A lot has happened in the brief time since the Tulsa Shock won their first game of the 2012 season.
A re-signing, signing, two players released, and news of two extended injuries.
The following is a more unconventional links post looking at where the Shock stand after all is said and done.
- First, the Tulsa Shock announced that they re-signed Amber Holt yesterday after releasing guard Jene Morris shortly after their first win on Sunday night against the Phoenix Mercury. Morris was playing under 10 minutes a game and accounted for less than 3% of the team's overall statistical production. In fairness, perhaps her 44.44% 3-point shooting this season could be considered useful on a team that has struggled to score efficiently, but she wasn't contributing much more than that. As described previously, Amber Holt was a much more significant contributor last season, including being the team's most efficient distributor. Her play after returning from injury last season was a big part of the Shock's two late late-season wins. Read more >>>
- Later yesterday, the Shock announced that they signed former University of Oklahoma standout Courtney Paris and waived rookie Lynetta Kizer. Like Morris, Kizer averaged less than 10 minutes per game, but showed some promise as a rebounder (11.36% offensive rebounding percentage) and has been adept at getting to the free throw line. The problem for Kizer was something that also stood out from her college stats: a 2-point percentage of just 20%, which is extremely low for a post player. Paris was a non-factor as a scorer in four games for the Atlanta Dream this season - and James Bowman has previously summarized her stint in Atlanta - but is a much better defensive rebounder than Kizer (20%) and gets offensive boards at almost exactly the same rate. For a team that allows the highest percentage of offensive rebounds in the Western Conference, that could be a valuable addition. Read more >>>
- Earlier today, the Shock announced via press release that Scholanda Dorrell and Jennifer Lacy both suffered meniscus tears in their right knees in the team's win against the Mercury. Lacy has been the team's most efficient scorer this season (60% true shooting percentage) while shooting almost 50% from the 3-point line (25-for-49) and averaging a career-high 11.4 points per game. Dorrell has been off to a rocky start statistically, but offers the team a veteran perimeter defender. There's actually a good chance that Holt helps to replace some of Lacy's lost scoring production in the rotation while adding a more efficient distributor, but the lost 3-point shooting is a blow.
| Player | PVC |
| Temeka Johnson | 23.09% |
| Glory Johnson | 15.91% |
| Ivory Latta | 12.85% |
| Jennifer Lacy | 11.77% |
| Riquna Williams | 11.34% |
| Karima Christmas | 8.38% |
| Scholanda Dorrell | 4.55% |
| Chante Black | 3.69% |
| Kayla Pedersen | 2.83% |
| Jene Morris | 2.88% |
| Lynetta Kizer | 2.66% |
The percent valuable contributions for the Tulsa Shock through 6/17/12.
- With the injury losses of Dorrell and Lacy, the Shock now have the option to also add another player with the emergency hardship exception as they are now down to nine players (with Australian center Elizabeth Cambage still away to train for the Olympics).
- The Chicago Sky announced today that they have added guard Texas A&M rookie Sydney Carter to their roster a day after announcing that star guard Epiphanny Prince will be out for 6-8 weeks. The Sky selected Carter with the 27th pick in the 2012 WNBA Draft but then waived her in training camp. Sky coach Pokey Chatman said that she hopes Carter can help at the point guard spot, but Carter wasn't a terribly efficient distributor during her senior year at Texas A&M and the Sky desperately need to figure out how to cut down on their turnovers and losing Prince - an efficient volume shooter - doesn't help. Read more >>>
- Mike Peden of the WNBA Examiner recapped the Los Angeles Sparks' 101-70 rout of the Washington Mystics. Six Sparks reached double figures in the game that was actually close throughout the first half, but the Mystics couldn't find an answer for rookie Nneka Ogwumike who scored a game-high 24 points on 11-for-14 shooting and added 6 offensive rebounds. Read more >>>
- Ryan Black of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports that Atlanta Dream wing Angel McCoughtry doesn't think it would be wise to play in tonight's game against the New York Liberty given that she's not 100%. McCoughtry is aiming to be healthy for both the Olympics and the second half of the WNBA season and feels she might be a liability to the team to play at less than 100%. Read more >>>
- John Altavilla of the Hartford Courant previews the Connecticut Sun's game against the Indiana Fever tonight with a look at Sun coach Mike Thibault's rebuilding efforts over the last few years and the mental development that allowed them to pull off a tough win against the Atlanta Dream on Sunday. Read more >>>
Feel free to put any of your favorite links of the day in the comments along with your insights or observations from last night's game.