Moderators: cupcakesnake, G R E Y, Doctor MJ
bisme37 wrote:Insane that Candace Parker didn't even play and they won the championship convincingly.
cupcakesnake wrote:bisme37 wrote:Insane that Candace Parker didn't even play and they won the championship convincingly.
Then to add some extra whip cream and a cherry to that sunday, they won the close out game without Candace Parker's backup (Kiah Stokes) and their all-W point guard (Chelsea Gray). This is a really career defining win for A'ja Wilson, and a very "heart of a champion" moment for the Aces as a group.
sol537 wrote:Aces were wisely punishing the Liberty's weak starting backcourt defense all series long. Sloot not looking for her shot most of the series also killed them. If Liberty can bring everyone back and get a 3&D starting guard to replace Sloot, then they should get back to the finals next season. Too much talent not to.
cupcakesnake wrote:I was playing basketball last night so I missed getting to watch the game live. I rushed to the bar after my game but only caught the final 3 minutes (still a pretty good thing to catch!). I watched the full game over a couple cups of coffee this morning.
I don't want to define the Liberty by this loss, because I'll always remember the ridiculously high level they reached and maintained over the whole second half of the season.
But putting them under the microscope, using the specific lens of a long head-to-head with the Las Vegas Aces, I have a couple of takes:
- Fundamentally, the Liberty lack a consistent point of attack. Stewie is more of a KG/Candace Parker/Steph Curry in that she bring immense value simply by walking on the court and makes the game easier for her teammates. Her value is more passive than active. She's lubricant on offense and defense, and her versatility unlocks any lineup possibility. She can also hit tough shots and be a mean scorer, but her on-ball power isn't really where her value comes from. She makes Sabrina and Jonquel harder for opponents to guard, with her gravity, her scoring threat, and her decision making, but her style isn't so much getting the ball in her hands and forcing the defense into awkward decisions.
- This contrasts heavily with A'ja, who is a super aggressive force of nature that constantly pressures the defense, sucks in the defense, and provides space for her guards to attack. She can't touch Stewie's versatility, but her superior FORCE really shined as the most valuable thing either team had in this series.
- Jonquel Jones is probably the closest thing the Liberty have to that point of attack that A'ja is. Until this game, Jonquel dominated, and there's a parallel universe where the Liberty shot better from 3, won the series, and Jonquel was finals MVP. But Jonquel isn't quite A'ja Wilson with the decision making speed. It's hard to be a resilient full-time offensive hub when your passing can't beat the extra attention you draw. A'ja isn't the world best passer, but she's very decisive about how she attacks extra coverage sent her way.
- Sabrina is not there yet. We can see the shooting. We can see the playmaking. But she doesn't put them together often enough. The decision making tree hasn't developed yet where she can identify how her scoring threat affects the defense and punish it accordingly. The result of that is a player that's either on fire or not on fire. Sabrina not on fire doesn't help the team a ton. She draws traps but reacts too slowly for the team to benefit from that attention. She's got all the hype in the world but until she levels up she's stuck as a streaky shoot first player that elite defenses can deal with most nights. I think Sabrina leveling up is the most clear path to the Liberty taking the next step.
- Sloot's weird shooting reluctance was a real storyline that affected everything and it was fitting the Liberty's season hung itself on a final open corner 3 for Sloot. Had she hit that, it would have been a great story. Unfortunately that airball was a nail in the coffin for Sloot and the Liberty. It sucks to say but I'll always remember this chunk of Sloot's career where her shooting reluctance became a real problem. In the bigger picture she's been a very up and down shooter her whole career.
MrDollarBills wrote:cupcakesnake wrote:I was playing basketball last night so I missed getting to watch the game live. I rushed to the bar after my game but only caught the final 3 minutes (still a pretty good thing to catch!). I watched the full game over a couple cups of coffee this morning.
I don't want to define the Liberty by this loss, because I'll always remember the ridiculously high level they reached and maintained over the whole second half of the season.
But putting them under the microscope, using the specific lens of a long head-to-head with the Las Vegas Aces, I have a couple of takes:
- Fundamentally, the Liberty lack a consistent point of attack. Stewie is more of a KG/Candace Parker/Steph Curry in that she bring immense value simply by walking on the court and makes the game easier for her teammates. Her value is more passive than active. She's lubricant on offense and defense, and her versatility unlocks any lineup possibility. She can also hit tough shots and be a mean scorer, but her on-ball power isn't really where her value comes from. She makes Sabrina and Jonquel harder for opponents to guard, with her gravity, her scoring threat, and her decision making, but her style isn't so much getting the ball in her hands and forcing the defense into awkward decisions.
