RebKell's Junkie Boards

[NYL_WNBA_FAN]

Libs' defensive execution has been outstanding of late. This was another very physical game. I'm pretty happy right now.

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The poster formerly known as LibWNBAFan.

[NYL_WNBA_FAN]

Also, I see a lot of talk questioning the Lynx but you gotta remember they're going 7 or 8 deep and traveled gradually from Seattle to New York in less than a week. The Liberty experienced similar on their last long road trip. Now the Libs are benefitting from the attrition and injuries that have affected other teams.

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The poster formerly known as LibWNBAFan.

[lynxmania]

[Bob Lamm]

[Bob Lamm]

[#Occasionalwnbafan]

Will Zahui B be back with the lib next season? She’s just not very good, and I can see why Dallas was so quick to trade her.

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http://www.manyshadesofgay.org

[Bob Lamm]

[toad455]

I don't see Zahui B. returning to the Liberty next season. Just hasn't made any progress.

As for Minnesota, I think this is the sign that Reeve needed to play her bench more this season. Without Whalen & Brunson, she's only using 7 players. Fowles was gassed tonight and I don't think it would have hurt to have Temi play 10 minutes.

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LET'S GO LIBERTY!!!!!!

Twitter: @TBRBWAY

[lynxmania]

[Happycappie25]

What a week...

1

2

3

all lose to now #4 libs...now what the libs do now is up to them...I would with indy in between play this week then throw the chutes try to get the tiebreaker for that bye then the final 3 just to play likely taking 2/3...We know with the way Mike is targeting EDD to return for that game...I think we go for it...get home court for what in all likelihood barring an upset in round 1...will be a playoff single elimination rematch which will spark a rivalry.

As for the Unity Day stuff...Isiah hogging the mic and his Moderator buddy really ruined it...

Sue looking lost also didn't help.

But it was important but too PC and geared to a younger audience IMHO but I am a Poli Sci Guy so the bar may have been too high

Friday will be huge not looking past Indiana but that showdown could be for the ages.

Best feeling Ive had since the 10 game win streak in 2010! or RUs week to remember in college or STJ winning the BEAST Tourney in Chicago

So happy for this team...as much as I LOVE Planned Parenthood and as IMPORTANT as it is I hope the marketing team shows Friday's game as the SHOWDOWN ....game over cause...cause important but this game is for REAL and will be LIT...Market it that way

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"Leave it to the NCAA women's basketball committee to turn a glass slipper into glass ceiling" Graham Hays

[LibFan25]

Another GREAT win, that was beautiful to watch. i dont care if Minny has injuries they are still GOOD with 3 Olympians on that team

Hartley = SOLID. (9pts, 6ast, 4rebs, 2stls) especially on the defensive end, she shut Montgomery DOWN, made her look bad. Huge props to her for turning it around cuz she looked a mess in the begining of the year, now she's confident making plays and looking like a leader out there

Against Indy i would rest Tina as much as i can, honestly i wouldn't even play her. why risk her getting hurt when we already clinched? back spasms come and go you never know with those type of things

[toad455]

Hartley > Montgomery.

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LET'S GO LIBERTY!!!!!!

Twitter: @TBRBWAY

[bryan_february_]

I'm impressed by Bria Hartley. She has really elevated her game.

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Indiana Fever

[NYL_WNBA_FAN]

The Piph/Sugar and Kia/Kiah combos are starting to play pretty well too. Vaughn has been pretty solid the last 4 games. Started slow tonight but did her part defensively in the fourth quarter. Our interior defense has been outstanding in the last three games. Against some of the best interior players in the world.

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The poster formerly known as LibWNBAFan.

[NYL_WNBA_FAN]

Wrong quote.

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The poster formerly known as LibWNBAFan.

[NYL_WNBA_FAN]

[SpaceJunkie]

[mercfan3]

[MNfan22]

[SpaceJunkie]

Cheryl Reeve has a worse record coaching a team with 3 superstars than Jenny Boucek this season, yet for some reason Reeve has yet to be fired?! It turns out she really should've been fired for gifting the Sparks points in what turned out to be a 1 point game in the WNBA Finals Game 5 last year, because she has yet to prove otherwise.

[NYL_WNBA_FAN]

A couple of under-the-radar things that I think are talking points right now...

