheering for her every time she hit a shot or had a big block. Trying to pass over the top of her is not the greatest decision in the world. Stefanie Dolson seemed to let her emotions get to her at times. Either she’s gotten more physical or I’ve started noticing her being physical more, because in these two games she definitely looked like she’d been studying the Plenette Pierson Playbook. (That’s not necessarily a bad thing! It’s just a thing I as an opposing fan don’t like.) She still has the pretty jumper, though.
Cappie Pondexter’s been in the league a while. She’s been in the spotlight longer, between starring in the W and starring at Rutgers. You’d think enough young players coming up would have seen her play. You’d think coaches would know her. And yet she had plenty of space to put up that fallaway, off-one-leg jumper that she’s been doing for years. She had a solid game, though I don’t think I’d have her running point. (On the other hand, the options in that regard are rather limited for Chicago until playoffs are over in Turkey and wherever Quigley is.) Keisha Hampton has settled in well in Chicago. I think she might have found a home, or at least a place she can be a solid temp if roster constraints leave her the odd woman out. She brings size, but she also brings that DePaul shooting touch that I think Stocks likes.
I don’t think Chicago is going to go with the big lineup for very long during the regular season, but it’ll be a change of pace that other teams might have trouble with. Depending on suspensions and contract manipulation, they might have some real tough times making cuts.
I’m glad I don’t have to choose between Cierra Burdick and Nayo Raincock-Ekunwe, since I’m not any of the decision-makers for the Liberty. Cierra does a lot of good things on the floor, but she isn’t as strong and she has shown a tendency to commit stupid fouls. Nayo is stronger, but not as offensively polished, and she’s shown a tendency to assume that she’s playing for the Rangers, not the Liberty. Cross-checking people in the open floor is not legal. Kai James brought size, but she needed to go in stronger against the Chicago defense- I felt like she was shooting too soon and not comfortable with the contact she was taking. I think she’s serving as an adequate understudy, and a good target to practice passes on. Ivey Slaughter brought a lot of good energy, and in another year I think she’d make this roster, but she’s too far behind Cierra and Nayo to have a chance. Renee Bennett needs to watch her footwork- this wasn’t as good a game, or a matchup, for her. Nice kid, I’m sure, but not WNBA material.
I don’t know what Bill Laimbeer has seen in Ameryst Alston twice. I don’t know what he saw in her the first time. She brought nothing I could see on the court. Shacobia Barbee looked a little more confident than she did the previous night, but I still wasn’t impressed. Bria Hartley showed some promise at lead guard (even though I’m not a fan of the “lead guard” concept) and picked up a lot of loose balls. Lindsay Allen had a little bit better luck getting her shot to drop, but I don’t like what I’ve seen of her court vision (or lack thereof) and I’m not impressed with her decision-making. I know it takes time to develop that, but I don’t know if she’s going to develop it, or if she has the physical tools to compete while she’s doing so. She’s so small! Jacki Gemelos brought good shooting from beyond the arc. She might be too one-dimensional to keep, though.
Kia Vaughn did not fare well against the larger defense of Chicago. Drawing the defense like they are moths and you are one big honkin’ flame only works if you can either pass out of it successfully or fight through the contact. She didn’t do either. She didn’t make smart decisions with the ball. Tina Charles showed her offensive firepower, but either she doesn’t care about the preseason or she’s under orders not to care about the preseason, because if she’s still standing and watching rebounds on Sunday, I’m going to say a few things that I probably shouldn’t say in front of children in a small gym. Rebecca Allen looked to have gotten her feet back under her, fitting back into the offense. She had issues with passes, both sending and receiving, but I’m loving the shot-blocking she brings.
Brittany Boyd was solid, though she committed stupid fouls- no need to ride Cappie Pondexter in the backcourt. She fits the system better, though I recognize she has the advantage of experience. Sugar Rodgers was feeling her shot, both in the good way by hitting them at opportune times, and in the bad way by stopping and popping with no rebounders ready to recover. That’s an old Sugar move, and one I’d like to see a little less of. But she wasn’t really being tested in this game either; between the oddities of Chicago’s lineup and Bill’s propensity to back off the gas in the preseason, she wasn’t needed. She did the thing she’s best at, and that’s all that seemed to be asked of her.
We’ve got to do better on switching on defense. The offense seems to be running at a higher pace than last year, and it’ll be fun when everyone’s back.
Wednesday, May 3, 2017
May 2nd, 2017: Chicago at Connecticut
Just the Facts, Ma’am: A big fourth quarter powered the Connecticut Sun through a dubious start to a 81-72 win over the Chicago Sky. Danielle Adams put up 12 points, nine in the fourth, to lead Connecticut from the bench. Keisha Hampton and Tamera Young each had 11 to pace the Sky.
For big forwards, sweet passes, Matrix time, imbalanced rosters, rim protection, and stars in the making, join your intrepid and bloodshot blogger after the jump.
Gonna start with the second game first, while it’s still fresh. I’m currently standing at Geno’s waiting for dinner. Taco bowls are not available and I am very sad. Combine that with training the new guy, and I think I might try somewhere different for dinner tomorrow night.
Chicago certainly believes bigger is better, I’ll say that. So much size. It’s almost a shame half of it has no idea what to do with itself.
I don’t think trying to work on her outside jumper is going to work for Betnijah Laney. If you’re going to take a perimeter jumper, you have to have a little lift on it, and her shot is as flat as conspiracy theorists believe the earth is. I recognize that most of the emphasis at Rutgers is how to keep the ball out of the basket, but at some point that intuitive leap must be made that your team requires points. Amber Harris loves to stand and watch her shot. It’s not that pretty a shot. She shouldn’t be doing that. 6-6 centers should at least pretend to rebound. I’m not entirely certain why Cheyenne Parker was out there taking threes, unless someone either slipped her some of the really good stuff or Amber Stocks genuinely thinks she can run Parker out there as a three. It’s not working. She has strength in the paint- use her there. Box score watchers, your eyes did not deceive you and it wasn’t a joke. Tamera Young actually hit a three. She hit another jumper too; honestly, I think that was after the shot clock buzzer but everyone was so surprised that it happened that they were willing to just roll with it. Lots of hustle on the inside- I think she knows someone’s going to come for her job and is ready to defend it against all comers.
Shayla Cooper didn’t impress me at Georgetown, and she didn’t impress me at Ohio State, and clearly she didn’t impress Curt Miller in Connecticut, and she didn’t impress me here either. Has she always fancied herself a three-point shooter? It doesn’t look right on her somehow. Makayla Epps was sloppy- uncomfortable with the level of play, I think. Connecticut brought defense on her and she coughed it up. The box score credits her with an awful lot of assists; I think some of them were panic passes that she got lucky on. Rebekah Gardner brought the kind of heart and hustle you expect out of a training camp temp, but she’s not going to make this roster. She doesn’t have the skills and she doesn’t have the speed. Tori Jankoska is all right, I guess? She certainly has range- the three-pointer she hit was very deep. I think she might have a better shot of adjusting to the WNBA level than Epps does. Neither of them is a long-term solution.
