WNBA

Reese took the attention away from CC but CC also had a very good game. CC is so quick with her passing that it keeps everyone on their toes.Her assist tally was 13 but with more help from her teammates, once again it would have been higher.

Tonight though was Reese's time to shine.
 
AndyMarquisLive said:
Clark will eventually get there. She's close. But Angel Reese should be ROTY and is going to be an all-time great.
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I would say Reese for ROTY after today, which was the best performance of any rookie yet. But I think they’ll be trading it off on an almost nightly basis really. The fact that Clark got overshadowed after going 5/9 from 3 and tossing 13 assists herself speaks to how well Angel played. They both have unlimited potential and Angel had her first two real breakout games this week.
 
FLRacingFan said:
I would say Reese for ROTY after today, which was the best performance of any rookie yet. But I think they’ll be trading it off on an almost nightly basis really. The fact that Clark got overshadowed after going 5/9 from 3 and tossing 13 assists herself speaks to how well Angel played. They both have unlimited potential and Angel had her first two real breakout games this week.
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I’ve been saying for a few weeks she will be the greatest defensive player in history. And it won’t be close. She’s ALREADY the best defensive player in the league.
 
FLRacingFan said:
Honestly, she deserves to say this today. She went toe-to-toe with veterans and didn’t back down. In fact, she completely took over. That’s all dawg.
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I don’t mind this in that it’s part of sports. But Angel Reese acts like this when she wins, but next time she loses to Indiana, she’ll be giving sob stories again.

And yes, as discussed in the Culture Wars thread, the vitriol toward her is bad. The vitriol from her fans is much much much worse.

Clark ignores it. Reese doesn’t. In fact, Clark had to make a statement condemning it because of race baiting statements made by Dijonai Carrington.
 
Before we give the Rookie of the year to Reese this early in the season lets wait awhile. Both Clark and Reese are great players but different in style. One is a point guard and the other is a forward. These are the early season statistics for each of them:

Clark:
Season Avg: Points - 16-3 Rebounds - 5.9 Assists - 6.6

Season Total: Points - 293 Rebounds - 98 Assists - 119


Reese:
Season avg: Points - 13.2 Rebounds - 11.1 Assists - 2.1

Season Total: Points - 198 Rebounds - 167 Assists - 31


Both are doing very well as a rookie.
 
muggle not said:
Before we give the Rookie of the year to Reese this early in the season lets wait awhile. Both Clark and Reese are great players but different in style. One is a point guard and the other is a forward. These are the early season statistics for each of them:

Clark:
Season Avg: Points - 16-3 Rebounds - 5.9 Assists - 6.6

Season Total: Points - 293 Rebounds - 98 Assists - 119


Reese:
Season avg: Points - 13.2 Rebounds - 11.1 Assists - 2.1

Season Total: Points - 198 Rebounds - 167 Assists - 31


Both are doing very well as a rookie.
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Right now, Angel Reese is a significantly more impactful player on her team. She's absolutely dominant inside the paint.

Caitlin Clark is playing great, but Angel Reese is a top-5 player in the league, right now. Clark is not. Honestly though, I think the Olympic Break is going to be good for her. She's been wide open since last summer, had no time off between the tournament and the draft, and has had to play the hardest schedule in the history of the WNBA.
 
AndyMarquisLive said:
Right now, Angel Reese is a significantly more impactful player on her team. She's absolutely dominant inside the paint.

Caitlin Clark is playing great, but Angel Reese is a top-5 player in the league, right now. Clark is not. Honestly though, I think the Olympic Break is going to be good for her. She's been wide open since last summer, had no time off between the tournament and the draft, and has had to play the hardest schedule in the history of the WNBA.
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There’s a decent amount of recency bias going on here. Angel was incredible yesterday, but both she and CC are nowhere near top 5 players yet. Angel is closer to a top 15 defensive player so far as well. I agree that she certainly has future DPOY potential though.


AndyMarquisLive said:
SMH.



