Friday Night Open Thread: Liberty, Mercury and Storm still battling for playoff position
by Nate Parham on Sep 9, 2011 6:57 PM EDT
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PrintAs you have probably guessed, I think the Seattle Storm vs. Phoenix Mercury game tonight is the most exciting on the schedule - the game will help settle who ends up being the second seed in the Western Conference playoffs.
But that doesn't mean that the New York Liberty's meeting with the Indiana Fever is any less interesting.
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Who: Indiana Fever at New York Liberty When: 7 p.m. EDT on NBA TV | WNBA LiveAccess Where: Prudential Center - Newark, NJ What: The New York Liberty are currently fourth place in the Eastern Conference after the Atlanta Dream's ascent to third. But as they are only a half game behind the Dream, this is somewhat unfortunately either a playoff preview (with a loss) or an opportunity to move up (with a win). Preview: Liberty.com preview by Tara Petrolino
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Who: Phoenix Mercury at Seattle Storm When: 10 p.m. EDT on WNBA LiveAccess Where: KeyArena - Seattle, WA What: Keepin' it simple, the Storm clinch second place and home court advantage in the first round with a win. The Mercury still have a shot at second with a win. Either way, it's a playoff preview. Preview: StormBasketball.com Insider Preview | Swish Appeal preview Storyline/updates: SBN Seattle storystream |
Who: Tulsa Shock at Los Angeles Sparks When: 10:30 p.m. EDT on NBA TV | WNBA LiveAccess Where: Staples Center - Los Angeles, CA What: Not entirely sure what to say about this game, except this: with the only thing for the Shock to play for being pride, one might hope that the Sparks at least match their effort. And actually, this game is worth watching for that reason. Preview: WNBA.com preview |
Feel free to add your own insights, links, and thoughts on whether the Sparks have it in them to avenge an earlier loss to the Shock in the comments.
Remember, you can follow along on your mobile device at mobile.swishappeal.com or on your iPhone using SB Nation's free iPhone app.
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They are truly a miracle!
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It helps all the diabetics keep circulation in their legs so they won't get amputated!
punching myself in the face now for a Gilbert Arenas-esque joke
This will be the first time I've ever watched my home team entering the playoffs as defending champs.
Lauren Jackson is back, and not a moment too soon!
Now I'm all set.
I mean, you can just tell I’m all ready.
It was Phoenix then, and it's Phoenix now. Storm, you know what you gotta do!
lookin’ at my avatar and all
It was Phoenix then, and it's Phoenix now. Storm, you know what you gotta do!
by WaveOcean on Sep 9, 2011 7:26 PM EDT up reply actions 1 recs
I found the image of the WNBA championship trophy online
and I just slapped one image on top of the other using Paint.
It was Phoenix then, and it's Phoenix now. Storm, you know what you gotta do!
"I can't emphasize is enough. She (Pondexter) has to be down in the stance
against Douglas on every play" Sue Wicks
oh shoot, the game has already started
I gotta get myself to a better computer now!
It was Phoenix then, and it's Phoenix now. Storm, you know what you gotta do!
Well...Colson got in...
And was just a bit too hyped up…
Two turnovers quick just on trying to force the ball a bit.
She’s quick enough and skilled enough to play at this level, it just looks like she’s still adjusting to the speed of the game overall.
Twitter: @NateP_SBN.
I think I would say the same thing
about Chastity Reed. She was quick and skilled but very amped up when she got in the games.
Sue thinks Tangela Smith looks the same as when she came in the league
14 years ago. Still looks like she’s 21, has that million dollar smile and is in fantastic shape.
"When Leilani Mitchell gets going it gets the whole team fired up.
And here she hits her first three of the night."
Oh wow, I forgot they had to play in the Prudential Center this season
It was Phoenix then, and it's Phoenix now. Storm, you know what you gotta do!
It's hard to compare attendance in Newark with MSG
because MSG is always so dark it’s hard to see how many people are really there.
Tangela Smith has 4997 points
It was Phoenix then, and it's Phoenix now. Storm, you know what you gotta do!
After the play-by-play announcer
says that it’s very rare to see Leilani Mitchell with a size advantage, Sue Wicks says she wants to see coach Whiz have Mitchell post up down low.
yeah, this game is quite free-flow. Very little grind.
