WNBA Playoffs Day 2

Great games last night, Detroit comes back to win and LA wins, perhaps, Lisa Leslie's final game in LA (which it won't be, sorry Seattle).

Los Angeles vs Seattle
Los Angeles, 1-0

Detroit vs Atlanta
Detroit, 1-0

The match ups tonight will be good too, well one of them will be.

Indiana Fever @ Washington Mystics (7:00 pm)
Phoenix Mercury @ San Antonio Silver Stars (9:00 pm)

Indiana Fever vs Washington Mystics

Game 1: Thu 9/17 (Washington) - 7:00 pm (ESPN2)
Game 2: Sat 9/19 (Indiana) - 7:00 pm (NBA TV)
Game 3: Mon 9/21 - (Indiana)-8:00 pm (ESPN2, if necessary)

Both teams are banged up which should prove to be interesting. All season long I've heard how Indiana can't win on the road (and I've thought that too). But they were almost .500 on the road, NOT bad. I'd take that. For Indiana both Tammy Sutton-Brown and Katie Douglas are still recovering. Tamika Catchings left the game early on on Sunday after her head collided with Connecticut Sun's Tan White's head (ouch).

For Washington, Alana Beard is recovering from a sprained ankle. Even with Beard though, the Mystics didn't win one of the four games they played against Indiana. Another issue for the Mystics; the game will not be played at the Verizon Center because some dinosaurs are marching around the Verizon Center floor. If you've read my blogs, you'll remember me talking about this before (or click here).

So some notes:

-Both teams average 77 points per game
-Washington allows 77 points per game vs Indiana's 71
-Both are very close on rebounding (for and against): Washington 35 for, 33 against; Indiana 33 for, 33 against.
-Indiana has 2 double figure scorers (Katie Douglas and Tamika Catchings) while Washington has 3 (Alana Beard, Lindsey Harding and Crystal Langhorne). But the rest of the Indiana starting 5 is nearly at double figures where Washington has a pretty big gap.

Keys for Indiana: STAY HEALTHY. Enough said....

Keys for Washington: Monique Currie has to step up for Washington to have any chance to win. If Beard is "good to go" she will not be 100% and not having her athleticism at full tilt could hurt them against a quick Indiana team. I know Monique can play, she's proven her abilities in playoff type games before. But she's also shown her ability to falter. Lindsey will have a nice series but she needs to get Langhorne the ball a lot more and pound Indiana's forwards. She has the athleticism to do it. Washington has the athletes to succeed, they just need to put it together and stay consistent for a full 40 minutes.

So the series will end up with Indiana winning 2-0. Washington allows opponents to shoot nearly 44% from the field, if you keep allowing that you are going home early. I think the games will be tight since Washington is very athletic and strong but I just see them falling short...barely but it's only a 3 game series and the track record is well, not there.

Phoenix Mercury vs San Antonio Silver Stars

Game 1: Thu 9/17 - (San Antonio) 9:00 pm (ESPN2)
Game 2: Sat 9/19 - (Phoenix) 10:00 pm (NBA, TV)
Game 3: Mon 9/21 - (Phoenix) 10:00 pm (ESPN2, if necessary)

Phoenix is healthy and ready to bring another Championship to Arizona. Phoenix heads to San Antonio tonight to begin the quest. They bring with them the best road record in the WNBA (11-6), WNBA scoring leader Diana Taurasi, Cappie Pondexter is the 4th highest scorer this season and the league best average points per game at 93. So San Antonio has their work cut out for them.....hope they prepared well!

The Silver Stars are pretty healthy too but they just don't have the same kind of players Phoenix has. But, anything can happen. Becky Hammon is averaging more assists this season then any other season and she has always played well come playoff time. She also set a career high with 19.5 points per game this season. So she might be playing her best ball right now. There are just some players that can play their best in the playoffs and she's one of them. Plus she's an awesome leader that can get her team fired up.

Some notes on the teams:

-Mercury score 92 points per game BUT allow 89 points per game.
-Silver Stars score 77 points per game and their defense allows 78 per game (that's the wrong way you want that stat to be!)
-Mercury average 35 boards and allow 35 boards per game.
-Silver Stars average 31 boards and allow 35 boards per game (wrong way stat again!)
-Mercury have 5 players in double figures for scoring
-Silver Stars have 3 players in point per game averages

Keys for Phoenix: dominate the boards and protect the middle. That little one (aka Becky Hammon) loves to drive the lane. As long as Pondexter and Taurasi are playing well, Phoenix should be fine.

Keys for San Antonio: stop the perimeter game of Phoenix. If they got hot from behind the arc, forget it. Rebound, rebound, rebound! Win the boards and limit second chance points for Phoenix, stop the transition game. Let Sophia Young do her thing and let her be free in her decisions, she's a great athlete that can match the athleticism of the Mercury.

Phoenix wins the series 2-0.

Angels, Wiggins and Leslies...oh my!

Tonight is a pretty important night here in WNBA land. Minnesota Lynx play at Los Angeles Sparks and Connecticut Sun play at Atlanta Dream. It's important because....

