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myrtle · Posted: 08/29/21 1:41 pm :::

One of my questions about this team is Shook.
I had doubts about her to begin with. Like would she even make the roster? Then at the beginning of this season she was basically put directly into the fire. I don't think anybody has ever ever thought she should be a starting center, but the thing that did impress me was that she worked really, really hard in her time on the floor. Now that she is coming off the bench, she just looks totally lost out there. I totally don't get what happened to her. Any ideas?

Bob Lamm · Posted: 08/29/21 4:55 pm :::

root_thing · Posted: 08/29/21 5:29 pm :::

Shook came out of high school as the #17 ranked player on HoopGurlz. Despite being ranked high, she didn’t become a fulltime starter at Louisville until her senior year. Kylee has always lacked something on the intangilbe side – confidence, aggressiveness, killer instinct, whatever. Last year, the coaches summarized it as Shook being “too nice.” This season, Hopkins has described the problem as Shook needing to be more physical. He has repeated it several times in news conferences, and now Kylee has taken to parroting the same verbiage like a child dutifully repeating her parent’s criticism. And yet, Hopkins always let’s you know that overall he is happy with Shook. He has said many times that it takes a post player 4-5 years to develop (obviously untrue) and it conveniently conforms to both Kylee’s Louisville development timeline as well as her 4-year rookie contract.

So, what do we actually have with Kylee? When Chicago came to Brooklyn for back-to-back games, our group talked about how she looked taller than both Candace Parker and Stephanie Dolson. Shook is probably taller than her official height of 6-4 – or whatever passes for 6-4 in the WNBA. Kylee is listed at 200 lbs, and I noticed recently on a broadcast that she looked pretty wide from the back while in a huddle. I’ve heard some fans complain that she’s weak and gets pushed around, but I think that’s a failure to engage rather than weakness. Hence, Hopkins’s complaint that she isn’t physical enough. Over the break, I re-watched the Liberty’s early season game against Chicago. At one point, Kylee completely flattened Diamond DeShields with a screen, and it’s not like she was trying to be vicious. It was just Shook being big and solid. Diamond herself is pretty strong, so I doubt that Shook doesn’t have the necessary strength. Another criticism I’ve heard lately is that Kylee is slow. Well, if you watched her at Louisville, one of Shook’s unique qualities was her ability to stay in front of guards. I've been paying attention, and it looks to me like this is still true in the WNBA. Kylee stays in front of smaller opponents better than the vast majority of post players in the league. That’s not to say she can chase guards around the perimeter when they don’t have the ball. It’s unusual for a post player to have to do that. However, the need to stay in front of a guard after switching is a common situation. Kylee does it well.

There is a lot of anti-Shook bias that shapes fans’ perceptions of her. After recent games against Seattle, I heard from multiple people that they thought Shook was burned by Magbegor because she isn’t quick enough to cover Ezi. Well, I would invite anyone to watch the videos for yourself. First, click on the link below and you will see combined statics for the two NY-Seattle games.

https://stats.wnba.com/players/traditional/?sort=PTS&dir=-1&Season=2021&SeasonType=Regular%20Season&TeamID=1611661328&OpponentTeamID=1611661313&PerMode=Totals

Look up Magbegor, and under field goals made (FGM) click on the orange “6”. A new tab will pop up with a video player. Give it a minute to load. You will see videos for all 6 Magbegor field goals played successively. To me, only the third basket could be interpreted as being Shook’s fault, and it was more a matter of bad positioning than lack of speed. Of the other five baskets, two came off steals (bad passes by Sami and Sabrina) while the Liberty were on offense, two more occurred on pick and rolls after Sabrina got caught on screens and Kylee had to switch to cover for her, and the last basket was against Howard while Shook was sitting on the bench.

As for Kylee’s offense, obviously it’s mostly about shooting 3s. She shot .382 over four years at Louisville -- never lower than .368 -- so it’s not a fluke. However, as I point out all the time, a lot of players struggle to shoot from distance off the bench. It seems to be true for Kylee. That’s obviously a problem for someone projected to be a career bench player. Shook can also make smart cuts to the basket, but too often she passes up the shot or misses an easy bunny. She clearly has a lot of work to do.

