Post your thoughts: SAC/LAS 6/27
- Thread starter mdme
- Start date
LA is looking like a pretty good team esp when Lisa Leslie and Tameka Johnson comes back. In fact, they're almost built like the Monarchs.
Lisa Leslie / Taj / Christi Thomas : Yo / Dwalk / Bek
Fernandez / TJ / Baker / Mabika : Ticha / Haynie / Lawson / Newton / Sho
Spencer / La Toya Thomas : Powell / Atkinson
Can't help but wonder how good that team will be next year.
Lisa Leslie / Taj / Christi Thomas : Yo / Dwalk / Bek
Fernandez / TJ / Baker / Mabika : Ticha / Haynie / Lawson / Newton / Sho
Spencer / La Toya Thomas : Powell / Atkinson
Can't help but wonder how good that team will be next year.
I would love to put this on the Back to Back... But hell we slept walked thru the New York Game.
We had limited energy to match LA in the first half.. And we still managed to make this game close. My personal opinion... She was making a run with Kara, Tangie and Scho-Ho-Do-Ro on the court. She should have stuck with that line up. The Zone killed our drive towards the end of the game.
I do think Kara and Nicole loss their legs towards the end of the game cause there was nothing on their shots towards the end.
A few observations... There was a point when Nicole basically had them back pedalling. She caught the ball and drove and she was on the free throw line. No time was going off the clock, and then we decided to go away from that. WHY COME??? It was working. Then our jets got out there and got us a nice lil run. Get the game close and we go away from that line up too.
We can suck this one up... Again.
Lets come home and take care of some business. We looks like we have some relief in the schedule. It is rather funny how Phoenix has no back to backs. Yeah the Schedule Sux.
I will look for a silver lining to this game tomorrow. I know there has to be one. But right now I am too tired and I need to take out the garbage.
So I guess we keep it tight in the West...
To quote our former coach..."I don't want excuses, don't give me excuses" We coughed up a lead essentially the same way and we weren't coming off a b2b. We haven't managed to figure out the "payback" thing, so I would suggest that they stop trying to get payback and beat teams they should beat the first time around...like way when you have a team down 21pts.
Tonight? We turned the ball over way too much like we do on nights we don't play a back to back. We got blitzed in the 2nd quarter, yet were able to come back and make a game of it...somehow, still not sure where that energy or sense of urgency came from and why it couldn't start in the 3rd. Actually, I take that back. I felt pretty good with the way they closed out the 3rd...they had to work hard to get that deficit no bigger than it was at the half...I thought they left themselves something to work with, even though I had to admit I had NO idea where the offense would come from to make up a 16pt hole. They got some from their defense, just needed to stop turning the damn ball over and they might have come all the way back and stolen this game...
Marta Fernandez is no scrub...she's made a lotta teams (including this one) look silly trying to guard her on a regular basis.
As for the lineup that finished the 4th, I would have sat Yo and run with Brunson, Atkinson, Robinson, Powell and Penicheiro. At the VERY least Powell, Atkinson and Robinson should have been on or never left the floor late in this game. You probably could have defensively dropped back into a zone, but hell, I still would have run with it. I at least would have had players who could go to the basket and draw a foul. We were awful from the perimeter tonight so I would have taken my chances there.
Bottom line tho, they need to seriously stop turning the damn ball over so much. They are killing themselves with that.
Close out the homestand by defending your home floor, don't care the least bit if they are ugly wins or not. Hold onto your damn conference lead going into July and heading into the allstar break. Figure your stuff out and go to work in the 2nd half of the season. You also, while you are trying to figure out stuff and stop turning the ball over, might want to figure out how to win on the road and within your conference. Just a thought...(and in case I haven't said it..stop turning the damn ball over)
Tonight? We turned the ball over way too much like we do on nights we don't play a back to back. We got blitzed in the 2nd quarter, yet were able to come back and make a game of it...somehow, still not sure where that energy or sense of urgency came from and why it couldn't start in the 3rd. Actually, I take that back. I felt pretty good with the way they closed out the 3rd...they had to work hard to get that deficit no bigger than it was at the half...I thought they left themselves something to work with, even though I had to admit I had NO idea where the offense would come from to make up a 16pt hole. They got some from their defense, just needed to stop turning the damn ball over and they might have come all the way back and stolen this game...
