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Who will win this game? |
Liberty |
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63% |
[ 7 ] |
Mercury |
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36% |
[ 4 ] |
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Total Votes : 11 |
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SCook
Joined: 09 Oct 2013 Posts: 3254 Location: New Jersey
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Posted: 06/14/21 8:55 am ::: |
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The signings of Nurse and Walker didn't make sense to me during the offseason and they don't make sense to me now.
I don't believe that they are starters but what can they do?
Kia, in my opinion, is giving what everyone that Bria was going to give last season when she was signed for 185K. The biggest difference is that Bria's game meshes so well with BG's. She was the most effective with BG on the court last season and we saw how that changed when BG left.
Vaughan hasn't had the playing time to get into a decent rhythm and I am tempted to say that maybe she should be inserted into the starting lineup or something. Maybe try the big lineup and see if it works. All I know is that Kia Nurse and Walker are not working in the starting lineup.
_________________ In La'Kech: I Am You. You Are Me. We Are Us
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TotalCardinalMove
Joined: 13 Oct 2013 Posts: 1467
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Posted: 06/14/21 9:11 am ::: |
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Milks26 wrote: |
What kind of team has Mercury put together? Bench scoring is non existent. I always thought that A. Smith & Cunningham had over stayed their welcome. |
What are they supposed to do when you have a coach that doesn’t have any idea what to do? Or when the offense design doesn’t prioritize playing team ball? You can tell both of them have had their confidence busted due to not having a specific role, even though they both had their moments of playing well last season. Turner does not look as good playing next to BG, while Vaughn and Peddy aren’t really getting time either.
The bench play was much better last season. Like I’ve said before, Coffey getting waived by this team was probably the best situation for her. She’s shooting nearly 50% from 3 this year with an elevated role, I’m sure she would’ve been stuck on the bench like last year had we kept her.
It’s not like the starters outside of SDS and BG have looked very good consistently either.
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SCook
Joined: 09 Oct 2013 Posts: 3254 Location: New Jersey
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Posted: 06/14/21 9:30 am ::: |
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TotalCardinalMove wrote: |
Milks26 wrote: |
What kind of team has Mercury put together? Bench scoring is non existent. I always thought that A. Smith & Cunningham had over stayed their welcome. |
What are they supposed to do when you have a coach that doesn’t have any idea what to do? Or when the offense design doesn’t prioritize playing team ball? You can tell both of them have had their confidence busted due to not having a specific role, even though they both had their moments of playing well last season. Turner does not look as good playing next to BG, while Vaughn and Peddy aren’t really getting time either.
The bench play was much better last season. Like I’ve said before, Coffey getting waived by this team was probably the best situation for her. She’s shooting nearly 50% from 3 this year with an elevated role, I’m sure she would’ve been stuck on the bench like last year had we kept her.
It’s not like the starters outside of SDS and BG have looked very good consistently either. |
The offense looks like a very odd combination of last seasons wubble ball with the BG style of ball. However, nobody commits to the work you have to put in when it's the BG style of ball. They watch her get doubled and tripled as if that is the offensive set and she's become so dominant that she can she still be effective but it's very strange. Nurse and Walker will toss up the 3's and the worse shots before they make the effort to get the ball inside or get open when the ball goes inside and BG needs to kick it out somewhere. It's confusing. Couple that with the inability to defend and well. Here we are.
Turner and BG work really well but defensively, Turner has been food. Sabally and Reshanda Gray were killing her. Those are not good matchups for her nor are they for Vaughan. Honestly, no one is a good matchup for anyone on this Phoenix team. The first few games of the season, BG and Turner looked very good next to each other defensively and we saw some good offensive possessions too. Turner needs to develop her shot.
Alanna is playing in the Olympics but Sandy hasn't given her any minutes. Sure, she may foul but force her to play through it. Instead, she's running BG and Skylar into the ground. At this point, start Peddy to take Skylar off the ball so she and BG can score and force Briana Turner to make some shots or put Vaughan in.
_________________ In La'Kech: I Am You. You Are Me. We Are Us
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LibFan25
Joined: 01 Sep 2012 Posts: 895 Location: NY
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Posted: 06/14/21 11:00 am ::: |
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Watching this game, I'm kinda happy the Libs didn't go all out to sign Diggins. she's a great player but I don't like that diva-ish attitude. That shit is annoying seeing her bitchin up and down. I can tell the players don't like it
Laney is definitely in the MVP conversation, she's been amazing to watch and I haven't felt this way since Cappie step foot here in NY.