-the Atlanta Dream can start to complete their turn around from last season by clinching a playoff spot in their friendly confines of Philips Arena. If they beat the Sun (which I think they will) the Dream will certainly be living a dream.

-The Minnesota Lynx can keep their hopes alive by staying alive in the playoff hunt with a win at Los Angeles. IF the Lynx can win and win again on Sunday (saying the Silver Stars beat the Storm Saturday) they are in the playoffs. How can they be if they are tied with the Silver Stars? You know, that recreational head-to-head thing....Minnesota has the edge over San Antonio.

Check out the games! The more viewers the better...
Connecticut Sun @ Atlanta Dream (7:00 pm)
Minnesota Lynx @ Los Angeles Sparks (10:30 pm, NBA TV)

Washington Mystics
So if the Mystics make the playoffs the "Walking with Dinosaurs" show will kick them out of the Verizon Center. They will have to go 30 minutes north to College Park, MD...where there is train service but it's kind of a pain to navigate. Of course this is not the first time a pro team has had to reschedule a playoff game. Just this past NHL season the Pittsburgh Penguins had to reschedule their game with the Washington Capitals because of a Yanni concert. Not like it mattered because my Pens won but still...dinos and Yanni kick pro sports out of their own arena? Who exactly has banners hanging in the rafters? I rest my case....

Terrific #3 and other news

My number 3 team is......

Jake: Duke
Jenn: Duke

Now, how much slack will I get for this one? No National Titles and a team that should have won in 2006 but failed to do so, losing to that upstart team from their conference...you know the one, Maryland. Ready? Here we go:

-Finished in the Top 10 in all nine seasons in review

-Finished #1 in 2004, #2 in two of the seasons

-Three Final Fours, 1 National Title berth

-2 additional NCAA Quarterfinal berths

-4 ACC Tournament Titles

-5 (yes, five) All Americans: (Georgia Schwitzer, 2001; Iciss Tillis (2003); Alana Beard (2002, 2003, 2004); Monique Currie (2005, 2006); Lindsey Harding (2007)

-National Player of the Year (Wade Trophy) Alana Beard, 2004

That's enough for me to put them at #3.

WNBA News

The Washington Mystics proved they want to be in the playoffs by beating the visiting Seattle Storm. The Storm had 24 turnovers which helped the Mystics run the floor a bit (18 fast break points). Looks like the Mystics mean business and maybe not having Jackson in the lineup hurts the Storm more then I think. Guess it's tough to replace one of the best players in the game.

This moves Washington into 3rd with a .5 game lead over the Detroit Shock.

Games tonight:
New York Liberty @ Connecticut Sun (7:00 pm, NBA TV)

Indiana Fever @ Detroit Shock (7:30 pm)

Washington Mystics @ Chicago Sky (8:30 pm)

Atlanta Dream @ Sacramento Monarchs (10:00 pm)

Vickie Johnson

Last night the San Antonio Silver Stars honored one of the original players of the WNBA. Johnson graduated as a two-time All American from Louisiana Tech (1996) and one of the original members of the WNBA being drafted #12 in the second round by the New York Liberty. Turns out that #12 pick was a steal for the talent VJ brought to the table. Two-time WNBA All-Star and the first New York Liberty player to reach 2,000 points. June 2005 she hit a bucket for 3,000 points in the WNBA. And an even bigger honor, the owner of the world famous Carnegie Deli in Manhattan created the "VJ Classic Sandwich". It's a 3,000 calorie sandwich (oh my!).

In 2006, VJ moved onto San Antonio where she continued (and continues) to help her Silver Stars team stay in the playoff hunt. I know that I will miss seeing her play, she was always one of my favorites in the WNBA. A true teammate and a real role model. Best of luck to VJ, maybe we'll see you on the sidelines with Spoon at La Tech! Nice article on VJ on the Silver Stars website, check it out.

Feelin' it at #4 and WNBA News

The #4 team from 2001-2009 is...........

Jake: Stanford
Jenn: LSU

Seimone Augusts, Sylvia Fowles....enough said.

Okay, I guess I should give you some numbers and why I put them ahead of Stanford. LSU plays in the SEC against teams like Georgia, Vanderbilt and Tennessee. The SEC is one of the top 3 toughest conferences to play in every year. One could argue that they weren't tops of their game at the beginning of the nearly-a-decade but I beg to differ. Five straight Final Fours 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007 and 2008 (only team to accomplish this feat in this almost-a-decade) isn't enough to put them in the Top 5? Are you serious? Regular season SEC Champions in 2005, 2006 and 2008 (again, remember who plays in this conference) and Tournament Champions in 2003. SEC Tournament Runner-Ups five times during the span.

They were ranked in the Final Top Ten 4 times, advanced to at least the second round of the NCAA Tournament each year and made it to 1 additional Quarterfinal berth (not including the other 5 where they won and made it to the big dance). They were their regions #1 seed 3 of the 9 years they were in the NCAA tournament. LSU also had 3 All-Americans: Marie Ferdinand (2001), Seimone Augustus and Sylvia "Big Syl" Fowles (2007, 2008). Augustus was an All American from 2004-2006 (and I would argue deserved a 4 time nod but I guess the committee didn't see it that way). Augustus was also a two-time National Player of the Year-Wade Trophy winner (2005 & 2006). The great Nancy Lieberman is the only other player to win this award twice (Old Dominion University-1979 & 1980). That is some nice company. Top 5? I think so.