Between this and Angel's ****y asf postgame interview, they go out of their way to be disliked and then complain about being disliked.
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This is admittedly pretty cringe. 😬
 
FLRacingFan said:
This is admittedly pretty cringe. 😬
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The Chicago Sky and the people who root for them solely because of the culture war crap ... it's the most classless, most detestable franchise in all of professional sports. And, as this cringe ass post shows, Chicago is cultivating a culture that encourages this crap.

One of the pages I follow posted the stat lines.

Majority of Caitlin Clark fans: Congratulations to Angel. She balled out. These two are going to be fun to watch.

Majority of Angel Reese fans: WHAT DO THE HATERS HAVE TO SAY NOW?! ANGEL IS HER!!! KKKLARK SUCKS!!! LET'S SEE THOSE CAITLIN CLUX CLAN TEARS!!!




This may be for the other thread ... but I REALLY think the media should hold Angel Reese accountable for the antics of her fanbase and outside agitators, the same way they held Caitlin Clark accountable for the antics of her fanbase outside agitators. It wasn't fair to Caitlin, and it's not fair that Angel Reese is so hated because the Chicago Sky is a trash ass franchise.
 
Stephen Smith is really upset with Kelsey Mitchell. Said that Clark would have had 16 assists if not for Mitchell bunglin the passes and thta the missed passes cost the Fever the game.


Stephen A. Smith 'Disgusted' at Indiana Fever Standout For Mistakes Against Angel Reese, Chicago Sky​

 
Just got done watching the replay of the Fever/Sky game, and what a game it was. My goodness. Believe it or not, this essay is vastly condensed. I could write a book about these women.

I love everything about Angel Reese. She is my kind of big. I love her competitiveness and determination to inhale rebounds and do work inside. Her battle with NaLyssa Smith was really fun to watch, as was Cardoso/Boston. She had me rollin' with that stank face (shout-out to Rebecca Lobo :lol2:) + backpedaling gallop combo whenever she would score on her. I was dying. :XXROFL:

People knock Reese for her swag, trolling, etc., which I guess is understandable, but personally, I love her confidence. Being a high profile rookie big, and a bit of an undersized one at that, who eats exclusively in the paint, these vets will absolutely devour her if she doesn't have and express that confidence. Yeah, she might go down, but if she does, she's going down swinging. I respect that.

My girl Marina Mabrey had a rough night shooting, including those two missed free throws at the end. I know she missed a couple with the game on the line earlier in the season. Poor thing looked so nervous at the free throw line at the end of this game. I felt that pressure. She had some nice passes, though, including a couple sick ones on fast breaks. It's all good. She definitely wasn't the only one missing free throws.

The insane level of hype around Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese before the season started got my attention. Marina Mabrey drew me in, and Angel Reese, Chennedy Carter, and the rest of the Sky have ensured that I'm not going anywhere. No, that team is not for everybody, but they're sure as heck for me. I haven't had this much fun watching basketball since I followed the NBA religiously for 6 or 7 years back in the 2000s, and I haven't had this much fun watching a basketball team since the Detroit Pistons during that time. I love the Sky, and I love the WNBA.
 
muggle not said:
Stephen Smith is really upset with Kelsey Mitchell. Said that Clark would have had 16 assists if not for Mitchell bunglin the passes and thta the missed passes cost the Fever the game.


Stephen A. Smith 'Disgusted' at Indiana Fever Standout For Mistakes Against Angel Reese, Chicago Sky​

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Yeah, unfortunately, I'm beginning to notice a trend there with Kelsey Mitchell. She's only human like everyone else, but that one outlet pass from Caitlin was actually really good and landed right in front of her, and she just had butterfingers.

She had a good night shooting from deep but is streaky from what the (W)NBA 2K commentators have told me, and she can be a little selfish at times. There was a possession where she had an okay look at a jumper, but Kristy Wallace was completely wide open on the wing and was calling for the ball. She shot it anyway (and missed). Kristy and I both had the same reaction.

tenor.gif


In fairness to Kelsey, though, it was a one point game, so you could point to any mistake or missed opportunity and pick that as the reason why the outcome was what it was. Kelsey definitely wasn't the only one who made mistakes. Both teams missed free throws, turned the ball over, missed shots in close, etc. It be's like that sometimes.
 
