12 things from this past weekend from around the WNBA:
1. Real deal Kelsey Mitchell
Indiana’s rookie point guard doesn’t appear to have any interest in backing down from anything — from the mounting expectations for the Fever to get their first win of the season to proving she can lead an offense by doing more than scoring. The pressure she already puts on opponents to run her off the three-point line in pick and roll just doesn’t seem fair this early in her career. (Diana Taurasi, Allie Quigley and Kristi Toliver are the only other three players I’d put in that same stratosphere right now.) Mitchell is hunting open threes, sometimes putting bodies on the floor in the process.
And let’s talk about her passing. Assists are not a tell-all stat. I’d like to see more substantial arguments against her passing instincts at this stage that take it one step beyond rattling off an assist average or percentage. Context has to enter the discussion at some point, too. Unless Victoria Vivians is on the floor, this Indiana roster is pretty starved for spot up shooting. Plays like these don’t get credited to Mitchell in a standard box score, but they’re just as valuable as an assist:
That read only looks so easy because two additional defenders immediately went on high alert the second they realized Mitchell was using a ball screen.
They knew they had to run her off the line, opening the door for her to attack down the baseline. The kick out pass went to a wide open Tiffany Mitchell who then found Victoria Vivians (a more consistent three-point shooter) at the top of the key.
2. Sun ready to roll
The Lynx did a fair amount of switching in pick and roll situations Saturday in Connecticut, as noted by Neil Olstad of Canis Hoopus. The Sun responded to it immediately, and continued to find success against that strategy throughout the game.
Slipping a screen is one of the easiest ways to beat a switching scheme. Connecticut gained an advantage at times just by rolling hard. Jonquel Jones and Chiney Ogwumike in particular put a lot of pressure on Minnesota’s defense by rolling hard, holding their ground and giving a target to receive an entry pass. The Lynx often tried to execute a second switch, sometimes referred to as a scram, to get a guard out of that unfavorable matchup. The quick roll or slip made that much tougher to do — a quick pass inside could beat the scram.
The Lynx were in trouble the second Ogwumike started rolling to the basket. Even though she missed the shot, the Sun had an advantage on the glass because Sylvia Fowles had to help off of Jonquel Jones to prevent an uncontested layup by Ogwumike.
After the initial switch here, Tanisha Wright attempts to tag Alexis Jones out to take Jonquel Jones on herself. Alex Bentley makes a good read to fire it over to Courtney Williams immediately — there’s too much ground for Jones to cover to get there in time.
Those were just two examples shown to illustrate how tall a task that is against a good team. Minnesota certainly vaporized a lot of potential scoring opportunities, especially for Alyssa Thomas. More often than not, it brought Fowles onto (or closer to) Connecticut’s playmaking forward, a matchup I’d take to the bank every single time if I’m the Lynx.
3. Sugar Rodgers bringing a new wrinkle
The Liberty offense has reintegrated yet another versatile guard/wing in Rodgers, who missed time early in the season due to injury. She simply brings a wrinkle to their offense that few players in the league (and none of her teammates) can duplicate in quite the same way.
Rodgers has to be accounted for anytime she’s running off a screen. The kind of shots she takes must be weighed properly when evaluating her shooting percentages. Shooting in the high 30s on attempts like those is not the same as shooting in the high 30s exclusively on spot ups. If a defender gets hung up at all on a screen, Rodgers is getting that shot up, thanks in part to her quick release.
4. Natasha Howard turning on the jets
Note the positioning of Howard and Atlanta’s two bigs when the miss comes off the rim. They’re all starting from the same area. Howard kicked it into high gear and beat both of them down the floor to earn a bucket in transition as Seattle clawed its way back into that game.
5. Liz Cambage at an elbow
Strangely enough, throwing it early in the clock to Cambage just might be the best way to get her going inside. An early catch near the free throw line gives the all-world center a chance to attack before the entire defense gets set to understand what’s coming.