It was Phoenix then, and it's Phoenix now. Storm, you know what you gotta do!
Slice-o-matic is as easy to use as a toaster.
You can slice a whole bag of potatoes in minutes – even with a blind fold on!
www.Slice-O-Matic.com 1-800-617-3762
$19.99 for two.
Sue Wicks thinks Indiana has decided to pack it (defensively) in this game
and make New York beat them from the outside.
i am at the game
It is AMAZING. Let’s go, Liberty!
(Um, im sitting next to Anne Donovan.)
by JustineL on Sep 9, 2011 8:26 PM EDT via iPhone app reply actions
Oh, well Anne won't be hard to spot.
And then we only have to decide which side you are sitting on… :)
"I love it when Plenette Pierson shows a little passion and a little fire"
“Because you can hear the crowd go wild” – Sue Wicks
Whisenant get t'd up.
Sue Wicks thinks that’s impossible because he never says anything but then sees someone on the bench giggling and figures he must have.
Sue says that Davenport
was never in “game shape” when she was with the Liberty and getting in shape is the reason for her improvement with Indiana.
Of note, Shannon Bobbitt is had a career game in loss:
16 points (career-high), 7 assists (career-high)
Twitter: @NateP_SBN.
So if I understanding things right....
…the only way Atlanta moves to 3rd is if the Dream win their last game and the Liberty lose it. Of course, given Indiana’s woes, Atlanta might be able to deal with 4th.
East is pretty close from 1st to 4th even closer than last year
so really it’s anyone’s ball game in the East, and the 4th seed could win the conference again. I wasn’t shocked that the Mystics lost to the Dream last year either because again, the East last year was close. Then again, I dealt with Montreal beating the Caps in the 1st ROUND after we won the President’s Trophy
"You normally don't see power forwards playing man-to-man pressure
defense 30 feet from the basket – but that’s what Camille Little brings you."
“Mouse in the house, as Tameka Johnson tried to guard her (Little)”.
Katie Smith drives by Taurasi
“Boy, Katie Smith turned the clock back about 10 years with that first step”.
We're gonna beat Phoenix to-night!
We’re not gonna let the Mercury win! We’re better than this!
It was Phoenix then, and it's Phoenix now. Storm, you know what you gotta do!
The Storm aren't playing like a team right now
It was Phoenix then, and it's Phoenix now. Storm, you know what you gotta do!
Swin Cash has been miserable for a long time now
It was Phoenix then, and it's Phoenix now. Storm, you know what you gotta do!
Sue Bird doesn't realize how much time is left...
Wow. This team looks like they don’t want to be on the floor right now.
It was Phoenix then, and it's Phoenix now. Storm, you know what you gotta do!
I was taking a practice test on something....
so I guess what you’re inferring is that the Storm decided to play Mystics basketball today?
I'm just gonna say for the record...
You don’t “work on” stopping Diana Taurasi from making 3s three feet beyond the arc…
Twitter: @NateP_SBN.
Nor do you "work on"
Stopping Bonner from making catch and shoot 3s….
If the Mercury beat you playing like this, you take the loss and dare them to repeat it in 2 of 3 games in the first round…
Twitter: @NateP_SBN.
the arc in the wnba needs to move to fiba range next yr.
And I have been clamoring for the restricted arc.
by thewiz06 on Sep 10, 2011 8:00 AM EDT via mobile up reply actions
Tulsa wins versus losses
In the 3 wins they shot an average of 49% from the field. In their losses they shot 38%.
In the 3 wins they shot an average of 45% from three. In their losses they shot 27%.
In the 3 wins they had an average of 18 assists. In their losses they had 13.
In the 3 wins they scored an average of 79 points. In their losses 67.
Looks like there is a half-dozen Shock
fans sitting up behind the Shock bench. Or maybe they are Jennifer Lacy fans.
Announcer just ticked off some team stats and the
Shock are either last, or next to last in the league in every one.
Storm up 67-58 in fourth
Adia is right – the Storm need to slow this game down and work for high percentage shots to make it harder on the Mercury to score.
They can beat the Merc by forcing them to play halfcourt basketball…
Twitter: @NateP_SBN.
Well, Diana picked quite a night to throw her finest game at us
Lucky for us, so has Katie Smith. She and the guards have been bailing out the frontcourt’s sorry asses.
