RebKell's Junkie Boards

[Shades]

[Randy]

Hearing names like Russell and DeShields makes me lose hope even more.

[Shades]

[Randy]

I'm not saying we should tank, I'm just saying I understand the logic of it, and getting into the playoffs is not really much of a reward. It is sort of looking on the bright side. I'm not sure which would be worse - getting DD at 4 or Russell at 5,6 or 7 (though I think she it more like a second round pick).

[toad455]

The Liberty playing at their best can beat the likes of Minnesota & Los Angeles. We all know the talent is there and we've seen them play very well this season, so that's why I'm saying tanking isn't an option. If we were a borderline lottery team, then it's plausible.

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LET'S GO LIBERTY!!!!!!

Twitter: @TBRBWAY

[NYL_WNBA_FAN]

I also think the Liberty are better than their record indicates. I think Myrtle made some good points above that I want to add onto. No question they don't have the size at the 3 spot against certain teams, particularly with Allen not contributing. Bria Holmes posted up Z a few times on Sunday. Also, I think as you see Z do more scoring and playmaking, she has less energy left to get on the boards. Her rebounding numbers were better earlier in the season. Somewhat ironically, I had questioned Allen's D and rebounding coming into the season. Her offense has been absent, but her D and rebounding have been quite good. If she had been more of a contributor on offense, we might not be considering the 3 spot as a semi-weakness.

Further, I thought Piph's on-ball D before Eurobasket was pretty good. It hasn't been since she's been back. Watching DC play LA, The Sims/Latta matchup was notable because Sims didn't really let Latta break down the defense...and this was a time when DC desperately needed the energy as they were in the process of blowing a 17 point lead. Contrast that with Latta basically having a party against NY's PGs, there you go. Don't remember exactly how much Piph was on Latta, but it's irrelevant, as she's been broken down quite a bit no matter who she guards.

I think coming into the season, since we heard Bill talk about using the team's depth and speed, they were basically looking to tire out teams with post play and then run them into the ground in the fourth quarter. With Boyd, there were elements of that that made a lot of sense. I felt even back then that Piph and Sugar had to be on the floor quite a bit together in order for the team to be most effective. But if you look at the original plan, it made some sense. Using a combo of post play and speed would undoubtedly tire opponents, thus making our defense better. Couple the Boyd loss with Allen, Zahui and Stokes all being worse than last year, and what looked like a pretty deep team suddenly isn't anymore. I think many of us thought two of those three had to get better for the Libs to be championship caliber. Now I think we'd settle for all 3 being the same. So, in defense of Bill and the construction of the team, I think what they planned for and what actually happened due to Boyd's injury and unexpected declines of the other young players has really changed that quite a lot. And if you look at just the big 4 along with Boyd, I think we'd have really run some teams into the ground. And Boyd's speed would have been a better match for J. Thomas, Latta, etc. Even without Boyd, we've had big fourth quarter runs twice against Dallas and one each against CT and Atlanta. We lost two of the games, but the speed of Z (and Sugar against ATL) had a noticeable effect on both of those teams. Each was clearly worn. My point being that we haven't had all 11 players (outside of Boyd) available to wear down opponents sooner. Now we will again.

This all said, I think we also have a nice nucleus of 4 scorers. Three of them defend pretty well. If Stokes is Stokes again, I think we look pretty good again.

Not to mention, this makes me think back to the 2010 Libs. Started off 7-9, and back then I thought the team was better than that by quite a bit. I had started to give up on thoughts of success. Then they won 14 of 16. And now we have our core group playing together again. Let's see what happens.

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The poster formerly known as LibWNBAFan.

[Shades]

[Randy]

Russell at 12 works for me. I agree - our posts are short, and Sancho is no longer the player she once was. I just think Russell is nothing but tall. No skills, half the time she in a no show. The LVols have consistently underperformed their alleged talent. I think that their talent is just overrated.

[Happycappie25]

[NYL_WNBA_FAN]

I thought of that. But I'm hoping that since we haven't seen this team with 11 activated simultaneously, maybe that will be the jolt needed. But yes Pierson was a huge addition.

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The poster formerly known as LibWNBAFan.

[NYL_WNBA_FAN]

Aerial Powers is close to being healthy. Just saying.

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The poster formerly known as LibWNBAFan.

[toad455]

[LibFan25]

[NYL_WNBA_FAN]

I wouldn't trade Stokes at this point (unless it's to add a proven defensive presence in the post) because I feel we'd be selling low, and we still need her if she reemerges. My concern about dealing a first is pretty much not a talent thing, but a question of when she will be ready to contribute. She'd have to learn a different and rather regimented system. And she'd have to be in game shape. If you have both of those elements, not only do I think she's a significant part of the rotation, but I also think it gives you some of that depth edge you've lost with Boyd going down. She's another speed player, which would enable you to use a wider variety of 2 and 3-spot combos to match up with opponents accordingly. The question is when. If you aren't going to have her at full speed for another 3 weeks, is it worth it to trade a first rounder? I'm sure she's as talented as a lot of people in that general range, but you have to feel comfortable that your pick is going to be in the 8 or 9 range rather than the 5 range in order to pull the trigger I would think.

Down the road, Powers might even be able to play some 4 spot if you go small, so I think long-term she gives you a lot of versatility. I do need some short-term assurances about her ability to contribute before I pull the trigger though.