Shook posseses the second highest net plus/minus (+10.9) on the team after Whitcomb (+12.7). I’m guessing this is because she's usually in the right place on the floor and doesn’t make as many recklessly aggressive plays as her teammates. It is probably why Hopkins at one point described her as “our rock”. However, numbers can be deceiving. We just had a debate about Bec Allen. Well, Allen has the worst net plus/minus on the team at -16.4. However, she also has the second higherst PER at 16.1. So, is Bec the worst player on the team or the second best? Laughing

As for Shook, my overall opinion is that she has physical talent, but Kylee isn’t competitive enough at the moment. Whether the coaches can light a fire under her that changes Shook’s personality is the main question.

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Shades · Posted: 08/30/21 9:50 am :::

Rebecca Allen ranks 5th in the league in steals while only playing 22.7 mpg.
She also ranks high in bpg among the steals leaders.
Looking a little further, she supplies all this defense while fouling very little.

And to top it off, she turns over the ball at a rate of less than one per game.

Rebecca Allen is the problem?

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J-Spoon · Posted: 08/30/21 3:22 pm :::

This is an over simplification but at the WNBA level Shook is a decent 4th or 5th post. Unfortunately The Liberty only have 3 posts.

She has the size and skill to do something well at this level, When she is getting starter type minutes she can work through her nerves and her mistakes and contribute. It is much harder to do that from the bench. She still has a chance to carver out a role in the league but if Shook is your starter at the 4 or the 5 spot or even the first post off the bench you probably aren't going to be a contender or even a top tier team in the league.

If we go with a more balanced roster add a decent post in free agency and through the draft I could see Shook hold onto the 12th spot next season. Unfortunately she will have a lot of competition from wings and guards for that last spot so I have her on the outside looking in at the moment.

(We have 12 players now and that doesn't include Johannes, Farthoux, Durr, our 1st round pick in 22, any free agents or Han. For everyone of those player that are added to the squad next season someone from this season is going to get bumped. Odom, Shook and Gray are all on the cusp, Allen who is a free agent is a guarantee and even Richards and Jones can't breathe easy. However I think Didi and Jaz because of their confidence, carving out a defined role and late season contributions are much safer than the first three I mentioned).

Randy · Posted: 08/30/21 3:41 pm :::

Bob Lamm · Posted: 08/30/21 6:58 pm :::

Bob Lamm · Posted: 08/31/21 9:15 pm :::

With tonight's loss in Minnesota, the Liberty have now lost five straight and eight out of nine. Certainly seems possible that New York could lose its remaining four games, three on the road. That would mean finishing 11-21 after beginning 5-1 and later being 10-9.

I'm not advocating firing anyone. But each time I've raised the question of whether Kolb and Hopkins are safe everyone who's commented has said that Walt is definitely returning next season. Suppose the Liberty lose 12 of the last 13 games. Is Hopkins still safe? I am skeptical.

P.S. The only victory in the last nine games came against Seattle with Bird and Stewart sitting out.

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myrtle · Posted: 08/31/21 10:59 pm :::

I think y'all better check and make sure Lady Liberty is still there in the harbor. I think she may be making a run for it/ or a swim.

Stormeo · Posted: 09/01/21 12:16 am :::

This is what it boils down to, for me:

Since pretty much all of us have been on our knees just begging at some point this season. 😭

Queenie · Posted: 09/01/21 10:35 am :::

root_thing · Posted: 09/01/21 10:47 am :::

If Lady Liberty is going to be gallivanting around, I hope she's vaccinated.

_________________
You can always do something else.

Queenie · Posted: 09/01/21 11:43 am :::

toad455 · Posted: 09/02/21 8:52 am :::

Part four in my series of the best draft picks in Liberty history. Here's #6-#10.

https://netsrepublic.com/top-25-new-york-liberty-draft-picks-part-four/

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Bob Lamm · Posted: 09/03/21 2:25 pm :::

With the regular season just about over, I'd like to comment on the many New York broadcasters who've done Liberty games this season. I give them a collective grade of C minus. They are pleasant. They don't make tons of gigantic blunders. But I watch game after game on television and I learn NOTHING about basketball in general or the New York Liberty from any of them.

I'm a devoted Mets' fan. I constantly learn from Gary Cohen, Ron Darling, and Keith Hernandez. I'm so grateful on the all-too-rare times when a TV broadcaster actually increases my understanding of a sport and of a team I follow.

