RebKell's Junkie Boards

[myrtle]

But NY, you can hear those lottery balls bouncing!

And really you did have some positive stuff happening in the first half...if only you could ignore that second half it would have been a game.

[Bob Lamm]

Yeh, Alyssa Thomas playing tonight really wrecked Connecticut, just like so many predicted!

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

[WNBA 09]

This game went from tied at 40 to 98-67 within a blink . JJ & DB turned the lights off in that 3rd QTR. Nice performance from DIjonai as well. She should play more than Charles IMO.

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

[J-Spoon]

Oh well

If I am going to be wrong might as well be really wrong I guess

[Milks26]

Nice to see Carrington having a good game.

Since after her spat with Skylar - J.Jones has dissssappeared

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~College WBB & the "W' need other tv networks covering the important stuff...Espn is beyond tired~

[tfan]

[Queenie]

[root_thing]

NY basically rolled over in the 4th Quarter: 9 points, 11 turnovers. Ionescu had 5 of those TOs. The points were Howard 5, Jones 4. Mighty Dijonai Carrington outscored the Liberty by herself 10 to 9.

Looking forward to the Liberty post-game press conference. I want to hear Walt's positive spin. And will Sabrina actually speak this time? What will she say? They should have Hopkins and the players sitting together so we can see their reactions to his comments.

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You can always do something else.

[Queenie]

Now that my sleep debt has been paid, I can attempt to be more coherent about this game, which is more than I can say about the team.

First of all: did anyone watching the game get an explanation for where Reshanda Gray was? I realize that in the grand scheme of things she wouldn't have helped enough to get us over the hump, but having someone vaguely cognizant of the concept of bodying the opponent would perhaps have been helpful in attempting to keep up with the Joneses?

I'm starting to wonder if Sabrina needs to talk to a sports psychologist. It really looked like she stopped giving a flying about the game in the third quarter after about the third mistake/favorable Sun bounce. This doesn't match Oregon!Sabrina, and I'm worried.

I still don't know where Natasha Howard was throwing that pass to. But otherwise she played like the player we went all in on. Her tenacity on the boards was fantastic. If only she hadn't been 1-on-4 doing so in the process... I can think of at least two or three possessions where she was like a woman in a piranha tank trying to keep a hunk of raw meat above water level.

I am once again asking our defense not to gamble off Natisha Hiedeman beyond the three-point line. She's kinda good at those and she was definitely in a good mood.

If anyone finds Sami's three-point shot, please return it before Friday, kplsthxbai? She got off to a hot start on the strength of turning defense into offense, but that faded.

I'm not saying that the fourth quarter huddles were considered irrelevant. I am saying that DiDi Richards was low-key doing the YMCA while a coach was talking and Michaela Onyenwere followed suit pretty much as soon as the huddle was broken.

Whoever is making the halftime speeches in the Liberty locker room should be encouraged to take up some other hobby. Like, any other hobby. Somewhere far away.

Connecticut: very good at basketball.

Okay, fine, I'll try to provide more substantial analysis.

The chemistry between the Joneses on the glass is amazing. They know where the other one is going to be, and if one of them misses a shot the other one is in position for the putback. The team's defense is top-notch, although if the refs call a tight game (as they did for about four minutes of the third quarter) then Connecticut might be in some trouble. I might be worried about their post depth, because Kaila Charles and Beatrice Mompremier underwhelmed, but I guess you could just try Bonner at the 4 for short stretches.

Somehow I would have expected the Pride Night halftime feature not to be on the importance of homecourt advantage. There were timeout videos from Briann January and the Sun's trainer on what Pride means to them, and a big congratulations on the engagement of Jasmine Thomas and Natisha Hiedeman.

Connecticut's social media campaigns are unparalleled, but a distressing percentage of them come off as horror movie trailer, and I'm not sure if I'm supposed to be terrified of the Sun or terrified for them.

The rainbow towels for Pride Night were a fun touch. I wasn't the only person running around the arena trying to collect the whole set, either by straight up yoinking them off empty seats or swapping with other people who had done the same in different sections. Ended up with 4 out of 6.

Wednesdays are not an ideal day to visit the casino. A lot of the restaurants were operating on reduced hours, severely cutting down lunch options on the main restaurant concourse; it seemed like they were trying to push the lunch traffic to the food court in Casino of the Earth. The artist formerly known as Geno's Fast Break has been scrubbed of any references to him or to UConn, and is now a sad, dark little enclave that looks highly suspicious. I do like that Mohegan Sun is now de facto a non-smoking facility, since all smoking has to take place in designated outdoor areas.

All in all, it felt like I made more of an effort getting to the game than the team did playing the game, and since one set paid to do it and the other set gets paid to do it, you can understand why I might be a touch frustrated. At least it's almost over and we can take this season out back and put it out of its misery.

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Ardent believer in the separation of church and stadium.

[NYL_WNBA_FAN]

A team with what the Liberty have on offense shouldn’t regularly be having turnover-fests and 20-25 point halves. We’ve discussed the size issue and if you want to blame whatever they do on defense on it, that’s one thing.

But there’s just no way they should be this bad on offense. They do some motion but a lot of their offense is pick and roll with floor spacing. So if they have communication breakdowns when they run motion, again that’s maybe a separate situation.

But they’re terrible even when they run pick and rolls early in the shot clock and you can tell it’s more of a set play. And it just shouldn’t be. Other teams can and do run this type of offense without their fans regularly having to wonder when their players might pass the ball to the opposition, the bench or out of bounds. I’ve defended Hopkins and I still think the system and approach are workable. But at the same time I feel like a fool for having defended what has resulted in these outcomes. I’m frustrated and angry. They are relatively healthier than they’ve been most of the season and even with that they’re just getting worse and worse. With a talented offensive group.

How do you play the way they did in the first half and still come out like they did in the second? It defies logic.

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The poster formerly known as LibWNBAFan.

[Bob Lamm]

[root_thing]

Liberty post game: Hopkins, then Onyenwere, Howard, Ionescu together. Walt said they quit in the second half and need to get tougher. Players were remarkably calm. Basically repeated what Hopkins said about being tougher.

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You can always do something else.

[Queenie]

I'm starting to wonder if these press conferences should start with the players and then go to the coach. How many times have we seen variations on "the players repeated what Hopkins said" when media clips get posted?

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Ardent believer in the separation of church and stadium.

[Stormeo]

[Bob Lamm]

I've done a lot of published interviews with public figures, but never (whether in sports or in other areas) press conferences where you are questioning them on video. Still, this was an absolutely appalling job by the reporters questioning Walt Hopkins and the three Liberty players.

So often participants in press conferences aren't honest. But Walt Hopkins' first words were extraordinary: "We gave up!" He said that again a few minutes later. Did anyone ask: "Hey, Walt, you're the COACH! The second half lasted for 20 minutes of basketball plus breaks. You saw your team, in your words, giving up. What did YOU do in the face of that?"

Then, in interviewing Ionescu, Howard, and Onyenwere, the reporters again avoided the crucial questions. No one asked: "You just heard your coach say that you 'gave up.' Do you agree with that assessment? How do you feel about your coach PUBLICLY saying that?"

And, finally, how about this: "Walt, who exactly gave up?" The Liberty have 12 players on their roster. Willoughby can't play. According to Queenie, who was present at the game, Gray wasn't there. (No question for Walt about that.) Odom didn't play a single minute, so no one can blame her for giving up. According to Walt, Shook was hurt and that's why she didn't return after her two minutes. Can't blame her. Hopkins specifically said that Natasha Howard was NOT among those who gave up. And his comments about Sabrina seemed to exclude her from blame.

Jaz Jones only played 17 minutes, Didi Richards only 11 minutes, Michaela Onyenwere only 19 minutes. I don't have data on how much each played in the second half. Seems dubious to blame these three bench players for giving up.

Who's left? Rebecca Allen, Betnijah Laney, and Sami Whitcomb. Is Walt putting this on those three? Did they give up?

SO many questions I'd love to ask. My opinion of Walt Hopkins wasn't glowing before watching this video. Now it's far lower. Same for the reporters.

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

[Queenie]