It was Phoenix then, and it's Phoenix now. Storm, you know what you gotta do!
It look Lauren almost 35 minutes to score a field goal in this friggin' game!
When was the last time you saw that?!
It was Phoenix then, and it's Phoenix now. Storm, you know what you gotta do!
Wow. Simply amazing.
This final score is not going to reflect all the complex storylines this game has taken on.
It was Phoenix then, and it's Phoenix now. Storm, you know what you gotta do!
I mean, you saw the end of the second quarter and the start of the third, right?
Things were looking pretty out of control.
It was Phoenix then, and it's Phoenix now. Storm, you know what you gotta do!
I thought more than anything that Taurasi was just really really hot
That pace wasn’t going to continue.
To your point about balance, this is where they miss Taylor – she gives them so much and once those shots stopped falling they ran out of answers.
Twitter: @NateP_SBN.
This is what I keep forgetting
The Mercury aren’t even completely healthy.
It was Phoenix then, and it's Phoenix now. Storm, you know what you gotta do!
How unbalanced the scoring load has been
It was Phoenix then, and it's Phoenix now. Storm, you know what you gotta do!
Oh no no no no no no.
Don’t you dare, Storm. Don’t you DARE throw it all away. Not now. Not after you’ve worked so hard and come so far.
It was Phoenix then, and it's Phoenix now. Storm, you know what you gotta do!
Two minutes.
It’s right there, Seattle. If you want it.
It was Phoenix then, and it's Phoenix now. Storm, you know what you gotta do!
One thing we'll need next season...
A deeper bench. This 7.5 woman rotation can wear you out.
It was Phoenix then, and it's Phoenix now. Storm, you know what you gotta do!
Yeah...
And does it seem like our bench got thinner this year?
It was Phoenix then, and it's Phoenix now. Storm, you know what you gotta do!
Last year it was really only 8 deep
Willingham, Abrosimova, Vesela
This year, you could argue it’s not too dissimilar:
Willingham, Smith, Robinson
I’d say the main reason it feels so much different is that a) LJ was out, b) Robinson goes back to limited minutes when LJ is back, and c) last year’s three players were arguably a bit more versatile in that he used them in different ways. Cash doesn’t really have a backup at 3 this year meaning she plays more.
But we also have to remember: Vesela didn’t play that much at first, so for most of last season they were playing about 7.5 deep too.
Twitter: @NateP_SBN.
by Nate Parham on Sep 10, 2011 12:04 AM EDT up reply actions
Maybe I'm just missing last year's LJ and SC
It was Phoenix then, and it's Phoenix now. Storm, you know what you gotta do!
"The Shock are gonna keep going in to Cambage until the Sparks do
something to stop it" One can hope.
Phoenix, stop! It's time to give up!
It was Phoenix then, and it's Phoenix now. Storm, you know what you gotta do!
Oh SURE, CASH
WAIT UNTIL THE VERY END, WHEN IT DOESN’T MATTER ANYMORE, TO START PADDING YOUR STATS. GREAT JOB.
It was Phoenix then, and it's Phoenix now. Storm, you know what you gotta do!
That's it!
- seed is ours!
Ain’t no Diana in Team!
It was Phoenix then, and it's Phoenix now. Storm, you know what you gotta do!
Cambage one of only 6 WNBA players to start off their
career with two double doubles. Didn’t catch all the others but heard Lisa Leslie, Ruthie Bolton and Tina Charles.
hey thewiz06
I saw your comment comparing Seattle/Phoenix to Washington/Atlanta. There are several reasons why that type of thinking is wrong.
1. Atlanta fell to the 4th seed because of a last minute surge by Washington and New York, but was otherwise the best team in their conference for most of the season. Phoenix was not.
2. The Storm are defending champions. Washington was not. Plus, the Storm beat the Mercury last year. That gives you confidence and experience. Washington did not have that.
3. The Dream shocked the Mystics by completely changing their lineup. That will not happen here. These two teams know each other all too well by now.
4. The Storm have Key Arena. The Mystics do not.
It was Phoenix then, and it's Phoenix now. Storm, you know what you gotta do!
Oh, and one more thing
Seattle is relatively healthy right now. Washington was not. And right now, neither are the Mercury.
It was Phoenix then, and it's Phoenix now. Storm, you know what you gotta do!
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