2024 WNBA Discussion Thread

[VolBall09]

Brink just seems to make things more fun, glad she’s Rickea’s teammate.

Super person, love her positivity.

 

[lvocd]

Clark is truly the first women's college player whose popularity has translated to the W. If Paige has a big season, maybe she might do the same (but she is another attractive, blue-eyed blonde).

Your entire post was terrific, but I wanted to add my two cents about Bueckers.

She is an outstanding basketball player and, if she remains healthy, will likely be the heavy favorite to be named Player of the Year (again) after this coming season.

But as fine a player as she is, quite frankly her type of amazing play has been demonstrated many times by many players over the years, including by a sickening number of her fellow Huskies. Lol Breanna Stewart was good enough to lead her team to an unprecedented four national championships. Paige Bueckers is a great player, but I haven't seen from her anything I hadn't seen Stewart (or for LV fans, Parker or Holdsclaw) do before her. Kelsey Plum knocked my socks off. And these are just a handful of more recent outstanding players. I won't even go down the list of old-school Amazons of the court. Soooo many players over the years impressed me.

But Clark? She literally, several times, made my jaw drop with those freaking near-constant, effortless makes -- so often game winners, too -- of routine-for-HER shots taken so far away from the basket it was shocking. Never before had a player made so many people, so often, shake their heads in utter disbelief of what she had just done. Again. And again. And again.

I honestly do think it is mostly the sheer audacity she displayed in even attempting those shots with the same casual confidence most others take 10-foot jumpers with, that made her stand out in a way that neither Paige nor Breanna nor Candace nor Chamique ever did or, perhaps, would even dare. Frankly, I don't think either Auriemma OR Pat would have allowed it!

Bottom line: As good as Paige is, she is unlikely to make jaws drop because people are actually shocked by what she just did on the court. Caitlin did that. All the time. And it really made an impression on people.

 

[glv98]

Your entire post was terrific, but I wanted to add my two cents about Bueckers.

She is an outstanding basketball player and, if she remains healthy, will likely be the heavy favorite to be named Player of the Year (again) after this coming season.

But as fine a player as she is, quite frankly her type of amazing play has been demonstrated many times by many players over the years, including by a sickening number of her fellow Huskies. Lol Breanna Stewart was good enough to lead her team to an unprecedented four national championships. Paige Bueckers is a great player, but I haven't seen from her anything I hadn't seen Stewart (or for LV fans, Parker or Holdsclaw) do before her. Kelsey Plum knocked my socks off. And these are just a handful of more recent outstanding players. I won't even go down the list of old-school Amazons of the court. Soooo many players over the years impressed me.

But Clark? She literally, several times, made my jaw drop with those freaking near-constant, effortless makes -- so often game winners, too -- of routine-for-HER shots taken so far away from the basket it was shocking. Never before had a player made so many people, so often, shake their heads in utter disbelief of what she had just done. Again. And again. And again.

I honestly do think it is mostly the sheer audacity she displayed in even attempting those shots with the same casual confidence most others take 10-foot jumpers with, that made her stand out in a way that neither Paige nor Breanna nor Candace nor Chamique ever did or, perhaps, would even dare. Frankly, I don't think either Auriemma OR Pat would have allowed it!

Bottom line: As good as Paige is, she is unlikely to make jaws drop because people are actually shocked by what she just did on the court. Caitlin did that. All the time. And it really made an impression on people.

Couldn't agree more. I think JuJu has already surpassed Paige.

Pistol Pete is the only other player I can think of that could routinely hit the insanely far out shot. Amazing that skill alone has brought about all of this stuff. I know CC is good in other areas, but it really is the logo 3. Interesting that it turns out to not be all that effective at helping to win games in the W.

 

[glv98]

Clarendon is back, but Rickea still starting. Lexie Brown to the bench. Sounds like a plan to me. Lynx are good, going to be tough.

 

[VolBall09]

LA just getting their butt kicked right now.


Minnesota is operating smooth this season. Seem to have worked out some of their kinks from the last couple seasons. McBride and Collier playing together overseas is a bonus as well.

Courtney Williams is and always has been silky smooth. Still likes to work that mid-range but she’ll pop the 3 now too.

 

[lvocd]

Yeah, Minnesota is really good and likely to continue to get even better. The Aces and Liberty aren't the only teams with a legitimate shot at the title this season.

 

[Max Roguespierre]

The W definitely needs improved officiating. In tonight's game, A'ja Wilson was mugged going to the basket (getting raked across the nose and drawing blood) and didn't get the call. Then later she was hit in the face again on yet another no call. It's definitely a bad look for the league.

 

[lvocd]

Dorka Juhasz is a nice player -- seems to have added a few pounds and gotten stronger.

