Should the WNBA play rough?

[rzzzzz]

No doubt the NBA has been physical as long as I can remember. Wilt and Russell played each other plenty tough. Though I don’t remember much in the way of cheap shots between them. Outside of Darryl Dawkins ridiculous “boxing” stunt in the middle of the ‘77 finals, and the gruesome Kermit Washington-Rudy Tomjanovich incident, I don’t remember much overt aggression until the Jordan rules. Which I wasn’t a big fan of. Much as I admire Draymond Green’s superior team-oriented cognition, I have been disappointed when he’s resorted to anything that hints of assault. Though, admittedly, I’ve remained an NBA fan throughout.

With the new phenom bringing interest to the women’s game, there is wildfire debate (at least until tomorrow’s game) about the rookie and women showing that they need be as “competitive” as the men. I’m likely more sexist than any of the talking heads, but I wouldn’t mind at all if the officiating was such that the WNBA put more emphasis on talent instead of raw physicality. Women’s sports don’t have to be pale imitation, but champion other attributes. Plus, I wouldn’t feel cheated by a league that highlights the Steph Curry’s, Dr.Js, etc. of the world, given the opportunity. I’d call it tighter.

[KembaWalker]

At least with the Jordan rules, they were targeting him because he was the best player. That’s not why they’re targeting CC

[rzzzzz]

At least with the Jordan rules, they were targeting him because he was the best player. That’s not why they’re targeting CC

She’s the shiniest. And she’s bringing in an audience they’ve never had before. But from what some vet/commentators are saying, this goes on with everybody, particularly top rookies. I’m not saying it ain’t fair. I just wonder if the game would be more appealing to more of these new fans to make it worth the league’s while to clean it up some. Maybe not. People loved the bad boys.

[Wingy]

What’s “rough?”

The Thomas and Carter fouls are varying degrees of play you just don’t want to see, especially the former. Sure, that stuff will happen, but the league should crack down on it hard.

Now should the players be physical within the rules, play tough, intense, and super competitive, jaw a little, hard screens and plays on the ball? Absolutely yes.

[MrDollarBills]

What’s “rough?”

The Thomas and Carter fouls are varying degrees of play you just don’t want to see, especially the former. Sure, that stuff will happen, but the league should crack down on it hard.

Now should the players be physical within the rules, play tough, intense, and super competitive, jaw a little, hard screens and plays on the ball? Absolutely yes.

This. The flagrant fouls against Reese and Clark have no business in the game, but those are outlier incidents. Everyone needs to relax they act like they're playing 1987 style NBA hoops and it shows that not enough people actually watch before opening their mouths.

The league doesn't need to clean up anything in terms of defense. The highest skilled players in the W don't need to be coddled like the bitch boys in the NBA who flop and cry for fouls every minute. I don't wanna see that crap over here personally. The biggest appeal of the W is that it's below the rim hoops without the biased crap of the NBA.

[TravisScott55]

Sure why not?

[MrDollarBills]

https://www.reddit.com/r/wnba/s/RoSpuztM8H

I couldn't directly link to the video, but here is a visibly aggravated Stewie talking about the physicality of the W.

CC and Angel aren't the first rookies to get their asses knocked around, and they won't be the last.

These are grown women. Not little girls who need to be protected in bubble wrap. I think the notion that the league needs to crackdown on physical play is absurd. This is hoops.

Edit:

Read on Twitter

I love Stewie lmaoooooo

[Stannis]

Just like any sport, you should push the league's limits.

[CIN-C-STAR]

Yes it will be a better game once more skilled players are in the league.
The problem is they just don't have enough players. Yet.
But they're coming.

[MrDollarBills]

Yes it will be a better game once more skilled players are in the league.
The problem is they just don't have enough players. Yet.
But they're coming.

Again, you say this, and it's 100% false dude. Repeating a falsehood over and over doesn't make it true.

I implore you to watch more games, because it's clear that you do not. The league has a ton of skilled players. We have more players than teams needed to accommodate for all the talent that has to play overseas because they can't make a 12 person roster because there's no more room.

[CIN-C-STAR]

Yes it will be a better game once more skilled players are in the league.
The problem is they just don't have enough players. Yet.
But they're coming.