I detest "homer" broadcasters who virtually never say a critical word about a professional team, even when the team is collapsing right in front of us. And who puff up anything good to absurd heights. Last night Julianne Viani-Brean spoke of how Michaela Onyenwere has been "tremendous" for the Liberty this season. "Tremendous"? Onyenwere was often trying to guard Breanna Stewart. If Onyenwere has been "tremendous," what should we call Stewart? Super-tremendous? Super-duper-tremendous?

It's been very frustrating watching the Liberty in 2020 and 2021. Terrible broadcasters aren't responsible for that, but they make it worse.

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

NYL_WNBA_FAN · Posted: 09/05/21 5:48 pm :::

Regarding the broadcasts, I’d agree. Doris Burke was a Libs analyst back in the day. She was phenomenal.

Unrelated. Nobody seems to want the 8 spot. If NY beats Dallas, which is certainly possible given Dallas’ injury/illness situation, they’d probably be in a position to control their destiny with a win over DC to end the season.

Ordinarily I’d probably prefer another shot at the lottery but I think I’d rather they end the season with some sort of positive note leading into next year. Even without a lottery pick they’re in a position to improve significantly next year.

_________________
The poster formerly known as LibWNBAFan.

WNBA 09 · Posted: 09/06/21 4:09 pm :::

Not sure if this was shared but I just saw this tv commercial on ABC and it’s DiDi! Looks like NYL front office is marketing more than just Sabrina *cough cough* Skylar ….

https://youtu.be/RY15xG6UfVQ

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3-Time WNBA Champion-3-Time National Champion-4-Time Olympic Champion....And Yes DT "We Got Confeti" lol

root_thing · Posted: 09/06/21 5:15 pm :::

Didi Richards
WNBA Rookie

(not yet famous)

Laughing

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NYL_WNBA_FAN · Posted: 09/08/21 9:21 am :::

A big thing with the Libs’ roster is that there’s so many incomplete players. Right now the Liberty have 4 players (not including anyone missing such as Durr, Willoughby or Johannes) you’d put in the category of some degree of versatility. And they’ve started together 4 times all season. Sami is one of those 4, and her versatility is a little more limited but she can shoot, score, rebound and be a pest on defense.

The other 7 literally all are players who tend to specialize in one or two things. Jaz for instance is an energy player who gets to the basket and foul line on those nights where her offensive game is actually a thing. But otherwise her passing is a struggle (I thought it would be improved but it hasn’t) and her points and field goals fluctuate wildly. Bec is a very good three point shooter and defender who does little else. Generally any time she puts the ball on the floor, less than ideal things happen. Onyenwere is a penetrator and occasional scorer who rarely rebounds and commits a lot of fouls in the post. Gray is physical and a good pick and roll player but she also fouls at a high rate and isn’t a good defender. Plus, Gray’s offense is limited mostly to pick and roll layups. Shook seems to play the scout well and does some good things defensively. But she’s not consistently physical and isn’t an ideal defensive matchup with a more perimeter-oriented post. Her scoring is also almost entirely limited to a rather streaky 3 point shot. DiDi is an energy player who hits a few open threes but putting the ball on the floor is an adventure to say the least. Her offense is limited to a three when nobody guards her or a steal and layup for the most part.

So in 2022 two things I think are imperative. While we can hope that some of these players develop into more complete players, the two needed things are to:

1) Acquire a veteran player who fits the versatility profile that we need
2) Draft a player who brings more of those traits to the table with some immediacy

We mathematically can draft no lower than sixth. There are enough players available to at least give the team different looks off the bench. If you look at Austin, her freshman year is probably pretty indicative of the shot-blocking impact she can have as a pro. If she really hits her stride as a senior, I think she stands an excellent chance of going #2 in the draft. A spot we still have a chance at.

That said, Dallas is injury ravaged and DC’s injury situation isn’t looking great either, although Tina is back. But basically the injuries suffered by those teams is probably 90% of why we are in 8th with a chance at 7th.

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root_thing · Posted: 09/08/21 11:25 am :::

myrtle · Posted: 09/08/21 12:42 pm :::

Bob Lamm · Posted: 09/08/21 3:05 pm :::

Does anyone have information as to how to watch on cable TV or stream the Liberty game vs. Dallas on Saturday night? On the Liberty's website, it offers these two options: BSSW+ and SN1. I'm not sure what these are and don't believe I have access to either. Many thanks for any help.

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

pilight · Posted: 09/08/21 3:25 pm :::

Bob Lamm · Posted: 09/08/21 3:34 pm :::

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