Mr. Gregory said:
Missed these comments from Caitlin from before yesterday's game. Once again, I find myself agreeing 100% with her.



www.glamour.com

Caitlin Clark is Tired of the Angel Reese ‘Rivalry’ Discourse—and WNBA Fans Are Loving Her New Statement

Her coach looked visibly shocked by her press conference response.
www.glamour.com www.glamour.com
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Fwiw, I like more of this Caitlin where she’s speaking her mind and being opinionated. I think that’s a good thing moving forward.

I don’t think either of them necessarily dislike each other, but I do think Clark/Reese - and adjacently, Fever/Sky - is a rivalry. Like it or not, their stories so far are intertwined with each other’s and they’ve played high-stakes, high-intensity games at both the college and pro level already. Some have paralleled it to Bird/Magic and I don’t think that’s outlandish. There’s clearly a certain aura about these two when they step on the floor together.
 
For perspective, ESPN had a total of three NBA regular season games with an audience as large this past season. One was on opening night (Wemby debut) and the other two were on Christmas Day.

 
FLRacingFan said:
Fwiw, I like more of this Caitlin where she’s speaking her mind and being opinionated. I think that’s a good thing moving forward.

I don’t think either of them necessarily dislike each other, but I do think Clark/Reese - and adjacently, Fever/Sky - is a rivalry. Like it or not, their stories so far are intertwined with each other’s and they’ve played high-stakes, high-intensity games at both the college and pro level already. Some have paralleled it to Bird/Magic and I don’t think that’s outlandish. There’s clearly a certain aura about these two when they step on the floor together.
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It's definitely a rivalry. Caitlin Clark might not view it that way, but Angel Reese and the rest of the Chicago Sky team does.

What people don't understand is that Angel Reese is very business savvy. Despite what she says to the media, she KNOWS Caitlin Clark is the reason people are watching. The only reason. She's trying to ride that by being her rival and taking verbal jabs and stuff. Like I keep saying, these fanpages that prop Angel Reese up can't do so without invoking Caitlin Clark's name - because they know the only way the algorithms are going to put that in feeds is by mentioning Caitlin Clark.

I like what Christie Sides said about Clark needing to take more shots and sharing with her teammates too much. Clark is the ultimate team player, but there are times that you've gotta take the shots yourself. The parallels between her and Trevor Lawrence in the NFL are crazy. There are games where I'm screaming at the TV that Trevor's gonna have to "win it himself" and "use his legs" because he's getting the ball to his receivers and they're just not attempting to catch it.
 
FLRacingFan said:
Fwiw, I like more of this Caitlin where she’s speaking her mind and being opinionated. I think that’s a good thing moving forward.

I don’t think either of them necessarily dislike each other, but I do think Clark/Reese - and adjacently, Fever/Sky - is a rivalry. Like it or not, their stories so far are intertwined with each other’s and they’ve played high-stakes, high-intensity games at both the college and pro level already. Some have paralleled it to Bird/Magic and I don’t think that’s outlandish. There’s clearly a certain aura about these two when they step on the floor together.
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Agreed on Caitlin speaking up. If I hadn't already known of Marina Mabrey and naturally gravitated towards her first, I could very well have ended up with the rest of you guys in the Church of Caitlin. The Sky would likely have still ended up being my favorite team, but it might have taken a little longer to happen.

Caitlin's basically alternate universe Marina. They play the same position in a similar manner and have the same responsibilities on their respective teams, to score and facilitate the offense. The difference to me is that Caitlin's cold as ice, a silky smooth assassin, and Marina's all fire, a feisty, scrappy sharpshooter who is always ready to engage the enemy by any means necessary, even in close combat. LOL.

tenor.gif


I agree with what you and Andy have said regarding the rivalry conversation to an extent. I think Clark/Reese (and Fever/Sky by extension) is definitely a rivalry to other people, but I don't think it's a rivalry in Caitlin's cool, calm, collected mind. She comes off as refreshingly honest, and I think she truly feels that way.

