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justintyme
Joined: 08 Jul 2012 Posts: 8407 Location: Northfield, MN
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Posted: 07/27/17 12:25 am ::: Voepel: What are the key's to the Lynx's winning culture |
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Maya Moore on Kyrie, LeBron and the Cavs: When the Lynx stick together, 'we win'
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"The culture that has been set, from leadership on down, of being good to each other," Moore said, repeating a phrase she claims coach Cheryl Reeve uses a lot. "Because it's not going to be everything it can be, and it's not going to feel as good as it can, if we don't approach our journey that way.
"Having done that season after season, especially the four of us who've been together so long -- and adding players who also have that mindset as well -- we win. When we have that commitment of looking out for each other, we can get through things. When the tough parts of the season or lulls come, we can overcome those quicker because we have that chemistry." |
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So when Dallas' Skylar Diggins-Smith asked Augustus at the All-Star Game how Minnesota had put together such a dominant team, the Lynx veteran mapped it out in detail. She explained it was a combination over several years of smart decisions (including hiring Reeve), fortuitous timing and even good luck. But it also required patience, as well as some concessions -- particularly for a star player like Augustus.
"You may have to sacrifice some of your game to win," Augustus said. "With me, I had to be more of a defensive-minded player. I wasn't going to score as many points as I did earlier in my career, but I didn't care. I was at a point where I was tired of losing.
"I knew what had to happen in order for us to win: I needed great players around me. Young players have to understand that if you don't have the right mindset, if you aren't willing to sacrifice for what makes the team work, it's not going to work."
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I quoted a lot, but it is a long article and has some really interesting insight into all of this. Well worth a full read, and if not that, at least a click.
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NYL_WNBA_FAN
Joined: 28 May 2007 Posts: 14097
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justintyme
Joined: 08 Jul 2012 Posts: 8407 Location: Northfield, MN
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toad455
Joined: 16 Nov 2005 Posts: 22478 Location: NJ
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Posted: 07/27/17 5:57 am ::: |
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more like getting Augustus & Moore in the draft when the team sucked. Having Brunson fall into their laps when the Monarchs folded*. Having Fowles demand to be traded there. And having Whalen asking to go back to her home state of Minnesota. That's how a team gets 5 All-Stars on their roster.
*still pissed the Liberty didn't take Brunson at #1
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tfan
Joined: 31 May 2010 Posts: 9776
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Posted: 07/27/17 7:45 am ::: |
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toad455 wrote: |
more like getting Augustus & Moore in the draft when the team sucked. |
I think if they had been healthy the whole season in 2010 they would have been out of the lottery. The last place Tulsa Shock beat them twice early in the season and they ended the year with the same record as the 4th place Sparks. That is, the team with Augustus, Whalen and Brunson probably didn't suck before they added Moore.
Last edited by tfan on 07/27/17 10:16 am; edited 1 time in total |
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WNBA 09
Joined: 26 Jun 2009 Posts: 12615 Location: Dallas , Texas
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myrtle
Joined: 02 May 2008 Posts: 32341
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pilight
Joined: 23 Sep 2004 Posts: 67126 Location: Where the action is
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tfan
Joined: 31 May 2010 Posts: 9776
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Posted: 07/27/17 10:53 am ::: |
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Nicole Powell had her best scoring year in 2009 (16.7 ppg), the year before the dispersal draft. She was also an all-star that year, while Brunson was an all-star in 2007.
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Ay Mate
Joined: 12 Nov 2016 Posts: 1280
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Posted: 07/27/17 11:16 am ::: |
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The Keys to the Lynx's winning culture?? Easy. Suck for years and years and build up a bunch of #1 draft picks, and have superstar centers force they're way onto the team via threatening to sit out the year on their former team. That's about all you need to do.
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Richyyy
Joined: 17 Nov 2005 Posts: 24408 Location: London
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Posted: 07/27/17 11:34 am ::: |
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tfan wrote: |
Nicole Powell had her best scoring year in 2009 (16.7 ppg), the year before the dispersal draft. She was also an all-star that year, while Brunson was an all-star in 2007. |
Yeah, the way I remember it that was generally considered a pretty reasonable pick by New York. Minnesota had the easy spot at #2 in the dispersal draft, simply taking whichever of Powell/Brunson was still there. |
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Nixtreefan
Joined: 14 Nov 2012 Posts: 2539
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Randy
Joined: 08 Oct 2011 Posts: 10911
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Posted: 07/27/17 11:55 am ::: |
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They had already built their winning culture. Once that was accomplished, getting ring shoppers aboard was the easy part.
