to be the WNBA’s version of the St.Louis Baseball Cardinals. Until 1958 there were not teams west of the Mississippi in MLB. The story is that supposedly the Cardinals developed and spread their games to lots of radio stations west of the Mississippi and built their fan base.
I have been a mild Seattle Storm fan for years since Sue Bird played there. Today I watched the first half of the Storm game on ESPN3 but then switched to the Fever. The Fever on so much, you learn their team and it is easier to watch them.
Game TV Coverage- The main crew with Rebecca Lobo and Ryan Ruocco are pretty good, easy to listen to, insightful and knowledgeable. Both of them tend to have times where they fall into being WNBA promotional agents. Indiana Fever TV crew is easy to listen to. The in set crews of ESPN are raved about by many- but not by me. Andraya Carter and Carolyn Peck are both good, the rest no so much. I would like to see ESPN reach out to some former coaches as their insights are usually good- Muffet McGraw, Tara Vandeveer.
Change Season- Early I told people that the WNBA will never really take off until it moves to “basketball season”- the winter. I wonder if that is true. Maybe it is because I am a White Sox fan so I have no sports to watch this summer, but it seems like I am watching more WNBA this summer than I might during the winter when it would be going up vs NBA, college men and women.
Rivalry- Isn’t crazy that two teams who are a combined 13-20 are considered perhaps the biggest rivalry for fans this year. Hats off to Clark and Reese. And they have all three games been fun to watch.
“We Are Talking About Practice?”- Allen Iverson was wrong about the value of practice. It is crazy that college men’s and women’s teams are working out right now in prep for season and will all fall. In the WNBA, the Fever (and the rest) all had about 2 weeks and maybe 10 practice before first games. Now that they have had a break in the schedule, it is obvious to the eye how much better they play.
Clark-Boston- They really understand how to use each other. It is impressive on the break how Clark just waits for opportunities to get the ball to Boston. Clark sees her coming out of nowhere. On ball screen, Boston is getting better and better making decisions on the short rolls. The ability to make decisions in the ‘short roll” at the FT line area is a skill young players need to develop like Boston has. I wonder if at some point they will let Boston go outside and set her up to take 2-3 threes per game.
Pass Back- Both Clark and her teammates do not do as well as Iowa did of having Clark relocate after passing, or in transition her following and getting shot. A big part of that is that the WNBA defenders are so much more disciplined and won’t leave her. Just as Clark is “looking for Boston,” the Fever players need to understand situations to look for Clark better. In the last several possessions, Clark had too many no touch possessions.
Coaching- The games now after practice are much easier to watch and not become AS critical of the coaching. I would be interested what the players would say off the record. In times outs and deadballs, the players body language is good. I am impressed since when Clark was blindsided vs Chicago earlier- the coaches and/or the players are sure different. The Fever look like a college team rushing over to help a player when they go down.
In the last few possessions, I don’t like the designs or lack of designs to set up Clark.
Reese- She had a great day. I still feel the best comparison is to Dennis Rodman with her ability to rebound and rebound. Today she showed a better ability to finish than earlier in the year. I don’t know what the Fever matchup options would be but at some point if the Fever have another defensive option to guard Reese, it would have been good to use it.
Stats- College and Pros have access to every stat imaginable. I would like to see ball handling stats on passing to include-
Assists & Turnovers- obviously
“Should Have Been Assists”- passes on missed layups and open jump shots
“Hockey Assists”- passer in break or on drive, makes a pass that leads to the assist.
Late Game- The advance to half-court with time out and the “reset” give a lot of strategy at the end of the games. Love the need for the strategy and the side ob plays.
Behavior- In general there seemed to be less taunting and negative behavior by both teams. I continue to be impressed with Clark’s thoughtful responses in post game and pre-game interviews. She comes across as sincere and promoting both her team and the WNBA.
Entertaining- Thanks to both teams, it was an entertaining game and much better than watching the White Sox!
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