Rivalry or not, it's just fun to watch the Sky and Fever play. Like you said, there's definitely something in the air during those games that amplifies the competitive vibe. Both games I've seen so far (the two most recent ones) have been great. That game on Sunday felt like a playoff game.
 
AndyMarquisLive said:
It's definitely a rivalry. Caitlin Clark might not view it that way, but Angel Reese and the rest of the Chicago Sky team does.

What people don't understand is that Angel Reese is very business savvy. Despite what she says to the media, she KNOWS Caitlin Clark is the reason people are watching. The only reason. She's trying to ride that by being her rival and taking verbal jabs and stuff. Like I keep saying, these fanpages that prop Angel Reese up can't do so without invoking Caitlin Clark's name - because they know the only way the algorithms are going to put that in feeds is by mentioning Caitlin Clark.

I like what Christie Sides said about Clark needing to take more shots and sharing with her teammates too much. Clark is the ultimate team player, but there are times that you've gotta take the shots yourself. The parallels between her and Trevor Lawrence in the NFL are crazy. There are games where I'm screaming at the TV that Trevor's gonna have to "win it himself" and "use his legs" because he's getting the ball to his receivers and they're just not attempting to catch it.
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I think Caitlin's a true point guard at heart. Tough habit to break, and a wonderful habit to have.

Angel is a lot, LOL, but I love that she's unapologetically herself, and I don't want her to change that.
 
Marina Mabrey is a very good player but I find it hard to believe that she compares to Caitlin Clark. Mabrey has 5 years pro experience and her statistics are less than Clark's.. :)

These two guards are probably closer in comparison:

Comparing Caitlin Clark Stats to Seattle's Jewell Loyd and Skylar Diggins-Smith​

 
muggle not said:
Marina Mabrey is a very good player but I find it hard to believe that she compares to Caitlin Clark. Mabrey has 5 years pro experience and her statistics are less than Clark's.. :)

These two guards are probably closer in comparison:

Comparing Caitlin Clark Stats to Seattle's Jewell Loyd and Skylar Diggins-Smith​

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Not at all what I was getting at.

I'm not comparing Marina and Caitlin on a skill or experience level and am not trying to make any kind of competition out of it. They play the same position as hybrid point/shooting guards and have the same roles on their respective teams but project different attitudes/mentalities on the court. That's all I was saying.
 

Responsible For The WNBA’s Change In Fortunes This Season

Caitlin Clark’s arrival in the WNBA has had a telling effect, enough to meet the eye. However, the numbers tell their own story.

The former Iowa star, who entered the league as the No. 1 overall pick in April, has already made the Indiana Fever the most popular team in women’s basketball and has prompted unprecedented viewership numbers throughout the campaign.

The Fever are the most-followed WNBA team on Instagram right now, a notable sign. A report from Sports Media Watch has also pointed out that 13 WNBA games have broken viewership numbers this season, with Indiana involved in all but one.
 
9:00 pm Thursday night: The Debate - Biden and Trump

10:00 pm Thursday night: Indiana vs Seattle WNBA game

Which will you be watching.
 
It is pretty clear to me that the Fever vs Sky games are a rivalry. However, lets not forget that there are only 4 games in a season where they play each other. The Fever should treat all games with equal importance, as should Chicago, if they want to be successful in the WNBA.
 
muggle not said:
9:00 pm Thursday night: The Debate - Biden and Trump

10:00 pm Thursday night: Indiana vs Seattle WNBA game

Which will you be watching.
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Indy/Seattle for sure.

And add Aces/Sky before that in the first matchup of the Prime Video doubleheader. Reese and Cardoso are gonna have their hands full with A’ja Wilson. ‘Welcome to the league’ type stuff.

The two old guys are known quantities.
 