Again, you say this, and it's 100% false dude. Repeating a falsehood over and over doesn't make it true.

I implore you to watch more games, because it's clear that you do not. The league has a ton of skilled players. We have more players than teams needed to accommodate for all the talent that has to play overseas because they can't make a 12 person roster because there's no more room.

Look man, I respect your opinion, maybe you could try respecting mine?
I expect the women's game to get significantly better over the next decade. You don't. You think it's already oversaturated with high-end talent.
Cool.
But saying my opinion is "100% false" and "embarrassing" and saying I don't watch games when you've no idea what I watch, is just you being arrogant.
I'm entitled to my opinion as much as you are to yours, and neither of us know the future.
Btw how much women's college do you watch? How about high school? How about club? If you don't also watch the next generations, maybe you aren't the authority on the subject you think you are.
We all know the W has improved significantly in terms of skill. That doesn't mean there's not more room for improvement. I think there's quite a bit of room, you don't, ok let's leave it at that without the personal attacks alright?

[TerrenceClarke]

there is a bunch of skill in the WNBA, but The Next generation of the WNBA will be much more skilled. The HS level shows this in spades. The League has to expand much faster cause so many ballers will be with a place to play and that would be a crime.

[MrDollarBills]

Yes it will be a better game once more skilled players are in the league.
The problem is they just don't have enough players. Yet.
But they're coming.

Again, you say this, and it's 100% false dude. Repeating a falsehood over and over doesn't make it true.

I implore you to watch more games, because it's clear that you do not. The league has a ton of skilled players. We have more players than teams needed to accommodate for all the talent that has to play overseas because they can't make a 12 person roster because there's no more room.

Look man, I respect your opinion, maybe you could try respecting mine?
I expect the women's game to get significantly better over the next decade. You don't. You think it's already oversaturated with high-end talent.
Cool.
But saying my opinion is "100% false" and "embarrassing" and saying I don't watch games when you've no idea what I watch, is just you being arrogant.
I'm entitled to my opinion as much as you are to yours, and neither of us know the future.
Btw how much women's college do you watch? How about high school? How about club? If you don't also watch the next generations, maybe you aren't the authority on the subject you think you are.
We all know the W has improved significantly in terms of skill. That doesn't mean there's not more room for improvement. I think there's quite a bit of room, you don't, ok let's leave it at that without the personal attacks alright?

You saying that the league currently lacks skilled players is demonstrably false. We can list the rosters for each team and go player for player and it will not even come close to what you're heavily implying. You literally said that the league is full of scrubs! What else do you expect me to say?

I don't mean any disrespect, but come on man. Do better.

[MrDollarBills]

there is a bunch of skill in the WNBA, but The Next generation of the WNBA will be much more skilled. The HS level shows this in spades. The League has to expand much faster cause so many ballers will be with a place to play and that would be a crime.

See? Now this is a much more nuanced take that acknowledges what we have now, and what's to come in the college and hs pipeline.

I totally agree that the new generation coming is going to flip the league on it's head. Juju is going to be a superstar. You know how big I am on Milaysia.

That doesn't at all take away from the current 144 players we have now, who are highly skilled and damned good. That's what I mean CIN C.

In fact, I apologize for being abrasive about it. We've had too many trolls coming through trying to degrade the players and it gets tiresome, but I don't think you were on that BS despite us disagreeing. My bad.

[MrDollarBills]

Read on Twitter

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Bob Costas comes off of the top rope!!!

[ellobo]

No doubt the NBA has been physical as long as I can remember. Wilt and Russell played each other plenty tough. Though I don’t remember much in the way of cheap shots between them. Outside of Darryl Dawkins ridiculous “boxing” stunt in the middle of the ‘77 finals, and the gruesome Kermit Washington-Rudy Tomjanovich incident, I don’t remember much overt aggression until the Jordan rules. Which I wasn’t a big fan of. Much as I admire Draymond Green’s superior team-oriented cognition, I have been disappointed when he’s resorted to anything that hints of assault. Though, admittedly, I’ve remained an NBA fan throughout.