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Iluvacc
Joined: 11 Jun 2005 Posts: 4167
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Posted: 06/14/21 11:14 am ::: |
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LibFan25 wrote: |
Watching this game, I'm kinda happy the Libs didn't go all out to sign Diggins. she's a great player but I don't like that diva-ish attitude. That shit is annoying seeing her bitchin up and down. I can tell the players don't like it
Laney is definitely in the MVP conversation, she's been amazing to watch and I haven't felt this way since Cappie step foot here in NY. |
I wasn’t aware the Libs tried to sign her
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Bob Lamm
Joined: 11 Apr 2010 Posts: 5065 Location: New York City
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Posted: 06/14/21 12:04 pm ::: |
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Iluvacc wrote: |
I wasn’t aware the Libs tried to sign her |
Perhaps I'm wrong, but as a Liberty fan I've never seen any indication that New York tried to sign Diggins-Smith.
_________________ Remember Roe v. Wade. Work for and support legal abortion all over the world and full reproductive rights for everyone.
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bbsamjj
Joined: 27 Jul 2005 Posts: 125
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Posted: 06/14/21 1:25 pm ::: |
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Most impressive to me is that with their starting PG out; the Liberty had 18 assists to just 10 turnovers; and Laney and Whitcomb (the primary ball handlers) combined for 16 assists to 4 turnovers. That's players stepping up to fill the gaps where needed. And then Jaz Jones pretty much won them the game in the fourth quarter.
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auntie
Joined: 16 May 2006 Posts: 1774 Location: Brooklyn, NY
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Posted: 06/14/21 2:54 pm ::: |
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SCook wrote: |
TotalCardinalMove wrote: |
SCook wrote: |
BG should've had more shot attempts but she did very very well tonight.
So many said this was an easy schedule for Phoenix and they are now 0-3 with 3 games against LA, who are a pretty good defensive team.
Kia and Walker...... I am just so disappointed. Is it the defense? Or are they just really struggling right now? I just don't even know. |
I just don’t understand it. I feel like we say this every game, but why not just play Sophie? She at least has been pretty good defensively. Maybe even Alanna should’ve gotten some time. I’ve never seen a coach casually let two starters be so bad on both ends and do nothing. |
Two words: Fire Sandy! |
Kia did make some plays, but I have always wondered about Megan Walker. What was the reason that Geno did not play her all that much in her first year? I suspect it was a lack of effort in practice. She has potential, but particularly at this level she needs to work hard to compete. I hope that she can use Laney as an example and step up her game.
_________________ A woman's place is in the paint--Another artist for Liberty.
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NYL_WNBA_FAN
Joined: 28 May 2007 Posts: 14097
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Posted: 06/14/21 3:02 pm ::: |
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Iluvacc wrote: |
LibFan25 wrote: |
Watching this game, I'm kinda happy the Libs didn't go all out to sign Diggins. she's a great player but I don't like that diva-ish attitude. That shit is annoying seeing her bitchin up and down. I can tell the players don't like it
Laney is definitely in the MVP conversation, she's been amazing to watch and I haven't felt this way since Cappie step foot here in NY. |
I wasn’t aware the Libs tried to sign her |
Especially when she had 13 FTA to the Libs’ total of 14. And NY had only 8 more 3 point attempts and 32 points in the paint. It’s frustrating to watch some players simply repeatedly fall down regardless of the guarding position of the defender or the degree contact and still get the call repeatedly.
I understand the Liberty are going to yield FTA in the post. I accept that they’re going to have a likely negative FT disparity at least till Howard gets back.
But I’m not seeing the consistency on the perimeter penetrations either. It’s really frustrating. And the Libs were largely the better, more energetic and more aggressive team for a good 70% of the game. That usually helps your cause with 50-50 calls. 🤷🏻♂️
Interesting part of the broadcast before the CT game. They said Walt sent 17 moving screens to the league for review. The league agreed with him on 12 of the calls. That was game #9 for NY. Assuming even if those calls were spread over 8 games (not sure), how do you miss 12 moving screens in 8 games? Let alone if it was over a smaller period of time.
Moving screens are generally on the more obvious end of the spectrum because they’re in open space and on the ball a vast majority of the time.