Imani Boyette looked really tentative out there. I follow her on Twitter, so I don’t think she’s injured, but she looked like she was shying away from contact. I’d have liked to see her be more offensive-minded at the basket, though the existence of Jonquel Jones did a lot to shut down her offense. Jessica Breland seems to be adjusting well to the three spot, physical enough at both ends of the floor, but willing and able to stretch the opposing defense from the perimeter. She kept Chicago afloat in the early going. I love how she’s developing, and I’m proud that she’s a Liberty draft pick. Stefanie Dolson seemed to get more frustrated as the game went on. Lots of shoving- she got in a good one on Morgan Tuck, and filched a page from the Plenette Pierson Playbook on tangling the arms of the defensive player to draw a foul. Jonquel Jones (IIRC) was not amused.
Keisha Hampton shoots threes. It’s like she went to DePaul or something. (Don’t look at me like that, Jessica January.) She really seems comfortable in that role. I don’t know if she’s staying on, but she seems like she might be a nice backup to Breland when the Sky need to be more offensive-minded and less physical on defense. Cappie Pondexter is as she has always been: in love with the one-foot fallaway jumper, good at the drive and dish, vulnerable to being swatted, seemingly dissatisfied unless the offense runs through her. She had to run point when the starters were in, because, well, who else was it going to be, Boyette? Honestly. Pondexter-Hampton-Breland-Dolson-Boyette is one of the ridiculously biggest lineups I’ve ever seen. And I’ve seen some lineups.
For a team with so many bigs, Chicago wasn’t as dominant inside and on the glass as I would have expected. I think they need a point guard- whether that’s Vandersloot upon her return, Quigley upon hers, or Pondexter upon the cessation of her habitual recto-cranial inversion, I don’t know.
I’m going to cut to the chase and give Danielle Adams her shout-out straightaway. I don’t know how a woman that big moves that delicately. I don’t know how she gets beautiful finesse shots off. I don’t know how she draws fouls. She broke my neighbor’s brain. By the end of the game, all he could talk about was how she broke the laws of physics. Well done, Danielle, you’ve played one game in a Sun uniform and you already broke one of their season ticket holders. She powered Connecticut in the fourth quarter with threes, adroit flopping, and even a floor dive. (One more money quote and I’m done, from postgame: “I used to watch her on TV when she was with San Antonio, and I watched her hit those shots, and I thought it was all done with mirrors.”) Jennifer Hamson isn’t very strong- her screens move too much when she takes contact- but she blocks like a volleyball player. The hands get way up. I think she’s too one-dimensional to stick, but that’s a heck of a dimension. Reshanda Gray’s enthusiasm is appreciated, and she was good inside, but there’s something missing and I don’t know what it is. (I loved how much rim she got on the one jumper, though. Tap tap tap in.) Brionna Jones is very tough-looking, and seemed to get her feet under her in the paint as the game went on. She had a block on Tamera Young that looked like it was followed with a “not in my house”, which is funny coming from a rookie- Young’s played more games on that floor than Jones has.
Kelly Faris is a pest defensively, but someone who’s been in the league as many years as she has should be able to recognize game flow and not commit stupid reach-in fouls when it’s clear the officials are going to call stupid reach-in fouls. She needs to be more of a factor on offense. Don’t be scared of the ball, Kelly; if it hasn’t done anything to you by now, it’s never going to do anything to you. Jessica January did not take threes, as if someone was determined to prove to me that not all DePaul players take threes. I thought she really held her ground in the fourth quarter. Rookie jitters, a little, but more on the WNBA level (at least the preseason level) than I expected. Rachel Banham’s shot makes were very popular, but I was more impressed with the rebounds she pulled down. She’s stronger than I realized, I think. My neighbor was comparing her to Whalen, but beyond a superficial physical similarity and a shared alma mater, I don’t see it. Shekinna Stricklen shot Connecticut back into it late in the game, though her shot wasn’t falling overall. She’s quicker than I remembered. It is so, so good to see Allison Hightower back on the floor. I don’t think she’s all the way recovered yet, but her defensive instincts remain. One sequence of hers stands out to me- on a Chicago free throw, she moved from the left hash to the free throw line to box out the shooter, then quick as lightning got back to her original position to snag the runaway rebound.
Jonquel Jones, if she keeps this up, is going to be a monster inside, and I mean that in as complimentary a fashion as I possibly can. She has the length to be a rim protector on defense (she laid the freakin’ hammer down on Dolson) and a soft touch around the basket on offense. I don’t know how her perimeter work is, but wow, does she have the tools to be something special. Maybe she needs to work on her hands a little? But I’m sure she can. Alyssa Thomas is an athletic freak of nature, and again I mean that in as complimentary a fashion as I possibly can. She slices and dices defenses like someone very loud should be hawking her on an infomercial. She got into foul trouble in the third quarter, and the unit that pulled it together in the fourth allowed her to rest up for Los Angeles. I like the way Morgan Tuck and Jonquel Jones play together. I don’t know what it is about them that brings out the best in each other, but they seem to have a good simpatico. The finger roll isn’t quite working for her yet. I got the sense that both she and Hightower were on minute counts (which makes sense- they’re the biggest physical question marks on the squad, and the team is in a back-to-back situation).
Courtney Williams is very fast, and she certainly knows how to score, but I don’t know if there’s room for her on this roster. There might be only to keep it balanced, but I’m not impressed with her except in very small doses, and I’m not sure if Connecticut can afford the luxury of a small doses player. Jasmine Thomas got handsy, or at least got called for the reach-ins. Somehow, things just seem to click when she’s on the floor. She works really well with Alyssa Thomas on the fast break.
Favorite sequence, speaking of Thomas and Thomas on the fast break: first time out, Alyssa Thomas gets the runout, dishes off to Jasmine Thomas for the finish. Second time out, okay, Chicago is expecting the pass off and has it guarded. So what does Alyssa do? She fakes the pass, keeps it, and goes for the drive. I swear to you on my honor as a former Girl Scout she went into Matrix slo-mo time in real life as she went to the basket. I’ve never seen anything like it. I don’t know if it was hangtime or phenomenal body control or she is the Chosen One and Keanu Reeves was just a pretender. It was amazing.
Connecticut really cranked up the defensive intensity. Chicago wanted to go inside, and Connecticut was like, “LOL no.” Bombing threes with this Sky lineup wasn’t the solution.
Officiating got a bit interesting in the third quarter, which is to say that the home fans strongly disapproved of the calls. I can’t say they were wrong, though there were some earlier calls missed on Connecticut. Would you be terribly surprised to find that Fatou Cissoko-Stephens was one of the officials? I can’t say I was.
I think it’s going to be very hard to make decisions about this Connecticut roster. Lots of good pieces.
I miss the Liberty’s Torch Patrol. Solar Power is unimpressive and really needs to sharpen up their choreography. (Also, it goes without saying that Timeless Torches kick the ass of all other dance teams of their ilk. It is known.)