But dang. Bless her heart. Dorka? That had to have been a tough name for her to carry once she came to the U.S. I think I would have pulled a Krzyzewski. If his name can be pronounced Shu-shev-skee, then surely Dorka could have gotten away with pronouncing it "Me-LISS-uh" or "Sah- ruh."

 

[Max Roguespierre]

Dorka Juhasz is a nice player -- seems to have added a few pounds and gotten stronger.

But dang. Bless her heart. Dorka? That had to have been a tough name for her to carry once she came to the U.S. I think I would have pulled a Krzyzewski. If his name can be pronounced Shu-shev-skee, then surely Dorka could have gotten away with pronouncing it "Me-LISS-uh" or "Sah- ruh."

Unfortunately, Dorka is pronounced exactly the same way in Hungarian as in English, of course in Hungarian there is no (ahem) dorky connotation. Dorka is a diminution of Dorottya (Dorothy in English) so I guess she could have gone with Dot, Dottie, or even Dora. But Dorka is a fairly common name in Hungary and if someone has used it all of their lives they may resist changing it just to avoid the snickering of strangers. I would think that her American friends (and teammates) would get over it after the initial giggles.

 

[DarkPhoenix]

Your entire post was terrific, but I wanted to add my two cents about Bueckers.

She is an outstanding basketball player and, if she remains healthy, will likely be the heavy favorite to be named Player of the Year (again) after this coming season.

But as fine a player as she is, quite frankly her type of amazing play has been demonstrated many times by many players over the years, including by a sickening number of her fellow Huskies. Lol Breanna Stewart was good enough to lead her team to an unprecedented four national championships. Paige Bueckers is a great player, but I haven't seen from her anything I hadn't seen Stewart (or for LV fans, Parker or Holdsclaw) do before her. Kelsey Plum knocked my socks off. And these are just a handful of more recent outstanding players. I won't even go down the list of old-school Amazons of the court. Soooo many players over the years impressed me.

But Clark? She literally, several times, made my jaw drop with those freaking near-constant, effortless makes -- so often game winners, too -- of routine-for-HER shots taken so far away from the basket it was shocking. Never before had a player made so many people, so often, shake their heads in utter disbelief of what she had just done. Again. And again. And again.

I honestly do think it is mostly the sheer audacity she displayed in even attempting those shots with the same casual confidence most others take 10-foot jumpers with, that made her stand out in a way that neither Paige nor Breanna nor Candace nor Chamique ever did or, perhaps, would even dare. Frankly, I don't think either Auriemma OR Pat would have allowed it!

Bottom line: As good as Paige is, she is unlikely to make jaws drop because people are actually shocked by what she just did on the court. Caitlin did that. All the time. And it really made an impression on people.

No player has even been like Candace, she’s once in a generation athlete, as for Paige it all depends on the media, they said one of the reasons the media pushed Clark was because she was straight, will they push a player whose not straight is the question.

 

[glv98]

Didn't expect the Sparks to get worse instead of better. Painful to watch.

 

[lvocd]

Unfortunately, Dorka is pronounced exactly the same way in Hungarian as in English, of course in Hungarian there is no (ahem) dorky connotation. Dorka is a diminution of Dorottya (Dorothy in English) so I guess she could have gone with Dot, Dottie, or even Dora. But Dorka is a fairly common name in Hungary and if someone has used it all of their lives they may resist changing it just to avoid the snickering of strangers. I would think that her American friends (and teammates) would get over it after the initial giggles.

Of course. I was just joking.

But if I'd been friends with her I probably would have nicknamed her Dorie. Not because Dorka is so awful, but because I tend to put an "ie" on everybody's name as a silly nicknaming habit.

 

[1reVOLver]

Unfortunately, Dorka is pronounced exactly the same way in Hungarian as in English, of course in Hungarian there is no (ahem) dorky connotation. Dorka is a diminution of Dorottya (Dorothy in English) so I guess she could have gone with Dot, Dottie, or even Dora. But Dorka is a fairly common name in Hungary and if someone has used it all of their lives they may resist changing it just to avoid the snickering of strangers. I would think that her American friends (and teammates) would get over it after the initial giggles.

American provincialism notwithstanding, there is nothing wrong with her name. Names such as Dorcas are common in countries speaking Romance languages.

 

[VolBalls33]

The Sparks need some practice time BAD. Look like crap and the players don't seem to know what to do. Brink 5 fouls in 14 min of play. As a team shooting close to 20%. That shouldn't happen with a professional team.

 

[lvocd]

The Sparks should just raise the white flag at the end of the third quarter and head to the house. Ain't nothin' good comin' out of this night. May as well go home and start putting together ideas for whatever outfits they'll stun social media with before their next game.

 

[1reVOLver]

The Sparks should just raise the white flag at the end of the third quarter and head to the house. Ain't nothin' good comin' out of this night. May as well go home and start putting together ideas for whatever outfits they'll stun social media with before their next game.