Another plus side, if CT is a potential playoff opponent in a one-and-done, that means you'd add a player who matches up well to Alyssa Thomas. In general, I think she'd be an excellent addition in a one-and-done situation due to her versatility, ability to get to the foul line, and ability to put up points quickly.

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The poster formerly known as LibWNBAFan.

[Bob Lamm]

Some shooting stats after 17 games:

Field Goal Percentage: Vaughn 54.4%, Raincock-Ekunwe 48.6%, Charles 45.4%, Stokes 45.2%, Zellous 42.9%, Zahui B 38.7%, Hartley 38.1%, Lindsay Allen 37%, Prince 36.8%, Rodgers 34.7%, Rebecca Allen 28.9%.
Team 41.7%. Opposition: 41%.

Three-Point Field Goals: Zellous 38.9%, Rodgers 35%, Prince 32.7%, Charles 31.3%, Rebecca Allen 27.3%, Zahui B 25%, Hartley 23.7%. Team: 30.9%. Opposition: 35.4%.

Free-Throw Percentage: Team 75.8%, Opposition 80.4%.

No doubt all this would look much worse if we had stats covering only the last eight games, six of them ending in Liberty losses. Perhaps someone else can provide that.

There are many elements to winning basketball games, but you have to put the ball in the basket.

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Remember Roe v. Wade. Work for and support legal abortion all over the world and full reproductive rights for everyone.

[toad455]

Those shooting % for Prince and Rodgers are terrible. Both need to be above 40%. And Rebecca Allen shooting 29%!!! Why is she on our roster?? We have a tough next four games: WAS, CON, MIN, IND. we need to go 2-2 here. Connecticut's had are number all season and Minnesota is Minnesota. No Delle Donne or Hill on Sunday should help us. After those four games we get CHI, IND, ATL, LAS. Hopefully we go 3-1 during that stretch to get us back to .500(13-13).

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LET'S GO LIBERTY!!!!!!

Twitter: @TBRBWAY

[toad455]

Also, the injuries to Griner, Delle Donne & T. Hill has now opened the door for that #4 seed. Hill might be out for the season, Griner is out 3-4 weeks & Delle Donne will be evaluated today. Sun should have that #3 seed locked up.

_________________
LET'S GO LIBERTY!!!!!!

Twitter: @TBRBWAY

[NYL_WNBA_FAN]

To have a realistic shot at #4 we've got to be better than 13-13. Honestly after last night I can't look too far ahead anymore. Watching the implosion of players (Sugar, Piph) is for me at the point where now I'm just at the one game at a time approach. We had two double-doubles last night and lost to a 5-12 team by ten points at home.

What's really bothersome from where I sit is coming into the season our posts looked deep and we had depth at PG. Now we head into next season needing a post player and we're uncertain about how Boyd might return from a severe injury, let alone that we haven't resolved PG play in general at the halfway point. So do we draft rim protection, SF depth or combo guard help to aid our non-ball movement and lack of pace? I would have laughed at the thought of wanting someone like Lexie Brown before the season started (not because she isn't good but compared to our other needs). Now Lexie Brown would suddenly look like someone who could really help, if not send Rodgers to the bench. Geez.

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The poster formerly known as LibWNBAFan.

[NYL_WNBA_FAN]

Also, how much of this is lack of ability to compartmentalize on the part of Sugar and Piph? If Z gets a T or has a bad game she shakes it off and keeps playing. Poor performances by Sugar and Piph seem to snowball. And for Piph, that's been true in the past too, it seems. Sugar last night was really unsettling. To me, it's evident that Sugar has worked on off-the-dribble stuff outside of games. She tries it enough that it means she's worked on it. Spoon talked her up early on as being on the verge of a breakout. And I'd bet the shots that were bricks last night, runners off the backboard only, etc. are going down in practice. But I think the poor performances are in her head now and seeping into her play. I could be wrong but that's what I see.

This is where having Wright might have helped. Wright seemed to know when to be fiery and when to settle people down. The poise that we need from our backcourt players, it just isn't there. And it's beyond just the physical shooting percentages.

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The poster formerly known as LibWNBAFan.

[Shades]

[NYL_WNBA_FAN]

[root_thing]

I have no idea what the solution is for a team-wide shooting slump. You get the feeling that if they brought in some other players, this system or atmosphere would cause them to shoot badly too. Management has to work things out internally. This is why they get paid the big bucks. Sports are so momentum-driven. Look at baseball. Coming into the season, the Yankees' bullpen was the strongest part of their team on paper. Right now, it's a disaster from top to bottom. Similarly, the Liberty looked deep in the post and at 2-guard. Now, they look thin everywhere. The game thread is full of trade proposals. I don't think you can trade your way out of this mess. It's midyear of a short season. Whoever comes in will have to learn new systems and become acclimated to new teammates. Off the court, they'd be adjusting to an unfamiliar city. Then, on top of that, you're going to ask the player to score lots of points and be your savior? Not likely to happen.

Also, I don't want to win a lot of games based on other teams missing their injured stars. It would be a mirage. Do we want to move up the standings only to get crushed in the playoffs? No, thanks. It's fine if the team actually does get better. Otherwise, I'd prefer to drink Tanqueray while we tank away.

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You can always do something else.

[NYL_WNBA_FAN]

[root_thing]

Well, in the faint glimmers of hope category, we had this a week ago:

[Queenie]

Shooting issues, both from the field and the line, are the kind of thing that should be addressed in practice. That's on the coaching staff. Maybe it's time for a change there. Some fresh blood.

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Ardent believer in the separation of church and stadium.