Marta Fernandez is no scrub...she's made a lotta teams (including this one) look silly trying to guard her on a regular basis.
As for the lineup that finished the 4th, I would have sat Yo and run with Brunson, Atkinson, Robinson, Powell and Penicheiro. At the VERY least Powell, Atkinson and Robinson should have been on or never left the floor late in this game. You probably could have defensively dropped back into a zone, but hell, I still would have run with it. I at least would have had players who could go to the basket and draw a foul. We were awful from the perimeter tonight so I would have taken my chances there.
Bottom line tho, they need to seriously stop turning the damn ball over so much. They are killing themselves with that.
Close out the homestand by defending your home floor, don't care the least bit if they are ugly wins or not. Hold onto your damn conference lead going into July and heading into the allstar break. Figure your stuff out and go to work in the 2nd half of the season. You also, while you are trying to figure out stuff and stop turning the ball over, might want to figure out how to win on the road and within your conference. Just a thought...(and in case I haven't said it..stop turning the damn ball over)
We just have ugly offense, period. They better figure it out pretty soon. And just in case MBF doesn't say it again 
, stop turning over the ball! We are like the second worst team at TOs. (Or is it 2nd best?) That will not cut it come play off time.
I'd love to have someone like Fernandez on our team. We could use someone that adept at getting their own shot.
, stop turning over the ball! We are like the second worst team at TOs. (Or is it 2nd best?) That will not cut it come play off time.I'd love to have someone like Fernandez on our team. We could use someone that adept at getting their own shot.
I'm sorry, but I do not like her game at all. Just me. There is no way that Ticha or Chelsea or Robinson should not be able to keep her in front of them. It is clear she loves to go to her left and her jump shot from the top of the key to the wings are limited. Where she becomes effective running the floor and driving the base line. All they have to do is close those lanes down and keep her in front of them. BUT FOR WHATEVER REASON THEY COULD NOT. They keep comparing her to Ginobli, and I do see some sameness, but IMHO, her game is limited along with it being herky-jerky.
I do agree, it would be nice to have someone like her that can get to the hoop at will on the Monarchs. maybe it is just plain envy on my part.
I do agree, it would be nice to have someone like her that can get to the hoop at will on the Monarchs. maybe it is just plain envy on my part.
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I have to agree with MBF on this--Marta Fernandez is no scrub. She has been chewing up most teams. I do agree that most of her game is driving the baseline, but she also easily takes it right through the paint and is nearly uncatchable in a fast break. Monarchs DID do a better job of shutting down the baseline and the pass she repeatedly made from there to the top of the key--but not until the 4th quarter, and by then they just did not have enough time or legs left. Marta is also a leftie, and most players have a hard time guarding a leftie--even Ticha.
Ridiculous number of turnovers!
The group I was with decided to keep track during the game of assists attempted--like they do in the Russian League--but we had to give up counting by the end of the 2nd quarter. It was not so much the passing that was causing turnovers, it was that our bigs just could not hold onto the ball! I think Adrian Williams has real potential for us, but I wish she had better "hands". There were too many wide-open, easy passes inside that slipped by like butter. Common Coach Ambers--work your majic here!!!
Great effort by Nicole in the 4th. She single-handidly put the team on her back & pulled them forward. She seemed to be everywhere, and then was pulled to the bench just when she was on fire both offensively & defensively.
Why do we not play Tangy more? She does make her own shot, and is so athletic. She brings great energy into the game every time she gets minutes, makes high-percentage shots, and pulls down a good number of boards for her limited minutes.
Here's hoping that we get the wins on Friday & Saturday--we NEED them!
Ridiculous number of turnovers!
The group I was with decided to keep track during the game of assists attempted--like they do in the Russian League--but we had to give up counting by the end of the 2nd quarter. It was not so much the passing that was causing turnovers, it was that our bigs just could not hold onto the ball! I think Adrian Williams has real potential for us, but I wish she had better "hands". There were too many wide-open, easy passes inside that slipped by like butter. Common Coach Ambers--work your majic here!!!