First off, this was the third game where the Liberty used a lineup with a significantly different look for a vast majority of the fourth quarter. This time it was a 3-guard alignment, allowing Piph and Sugar to be on the floor together, as well as Vaughn with Hartley and Tina. The guards did a great job defending Moore and Augustus. Even though Sugar gives up size to Maya, she's always been pretty strong for a player who isn't built with broad shoulders, and the few times she's guarded a bulkier small forward, she always seems to do it pretty well. Her quickness is really a plus factor in those situations. I remember a game back in 2014 where Sugar defended Currie in what at that time was a big home OT win vs. DC and if she's needed to do it in isolated stretches, I'm confident she can get it done.

Also, that part with Vaughn on the floor was significant. I've been critical of her during portions of the year, I think reasonably so. But if you critique her when she doesn't play her game effectively, then you also have to give her credit when she does. Her D in the last 4 games has really been excellent. I think that she, as well as other players, have really responded well to the urgency of being 12-12 by playing the defensive scheme quite well. Their pick and roll defense has been terrific. We've seen them force the penetrating guard to the baseline as their system calls for. We've seen excellent rotations and positioning to any quick passes that beat that initial trap that they try to get on the sideline. Excellent rotations to any open shooters. But most of all I think we've seen the lane be closed up. The help is where it's supposed to be. We aren't seeing much in the way of penetrating players get to the rim, and that's been the case with either Kia or Kiah on the floor. Toss in the physical defense and boxing out, and I'm good with it. My expectation all along has been play within yourself. I don't care what the numbers are. Neither of the two centers dominated the stat sheet. But their defense was integral to a win, and that's where it's at. At this point, as a defensive team we are once again (finally) really good. And the two players together in 40 minutes per game on average they're at 11 ppg, 11 rpg and over 50% shooting. With 1.5 bpg. I'll take that in a year where both players have had their ups and downs. I'd like to see each player be slightly more of a factor offensively, especially Kiah since her shooting touch has improved immeasurably. But I think moving forward now we've finally seen some of the benefits of the depth of our posts. I know people think Zahui stinks but I still see the upside in a player who's very young with the type of open-floor mobility that she has. And Nayo has pretty good upside. I thought a month ago that a post with length was priority one for 2018. While I still wouldn't mind a talented post player with more length if one became available, I feel pretty comfortable with what we have right now in terms of post depth, for the first time this year. From a defensive standpoint especially.

I guess when Bill said he knew what he'd have in August I should have listened. I thought a winning streak was possible, especially the first 3 of the 5. But I didn't expect to dominate the 2 and 3 seeds and then hold the 1 seed to 61 points, that's for sure. I think it shows when it's all said and done we probably have the best coach in the sport.

And just to add, I recognize NY has been a beneficiary of playing teams whose starters have played heavy minutes due to player injury. But we've had some of the same happen to us earlier this year, so I'd say it's evening out. But it's also a reminder that even with the success of late, I think there's still probably another level we will have to get to in the playoffs. Minnesota had 13 offensive rebounds yesterday. I'd say 7-8 of them were in the final 2 minutes when they were really crashing and trying to get quick 3s to get back in the game. That urgency is more what the playoffs will look like. So while this is great and it's nice that we have a season and all that, I think there's still another level the Liberty need to find. They're getting there with the more diverse contributions, but I think there's another level to reach for sure. That level where the intensity reaches a fever pitch and we still play at a high level, especially offensively. Wright had 21 points in our one-and-done game last year. Piph and Sugar are going to have to really step up come playoff time and give more consistency. Bill is handling them well though, smartly getting them more minutes on the floor together where he can. The fact remains that neither player has really demonstrated the ability to be a go-to perimeter player before, in the playoffs. That may have to change to some extent this year, though at least we have Z. There's few big-game players I'd rather have, especially in crunch time. She has a way of making big offensive and defensive plays, as well as getting those 50-50 balls that are so important down the stretch.

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The poster formerly known as LibWNBAFan.

[NYL_WNBA_FAN]

Oh and two other things. It was nice to see that Wright was a part of that unity panel. I like that she's still around the organization. And secondly, Tina needs to be first-team all-defense this year. She's been terrific in all situations, whether it's guarding the 4 spot or guarding guards on switches. It seems to me that she follows the scout and the game plan extremely well. And she rarely gets beaten driving to the basket. Even when as a group they weren't defending so well, her D has still been quite good.

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The poster formerly known as LibWNBAFan.