We’ll see how things go tomorrow (which has come today) when the match-ups get shuffled. I’m looking forward to it, but I’m also looking forward to the softness of my bed and the personal space heater waiting there for me.
Saturday, June 25, 2016
June 24th, 2016: Chicago at New York
Just the Facts, Ma'am: Chicago got off to a strong start and erased most of a big lead near the end- but New York held the Sky off, 80-79. Tina Charles led New York with 21 points and 13 rebounds. Elena Delle Donne led all scorers with 31 points, while Cappie Pondexter added 20 for Chicago- but no other Sky player had more than nine.
For sleepless nights, the speed of Sugar's shot, Tina Charles being the boss, misplaced courtesy, too much yellow, just enough maroon and gold, role reversal, rocking out, and glorious rainbows, join your intrepid and stressed blogger after the jump.
Good evening, gang! We're coming to you in glorious color from Pride Night at Madison Square Garden, where the New York Liberty take on the Chicago Sky. Everything is in rainbows. We all have rainbow wristbands with the #OrlandoUnited hashtag.
Whether by coincidence or design, Shavonte Zellous is on the front of the roster cards for this game. There's also a Pride version of the Liberty logo, with the WNBA Pride ball replacing the usual flaming basketball.
No H8 set up shop in the Garden lobby for photos and temporary tattoos. Very popular, obviously.
This is why you can't afford to be a nice person when autograph hunting: I passed up EDD because I thought she was in a hurry to stretch. And then for the first time in as many years as I can think of, the road team went out the other tunnel. Missed 'em all. RAEG.
Both teams have the #OrlandoUnited shirts, though it took a moment for Swin to get hers on.
Anthem was excruciatingly screechy. Girrrrrrl, just because you're small and blonde and pretty does not mean you're Kristin Chenowith.
At halftime, the Libs are up 50-40 on Chicago and we're rocking out to a Led Zepplin cover band, Lez Zepplin. Chicago's stars have been superb- but only four Sky players have scored. Meanwhile, the Liberty are clicking on all cylinders, getting short bursts of greatness from Amanda Zahui B and Rebecca Allen. I'm going to need everyone to get off the wi-fi so I can check mail and things, because reasons.
MSG, y'all gotta do something about general admission and security lines. Way too many people being hustled around and seat-jumping, way too many people coming in late.
Dear my Liberty, I'm going to need you to stop milking these leads down until they're almost gone, or in some cases completely gone and then returned. My family has a history of heart problems on both sides and I'm going through a lot of stress right now. I can't afford another round of Maalox Moments.
Chicago can either have a plethora of blondes or they can have the yellow jerseys. They can't have both. Personally, I'll take Delle Donne, Quigley, and Vandersloot over those gold jerseys if I'm a Sky fan.
Cheyenne Parker is very pretty and very enthusiastic out there, but so far she's not very impressive. Imani Boyette is already ahead of her in terms of talent and in terms of using her height effectively. She seemed to get stronger as the game went on- maybe it was a matter of match-ups, maybe she was finding her confidence. But the tall girl was using her height on both ends of the floor. She had a very emphatic get-that-outta-here block. It's clear that she's going to be Chicago's center of the future. Jessica Breland played a little in the first half, but she was getting beat pretty handily on defense and picked up a couple of quick fouls. I'm not even sure she played in the second half or if Chatman just rolled with Boyette for all her post reserve needs.
Jamierra Faulkner is so very fast. She's fun to watch when she's running at full tilt, but sometimes her speed betrays her. There was one play where she thought she had an open lane, raced for it like it was the last open parking space on the block, and then got Stoked. (That's going to be a thing now.) I respect her willingness to attack the rim, but you got to know when to walk away and know when OH DEAR GOD IT'S KIAH STOKES RUN RUN NOW RUN FOR YOUR LIFE. Allie Quigley found space in the midrange in the fourth quarter, because it is known that if you're a Big East fan from a certain era, you are cursed to be forever haunted by Quigleys. (Unless you're a DePaul fan, in which case it's more like, "Hey, girl, how you been?" But among my people, Quigley is a swearword, shrieked defiantly with a fist jabbed at the heavens.)
Érika de Souza got the start, but it almost seems ceremonial at this point. She's not terribly mobile on either end of the floor. She got rebounds, but I think she needed the help of her teammates with boxing out to get those boards. When Carolyn Swords is making you look bad, it might be time to consider ending a sterling WNBA career (that had an unfortunate detour, but we don't speak of it). Tamera Young's shot continues to be strange and funky, and she should not shoot the ball as often as she did. She's great on defense- she's part of how they can swarm so quickly on the ballhandler and bring pressure in a hurry.
Elena Delle Donne defines positional boundaries and paragraph boundaries, because that's how she rolls. She killed us. She almost completely killed us dead, and if she had been going for the game-winning shot instead of the game-winning free throws. We had no answer for her on defense- she was too quick and fluid on the perimeter, but too tall for the guards to cope with. She's improved her defense as well, and she's picked up some of La Leslie's dirty tricks down low (the casual elbow, the slew-foot). She's really devoted herself to becoming a true franchise player, and I have mad respect for that.
Courtney Vandersloot has amazingly quick hands, especially on defense. If you are in the least bit careless with the ball in front of her, that ball will be hers. She had a beautiful strip in the first quarter that had me all but dropping my jaw. She seemed a little more reliant on the long ball than she perhaps should have been. Cappie Pondexter started off red hot, but she does have a tendency to try and do everything herself, and near the end of the game I think that came back to bite Chicago. This is not to cast any shade on her basketball skills, but instead on her timing of them. There was one play (that, to be fair, worked out for Chicago, as she beat the shot clock buzzer) where Boyette had Sugar Rodgers on her, but Pondexter chose to keep the ball.
I'm not entirely sure Chicago has endgame strategy other than "stop the ball" or "give the ball to Elena".
Rebecca Allen, welcome back to New York, we missed you, please don't leave or get hurt ever again. She was a huge boost off the bench, disruptive on defense and stretching the offense. She fit back in like she never left. I forgot how good "AUSSIE AUSSIE AUSSIE!" "OI OI OI!" felt to belt out after a three or a big hustle play. Rebeccas are awesome and Australians are awesome and Bec is pretty awesome. Amanda Zahui B had a very nice stretch in the first half where she and Brittany Boyd were clicking, but I think Bill's got her on a short leash when it comes to fouls- the silly foul she committed seemed to be her cue to take all the seats and never look back. I would have liked to see her get a few more minutes to give Tina and Kiah a break. Kiah Stokes was a defensive beast and did a lot of big work on the offensive glass. She picked up steam as the game went on, going up strong on the boards for put-backs to finish second and third chances.
Brittany Boyd needs to finish at the rim, and in general find her shot. She increases the pace of the game, but that doesn't matter if she's stagnating the offense by slowing down point production. Watching her and Faulkner go at each other was a blast. Shavonte Zellous hustled hard on defense, disrupting plays all over the place, but she's got to hit her jumpers.
Tina Charles continues to be fantastic. She had that double-double by the third quarter. But you could tell she was starting to wear down by the end of the game. There's only so much even a superstar can do when she's triple-teamed constantly. Her shots were starting to fall a little short. I think the mask may also have been affecting her vision, because otherwise I don't think she would have done the show-the-ball trick in front of Vandersloot. Carolyn Swords started off the game really well, then went to the bench for Kiah and was barely seen again until the end of the first half. She had a rough go of it to start the second half- stupid fouls, careless plays- and someone lit a fire under her somewhere along the line, because that was when she started taking on de Souza and going harder after the ball (when Carolyn hits the floor, it's a physical game and she's going hard). She cleaned up some good loose change. Swin Cash hit buckets at the right times, whether it was to spur the comeback in the first quarter or fend off the Sky in the second half.
Ball security, Tanisha Wright. She usually made up for dumb turnovers within a few plays, but she still has to be more careful with the ball. I'm a little worried about her jumper, too. She gets the job done, though. Sugar Rodgers had a slow start, and got caught on some really awkward defensive switches, but once she found a little space in the second half and stopped hesitating to shoot, she got fired up. Tina's going to be Tina, but we need Sugar to be something special if we're going to succeed.
We realized the officiating was going to be a problem when we saw both Michael Price and Kurt Walker amongst the crew. Walker already had a burr under his saddle pregame, when he looked like he thought the Liberty were taking too long to take the court. Lots of missed calls all night, and they affected both sides. I thought Pokey was going to flip her lid when Delle Donne went down after the push from Kiah. Just terrible refereeing all around.
Shoutout to our Gael homies who sat by us for a while and remember when we weren't the loudest people in the room (that would be Damika's family).
Also, shoutout to the French coach who showed up and was pretty impressed with everything. And to the Swedish fans with their Swedish flag! International basketball fans are awesome. Basketball is basketball, no matter what language it's in.
Adut Bulgak is pretty good at charades, but asking a Canadian born in Africa to mime being a cowboy will only end in hilarity.
We won despite their superstars being superstars. We've been winning by shutting down stars and getting killed by roleplayers; this game was the complete opposite, and I think it's a good sign that we can be that versatile. But we've got to find more consistent offense from people who aren't Tina...
Sunday, September 13, 2015
September 13th, 2015: Chicago at Connecticut
Just the Facts, Ma'am: The Connecticut Sun ended their last game of the season on a high note, dominating Chicago in the fourth quarter to win 86-75. Kelsey Bone notched a career-high 31 points. Camille Little added 15, and three other Sun players had nine. Elena Delle Donne was the only Chicago player in double figures, with 28.
For the injured reserve, sweethearts at the food court, cool hats, books, a complete collection, well wishes, rushing headlong, free stuff, and long bus rides, join your intrepid and throwback blogger after the jump.
L'shana tova, loyal readers! Have some cookies and chocolate with me as we celebrate the end of the regular season and the beginning of a new year. (I'm not Jewish, but I know some of my regulars are, and I picked up a lot from the salesfolk I worked with.)
Your intrepid blogger finally, finally, got to dust off her Miracle jersey for a neutral trip to the casino to take in the Sun's final game of the season against the Chicago Sky. (But fret not, Libs. I'm always true to you in my fashion; darlin', I'm always true to you in my way. My Miracle jersey is the #24 of Tari Phillips.)
We were far from alone. The line at the Arena Club, usually half a dozen people at most, stretched clear out past the fountain in front of the escalators to the hotel. There must have been sixty-seventy discrete groups on that line, all waiting for their tickets. Connecticut was releasing as many as four tickets per casino card, so there was a lot more paper in that place than usual, and more than even security was used to. I wonder how many people who usually buy tickets ended up getting freebies for this one? You have to be careful how you value, or devalue your product.
Gorgeous anthem by a Hartford School of Music student whose name I did not completely catch. Soaring soprano.
There were really cool giveaways all through the game, but honestly, I think the person in row A of section 11 could probably have afforded the prize so cavalierly given away to them. I wouldn't have minded $100 for dinner at Tuscany.
Lots of advertising for the arena's lacrosse team, the Black Wolves. Either ticket sales are not doing as well as they expected or they really couldn't sell ad time for this game.
Inside the last home game of the season seems like an odd place and time to advertise the family ticket pack.
Free t-shirts for all today! Plain, white, but coming in a variety of sizes. Appreciate size ranges.
It was an odd ending. You could almost tell where Chicago stopped pretending to care and just settled for jumper after jumper.
Cappie Pondexter was with the Sky, but did not play, and I don't think she ever took off her sweats. Other than her, everyone for Chicago got time- Pokey Chatman channeled her inner Blackhawk near the end of the game and send in a full line change. Five subs at the scorer's table and five starters on the floor left Cappie standing lonesome by the Sky bench.
(Holy crap on a stick, the ride home is crawling. It's been half an hour and we're only at exit 71. The police car that just wailed by us might hold an answer to that riddle, though.)
Jacki Gemelos was part of that big change at the end of the game, but I don't think she did anything memorable in those two minutes or so. Jamierra Faulkner got a lot of run due to early foul trouble, mid-game injury, and late-game preservation techniques. She's so very quick. She takes hits and keeps on ticking. Scoring-wise, she seems to be better as a penetrator, not a jump shooter. Allie Quigley is always a threat from the outside, but she wasn't hitting today. She always has to be guarded, and Connecticut did not cover her adequately. They got lucky in that regard. She's not there for her defense, but I'd still like to see her at least try some, y'know?
Clarissa Dos Santos continues to impress me with her solidity and tenacity in the paint. This is not a woman you want to rumble with in a dark alley, even more than the average six-foot-tall, strongly-built woman. I do not think the jumper is her strength, but when she goes inside and goes up hard, she's hard to stop. Cheyenne Parker got a lot more time than she has in most of the other Sky games I've seen this year, and she brings a bit more finesse in that post position than Dos Santos does. She blocks well and has a bit more range, but not nearly as much strength. She's still very much a rookie, but a rookie with potential, and for the first time I felt like I was seeing it. Betnijah Laney did not leave a fantastic impression today- when she missed her shots, she missed them badly, and did a bit of whining to the ref.
Courtney Vandersloot had a couple of close shaves today- foul trouble in the first half, a jar to her right shoulder in the second. From our unusually high perch in the upper deck at Mohegan Sun Arena, we could see the plays unfolding as if on a telestrator, and from that angle, it's easier to see her orchestrating the movement of the offense. It's hard to get a grasp on her role for Chicago, and that's not necessarily a bad thing! To me that says she has the ability to score when her team needs a scorer, but to step back and pass when other people are scoring. Tamera Young was pesky defensively, but made bad decisions with the ball, both passing and shooting. The sideline was not her friend.
Jessica Breland had a couple of monster blocks deep in the paint and was pretty tough overall. Érika de Souza cleared the glass, especially on the Sky's end of the floor- I think she had two on one possession. She's not as mobile as she used to be, but she's an immovable object when she needs to be.