Great effort by Nicole in the 4th. She single-handidly put the team on her back & pulled them forward. She seemed to be everywhere, and then was pulled to the bench just when she was on fire both offensively & defensively.
Why do we not play Tangy more? She does make her own shot, and is so athletic. She brings great energy into the game every time she gets minutes, makes high-percentage shots, and pulls down a good number of boards for her limited minutes.
Here's hoping that we get the wins on Friday & Saturday--we NEED them!
I'll grant that she has no perimeter range. She has a little bit more range than she gets credit for otherwise. I'll also grant that we made the game last night her own personal lay-up line. I think it took nearly ALL GAME but the Ms finally had a decent defensive strategy to seal her off and take away what she wanted or felt comfortable doing. Might have been the 4th quarter, but on one Sparks possession I could see the white line rotations executed perfectly and she actually looked confused instead of comfortable, she ended up I believe giving the ball up in a rushed way, and if I recall correctly the Sparks didn't score that possession.
We sorta do have someone who should similar weapon to Fernandez in Robinson. If we could figure out how to make her take shots like we have to make the rest of this team take shots we might see that more often when she's on the floor.
When I watched parts of the replay of the game, particularly the part where we were making our charge...I think around the 3.5 minute mark in the 4th, there was one possession were it took us nearly 2 full shot clocks to score - I'm glad we scored and all, but I muttered the first time that we had taken waaaaaaaaay too long in that sequence to score. The other thing that struck me is that we would also around that same time of the game turn the ball over and Koz announces that it was our 18th turnover of the night. I remember looking at the game clock then and seeing that we would go on to turn the ball over another 5 times before that game ended. That may have been a worse turnover/min ratio than the embarassing display this team resorted to on Friday during the 4th quarter and OTs. They have GOT to stop that. They already are offensively challenged as it is right now, they can't continue to cough it up like that and rest solely on their defense to keep them in games.
We sorta do have someone who should similar weapon to Fernandez in Robinson. If we could figure out how to make her take shots like we have to make the rest of this team take shots we might see that more often when she's on the floor.
When I watched parts of the replay of the game, particularly the part where we were making our charge...I think around the 3.5 minute mark in the 4th, there was one possession were it took us nearly 2 full shot clocks to score - I'm glad we scored and all, but I muttered the first time that we had taken waaaaaaaaay too long in that sequence to score. The other thing that struck me is that we would also around that same time of the game turn the ball over and Koz announces that it was our 18th turnover of the night. I remember looking at the game clock then and seeing that we would go on to turn the ball over another 5 times before that game ended. That may have been a worse turnover/min ratio than the embarassing display this team resorted to on Friday during the 4th quarter and OTs. They have GOT to stop that. They already are offensively challenged as it is right now, they can't continue to cough it up like that and rest solely on their defense to keep them in games.
I guess this will be the question we will ask as long as there is air to breathe...
Why is this team so offensively challenged. These are not people incapable of scoring. Tangie, Scho and Chelsea can all drive and get to the rim. Kara and Nicole SHOULD be able to get into a shootout with the best of them. We are actaully a little weaker in the post this year. But still we are hanging in there.
Is Anyone... ANYONE as baffled about this as I am?
As for creating their own shot... can someone please explain that to me? What does that actually mean? Does that mean give someone the ball and get out of the way? Breaking someone down off the dribble? Or what... Cause I have heard that criticism about Nicole and Kara, and they actaully seem to be getting their shots off. Now beating double teams off the dribble is a whole nother bag of tricks.
And while we are on the topic of things to work on...
The reason why teams are running zones is that we have not shot them out of the Zones. The ball has to move, make the zone shift and when you catch a player recovering shoot over them. That expands the defense. gives us better rebounding opportunities.
I said it before... I will say it again. We are gonna see Zones for a long time. Jen-nay said it was a sign of respect. That teams dont want to match up with us. But To me it is a sign of DISRespect. Why should they risk getting players in foul trouble if they can play a more conservative defense? When they start running Box-and-1 and 2-3 zones that is saying we have absolutely no respect for your outside game and we are daring you to beat us with it.
And our post game is not dominant enough to overcome that right now. So we are progressing but we have some real work to do during the All-Star break.