With the new phenom bringing interest to the women’s game, there is wildfire debate (at least until tomorrow’s game) about the rookie and women showing that they need be as “competitive” as the men. I’m likely more sexist than any of the talking heads, but I wouldn’t mind at all if the officiating was such that the WNBA put more emphasis on talent instead of raw physicality. Women’s sports don’t have to be pale imitation, but champion other attributes. Plus, I wouldn’t feel cheated by a league that highlights the Steph Curry’s, Dr.Js, etc. of the world, given the opportunity. I’d call it tighter.

The WNBA is physical, but not overly so. Sure, there have been a couple of flagrant fouls and you can cherry pick missed foul calls, just like with the men's game.

I'm a huge Caitlin Clark fan, but this narrative about the league being overly rough is 100% driven by a combination of:
--Caitlin Clark fans who are new to the league making excuses for their hero.
--Disingenuous haters using Caitlin Clark as an excuse to denigrate a league that represents things they hate (Black women, gay women, trans women, strong women, and women in general). 

Neither group is doing Caitlin Clark any favors.

https://www.reddit.com/r/wnba/s/RoSpuztM8H

I couldn't directly link to the video, but here is a visibly aggravated Stewie talking about the physicality of the W.

CC and Angel aren't the first rookies to get their asses knocked around, and they won't be the last.

These are grown women. Not little girls who need to be protected in bubble wrap. I think the notion that the league needs to crackdown on physical play is absurd. This is hoops.

Edit:

Read on Twitter

I love Stewie lmaoooooo

And this is why players are frustrated by this "rough play" narrative. They know where it's coming from.

[ellobo]

Read on Twitter

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Bob Costas comes off of the top rope!!!

I didn't even think the Thomas/Reese play was that bad. To me it was a clearout gone wrong in the heat of battle, with a recklessly high elbow and an extra shove at the end, that definitely deserved a flagrant 1, but not an ejection. The Carter/Clark play was more of cheap shot, since it was on a dead ball. But it was a body check, not a punch or swinging elbow. Caitlin Clark actually did a similar thing in college to a player named Erin Woodson in game against Purdue Fort Wayne. She got called for an intentional foul (the NCAA equivalent of a flagrant).

[TerrenceClarke]

Candance Parker and others got the same Kind of Smoke...but I guess its only because CC is white they doing this...

swipe...



I have no Problem with the physcality of the WNBA

EVERY ROOKIE, that steps in a professional sport has to deal with the extra physcality of professional sports.

The sad part is you have people saying that CC should be allowed to score more freely and treat her different.

[MrDollarBills]

Candance Parker and others got the same Kind of Smoke...but I guess its only because CC is white they doing this...

swipe...



I have no Problem with the physcality of the WNBA

EVERY ROOKIE, that steps in a professional sport has to deal with the extra physcality of professional sports.

The sad part is you have people saying that CC should be allowed to score more freely and treat her different.

Exactly. Enough with the pearl clutching. This is nothing new.

Before this crap ever started DT nearly broke Cheyenne Parker's face open 3 weeks ago and no one cared. A'ja nearly got her nose broken the other day and dropped a 30 banger.

It's insulting to the players too. Like these are pros. They can handle rough play. I damn sure don't wanna watch a WNBA where the players are babied and coddled like their NBA counter parts.

Where were yall when Stewie caught a black eye last year? And you wonder why she looked so annoyed by the media

[MrDollarBills]

Read on Twitter

/mediaViewer?currentTweet=1797999498524065933&currentTweetUser=awfulannouncing

Bob Costas comes off of the top rope!!!

I didn't even think the Thomas/Reese play was that bad. To me it was a clearout gone wrong in the heat of battle, with a recklessly high elbow and an extra shove at the end, that definitely deserved a flagrant 1, but not an ejection. The Carter/Clark play was more of cheap shot, since it was on a dead ball. But it was a body check, not a punch or swinging elbow. Caitlin Clark actually did a similar thing in college to a player named Erin Woodson in game against Purdue Fort Wayne. She got called for an intentional foul (the NCAA equivalent of a flagrant).

The AT/Reese play was pretty dangerous in my opinion just based off of the way Angel landed. It was officiated correctly because it was a reckless play. AT knew what she did

Chennedy gave CC a good old love tap. I've seen worse in middle school basketball tbh