- This contrasts heavily with A'ja, who is a super aggressive force of nature that constantly pressures the defense, sucks in the defense, and provides space for her guards to attack. She can't touch Stewie's versatility, but her superior FORCE really shined as the most valuable thing either team had in this series.
- Jonquel Jones is probably the closest thing the Liberty have to that point of attack that A'ja is. Until this game, Jonquel dominated, and there's a parallel universe where the Liberty shot better from 3, won the series, and Jonquel was finals MVP. But Jonquel isn't quite A'ja Wilson with the decision making speed. It's hard to be a resilient full-time offensive hub when your passing can't beat the extra attention you draw. A'ja isn't the world best passer, but she's very decisive about how she attacks extra coverage sent her way.
- Sabrina is not there yet. We can see the shooting. We can see the playmaking. But she doesn't put them together often enough. The decision making tree hasn't developed yet where she can identify how her scoring threat affects the defense and punish it accordingly. The result of that is a player that's either on fire or not on fire. Sabrina not on fire doesn't help the team a ton. She draws traps but reacts too slowly for the team to benefit from that attention. She's got all the hype in the world but until she levels up she's stuck as a streaky shoot first player that elite defenses can deal with most nights. I think Sabrina leveling up is the most clear path to the Liberty taking the next step.
- Sloot's weird shooting reluctance was a real storyline that affected everything and it was fitting the Liberty's season hung itself on a final open corner 3 for Sloot. Had she hit that, it would have been a great story. Unfortunately that airball was a nail in the coffin for Sloot and the Liberty. It sucks to say but I'll always remember this chunk of Sloot's career where her shooting reluctance became a real problem. In the bigger picture she's been a very up and down shooter her whole career.
How many threes did you hit last night?
And i agree with you. Sab has some growing to do as a player. This was a great experience for her, but I expected her to lead the charge and she wilted under the pressure. It ain't like she was the only one who played out of character, but i want to see how she bounces back next summer. She's got to improve as an individual defender and make quicker decisions when those doubles come. The fact that we had Jonquel and Stewie on the floor and Becky chose to take Sabrina out of the equation is all i need to know. We can't win a title if Sabrina isn't leading the way.
MrDollarBills wrote:Listen. I dunno who this kid George is. I saw her knock one shot down, toss up a bad air ball, and then started clapping multiple shots.
She's a baller. Aussie. Respect
LewisnotMiller wrote:MrDollarBills wrote:Listen. I dunno who this kid George is. I saw her knock one shot down, toss up a bad air ball, and then started clapping multiple shots.
She's a baller. Aussie. Respect
Heh, she's a 34 year old key part of the Aussie team.
I think she knew her role was to be a locker room person (she has a good rep here for that) plus be a 'break glass in case of emergency' player in case there was injuries. Which there was.
Hard to come into an elite standard series like that after riding pine all season, but good to see her contribute and get a ring.
She has always been straight up cool to my daughter after games, signing stuff, having a chat, etc.
MrDollarBills wrote:I see that Kelsey Plum chose violence instead of winning with some grace. It's all good to me, but the Liberty better remember what she said and come back ready to make her eat those words.
G R E Y wrote:MrDollarBills wrote:I see that Kelsey Plum chose violence instead of winning with some grace. It's all good to me, but the Liberty better remember what she said and come back ready to make her eat those words.
Yeah there's always that follow up context clarification/justification but even if she meant to talk about how tight her team has become through growing pains, just do that. Walking back after it's out there is trying to put toothpaste back in the tube.
Context of context:
Replies:
Keeping it classy. How you approach disappointment and the follow up says a lot about you.
G R E Y wrote:There was some controversy about media availability:
Wow.
Fair point. It's a multi-faceted aspect of the game.
but still, they have obligations that need to be fulfilled. Hopefully this is a learning moment for everyone. G R E Y wrote:Just as how you lose shows something, how you win does, too. These parade victory speeches are embarrassing. Handling liquor like a teen using fake ID drinking for the first time. Oof.
Good turnout, though, so there's that:
