***The Official 2025 WNBA Playoffs Thread***

[Doctor MJ]

Another player in my mind is Lexie Hull and I’d love to hear folks chime in on their impressions of her defense.

She’s obviously not part of the duo of bigs (Boston, Howard) that directly slowed Aja down, but she has been seen as the best defender on the team.


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Super disruptive help defender, really great hands and anticipation, and solid at the point of attack. There are times that she gets physically overwhelmed though. She has wing height, but guard weight. There were times in the close out game where Lexie would stick her nose into the fray and just get bounced out of the play. Power guards happily attack her. No way I'd give her the nod over Natasha Howard, but after that I think Hull deserves recognition.

So, I would see Howard as the key per-minute defensive player, but her minutes were really held in check compared to in her prime.

[cupcakesnake]

Another player in my mind is Lexie Hull and I’d love to hear folks chime in on their impressions of her defense.

She’s obviously not part of the duo of bigs (Boston, Howard) that directly slowed Aja down, but she has been seen as the best defender on the team.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Super disruptive help defender, really great hands and anticipation, and solid at the point of attack. There are times that she gets physically overwhelmed though. She has wing height, but guard weight. There were times in the close out game where Lexie would stick her nose into the fray and just get bounced out of the play. Power guards happily attack her. No way I'd give her the nod over Natasha Howard, but after that I think Hull deserves recognition.

So, I would see Howard as the key per-minute defensive player, but her minutes were really held in check compared to in her prime.

She is certainly getting older, and I prefer all players once they hit mid-30s to play less than 30mpg. Compared to Hull though, we're still talking about a much bigger, much stronger, longer, more athletic player. Howard is still super active in rotations, and able to hold up against centers as well as most guards. She has a big veteran advantage too, in terms of knowing different players and just playing smarter/more economically.

Lexie Hull would have to do a TON with her brain and motor to close that gap. Howard is far removed from her prime. She never hit her Seattle level again, when she was a primary rim protector for an elite defense, but she still shows a lot of those traits.