It is hard to write about the WNBA today and not mention the brawl in Detroit last night. I don't want to take away from the great game the Storm played by spending too much time on the mess the Sparks and the Shock made of their game in The Palace, however, I do have two things to say.
1) What should have been a small incident that would have been quickly forgotten (understandable but not excusable) turned into a much bigger event when a coach crossed the line by interacting and making physical contact with a player from the opposing team. Rick Mahorn needed to focus on his own players and allow the Sparks coaching staff to focus on their players. He should not have engaged with Lisa Leslie at all. No matter what he thought he was doing, he was in the wrong.
2) Every person involved in the scuffle needs to take full responsibility for their own actions. There should be no excuses made or discussion of any other person involved in their statements. They should simply say that they were wrong, that they made a bad choice at the time and that they will abide by the consequences as determined by the league. They should apologize for making a poor choice and move on.
Back to the Good Stuff
I was really worried about this game, and my concern only grew when I learned that Yo was going to sit this one out. Minnesota has a nice rotation in the Post with Anosike, Hayden, Ohlde and Houston. That is balanced by their offensive minded backcourt of Augustus, Wiggins, DeForge and Harding. I was not sure that the Storm could hold Augustus in check, but in the end they were lucky and their decent defense on Seimone was helped by an off shooting day for the star.
Boy, what a pickup Camille Little has been. I guess that is somewhat of an understatement. I suppose Meadors must have owed Agler a little something for him leaving Lennox unprotected in the expansion draft. Her performance has me feeling very good about the post season.
Agler should start getting applause in Key Arena for the roster he has put together and the way he has coached the team this season. The crowd has seemed to be in somewhat of a "wait & see" mode with him this season, but I think he has proved himself. The team is on pace to have their best record in franchise history despite losing Lauren Jackson for five games. They are tied with San Antonio (Agler's former team) for the best record in the league. The games after the break are very favorable to the Storm, with the games against Connecticut and Los Angeles being the only games remaining on the schedule against top rated teams. Houston and Sacramento are the only other teams with at least a .500 record that they have to face. They have two games against Atlanta, Minnesota at Key Arena, and Chicago. I tip my hat to the man, that is, I would if I had a hat.
Next up is Phoenix. I would love for the Storm to prove me wrong on this one, but I don't think this is a good matchup for Seattle without LJ. If Yo and Swoopes are also questionable, it will mean even more trouble. Defense will be critical against a scoring machine like the Mercury, and their offense needs to be effective as well. I expect Little to perform well, but the Storm will need strong performances from Bird, Cash, Gearlds and Wright as well to stay in the game.
Storm
Most Effective Shooters
Player | True Shooting Percentage | Effective FG% | Floor Percentage | Points |
| Tanisha Wright | 75% | 75% | 57% | 12 |
| Camille Little | 67% | 65% | 65% | 17 |
| Sue Bird | 64% | 57% | 44% | 17 |
| Swin Cash | 55% | 42% | 44% | 6 |
| Shyra Ely | 50% | 50% | 46% | 6 |
It was nice to see Shyra get a chance to play and deliver. Camille Little is continuing her best LJ impersonation in the box score.
Top Ratings
| Player | Offensive Rating | Individual Rating |
| Camille Little | 134.77 | 119.21 |
| Tanisha Wright | 115.68 | 113.61 |
| Sue Bird | 105.93 | 101.14 |
| Swin Cash | 92.01 | 82.61 |
| Shyra Ely | 91.68 | 76.45 |
Raw Plus Minus
Katie Gearlds: +7Sheryl Swoopes: +7
Tanisha Wright: +2
Shyra Ely: +2
Camille Little: +1
Swin Cash: 0
Sue Bird: 0
Kelly Santos: 0
Ashley Robinson: -4
Katie Gearlds went 0-4 but the team performed very well when she was on the floor.
Most Effective Lineups
Bird-Gearlds-Cash-Ely-Little: +3
Bird-Wright-Cash-Ely-Little: +3
Bird-Wright-Swoopes-Gearlds-Santos: +3
Lynx
Most Effective Shooters
Player | True Shooting Percentage | Effective FG% | Floor Percentage | Points |
| Nikki Anosike | 67% | 60% | 64% | 9 |
| Lindsey Harding | 51% | 40% | 37% | 6 |
| Charde Houston | 50% | 50% | 47% | 16 |
| Nicole Ohlde | 50% | 50% | 48% | 6 |
| Anna DeForge | 50% | 50% | 50% | 6 |
| Noelle Quinn | 50% | 50% | 31% | 2 |
Wiggins had a 52% floor percentage but her 27% eFG% kept her off this list.
Top Ratings
| Player | Offensive Rating | Individual Rating |
| Anna DeForge | 133.03 | 114.35 |
| Nikki Anosike | 128.49 | 116.08 |
| Candice Wiggins | 111.35 | 91.25 |
| Nicole Ohlde | 97.88 | 83.66 |
| Charde Houston | 94.63 | 79.04 |
Raw Plus Minus
Candice Wiggins: +4
Nicole Ohlde: +3
Vanessa Hayden: +3
Charde Houston: +3
Lindsay Harding: +2
Seimone Augustus: +1
Nikki Anosike: -5
Noelle Quinn: -6
Anna DeForge: -10
Kristen Rasmussen: -10
Most Effective Lineups
Harding-Wiggins-Augustus-Houston-Hayden: +10
Wiggins-DeForge-Augustus-Ohlde-Anosike: +2
4 comments:
Regarding the Brawl, I definitely agree with choice #2. Let's not hear any of that mumbled evasiveness that we see in the NBA.
I tell my kids to own up and always offer lesser consequences when they do own up. Excuses, lies, or passing the buck earn full consequence. I expect the same from the rest of the world, but rarely get it. ;)
What do you think of the suspensions?
I'm a little shocked it's quite tame. I guess I was expecting more. While I thought Pierson was most to blame, it doesn't seem right that Parker only got one game because she definitely pulled Pearson down, and I saw her face and she looked intent on fighting before everyone else got involved.
Would love to hear your thoughts. :)
I am not surprised at the suspensions, the fracas wasn't too extreme. Pierson has a reputation, and they made an example of Mahorn. I think it is lame that they broke their own rule about serving the suspensions in alphabetical order to ensure Parker would play in the nationally televised game at MSG vs. the Liberty. Technically Page should have sat out last night and Parker the next game.
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