Elena Delle Donne missed some chippies early on, but got stronger as the game went on. What would make me excited as a Chicago fan were the threes she was hitting. Her three-point shot has been AWOL for much of the season, and if it's coming back now, the timing is pretty much perfect. I'm also intrigued by her willingness to bang in the post on defense. I was not expecting that from her on that side of the ball. I'm starting to think she might be a Mary Sue escaped from the realms of fiction, y'all.
I really like Chelsea Gray at point for Connecticut. (And let's be honest, I wouldn't mind Chelsea Gray at point for the Liberty, either. "Chelsea Dagger" and "Shades of Gray" would both be awesome Cheesy Musical Hooks...) She's daring and dynamic. Better offensively than defensively so far, but with the right counterpart say, Brittany Boyd? that would be a very interesting platoon. Shekinna Stricklen never seemed to find her shot, but I'm not sure how hard she was looking for it. And it's not that Chicago was guarding her heavily. I think that's just not how the schemes were drawn up today.
Jennifer Lacy stretched the defense a little, but was otherwise unremarkable, and the shots she forced Chicago to defend didn't go down. I suspect Connecticut was relieved to no longer have to start her. Nikki Greene was physical. That's what she does, like the Geico commericals. Kayla Pedersen brought her hustle today, and sometimes even got rewarded for it with a whistle. Other times, not so much (there was one play where she had a ball and should have gotten a jump ball against Dos Santos- instead, Dos Santos ripped the ball out of her arms and knocked her backwards with no call). She had a very solid game. Makes sense- I think she's playing for her job, knowing that there's probably only one roster spot next year between her and Kelsey Griffin. (Yes, I am aware Connecticut waived Griffin in the middle of the season. I'm willing to bet actual-facts money that that was strictly a salary cap/roster positioning move and they'll bring her back next year.)
Kelly Faris got a lot of applause when she did things, or even when she didn't do things. The three she hit got one of the biggest cheers of the night; the free throws she missed elicited an arena-wide "awwwwwwww...". It really, spectacularly weirds me out. I can't deny her hustle- a guard who boxes out Érika de Souza will always get my respect for her metaphorical cojones- but I don't get the sheer adoration. Jasmine Thomas intercepted plenty of passes from Chicago. Granted, some of them were thrown directly to her, but she played well on the ball. She had a lot of shots that should have gone down but didn't. I'm not so sure about her offensive decision-making, though she did rack up the assists.
Then again, it's pretty easy to rack up the assists when Kelsey Bone is making power moves in the middle. Since she wasn't putting the ball down a lot (even when she technically should have), I can see official scorers being generous on the assist call. She missed a lot of shots early, ones that she should have been hitting. They went down for her more in the second half. It got to the point where I needed her to share the ball or I was going to run out of room on my score sheet. It still bothers me how easily she seems to get rattled by a bad call or a missed shot. Alyssa Thomas is starting to rub me the wrong way. I can't shake the feeling that she would have been the perfect Laimbeer player... and it's probably better and safer for the entire league that she doesn't play for Bill. She's very physical and very fearless. I feel like I should respect that, but I'm scared at the same time. I always forget that Camille Little has an outside stroke, and then she sets up from straight away and her team has three more points. She's so smooth. And she's sweet, too- she took the mic after the game to thank the fans for coming out.
Connecticut did a video with everyone, players and coaches both, thanking the fans for their support. I thought that was sweet.
One more soda and now I have the entire collection of Connecticut Sun "Share a Coke" cups. I really hope other teams pick this up. I'd love to see a "Share a Coke with Essence" cup.
The kids with the adorable Blaze hats were back! They were at the last game I was at, but I forgot to mention them, and I feel bad, because those hats are so cool!
A lot of late whistles in this one, and a very odd continuation call (but still not the least acceptable basket counted in a Chicago game, amirite Dream fans).
MACKEREL SHOULD NOT EAT PEOPLE OH MY GOD
Good luck in the lottery, Connecticut. Faretheewell, Sun. For this has been the last game of the season, the last bus ride, the last taco bowl, the last uncomfortable ovation for Kelly Faris, the last slot pull, the last pile of sweet delicious candy.
Thursday, September 3, 2015
September 3rd, 2015: Chicago at New York
Just the Facts, Ma'am: Courtney Vandersloot's 21 points led a long-distance barrage as Chicago dominated New York 82-60. Elena Delle Donne and Allie Quigley each added 19.
For flamenco, lost souls, injury concerns, clampdowns, transit concerns, bad mojo, and things left unsaid, join your intrepid and concerned blogger after the jump.
This could be the big one. This could be the regular season title game. Chicago visits New York for most, if not all, of the marbles.
If these Delle Donne fans don't stop wandering around looking for someone to ask questions of, someone's going to have to take them in hand.
We're expecting a fairly large crowd, but it might be a late-arriving one.
Tina, you and Avery should stick to your day jobs. (Upon further review...)
No Pondexter, but Delle Donne is present and in the starting lineup.
Should have switched the anthem singer and the "God Bless America" singer.
At halftime, Chicago is laying a 46-27 smackdown on New York. Their defensive intensity is phenomenal, and the three-point shooting is out of this world. The Liberty have no answer for either- we're just not used ot teams meeting us on the same level defensively. And Tina Charles is taking a lot of bad shots, and not seeing any better options.
Refs definitely letting them play.
Damn it, how can you not like Elena Delle Donne when her first reaction after a collision is to check on the opponent, even before getting up? Stop being so gosh darned sweet, Elena!
I can't say I was expecting this. I expected a tight game, but not for Chicago to come out like gangbusters on both ends of the floor. They played their game better than we played our game- it's in fact fair to say they played our game better than we played our game.
Pokey Chatman put everyone in in a line change at the end of the game. So many substitutions at once. There were a lot of subs throughout the game- both coaches were adjusting on the fly with their personnel.
Jamierra Faulkner is really quick. She's not very big, and in a dead run she's not necessarily very fast, but her feet move quickly. That's how she makes up for her lack of size- she gets to the right place at the right time. I suspect my penance for sins committed in another life is to forever be haunted, and taunted, by Quigleys. As a Johnnie, I spent six years tormented by the DePaul duo... and now Allie Quigley is hitting jumpers on my team again. Unlike those other two blondes, she was hitting them from the midrange instead of from long range. She picked Chicago up in the fourth quarter when the Liberty made a little bit of a run.
The sets that Chicago was using emphasized speed and perimeter play over power, so Clarissa Dos Santos didn't get a lot of playing time. She boxed out really well on free throws. Betnijah Laney kept busy on defense. I kind of wish she'd used up the airball a few months ago, maybe during the first round of the tournament.
Courtney Vandersloot slayed us from beyond the arc, especially in the first half. I don't know how she did it, but she did it. She did it a lot. Tamera Young hit jump shots, which is not a thing that I am used to seeing happen very much. She was also tough defensively- going with the big lineup allowed Chicago to smother Epiphanny Prince, both with her and with Delle Donne on switches.
We got on Jessica Breland early, remembering what she did to us last game. She played well on the boards, and when we reconfigured the defense desperately in the third quarter, she got jumpers. Érika de Souza played solid on the boards and was all over Tina Charles, as part of the reason why Tina looked so awful tonight..