Good news... We wont see Phoenix or LA for a bit. We may actually get it together before we see them again.
Why is this team so offensively challenged. These are not people incapable of scoring. Tangie, Scho and Chelsea can all drive and get to the rim. Kara and Nicole SHOULD be able to get into a shootout with the best of them. We are actaully a little weaker in the post this year. But still we are hanging in there.
Is Anyone... ANYONE as baffled about this as I am?
As for creating their own shot... can someone please explain that to me? What does that actually mean? Does that mean give someone the ball and get out of the way? Breaking someone down off the dribble? Or what... Cause I have heard that criticism about Nicole and Kara, and they actaully seem to be getting their shots off. Now beating double teams off the dribble is a whole nother bag of tricks.
And while we are on the topic of things to work on...
The reason why teams are running zones is that we have not shot them out of the Zones. The ball has to move, make the zone shift and when you catch a player recovering shoot over them. That expands the defense. gives us better rebounding opportunities.
I said it before... I will say it again. We are gonna see Zones for a long time. Jen-nay said it was a sign of respect. That teams dont want to match up with us. But To me it is a sign of DISRespect. Why should they risk getting players in foul trouble if they can play a more conservative defense? When they start running Box-and-1 and 2-3 zones that is saying we have absolutely no respect for your outside game and we are daring you to beat us with it.
And our post game is not dominant enough to overcome that right now. So we are progressing but we have some real work to do during the All-Star break.
Good news... We wont see Phoenix or LA for a bit. We may actually get it together before we see them again.
Her point is valid to some extent, teams would rather zone than play her squad man to man, as poorly as they've been shooting recently you could take your chances with any defense. The one reason I thought this franchise never saw more zone (its the only reason I could think of) is that we have one of the better rebounding teams and we also employ the game's best offensive rebounder - zone defenses make for easy pickings on the offensive glass. The problem is #33 is one handed in addition to playing without knees, and isn't on the floor as much as she used to be. Her protege in offensive rebounding rotates off the floor frequently as well. But even when this team has shot defenses out of a zone an into a man2man, they get lost making the adjustment. (See: Phoenix debacle #1).
This team just isn't executing their offense very well to take advantage of the strengths it has to defeat a zone. In addition to the on again, off again shooting from the perimeter. This team is notoriously bad at standing around, and the person with the ball standing around dribbling. What the Ms are struggling to do is make good passes with the ball in against zone and setting screens without fouling. Working the ball inside and out, our high low game, reversing the ball, - should help collapse a zone on itself. Reversing the ball should too. When they EXECUTE it should. They spend waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay too much time in this offense (STILL) catching and dribbling and waiting for someone to pass the ball to, to move. They hardly make the zone change shape and the Ms commit countless turnovers trying to force passes somewhere or passing to where someone should be but isn't. And under 5 seconds on the shot clock, we don't have anybody who can create or breakdown a defense and get something decent up consistently.
They clean up the turnovers from all the stupid stuff they try to do with the ball and move with and without the ball, and maybe play some more defense for 40 minutes so teams aren't able to set up in the zone it won't matter what defenses other teams play, the Ms will have ways to get shots and points.
This team just isn't executing their offense very well to take advantage of the strengths it has to defeat a zone. In addition to the on again, off again shooting from the perimeter. This team is notoriously bad at standing around, and the person with the ball standing around dribbling. What the Ms are struggling to do is make good passes with the ball in against zone and setting screens without fouling. Working the ball inside and out, our high low game, reversing the ball, - should help collapse a zone on itself. Reversing the ball should too. When they EXECUTE it should. They spend waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay too much time in this offense (STILL) catching and dribbling and waiting for someone to pass the ball to, to move. They hardly make the zone change shape and the Ms commit countless turnovers trying to force passes somewhere or passing to where someone should be but isn't. And under 5 seconds on the shot clock, we don't have anybody who can create or breakdown a defense and get something decent up consistently.
They clean up the turnovers from all the stupid stuff they try to do with the ball and move with and without the ball, and maybe play some more defense for 40 minutes so teams aren't able to set up in the zone it won't matter what defenses other teams play, the Ms will have ways to get shots and points.