RebKell's Junkie Boards

[NYL_WNBA_FAN]

Factoring in yesterday’s game it’s now 6.2. 😉 I think Sabrina’s ups and downs early in the season were partially fatigue related with maybe a bit of confidence mixed in. She’s still handling the ball quite a bit but now at least she can be relieved a bit by Dangerfield and Johannes once she learns the plays. But I think a bigger thing is she is now beating different defenses with simpler plays. She’s also using the array of moves she’s had in her arsenal all along. Crossovers, change of direction, change of pace. She’s deceptively fast when she does these things. When she plays more upright like she was at times earlier in the season, then she plays much slower.

I’m glad she’s showing what she can do. It doesn’t hurt that her teammates are playing better too. Her passing is also a high-end skill.

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The poster formerly known as LibWNBAFan.

[NYSports56]

Nearly everybody (including me) was blown away by Marine Johannes's behind the back play, and we're full of excitement about having her on the Liberty.

I don't mean to be a wet blanket, but when I looked at the box score, I was very surprised by something I saw: Marine played more minutes in the Chicago game than anyone besides Ionescu, but that incredible pass was her only assist. In those 28 minutes, she also scored 4 points, pulled down one rebound, and that was it for the positive stats. No steals, no blocks. Also 1 turnover and 2 personal fouls, and a +- of -2.

Stats aren't everything, of course, but those are almost invisible numbers for 28 minutes. I think that spectacular pass blinded me from the fact that she really didn't have a good game at all.

Still psyched to have Marina on the team. If we can have her and Han Xu as regular members of the team each season, I think that's a great foundation to build on along with Sabrina.

[NYL_WNBA_FAN]

It’s all good. Sandy mentioned that Johannes doesn’t know the plays well yet. They have a week straight at home so they have practice time to get her up to speed. She didn’t get many touches Sunday. I anticipate that changing sooner rather than later.

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The poster formerly known as LibWNBAFan.

[LibFan25]

Johannes definitely need more touches, she is to me the best guard on our team other then Sabrina. More touches more scoring that will make our offense dangerous

She's a joy to watch, you can run plays for her and let her break down the defense with her passing ability.

She immediately made this team fun to watch again

[lynxmania]

[johnjohnW]

Sorry. The ticket has been sold.

[Richyyy]

Shameless double-posting self-promotion, but I wrote about the rule quirk that could help New York out in a couple of weeks. It's the last item here, if anyone's interested: https://herhoopstats.substack.com/p/wnba-dissected-week6-magbegor-overseas-stats

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Independent WNBA coverage: http://www.wnbalien.com/

[NYL_WNBA_FAN]

It’s noteworthy that AD has had back-to-back 21 point games. I expected AD to show more ability with Atlanta but 21 points in back-to-back games is even more than I expected. At the moment it’s clear the trade was best for AD, Atlanta and the Liberty. Happy for AD to be in a position to play their game. From what I’ve seen (just video clips) of the player the Libs got back, I think there’s clear upside to her game. I hope long-term the Libs don’t regret giving up on AD too soon. For now, Johannes is definitely a great fit. But it’s hard not to wonder if AD couldn’t have been better integrated into the Libs’ system as well. I love Sabrina and I think she’s a star. But at the same time I feel like some of those secondary touches for Sabrina could have gone to AD on a more consistent basis.

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The poster formerly known as LibWNBAFan.

[myrtle]

Part of the advantage for AD is that Atlanta's system allows them to basically play free without having to learn a lot of 'system'.

[NYL_WNBA_FAN]

[BamaEd]

I can't find a story about it, but according to her Instagram stories, it appears Betnijah Laney got married on Saturday. Congrats to the happy couple! Planning a wedding is a good way to fill the time while recovering and rehabbing

[myrtle]

so Dangermouse has been released from her hardship contract. Someone must be back. Will she be resigned on 7 day contracts?

[LibFan25]

Nah They better bring Dangerfield back, cuz she is part of the reason Sabrina is playing so well off the ball

But once Laney comes back and hopefully healthy, Dangerfield might get bump out of the starting lineup and make Johannes the PG with her play making ability I trust that she can handle it

[Richyyy]

Dangerfield scenario is explained here: https://herhoopstats.substack.com/p/wnba-dissected-week7-money-cuts-tv-future

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Independent WNBA coverage: http://www.wnbalien.com/

[myrtle]

[NYL_WNBA_FAN]

It appears Cubaj has been let go. Dangerfield’s absence was really felt last night. Probably the worst matchup to have her missing. The victory in Atlanta featured CD on-ball with greater frequency than any other.

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The poster formerly known as LibWNBAFan.

[Bob Lamm]

[NYL_WNBA_FAN]

[LibFan25]

I like Cubai's defensive, toughness, and size. I would have rather kept Cubaj then a injury prone willoughby but it is what it is as long as Sabrina has her safety blanket Dangerfield back on the team

[LibFan25]

Another note, I like what I am seeing from Didi, you can tell she has been working on her shot. She has all the tools to be a solid player in the W, her athletic ability jumps out on the screen and last night she was part of the reason the Libs went on that fabulous 17-0 run. I love her aggressiveness but has to stop silly fouls like Sandy said

[Queenie]

Lorela’s either going to be one of those players who materializes again after three years or, given that she’s a Euro, going to tell this league something rude in Italian and never darken the WNBA’s doors again.

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Ardent believer in the separation of church and stadium.

[johnjohnW]

[Rock Hard]

[Bob Lamm]

As expected, New York has signed Crystal Dangerfield to an rest-of-season contract.

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

[myrtle]

I never realized how bad the rebounding is for the Liberty. Today was just eye opening in that regard. I guess part of that is because the bigs like to float around outside, but it's really terrible.