Elena Delle Donne transcends my usual division of guards and posts, so she gets her own paragraph. What impressed me about her tonight was not her shooting, because she didn't hit a lot of the shots she got, even the good looks; nor was it her ability to take contact, get to the line, and convert the free throws. What impressed me was how well she fit in the general scheme of the offense. She set some really tough screens, and she crashed the boards very quickly. I know there's been a lot of talk about her becoming more post-oriented, but this is the first time I've seen it in action in person. She really is the complete package. And she has the gall to be a genuine human being, too. And she's pretty. Not fair.
Avery Warley-Talbert, would it kill you to grab a rebound? Or take a shot? Kiah Stokes did a lot of the non-box score stuff, but she spent a lot of the game looking either lost or like she was hung up on her mistakes. Essence Carson definitely doesn't have the step she once had to catch up with players who get past her first move, but her handle was also shaky tonight, which was a problem because of the injury to Boyd and because she ended up playing far more point guard than a small forward (in Bill's system) or shooting guard (in the modern WNBA) should be playing.
We knew that Brittany Boyd's intimate love-hate relationship with the hardwood was going to be trouble one of these days, and she hit the floor hard on one of those drives and hurt her left hand. She tried to play through it, because she's tough and maybe a little bit crazy, but she had to come out after dinging it a second time. Love her hustle. Candice Wiggins was very vocal and active on the bench, but I think her Stanford showed a little bit on the floor- she was overthinking her passes through the smothering defense. Sugar Rodgers showed some spark in the fourth quarter, when there was still a chance for a comeback, but faded out late.
This was one of the worst games I've seen Tina Charles play. "But Queenie, 17 and 8 is pretty good!" The raw numbers are pretty good, but she took shots that would have made Cappie blush. She was taking desperate panic shots, unable to handle the double and triple-teams coming at her. She took shots out of her range and shots that had no reasonable chance of going in over the Chicago defense. When we weren't the only ones in our section calling for Avery to sub in near the end of the first quarter, there might have been a problem. Carolyn Swords had trouble hanging on to the ball, but was gritty on defense and had a couple of nice taps out on rebounds. Swin Cash got the unenviable task of trying to help defend Delle Donne. That took most of her energy.
Tanisha Wright tried to spearhead the second-half comeback. She turned up the defense, and came up with a couple of shots. But you can only drag people so far. Epiphanny Prince didn't get a lot of looks, but when she was able to cross her defender over or deke them back, she converted.
I was most impressed with the coaching in this game. Every action had a reaction. Every move had a countermove. That's not what I expect from Chatman, but Chicago read our switches and answered with their own. They beat us fair and square. So much for Cappie, huh?
I still have faith in this team, though I'm worried about Boyd now. We've managed to avoid the injury bug for most of the season, but you never know when an infestation will hit. I think they'll be okay. I think we'll adjust.
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.
Friday, June 27, 2014
June 27th, 2014: Chicago at New York
Just the Facts, Ma'am: Epiphanny Prince dropped 30 on New York again, and the Sky held off a second-half charge from the Liberty to come away with the 73-69 win. Prince had game-highs of five assists and five steals to go with her 30 points. Tina Charles had 16 points and eight rebounds to lead New York.
For eggs, signs of the apocalypse, ennui, rainbows, helpful people, not so helpful people, utter geekery (the minions have the phone box!), and the throwing of hands in the air, join your intrepid blogger after the jump.
Good evening, basketball fans! We're coming to you from the gloriously rainbow-filled Pride Night at Madison Square Garden, where the New York Liberty are hosting the Chicago Sky.
So far the only player I've seen rocking Pride gear is Essence Carson in the BeTrue sneakers. But it's early yet.
Epiphany Prince and Essence Carson came out from the tunnel together, arms over shoulders, and Pokey Chatman, coming off the court, proceeded to run between them to separate them, for the lulz.
I salute the pastel-pink and frosted-white Afro puffs rocked by Gennifer "Sailor Berkeley" Brandon tonight. Let your freak flag fly, yo.
Chicago has adopted the curious habit of signing in small print over their own name on the roster. The only other team I've ever seen do that was the Australian national team. They also split up when coming off the court, half going through the usual visitors' entrance/exit and half through the Liberty entrance/exit. Then again, a batch of Liberty players came through the usual visitors' tunnel, too. Maybe there's been a switch back there somewhere.
Rainbow thundersticks, rainbow Pride shirts, rainbow graphics- so far the Libs are doing Pride right, and that makes me immensely happy. (I'm pretty much straight {though I'd make an exception for Tari Phillips, wherever she is}, but the gay gene doesn't run in my family so much as it stampedes; combine that with a family propensity to hang out with gay men and lesbians, and you get a lot of gay influences on a wee tiny queenie. I could probably write an entire essay on why Pride matters to me as a straight woman, but this is not the place for that.)
So it looks like no one is wearing the Pride shooting shirts, which I take the league to task for. You made a point of something, and then you ran away screaming from your principles the second one person raised a stink. Sorry, but if you're dumb enough, or misguided enough, or thoroughly stuck on the translation of a translation of a holy book enough, to think that wearing a gay pride shirt is any kind of problem, then I want to know who you are and why you don't believe in equal protection under the law for my family and your teammates. I don't want you to be able to silence the voices of your colleagues who want to let their rainbow flag fly.
Phenomenal choral anthem.
I don't know what to make of this team. We're backing out of the lane and missing shots that we should be hitting. Then again, Tamera Young has hit three clean jumpers, so we might just be looking at the end of the world here, and if we are, then, readers, I love you all for the time you spend reading my words and I wish you good fortune in the coming apocalypse.
Follow your shot. Follow your shot. Follow your shot. Professional players should know this. Veterans like DeLisha Milton-Jones and Plenette Pierson should definitely know that. I don't know why we stood around looking pretty on a lot of those shots, because we're really not that pretty of a team, no matter how much dressing up Cappie tries to do.
Bill, this one's on you.
I love watching Jamierra Faulkner's footwork. This is going to sound like damning with faint praise, but in that regard, she reminds me of Erica White from the Comets- fast feet, always moving, very precise with them. She's very fast, and very useful on defense. Markeisha Gatling is a whole lot of woman. Chicago fans will surely rejoice that she wasn't called for any illegal screens tonight. She was mostly in for relief when the starting posts hit foul trouble and Sasha Goodlett needed a break. Goodlett was actually pretty efficient down low, taking advantage on offensive rebounds and defensive switches. Allie Quigley hit shots, because she's a Quigley and we have Big East players and that's how Quigleys roll and aaargh of incoherent dismay and frustration. Courtney Clements got her minutes early, hit a shot, and eyebrowed most fearsomely.
Given the post situation for Chicago, I'm disappointed Sailor Berkeley didn't play, but only because I'm trying to make something happen with this nickname.
