Keys to Beating Comets: Western Conference Finals

[Purple Reign]

I have to admit that I am somewhat down about Ticha Penechiero not playing. I am not giving up in this series to say the least, but I think Ticha's defense on Swoopes was going to be key. Now the defensive emphasis must shift somewhere else in my opinion. But none the less here is goes:

HAYNIE MUST GROW UP
Earlier in the year when Walker went down I strongly advocated a Ticha trade to bring in another big player to take the place of DeMya. My thinking was that there was not another "4" to take DeMya's place (little did I know ) and I believed in Kristen Haynie's talent. Haynie has to step forward and become a player in this series because she is needed. She can not commit those foolish rookie turnovers that she has throughout the year. She has to take care of the ball when she is on the floor and be aggressive offensively. Where I think the Monarchs will miss Ticha the most besides defense is her inate ability to control the game tempo. She is the best in the game. Between Lawson, Newton and Haynie, Haynie being the pure point has the ability to do so.

STOP THE COMETS TRANSITION GAME
For some reason, the Storm decided not to play defense in Games 2 and 3. And Game 3 was a complete lay up drill by the Comets. It is no question that position by position the Comets are the faster team:
Snow is faster than Yo
Swoopes is faster than Powell by a mile
Brunson is faster than Thompson by a mile
Canty is faster than Lawson
Newton has the edge over Arcain

Red 3, Purple 2

Sheryl Swoopes runs the floor like a 15 year old child. She is amazingly fast for her age. She finds a way to clear the lanes on the dribble and take the ball straight to the basket on transition. The Monarchs have to get back with a quickness. This also means that they have to consentrate on points in the paint and less quick shooting.

WEAR THE COMETS DOWN
The Monarchs have a huge advantage on the bench, even without Ticha. The defensive presence in Tanty Maiga and Erin Buchler has to be present. DeMya Walker has to be the All-Star off of the bench. I like what she was doing off the bench before injury #2. The Comets have absolutely no matchup for her. In fact I will say if DeMya plays well the Monarchs will win. The Comets starters will play heavy, heavy minutes.
WEAR THEM DOWN!!!

and of course......

DO WHATEVER YOU CAN TO WIN GAME #1
I hope that the league addresses this Three game playoff format. It makes Game one so crucial and give the advantage to the higher seed. With that said if you lose game one, game two and three are played in a less than 24 hour turn around time. WHO MADE THIS SCHEDULE? 3 games in four days plus 2 games in less than 24 hours, does not favor the injured team. That would be our beloved Monarchs. Plus Houston showed that they can win on the road. If we lose game one.......

INTANGIBLES
Experience - COMETS
Home Court - MONARCHS
Desire - MONARCHS (WNBA Championships Houston 4, Sacramento 0)

 

[MamaBristow]

The Monarchs have to forget that they don't have Ticha. Haynie needs to have that energy that she usually brings when she comes in off the bench. And Haynie also needs to be able to beat pressure. I'm SURE that the Comets are going to pressure our guards. If our guards can't handle the pressure, it could be a loooong game.

Newton needs to play stifling defense....without accumulating fouls rapidly. We do not have depth at guard, and we desperately need her right now.

Maiga needs to help out on Swoopes, but on the offensive end, try not to do TOO much. Sometimes she gets a little careless with the ball. But if she makes lazy passes or dribbles wildly into the lane, Swoopes is gonna swipe it!

Nicole Powell and Kara Lawson need to shoot early and often. I'm sure the Comets are gonna play those two tight, but they need to be aggressive and look to score.

DeMya needs to get right back to the way she was when she came back the first time. Give good minutes. There's no one that can guard her. She's too quick, too savvy, and too skilled.

Yo.....just needs to be Yo. Relentless. Fierce. Our leader on the court.

Brunson needs to attack the boards. If she gets enough offensive rebounds, we'll get enough chances to score even if we go completely cold.

PLEASE MAKE YOUR FREE THROWS!! ---that goes for everyone!

Don't let the refs decide the game. Make adjustments. Don't lose your cool.

 

[kennadog]

The Monarchs have to get back with a quickness.

You are right on that Purple Reign. The Monarchs half-court defense is great, but they lapse on transition defense sometimes. They just don't get back quick enough.

And I'm with you MamaBristow. This is the playoffs. Free throws can win it all or lose it all. That's one thing Sacramento fans know with crystal clarity. Please, please shoot decently tonight Monarchs! Otherwise, I may go bald from tearing my hair out. On the other hand, I do have a purple wig now.

 

[RDub21]

1) Play Monarchs TEAM basketball and defense, that's how we got here in the first place.

2) Haynie and Newton have to come to play, ignore the fact that they're playing against Olympians and use their youth and fearlessness to their advantage.

3) Get Yo and Rebekkah touches down low against Comet's posts.

4) Limit turnovers and don't let the Houston crowd get into the game.

 

[GeorgeofSacramento]

The Monarchs have to forget anything that happened between the two teams this past year. As of today, it's a 3-game season. At the collegiate level, Kristin's been there before with Michigan State. It's time to ramp it up!

 

[Mr. S£im Citrus]

I'm going to go out on a limb and say that Maïga is the key to the Monarchs winning this series. I've said all season long that Maïga is our best perimeter defender, and against the Comets, she's going to have to prove me right. As I said before, I'm a lot more comfortable about the idea of Brunson having to defend Thompson than I would have trying to defend Jackson. Thompson still has the ability to take her off the dribble, as well as shoot from outside, but I have confidence in Brunson's ability to keep her under control.

Penicheiro took a tremendous amount of offensive pressure off Griffith in the first round against the Lakers with her ability to create for everyone on the court, and with Ticha out of action, the onus is on Yolanda to control the offense; Powell can create her own shot, as can Lawson, but Swoopes and Canty are good enough defenders to take them out of their comfort zones, so Yo needs to put the team on her back for the next four days, at least.

I'll co-sign on the belief that our one major advantage is with DeMaya Walker coming off the bench, but I wouldn't sleep on Tari Phillips; unfortunately for us, she's a lot closer to being a match for Walker than we would like... and without Penicheiro, we've got a substantial disadvantage at the point guard position. Our one remaining "pure" point guard is going to have her hands full with two future HOF's in Arcain and Staley. Mistakes will have to be at an absolute minimum.

I'd feel a hell of a lot better about this series if Ticha could go, but I still think that the Monarchs can win: they're hungry, they're focused... hell, it's their turn; they deserve this.

Go Monarchs!