Moderators: cupcakesnake, G R E Y, Doctor MJ
jc23 wrote:4 straight home games coming up; Valkrie, sparks, atlanta, dallas. Valkyries are a different team on the road and that Sparks loss was one of the worst of the season. those should be wins.
C.lupus wrote:Two thoughts after this game:
1. I had the Sparks as a bubble playoff team before the season started so I'm not shocked they look better than their record.
2. I'm done until Clark returns. I hate being one of those guys but without her it's just not captivating. It's not terrible basketball (most nights) but it's just... meh, and that is not good enough to compete with summer unless it's just a rainy boredom-filled day.
jc23 wrote:one of my thoughts after the game is AB is an absolute bully.
Ice Man wrote:jc23 wrote:one of my thoughts after the game is AB is an absolute bully.
Once (honestly, as always), the idea that Cailtin Clark is uniquely disliked and picked upon by WNBA players is wrong. Like Clark, AB finished 9th in her position in player WNBA voting. Yet Boston is 2nd among all WNBA players this season in WIn Shares and 3rd in PER. Flat out, she has been first-team All NBA quality. Great scoring, great creation & decision making, good rebounding, good defense, and nonstop bullying/aggression. Just a wonderful season she is having.
Boston has a much stronger case than Clark for being disrespected by her fellow players. But that's not the popular narrative, is it?
Ice Man wrote:Once (honestly, as always), the idea that Cailtin Clark is uniquely disliked and picked upon by WNBA players is wrong.
rmontro wrote:Ice Man wrote:Once (honestly, as always), the idea that Cailtin Clark is uniquely disliked and picked upon by WNBA players is wrong.
Well, people who hate Clark also tend to hate the Fever by association. I was going to say the Fever haven't done anything yet anyway, but they did win the Commisioner's Cup, that's probably cause for some resentment.
AI_Efficiency wrote:I think a lot of the league dislikes Clark, or at least her success / attention she has received (and she can talk plenty of trash herself which brings some of it on), but her being 9th in player voting isn’t the example for that people think it is. She’s missed like half the games this year, and even when she played, she was usually down for her standards (which I’m sure even she would admit). All star voting isn’t like a ranking of pure talent. Feel like the player vote for Clark this year was largely fair.
AI_Efficiency wrote:rmontro wrote:Ice Man wrote:Once (honestly, as always), the idea that Cailtin Clark is uniquely disliked and picked upon by WNBA players is wrong.
Well, people who hate Clark also tend to hate the Fever by association. I was going to say the Fever haven't done anything yet anyway, but they did win the Commisioner's Cup, that's probably cause for some resentment.
I think a lot of the league dislikes Clark, or at least her success / attention she has received (and she can talk plenty of trash herself which brings some of it on), but her being 9th in player voting isn’t the example for that people think it is. She’s missed like half the games this year, and even when she played, she was usually down for her standards (which I’m sure even she would admit). All star voting isn’t like a ranking of pure talent. Feel like the player vote for Clark this year was largely fair.
AI_Efficiency wrote:Aari McDonald is awful, respectfully. Or at least she shouldn’t be starting on a team trying to win. She kills spacing and the offense by passing up open shots, but even when she shoots her threes, she’s doing it at such a low percentage no one cares. The Valkyries just decided to trap today and then pack the paint after the initial pass and the Fever couldn’t make them pay. If you’re a role player in modern basketball, you need to space the floor so your stars have room to operate.
jc23 wrote:AI_Efficiency wrote:Aari McDonald is awful, respectfully. Or at least she shouldn’t be starting on a team trying to win. She kills spacing and the offense by passing up open shots, but even when she shoots her threes, she’s doing it at such a low percentage no one cares. The Valkyries just decided to trap today and then pack the paint after the initial pass and the Fever couldn’t make them pay. If you’re a role player in modern basketball, you need to space the floor so your stars have room to operate.
im sure the thinking was get a second ball handler to alleviate pressure off Clark. it looked good to start the game and then as you said the spacing became horrendous. The V were able to pack the paint on every drive and the Fever never made them pay. They also got back on defense and out on the break for easy baskets.
They got to figure it out. Clark is going to get pressed full court and then blitzed on the pnr. She needs to keep her head up and be a step ahead; her teammates need to be ready for the pressure release and prepared to make a quick decision with the 4 on 3 situation. start making teams pay for playing overly aggressive and they will have to back off and play more conservative. Indy just has not been able to do that this season.