Courtney Vandersloot, I am so sorry about that hit, that's not what it means to stand for Liberty and that kind of play embarrasses all of us, and I hope you're all right. At times it seemed as if she and Prince were switching off who was playing point and who was getting the shots, and I don't know if she was as comfortable at the off guard as Prince was at the point guard. She didn't seem fully comfortable with looking for her shot. Tamera Young, however, took advantage of the times that she was left open and hit jumpers. And unlike every other time I've ever seen Tamera Young play, not only was she hitting jump shots, they were fundamentally sound jump shots with proper arc and wrist action leading to that arc. If she's finally learned to shoot, after however many years, then Chicago becomes more dangerous by far, because she adds a potent weapon to her offensive arsenal and becomes a true two-way player, fast on defense and willing to crash the lane on both ends of the floor. Sylvia Fowles was physical, but still didn't seem to have her legs under her- Avery Warley-Talbert was able to battle her to a draw down low. She boxed out well and helped her teammates get rebounds. Jessica Breland had the outside shot going very early, but not so much later on. Doubling off her was not my favorite of decisions, but it worked out decently enough for us some of the time. Not all the time- she was able to make the extra pass, or the swinging double caused a weakness elsewhere in the defense. She got into foul trouble late in the game, and I think that affected them a little- but not a lot. Epiphanny Prince was pretty much the team for Chicago. Okay, that's a little bit of an exaggeration, but in the first quarter she was outscoring New York by herself. She was hitting pretty much everything she looked at, except for some of the more impossible attempts with multiple defenders hanging on her. What was actually most impressive about her tonight was her ability to read passing lanes. Anna swung a pass towards Alex that Alex usually turns into a three-point shot, and Prince was on that like a cornerback. Granted, Avery threw her the ball twice, but still. Her Rutgers definitely showed in this one.
Chicago moved the ball well when the double came to the ballhandler. And when all else failed, they had Piph.
Shanece McKinney played very briefly in the first half to absorb some time on defense defending Fowles. DeLisha Milton-Jones seemed a little out of place on defense, but was able to get a little going on offense. Plus, someone had to fish the ball out from the side of the rim after Piph got it stuck, and we cut Toni Young. Sugar Rodgers had another solid game on both sides of the floor. I'm coming to love her ability to jar loose balls when foolish posts bring them down to guard level. She forced two jump balls today, even though she wasn't the player who jumped either of them. She forced a little bit at the offensive end, but someone had to, and you know Sugar's going to take shots she should regret in the morning. Essence Carson continued to demonstrate the clock awareness of Herman Edwards, to the point where I no longer feel comfortable that she's going to do something good with the ball when the clock is running down. And that's a shame, because I like Essence. She had a nice break, though. I can't even with Plenette Pierson right now, after that cheap shot she threw at Vandersloot. She was mixing it up down low all night, but this was something else completely unrelated, to the point where we were wondering if Vandersloot said something about someone's mother to have merited that kind of hit. It's a shame, because she had a good game, but that one shot overshadows everything. That's the stuff that makes people side-eye Bill Laimbeer and the Bad Girls.
Cappie Pondexter had a couple of nice defensive plays, but offensively couldn't find the range. Then in the third quarter, she had a flare-up of what Mike Lupica once dubbed "Wanna Be The Man" disease. Either she or Bill decided that they were going to try to force her to get shots, and she took some ridiculous shots into heavy defense. At least she got it together in the fourth and backed off a little, until near the end of the game. But the endgame was a hot mess in general. The fact that we stayed in this one despite getting a goose egg from Cappie was remarkable. Alex Montgomery really seems confident in her shot, and either she's been told she needs to take more threes or she's been practicing her threes, or something, because she looked good as as a shooter. Her defense was pretty good, too. Anna Cruz kept pace with the Sky point guards and started getting more aggressive offensively in the second half. Avery Warley-Talbert was very tough on the inside, making Sylvia Fowles's life miserable, but it's clear on offense that she's not Tina. She does what we ask of her, which is to clean up offensive slop and hit open lay-ups, but she's not a creator offensively. I feel like I'm using that word too much. Tina Charles got boxed out a lot and threw up some really odd shots, but still had a decent game.
There comes a point when you have to move away from the concept of using a lesser player to defend a super star to protect your superstar's foul count. Bill was bound and determined to keep Tina off Big Syl, and I think that came back to bite us in the end, because the defense looked a bit disorganized down the stretch. There is no reason Alex should end up on Big Syl.
If you're down late in a game, would you not insert the player who's been scoring and who you brought in because she can score?
Why in the name of the flying spaghetti monster would you try to go 2-for-1 under 24 seconds on the clock? Otherwise, why in the name of the flying spaghetti monster do you have Plenette going to the basket with 22 seconds left and the shot clock off? I just don't get the logic.
The officiating was sketchy in the first quarter, but then Bill yelled at Amy Bonner and got a tech, and it evened out a little bit, so that both teams were getting their share of crappy calls and crappy non-calls. I still think they should have called the Plenette foul a flagrant on the review.
I'm not sure who's not listening to whom on the Liberty anymore. I thought we'd figured something out, but we're back to square WTF again.
Sunday, May 18, 2014
May 17th, 2014: Chicago at New York
Just the Facts, Ma'am: A 24-10 fourth quarter advantage for the Chicago Sky propelled them to a road win against the New York Liberty, 79-65. Elena Delle Donne led all scorers with 23 points, while Jessica Breland dropped a double-double of 13 points and 11 rebounds. Tina Charles made an impression in her Liberty debut, with 15 points and 12 rebounds.
For the sheltering arms of home, t-shirt confusion, HOLY CRAP FIRE, reversals, Zurg rushes, running on fumes, and Bill Laimbeer's sketchy draft history, join your intrepid and insomniac blogger after the jump.
Hey, everybody! It's the day Liberty fans have been waiting for for months- years, even. We're home again, on a black and green court, in our proper place, back in black and back in the New York groove.
No, we actually are back in black. The jerseys are reversed tonight, with the Sky in white and the Liberty in black. I don't like how Chicago essentially Zerg rushed off the floor all at once. Too many rookies I'll never catch.
The pregame entertainment was less than inspiring. Do not re-write "We Are The Champions" for your pre-pubescent shriek band. Don't. You're lucky my mom got distracted by the Rangers and re-runs of her favorite Jeopardy! episodes, or she'd kick your little butts.
The strobe lights are kind of painful, guys.
The "Back in Black" shirts are boss. I approve this message. And they glow in the dark.
This Maddie-yonce thing they're doing at halftime needs to have the costumes burned and the tape deleted. No, no, no, no no nonononononononooooooooo. It's running entirely too long, too. We're coming up on three minutes and most of the team is on the court waiting for it to end.
At halftime, Chicago is up 43-35. Elena Delle Done is doing what ESPN is surely happy about her doing, with 16 points. Tina Charles has 11 and five rebounds. The fire is a bit more scattered, less focused. We're not getting as much out of DeLisha as we did yesterday, which shouldn't be a surprise.
It's not quite a proper sellout of the lower bowl- there are huge swathes of empty seats behind the basket in front of the Liberty bench.
