The Hanged in the tarot deck is often associated with reversals as well as letting go.  One source describes it this way:

The Hanged Man is one of the most mysterious cards in the tarot deck. It is simple, but complex. It attracts, but also disturbs. It contradicts itself in countless ways. The Hanged Man is unsettling because it symbolizes the action of paradox in our lives. A paradox is something that appears contradictory, and yet is true. The Hanged Man presents to us certain truths, but they are hidden in their opposites.

Rather than engage this blog in a discussion of the occult, I present The Hanged as a way not just to think about reversals of games 3 and 4 of the 2009 WNBA finals, or the paradox that the Mercury had to let go to hold on, but to think about the wider paradox of Offense vs. Defense, of the ability to shoot versus the tenacity to rebound.

Both Fever coach Lin Dunn and point guard Briann January cited the following positives coming out of the loss:

1. They outrebounded the Mercury, 36-32.
   
2. Got more points in the paint.
3. Got more second chance points.
4. Unfortunately shot 2-18 compared to the Mercury's 10-24 from 3 and lost.
   

If you look back to Game 3, you'll immediately notice that it was the Mercury who

1. Outrebounded the Fever, 36-31.
   
2. Got more points in the paint, 52-28.
   
3. Got more second chance points.
4. Unfortunately shot 3-17 compared to the Fever's 10-22 from 3 and lost.

In a rare case of reversal like this, it's easy to say that cold outside shooting precipitated longer rebounds, more second chance points and points in the paint.  But it was more than that:  A good early shooting percentage in a game like this puts so much more pressure on the opponent to scrap and claw back. Hitting open shots puts so much pressure on the defense.  We saw that in Game 3 and we saw it again here in Game 4, but from a different team.

By the time 2400 seconds dwindled to the final 600 of the fourth quarter, the Fever were so cold they went an abominable 2-14, eventually turning down open shots as the Mercury packed the middle.  This is the shooting percentage multiplier.  Good shooting begets good shooting opportunities and is why in a purely statistical model of the game 1% of shooting percentage is actually worth more than 2% improved rebounding.

Interestingly, just as Coach Dunn had taken credit for the Mercury's lousy 3 point shooting in Game 3, the coach took credit for the outrebounding, inside game and second chance points in Game 4.  In hindsight, it appears that neither were specific objectives of the Fever nor fully creditable to them, but the by-product of which team could hit their shots and which could not.

About the game itself:

The game featured the Mercury coming out loose and aggressive.  The Mercury wanted to get a quick jump on the Fever and they did, jumping out to a 12-3 lead on PG Temeka Johnson's long ball.  Temeka's outside shooting and physical defense in addition to Tengela Smith's contribution to the score made a noticeable difference early  (16 points on 60% shooting after going 2-11 in Game 3).

Not everything in the game was a complete reversal.  Sixth Woman of the Year DeWanna Bonner had another off game scoring 1 point and grabbing 2 rebounds in 8 minutes of play, compared to 2 points and 1 rebound in 9 minutes of play of Game 3.  I guess you could consider 1 pt and 2 rebounds the reversal of 2 points and 1 rebound, but more important is whether something is wrong with DeWanna Bonner....

At least this time, Coach Gaines got the calls he asked for from the officials.  Mercury guard Cappie Pondexter went 7 of 8 from the charity stripe compared to 0 attempts in game 3. Pondexter's production from the line along accounted for the additional 7 attempts granted the Mercury by the referees in Game 4 (19 trips to the line compared to 12 in Game 3). Hopefully, Game 5 is not going to depend as heavily on the officiating crew.

As I talked about in the Game Thread, it was the Fever's Katie Douglas and Briann January who were still shooting before the game after both the Fever and Mercury had long gone to their respective locker rooms.  Douglas was 2-14 and January 1-9 in the game.  I think they knew their shots were off and we're hoping to re-find their rhythm before the game.  I wonder what they were thinking about as they kept shooting before the game.  Were they worried?  Although Q McCall suggested that Briann legally change her last name to October, she'll probably have to stick with January because, yes, that's how cold her shooting was.

The Fever were able to tie the game midway through the third, but never led the game.

The Fever and the Mercury both cleared their locker rooms pretty quickly.  Despite widespread belief that the crowd was the "sixth man on the team," they were not blamed for the Fever's loss on Wednesday.

Looking Forward to Deciding Game 5:

It's hard to conclude much from either Game 3 or 4 other than Game 5 will be very exciting.  It's not clear that either team should make any adjustments at all.  Indiana Fever Coach Lin Dunn described Game 4 of the WNBA Finals said it best in her press conference when she said:

Sometimes you hit shots, sometimes you don't.  That's the way the game is.

May the Big Ref in the Sky help you if you don't hit the shots...

Click here to see post-game interviews with Diana Taurasi, Briann January, Temeka Johnson, and Cappie Pondexter.