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pilight
Joined: 23 Sep 2004 Posts: 67126 Location: Where the action is
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Posted: 07/27/17 12:01 pm ::: |
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Ay Mate wrote: |
The Keys to the Lynx's winning culture?? Easy. Suck for years and years and build up a bunch of #1 draft picks, and have superstar centers force they're way onto the team via threatening to sit out the year on their former team. That's about all you need to do. |
I was not aware that two #1 picks constituted a "bunch". Unless you mean first round picks, in which case it's worth noting that San Antonio has just as many as Minnesota and had more before the Currie trade.
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MuneravenMN Champion Tipster
Joined: 01 Jun 2008 Posts: 3990
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Posted: 07/28/17 1:36 pm ::: Luck Matters But Isn't Everything |
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There are a lot of people here who can't admit that great teams aren't ONLY lucky teams. Minnesota was lucky, sure, but they took that luck and maximized what it gave them. If you refuse to give them credit for that then you are just jealous.
Many teams have runs of good luck. And many teams don't use that luck to create a winning culture. Luck? After years of bad luck the Lynx got some good luck...and they didn't squander it. They nurtured it.
The funny thing is that you can't duplicate this kind of thing. Every great team is built through luck and smarts and talent. But every great team is also unique.
_________________ Winning takes talent; to repeat takes character.
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mavcarter #NATC
Joined: 02 Sep 2010 Posts: 5935 Location: Chicago
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Posted: 07/28/17 7:51 pm ::: |
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tfan wrote: |
Nicole Powell had her best scoring year in 2009 (16.7 ppg), the year before the dispersal draft. She was also an all-star that year, while Brunson was an all-star in 2007. |
Exactly. Selecting Powell before Brunson was not that crazy at the time._________________
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Or maybe said poster should quit being a nuisance when people don’t agree? |
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Ay Mate
Joined: 12 Nov 2016 Posts: 1280
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PUmatty
Joined: 10 Nov 2004 Posts: 16385 Location: Chicago
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Posted: 07/29/17 11:25 am ::: |
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Anyone who wants to discount luck, ask how many championships the core of Monique Currie, Monica Wright (taken not via a trade, but after coming in second in the 2010 lottery), Demya Walker, and Liz Cambage woud have won.
How many championships Seattle would have after taking Jackie Stiles and Stacey-Dales Schuman in consecutive drafts?
How would LA have looked last season with the dynamic duo of Alexis Hornbuckle and Deveraux Peters?
How might Dallas look this season with Brittany Griner and Maya Moore as its stars?
How many No. 1 picks were all-stars this year, compared to No. 2 picks? How many No. 1 picks are on the Olympic team compared to No. 2 and No. 3 picks?
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Silky Johnson
Joined: 29 Sep 2014 Posts: 3374
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Posted: 07/29/17 11:37 am ::: |
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PUmatty wrote: |
Anyone who wants to discount luck, ask how many championships the core of Monique Currie, Monica Wright (taken not via a trade, but after coming in second in the 2010 lottery), Demya Walker, and Liz Cambage woud have won.
How many championships Seattle would have after taking Jackie Stiles and Stacey-Dales Schuman in consecutive drafts?
How would LA have looked last season with the dynamic duo of Alexis Hornbuckle and Deveraux Peters?
How might Dallas look this season with Brittany Griner and Maya Moore as its stars?
How many No. 1 picks were all-stars this year, compared to No. 2 picks? How many No. 1 picks are on the Olympic team compared to No. 2 and No. 3 picks? |
Damn! If you think that Dallas could have gotten Maya Moore, and still been bad enough to get Brittney Griner, then you might hate Maya Moore even more than I do!