If they’re missing those at a rate of 1.5 per game, how are they doing on the less obvious ones?
_________________ The poster formerly known as LibWNBAFan.
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Tally24
Joined: 14 Feb 2012 Posts: 2709 Location: Baton Rouge
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Posted: 06/14/21 5:42 pm ::: |
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Living for the Twitter drama between Jones and Diggins-Smith. |
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Queenie
Joined: 18 Nov 2004 Posts: 18048 Location: Queens
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Posted: 06/14/21 5:56 pm ::: |
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Tally24 wrote: |
Living for the Twitter drama between Jones and Diggins-Smith. |
Michaela Onyenwere (in SDS's replies) and DiDi Richards (via quote tweet) have entered the battle as well. It's gloriously messy, but I love players defending their teammates.
SDS has a point, although not as much of one as she thinks; marketing by the front office itself has been split between Sabrina and Betnijah. Heck, the official #OwnTheCrown ad has none other than Jaz as the featured player. But there is a lot of hype and overhype surrounding Sabrina, much of it coming from major media outlets and a good chunk of it coming from league marketing. The merch availability doesn't help. Getting literally any other Liberty jersey is a custom job. (Source: hey, my Natasha Howard jersey arrived! Two months after the anniversary it was a gift for...)
That being said... if any player in this league would be a hypocrite to complain about another team's player being overhyped, Skylar Diggins-Smith would be pretty high on that list, especially since at least some of SDS's earliest publicity didn't come from her basketball skills.
_________________ Ardent believer in the separation of church and stadium.
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Stormeo
Joined: 14 Jul 2019 Posts: 4701
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mercfan
Joined: 08 May 2013 Posts: 1910
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Posted: 06/14/21 6:34 pm ::: |
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Why do average bench players tweet at stars? Like..
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Stormeo
Joined: 14 Jul 2019 Posts: 4701
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Posted: 06/14/21 6:40 pm ::: |
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mercfan wrote: |
Why do average bench players tweet at stars? Like.. |
Jaz did a quote tweet of her thoughts with that Bleacher Report tweet, it was Skylar who tweet-replied “girl shut tf up” at Jaz’s account. 🧐
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RP
Joined: 17 Jul 2010 Posts: 1299
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Posted: 06/14/21 6:41 pm ::: |
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Skylar with the brutal ratio. In Twitter wars, that's a checkmate.
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mercfan
Joined: 08 May 2013 Posts: 1910
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Posted: 06/14/21 6:46 pm ::: |
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Stormeo wrote: |
mercfan wrote: |
Why do average bench players tweet at stars? Like.. |
Jaz did a quote tweet of her thoughts with that Bleacher Report tweet, it was Skylar who tweet-replied “girl shut tf up” at Jaz’s account. 🧐 |
To rephrase. Why do they tweet about stars.
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Bob Lamm
Joined: 11 Apr 2010 Posts: 5065 Location: New York City
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Posted: 06/14/21 6:49 pm ::: |
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I'm not on Twitter so I don't care much about who wins the Twitter wars. And I obviously don't know how this works. But I'd say it might be hard to win the Twitter war when Jones had a great second half and hit that absolutely crucial three-pointer... while Diggins-Smith made a staggering unforced turnover to end the game.
But I'll also say this: Diggins-Smith had a great game and without that it would have been a rout for the Liberty. She wouldn't be my top candidate for a Nobel Peace Prize, but she's an outstanding basketball player.
_________________ Remember Roe v. Wade. Work for and support legal abortion all over the world and full reproductive rights for everyone.
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Queenie
Joined: 18 Nov 2004 Posts: 18048 Location: Queens
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Posted: 06/14/21 7:03 pm ::: |
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mercfan wrote: |
Stormeo wrote: |
mercfan wrote: |
Why do average bench players tweet at stars? Like.. |
Jaz did a quote tweet of her thoughts with that Bleacher Report tweet, it was Skylar who tweet-replied “girl shut tf up” at Jaz’s account. 🧐 |
To rephrase. Why do they tweet about stars. |
If other WNBA players can't tweet about stars, then the rest of us might as well not say anything about anyone. Haven't the last two seasons basically had the secondary motto of "Athletes Have Opinions Too"?