Brink and R. Jackson- 14 minutes and two points each. Stuff legends are made of.

 

[lvocd]

On a positive note, so far the Sparks are 16-16 on free throws. Impressive.

 

[lvocd]

Sparkless: 26% shooting overall, 14.3% from 3. Oof.

 

[Volfaninfl2]

The Sparks out rebounded the Lynx, and actually took 12 more shots than the Lynx. They even cut the lead in half in the 4th quarter, with the help of Rae, before the lead eased back up again. For the most part though, the Sparks Could Not Make a Shot. They shot 26%, making 20 of 77. Just Yuk, maybe they were tired.

 

[lvocd]

The Sparks out rebounded the Lynx, and actually took 12 more shots than the Lynx. They even cut the lead in half in the 4th quarter, with the help of Rae, before the lead eased back up again. For the most part though, the Sparks Could Not Make a Shot. They shot 26%, making 20 of 77. Just Yuk, maybe they were tired.

Not gonna get much easier for them coming up,either:

Friday, June 7​

7:00 PM PT

Los Angeles Sparks
Dallas Wings

ION,
GAME INFO TICKETS

Sunday, June 9​

6:00 PM PT

Los Angeles Sparks
Las Vegas Aces

ESPN Las Vegas 1100 AM & 100.9 FM, NBA TV Canada, Silver State Sports & Entertainment Network, Spectrum SportsNet,
GAME INFO TICKETS

Tuesday, June 11​

7:00 PM PT

Seattle Storm
Los Angeles Sparks

FOX 13+ / Amazon Prime Video - Seattle, Spectrum SportsNet,
GAME INFO TICKETS

Friday, June 14​

4:30 PM PT

Minnesota Lynx
Los Angeles Sparks

ION, KFAN FM / Lynx App,

 

[VolBall09]

Watching LA I really am not digging their Pg situation. Neither Clarendon or Nurse have been good with the pass this season. Their offense has no flow and players like Clarendon are taking way too many shots.

Nurse and Clarendon were a combined 4-18 from the guard spots. 1 assist a piece. That is selfish basketball and not doing anything for their team.

 

[StorrsCentral]

Couldn't agree more. I think JuJu has already surpassed Paige.

Pistol Pete is the only other player I can think of that could routinely hit the insanely far out shot. Amazing that skill alone has brought about all of this stuff. I know CC is good in other areas, but it really is the logo 3. Interesting that it turns out to not be all that effective at helping to win games in the W.

Well, lets see.
Paige can shoot, Paige can make plays for her teammates, Paige can pass, Paige can play defense.
JuJu can shoot, JuJu can...........
Right now, JuJu is a one dimensional player. When she learns how to pass, learns how to play defense, learns how to set up her teammates, then maybe she will surpass Paige.
I hope she stays for all 4 years, because to be a truly great player she will have to do more than shoot.

 

[glv98]

Watching LA I really am not digging their Pg situation. Neither Clarendon or Nurse have been good with the pass this season. Their offense has no flow and players like Clarendon are taking way too many shots.

Nurse and Clarendon were a combined 4-18 from the guard spots. 1 assist a piece. That is selfish basketball and not doing anything for their team.

You forgot the worst of the LA guards, Lexie Brown. The Sparks are far worse for having both Brown and Clarendon available. And Ari McDonald, who had played well when the others were unavailable, was 1-10 in her 19 mins. Also Clarendon had 6 turnovers. None are actually pro level guards. Once in a while Nurse will get hot and hit some threes, but other than that she, Brown, and Clarendon not only add nothing, they're huge liabilities.

Curt Miller couldn't care less; except for getting Hamby an all star vote, which is her stated purpose for the season, he has no plan. He threw in the towel at halftime, playing his subs the whole second half. Rae did play alot of mins and scored 9 pts, always plays hard, but was 3-11 shooting.

They have no desire to develop the rookies. Both only played about 15 mins, both only had 2 pts. RIckea's one basket was the Sparks best offensive play of the night and it's telling that it was something she created, caught a pass and shot while still in the air to hit a quarter ending basket. Sat almost all the second half, as did Brink who simply cannot stay out of foul trouble. I wonder if she ever will.

What a sorry mess.

 

[LVsinceJV]

The Sparks are a hot mess and their coach is terrible, but Minnesota is on a tear this season. They have great chemistry and are playing fantastic ball on both ends, it's no surprise that a bad team wasn't able to shoot well against them.

 

[AllVols3]

The Sparks are a hot mess and their coach is terrible, but Minnesota is on a tear this season. They have great chemistry and are playing fantastic ball on both ends, it's no surprise that a bad team wasn't able to shoot well against them.

Their guards may be the worse in the WNBA. I'm not sure you can call Miller a coach. I've seen nothing he's done to call him coach.