Katherine May Smith, what in the name of the Flying Spaghetti Monster's noodly appendages are you wearing, and why did you steal it from Kim Mulkey's closet? I'm not sure what's worse- the snakeskin pattern, the fact that it has leggings, or the fact that I can see her bra through the back.
I guess "never before seen" in the intro means a torch. No, an actual torch. With fire. We could feel the heat from our seats. Impressive. The video before the intro was very cool- you know you've dug deep into the Liberty annals when they mention Trena Trice and Lindsay Bowen. We basically spent the whole thing going "OH MY GOD RHONDA BLADES. OH MY GOD MICHELE VAN GORP. OH MY GOD ICISS TILLIS. OH MY GOD SYDNEY COLSON" and laughing hysterically at all the obscure bench players they used.
So that kind of did the exact opposite of what the Connecticut game did. I can't say I'm surprised. Our starting 4 is 39-point-something years old, and her sub is 33 with a bum knee. Our starting point guard has probably never played a back-to-back set in her life. There's a lot of wear and tear on these players. Chicago, on the other hand, is ridiculously young- when Tamera Young is their most experienced active player, they might have a young team. Not that there weren't problems with the Liberty, but I don't know if they were 15-point problems.
Aaryn Ellenberg came into the game at the very end, and she is just so adorably tiny. You can't have her and Jamierra Faulkner on the floor at the same time- not only would the size advantage be a tactical disaster, but your own team would be paralyzed by the adorability of the pocket-size backcourt. Faulkner's speed was very evident tonight, possibly even more than it was at Southern Miss, but she still has some work to do when it comes to adapting to the W. Once she gets to know her teammates better, though, she'll be an excellent reserve for them. I don't know if she can ever be a starter strictly on her size, but she's a good change of pace and a solid player. Markeisha Gatling didn't play a lot in this one. She's tough, physical- don't know how skilled she is, because she was mostly called upon to clog the middle against the Liberty posts. I don't think they ran a lot of stuff for her to score, and the stuff they did run was missed or deflected. Courtney Clements scored off a jumper, so there you go. Chicago got something out of the trade. Her eyebrows scare me a little bit. Allie Quigley was tenacious on defense, and hit a couple of shots when she was left open, which happened a lot. I understand why it happened a lot, but at the same time, she's a Quigley from DePaul and we have four Big East players on our roster. Big East players should remember that Quigleys from DePaul hit threes. All gods know I remember six years of it. Gennifer Brandon's minutes were extremely brief but highly athletic. Also, she hit a midrange jumper, so the world might be ending. JSYK.
Good gracious, Elena Delle Donne. Said it before and I'm sure I'll say it again, but she's entirely too good for anyone else's good. She's lost some of her fear of going inside, and of course she can shoot the outside J, and of course she has the deep range, and she can handle the ball a little, and now she sets mean screens, and I'm sure she does a spectacular job selling popcorn too. And she's pretty. And she's sweet. Are we sure her real name isn't Mary Sue? Tamera Young hustled hard for rebounds and loose balls, but she still has the single ugliest shot that I've ever seen in a professional athlete. She looks like she should be competing with the other Young in a field meet- Toni can do long jump, Tamera could do the shotput. Jessica Breland burned us, as all posts drafted by the Liberty someday do. We kept leaving her open for the long J around the free throw line, and she kept hitting it. Sometime around the fifth or sixth time, we finally defended it... by wasting a double-team on her and leaving Goodlett open under the basket. Sasha Goodlett hit people a lot and missed easy shots. Courtney Vandersloot ran a solid offense, did some ankle-breaking, and penetrated hard in the lane.
Chicago's post defense solidified in the second half. I think their posts got their second wind and we lost ours.
Poor Kamiko Williams not only doesn't get to sit on the bench, not only has to argue with her friends and neighbors to get an aisle seat for her braced leg, but doesn't even get the free t-shirt that the fans get and that the team wore during warm-ups. C'mon, at least get Miko a shirt.
Toni Young did nothing of note. I would really like to see some basketball IQ develop at some point in the near future, or I'm going to have to hope she gets packed off to some team for an aging guard a la Chandi Jones. Having all the tools does sweet Fanny Adams for you if you don't know how to use a hammer. Chucky Jeffery brought some nice energy off the bench late in the game, and unlike some Liberty players I can think of /coughAlex/ she was able to foul Delle Donne before she got the shot off. Sugar Rodgers, bless her heart. At least she showed that she can shoot a little. But she makes such dumb decisions that I spend more time calling her Ta'Shauna than Sugar. Alex Montgomery brought the defense, but not so much the smart offensive decisions. We did not see much of the good, hustling, impassioned Kara Braxton tonight. We didn't see too much of the hair-pulling-out, "how are you even smart enough to breathe?!" Kara either. Just a biiiiiig load of nothing, albeit a nothing that occasionally attempted to distract the opposing posts with jiggling. Plenette Pierson brought the vocal leadership, and she got on the glass well, but she wasn't mobile, and she saw what was for her limited minutes. I suspect the knee was bothering her more than she might have wanted to let on.
Anna Cruz looked a little run down- you don't see a lot of back-to-back games in European leagues, not unless you're on one of those teams that plays in national and Euroleague or Eurocup competitions. She distributed well, but she backed off shots that she should have taken. I didn't think she played as much as the box score indicates. DeLisha Milton-Jones seemed a step slow. She still had some of the good offense and moments of the good defense, but she wasn't as intense as she was yesterday, and I don't think we had any right to expect her to be. Tina Charles was hot. It was good to see her going to the basket strong and pulling down big rebounds. I'm worried that she and Cappie Pondexter almost seem to be taking turns as to who gets the ball- for long stretches, I mean, not from possession to possession. Pondexter took a lot of dumb shots, the kind of forced shots into multiple defenders that she took when she really was the only thing we had that remotely resembled a scoring option. She was good when she hit, but she didn't hit a lot. I'm a little worried about Essence Carson. If she's not physically 100%, she needs to be mentally 100%, and she's come close to making some basic procedural errors- almost running the baseline on throw-ins where that's not permitted, lack of clock awareness, timing issues, the kinds of things a smart player like Essence should be keeping close track of. She had the same issues yesterday, so it's not exhaustion.
We had a lot of fire through much of the game, but I honestly think the turning point was when Cappie decided she had to be the heroine of the comeback and proceeded to take some of the dumbest shots I have ever seen her take. One-on-two, one-on-three, forced jumpers, two straight possessions, then another two straight possessions, when she had teammates in position. We need to move without the ball, and we need to do a better job of indicating that we're available.
Officiating was the usual dog's dinner. Jessica Breland takes a lot of steps. I think this crew was trying to make up for some of the bad non-calls against New York yesterday.
The crowd was really into it. I saw a lot of old friends I hadn't seen in Newark, and plenty of black gear, whether it was the Champion jerseys, the name and number tees, the bootleg Pondexter throwbacks, or other T-shirts. Not a lot of blue, and not a lot of blue-era stuff. Not that we've been waiting for this day for a while. We're done with the might-have-been players of the blue jerseys. Now we just need to get our heads on straight- good thing we've got a week to do it.