Note Cambage’s skill level when we see plays like this, too, not just her size or strength. She has shown a willingness to shoot an occasional midranger or three-pointer when left wide open. So far, it looks like teams are going to respect Cambage that far from the basket. The ripple effect there will be felt when Fred Williams elects to go big to put his best defensive groups on the floor…
6. Big Wings
Though Glory Johnson and Aerial Powers have returned to action, the Wings played without Karima Christmas-Kelly on Friday. Kaela Davis started in her place but played just 17 minutes. Williams leaned more on bigger lineups with Kayla Thornton or Azura Stevens at the three spot. Stevens makes a lot of sense there given her shooting and face up abilities. Thornton would probably need to crank up the volume with her outside shooting to command more attention out there. However, Cambage occasionally hanging out up top helps Thornton out by clearing the lane for her to be the one rolling to the basket or ducking in for a quick post touch.
7. Jasmine Thomas, still getting better
Does Jasmine Thomas look more explosive off the bounce this year, or is it just me?
Thomas also caught Lindsay Whalen ducking out too early for one of those aforementioned scram switches:
Thomas saw what Whalen was doing, waited for Alyssa Thomas to flip the screen, then crossed over into an easy jumper.
8. The gravity of Tina Charles
Who else in the league could shoot 4-15, yet still draw two additional defenders without even receiving a pass? Before Marissa Coleman drilled the go-ahead three, two Indiana defenders showed hard toward Charles on the left block. At that point, Nurse had the shorter pass to Coleman or a skip to Shavonte Zellous in the opposite corner.
9. Skylar Diggins-Smith nifty with either hand around the rim
Diggins-Smith’s shooting percentage from inside five feet, by year: 57% in 2017, 51% in 2016, 60% in 2014, 48% in 2013. The All-WNBA guard approached her pre-injury mark (set in 2014) last year. She’s 18-34 (53%) from that range through Sunday. Finishes like those with her off-hand allow her to get much more creative in tight scoring windows.
10. About that 13-0 Sun run..
It’s never fair to pin the outcome of a game on one single thing. But for the Lynx, their offense really failed them late in the third when Connecticut created some separation with a 13-0 run. Four ugly turnovers took them completely out of rhythm, and the Sun capitalized by getting out in transition. Minnesota left too many points on the board in the first half as well — four missed bunnies, an 0-3 trip at the free throw line after a shooting foul and Sun technical, and a botched opportunity by Alexis Jones to get a shot up in time right before half.
11. Lindsay Whalen picking her spots
You might not care for that particular shot, but the Lynx need more of it from their starting point guard. Teams can’t be let off the hook to go through long stretches of games operating as if Whalen isn’t going to look to score. We know she’s still a devastating cutter late in games when Sylvia Fowles gets doubled. A few more shots falling out of the pick and roll early in games can tilt more attention her way, freeing up Fowles and Maya Moore to attack quickly without a second defender already in their lap. Drives like those also create easy, natural opportunities for Fowles to eat on the offensive glass.
12. Tiffany Hayes, closing
Hayes has too much burst to be contained one on one. That’s part of why I’d been advocating for more ball and player movement from the Dream heading into this season. New head coach Nicki Collen appears to have made that a priority, and the players are showing flashes of following suit as they get more comfortable with one another.
Getting Hayes a touch on a ball reversal against a scrambled defense is gold for Atlanta. She loves getting to her left hand but has a spin and crossover good enough to go back to her right to finish near the basket. There is no perfect solution once Hayes gets her shoulder past her initial defender.
Bonus: Close game in Seattle
That broadcast team is unlike any other in the WNBA. Sunday’s contest was a heated affair for the Seattle fans for numerous reasons, the calls made against Breanna Stewart likely atop the list. That set the stage for tremendous television as the Storm made a game of it in the fourth after entering the period trailing by nine. The broadcast audio from that quarter really ought to be offered to the public in podcast form by now.
Links I like
Don’t miss Ben York’s latest.
Here’s Jeff Metcalfe’s latest on the Mercury, who have now won five straight.
Here’s Christopher Cason in a Q&A with Sue Bird about her diet.
Here are some WNBA power rankings for the week via Jack Maloney.
Here’s James Kay with some stats and notes on this season.
Here’s Sloane Martin on Maya Moore’s journey.
Last time on the Drop Off: column for Alzheimer’s & Brain Awareness Month.