I think Jaz's issue was with Bleacher Report, and the highlight, and probably with the whole damn media machine even if she's not consciously aware of it. SDS chose to take it personally; please pardon me while I die of shock at that turn of events. In an ideal world, there's room for both a highlight of SDS breaking ankles and a highlight reel of Betnijah Laney going to town on the Merc defense. But we've had this conversation for how many years?
_________________ Ardent believer in the separation of church and stadium.
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mercfan
Joined: 08 May 2013 Posts: 1910
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Posted: 06/14/21 7:16 pm ::: |
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Queenie wrote: |
mercfan wrote: |
Stormeo wrote: |
mercfan wrote: |
Why do average bench players tweet at stars? Like.. |
Jaz did a quote tweet of her thoughts with that Bleacher Report tweet, it was Skylar who tweet-replied “girl shut tf up” at Jaz’s account. 🧐 |
To rephrase. Why do they tweet about stars. |
If other WNBA players can't tweet about stars, then the rest of us might as well not say anything about anyone. Haven't the last two seasons basically had the secondary motto of "Athletes Have Opinions Too"?
I think Jaz's issue was with Bleacher Report, and the highlight, and probably with the whole damn media machine even if she's not consciously aware of it. SDS chose to take it personally; please pardon me while I die of shock at that turn of events. In an ideal world, there's room for both a highlight of SDS breaking ankles and a highlight reel of Betnijah Laney going to town on the Merc defense. But we've had this conversation for how many years? |
Of course athletes should voice their opinions lol. I never stated that they shouldn't. It's just personally funny to see fringe players try it with well known superstars. Could you imagine if Monte Morris got into it with Chris Paul on Twitter in the Western Semis? He would look silly. Solely because the superstars have HUGE fanbases and you will get ratioed.
Being angry at Bleacher Report for this is a major reach. Any news media is going to spend a majority of their time covering elite highlights from elite players. It gets them impressions which helps them secure sponsorship. Skylar is most definitely right about the need for the WNBA orgs to hold themselves accountable for this kind of thing to promote the league as a whole.
One thing I will give, it is nice to see a teammate hype Laney. I hope we keep this energy with all star voting.
Last edited by mercfan on 06/14/21 7:28 pm; edited 3 times in total |
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Luuuc #NATC
Joined: 10 Feb 2005 Posts: 21951
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Posted: 06/14/21 7:21 pm ::: |
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Enough of these basketball highlights. What the people really need to see is more photos of Ionescu rocking Kobe apparel!
_________________ Thanks for calling. I wait all night for calls like these.
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miller40
Joined: 29 Jun 2006 Posts: 1334
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Posted: 06/14/21 7:40 pm ::: |
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mercfan wrote: |
Stormeo wrote: |
mercfan wrote: |
Why do average bench players tweet at stars? Like.. |
Jaz did a quote tweet of her thoughts with that Bleacher Report tweet, it was Skylar who tweet-replied “girl shut tf up” at Jaz’s account. 🧐 |
To rephrase. Why do they tweet about stars. |
Why do people who can’t play anywhere near professional level tweet or post about stars?
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mercfan
Joined: 08 May 2013 Posts: 1910
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Posted: 06/14/21 7:50 pm ::: |
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miller40 wrote: |
mercfan wrote: |
Stormeo wrote: |
mercfan wrote: |
Why do average bench players tweet at stars? Like.. |
Jaz did a quote tweet of her thoughts with that Bleacher Report tweet, it was Skylar who tweet-replied “girl shut tf up” at Jaz’s account. 🧐 |
To rephrase. Why do they tweet about stars. |
Why do people who can’t play anywhere near professional level tweet or post about stars? |
I think it's probably because sports are in the entertainment industry. Without the noise, there are no pro sports. People pay for the tea.
But you got me there. All respect to Jaz Jones.
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Tally24
Joined: 14 Feb 2012 Posts: 2709 Location: Baton Rouge
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Posted: 06/14/21 8:24 pm ::: |
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I just like the drama. #messy |
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WNBA 09
Joined: 26 Jun 2009 Posts: 12561 Location: Dallas , Texas
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Rock Hard
Joined: 02 Aug 2010 Posts: 5391 Location: Chocolate Paradise
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Posted: 06/14/21 10:13 pm ::: |
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Much Ado about nothing.
_________________ You can win, as long as you keep your head to the SKY! Be OPTIMISTIC!
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