_________________ Professional Hater. The Baron of #HateHard
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PUmatty
Joined: 10 Nov 2004 Posts: 16385 Location: Chicago
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Posted: 07/29/17 11:48 am ::: |
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Silky Johnson wrote: |
PUmatty wrote: |
Anyone who wants to discount luck, ask how many championships the core of Monique Currie, Monica Wright (taken not via a trade, but after coming in second in the 2010 lottery), Demya Walker, and Liz Cambage woud have won.
How many championships Seattle would have after taking Jackie Stiles and Stacey-Dales Schuman in consecutive drafts?
How would LA have looked last season with the dynamic duo of Alexis Hornbuckle and Deveraux Peters?
How might Dallas look this season with Brittany Griner and Maya Moore as its stars?
How many No. 1 picks were all-stars this year, compared to No. 2 picks? How many No. 1 picks are on the Olympic team compared to No. 2 and No. 3 picks? |
Damn! If you think that Dallas could have gotten Maya Moore, and still been bad enough to get Brittney Griner, then you might hate Maya Moore even more than I do! |
You mean like how Phoenix got Diana Taurasi and was still bad enough to get Cappie Pondexter, Penny Taylor, and Brittany Griner (and the No. 1 pick they turned into Tangela Smith)?
Or how Seattle got Lauren Jackson and was still bad enough to get Sue Bird?
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Randy
Joined: 08 Oct 2011 Posts: 10911
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Posted: 07/29/17 12:00 pm ::: |
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Don't forget - the Shock had Nolan Richardson as coach. I'm pretty sure that fact alone would have kept the Shock in the lottery for a while longer even with Maya Moore.
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justintyme
Joined: 08 Jul 2012 Posts: 8407 Location: Northfield, MN
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Posted: 07/29/17 12:02 pm ::: |
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Luck cannot be discounted. To win, you need talent, and aquiring it in a league like the WNBA involves not only being bad for a while but doing it at the right time (and then not missing on the picks when they fall in your lap). But luck is not the whole story, just the first step. After that it is about getting players to meld together and to put their egos to the side for the better of the team. You need to get them to all buy in. So many teams get the first part done and then fail with the rest. They end up either not winning or having discontent stars that forces an eventual rebuild, or they end up as a flash-in-the-pan success that is not able to maintain sustained greatness.
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Queenie
Joined: 18 Nov 2004 Posts: 18066 Location: Queens
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tfan
Joined: 31 May 2010 Posts: 9776
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Posted: 07/29/17 2:23 pm ::: |
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The Houston Comets were even more dominant than the Lynx, when they had the most talent. But I don't recall feel good stories about working together in perfect harmony. In fact, it was rumored that Swoopes and Cooper didn't get along.
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Silky Johnson
Joined: 29 Sep 2014 Posts: 3374
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Posted: 07/29/17 2:24 pm ::: |
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PUmatty wrote: |
Silky Johnson wrote: |
PUmatty wrote: |
Anyone who wants to discount luck, ask how many championships the core of Monique Currie, Monica Wright (taken not via a trade, but after coming in second in the 2010 lottery), Demya Walker, and Liz Cambage woud have won.
How many championships Seattle would have after taking Jackie Stiles and Stacey-Dales Schuman in consecutive drafts?
How would LA have looked last season with the dynamic duo of Alexis Hornbuckle and Deveraux Peters?
How might Dallas look this season with Brittany Griner and Maya Moore as its stars?
How many No. 1 picks were all-stars this year, compared to No. 2 picks? How many No. 1 picks are on the Olympic team compared to No. 2 and No. 3 picks? |
Damn! If you think that Dallas could have gotten Maya Moore, and still been bad enough to get Brittney Griner, then you might hate Maya Moore even more than I do! |
You mean like how Phoenix got Diana Taurasi and was still bad enough to get Cappie Pondexter, Penny Taylor, and Brittany Griner (and the No. 1 pick they turned into Tangela Smith)?
Or how Seattle got Lauren Jackson and was still bad enough to get Sue Bird? |
Only one of those were the #1 overall pick. Also, I don't really think that Maya Moore would have been shut down in her sophomore season for a toothache, or whatever the hell the official "reason" was.
... I may also think that Lauren Jackson was overrated...
_________________ Professional Hater. The Baron of #HateHard
My team no longer exists, so I'll have to settle for hating yours.
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