Tulsa Next WNBA Team?

Well it should be decided by the end of the month if Tulsa, Oklahoma will be the next team in the WNBA. This is the first time I've seen any mention on whether this will be a new team or a relocated team..hmmmm. Will Courtney Paris ask to be traded to Tulsa to play in front of the fans that loved her for 4 years? Will they be called the Tulsa Tornadoes? The Tulsa Tarmacs (since I sat on the tarmac for 2 hours on a flight back from New Mexico)? Hmmm, all questions to be answered as the drive for the expansion team continues!

WNBA

The Phoenix Mercury were on FIRE last night against the Indiana Fever. They shot 59% from the floor (to Fever's respectable 42%), 56% from the land-beyond-the-arc (to 22% for Fever) and 86% from the line. Fever were without Katie Douglas (injured ankle) but even if they had her in the lineup, Cappie Pondexter (Go RU!) was lights out. Pondexter dropped in 25 points, 3 boards, 4 assists and only 2 turnovers. Mercury led from the beginning and the Fever were able to get it close a few times but the Mercury went up big (by 22 points) and the Fever just couldn't chip away at it. Cappie had a nice under the basket inbounds play last night-bouncing it off of the back side of her old RU teammate, Tammy Sutton-Brown, grabbed the ball, put it up, scored and was fouled. Risky move but we are talking about Cappie here people!

Games Tonight

One game tonight: Seattle Storm @ Washington Mystics (7:00 pm)

Storm need the win since the Mercury jumped .5 game up on them. Storm are on the road for 2 games (Mystics then Lynx on Saturday) then they come home and play the Mercury next Thursday. It will be interesting to see if and when Jackson will be back this regular season. If I were them, with a playoff spot clinched, I might rest her until the playoffs start. Besides, the Storm are playing well even without her. Big game for the Mystics too as they try to separate themselves from the hot Detroit Shock.

Shaken, Not Stirred

So the standings have been shaken in both conferences. Primarily the East but man, some upsets in the West have really made things interesting. Atlanta continues their climb and beat the Seattle Storm, 88-79; Silver Stars beat the Mercury 106-89; Liberty beat Mystics 60-59. So what does this mean? This means that those teams that were plagued by poor coaching and injuries are finally coming together.

The Atlanta Dream are only in their second season but the hiring of Marynell Meadors as General Manager/Head Coach was a phenomenal move for the Dream. Last season they struggled as the team tried to gel and the organization tried to figure out just what the WNBA was all about. They finished the season 4-3o. During the year you could see that they were trying to figure out what they needed; the traded for Ivory Latta and Iziane Castro Marques to go along with the nice core of players who make up most of the 2009 team. In 2009 they had the first pick and snagged Angel McCoughtry. The also had the fortune of snagging Chamique Holdsclaw, who came out of retirement, Michelle Snow, Coco Miller and traded for Armentie Price. Now they have a quick and explosive team that is gelling (are you gellin'?) at the right moment. The result? A catapult into 2nd place in the East, 1/2 game ahead of Connecticut and Chicago. With Washington faltering in the second half again (I think there are too many Duke players on that team. Many of them the same ones that could not finish out the 13 point lead in the National Title game in 2006), Atlanta might just pull it off and hang tough and earn a #2 going into the playoffs. Although I see Chicago picking it up along with Connecticut, so maybe Atlanta will get a #4 but heck, they are playing top ball right now...when it counts!

So perhaps the Mercury loss is nothing more then everything going right for San Antonio, but I'm not a believer in that. Don't get me wrong, when teams hit on all cylinders they can be unstoppable but hello, this is the Mercury they are playing against. So yes, the Silver Stars matched the record for most points scored in the first half of a game (61, set by Seattle just over 2 years ago). I just wonder where the defense is for the Mercury, something I've complained about in the past. The Mercury forced only 8 turnovers and had 19 turnovers, above their average of 12 a game. The Silver Stars took advantage. Hopefully the Mercury can rebound and play their "A" game for the rest of the year.

The Liberty are finally playing smart ball. They've changed their offensive structure from an outside dominant game to a penetrate to the basket, shoot/pass. It's made a world of difference. The Liberty have gone 3-4 in the month of August with nice wins over the Sparks and Mystics. They've shown two things they haven't previously in the season: #1 they can hold onto win tight games and #2 when they get a lead they can hold on (be it barely) to get the win. They had a 19 point lead over the Mercury in July and LOST. In August, they've lost to teams that are really starting to kick it into gear: Atlanta (by 6), Detroit (by 12), Seattle (by 1) and Chicago (by 11). So I see a lot of improvement in their game and their attitude. They will continue to improve and might make some noise and knock off some teams that are trying for a playoff spot. I could see the Liberty being the "Party Spoiler" this season.

No games tonight...a fun story tomorrow.