FLRacingFan said:
Indy/Seattle for sure.

And add Aces/Sky before that in the first matchup of the Prime Video doubleheader. Reese and Cardoso are gonna have their hands full with A’ja Wilson. ‘Welcome to the league’ type stuff.

The two old guys are known quantities.
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Same here. On paper, it looks like it'll be back to reality for both the Fever and Sky today, but you obviously still have to play the games, and I'll still check them out. Gonna watch the replays at some point over the weekend. I might even peek in on Mystics/Sun, which should obviously also be a blowout, just to see what Dijonai Carrington is up to. ^_^
 
CC played pretty well offensively tonight. Shot well and dished out some nice assists as well. Hit a deep logo 3 in there somewhere.

She and Erica Wheeler are unplayable together though. When they’re both on the floor the possession stops when Wheeler gets the ball. The fact that Clark took 9 shots after she got the “green light” from Sides this week is outrageous. When Wheeler is primary ballhandler and Clark is effectively an 2, is she getting the ball to CC coming off of screens or anything? No. She may as well not be on the floor in that case.

And I have no idea what Kristy Wallace is supposed to do.
 
Fever didn't look good last night. Their play was severely lacking. It is outrageous that Clark took only 9 shots (next to last of the starting 5). Her totals of 15 points, 6 rebounds, and 7 assists were pretty good though.

Caitlyn's performance for the year has been outstanding:
ndiana Fever star Caitlin Clark is off to a historic start to her WNBA career. Entering the league with unparalleled expectations, it is fair to say Clark has lived up to the hype and even exceeded it in certain ways.

Entering Thursday's game against the Seattle Storm, Clark and the Fever had won four of their last five games. While this level of team success is always the primary focus, it is hard to ignore the individual production of Clark and the impact it has had on her team's impressive turnaround.

In the first half of Thursday's game against Seattle, it was announced that Clark had broken another incredible WNBA record, becoming the fastest player in league history to 300 points, 100 assists, and 100 rebounds:...................................................
 
FLRacingFan said:
CC played pretty well offensively tonight. Shot well and dished out some nice assists as well. Hit a deep logo 3 in there somewhere.

She and Erica Wheeler are unplayable together though. When they’re both on the floor the possession stops when Wheeler gets the ball. The fact that Clark took 9 shots after she got the “green light” from Sides this week is outrageous. When Wheeler is primary ballhandler and Clark is effectively an 2, is she getting the ball to CC coming off of screens or anything? No. She may as well not be on the floor in that case.

And I have no idea what Kristy Wallace is supposed to do.
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I'd love to see Aalyiah Boston step up and push teamwork harder on Eric Wheeler and Kelsey Mitchell. Mitchell's usually alright, but she can be a bit of a ball hog at times.

If your options are attempt a low percentage basket or pass to a wide open Caitlin Clark, passing to Caitlin Clark is the only right answer.
 
Just watched the replays of the Sky/Aces and Storm/Fever games from last night. The super rookies put up their numbers to an extent, but yeah, it was back to reality for them and their teams, as I assumed would be the case. Angel Reese and Kamilla Cardoso were a couple of light snacks for A'ja Wilson, and the Storm did a great job defensively and contained Caitlin Clark and the Fever.

Of the four super/top teams I've seen so far this season, the Aces, the Liberty, the Sun, and the Storm, I've enjoyed watching the Storm the most. I already liked them since that's Sue Bird's team (Sue is one of my two all-time favorites along with Becky Hammon), and I've used them a lot in the recent 2K games, so I already knew some of their players.

I've always liked Skylar Diggins-Smith, Nneka Ogwumike, and Jewell Loyd in the 2K games, but this was my first time watching them play in real life. I loved how Skylar played like a true point guard, my favorite kind of point guard. She ran the offense, passed first, and played good D to boot. (Her pregame outfit looked so cool, too. She looked like a secret agent or something.) Meanwhile, Nneka did her thing in the paint, and Jewell absolutely went off, even after ending up with a shiner, which was truly impressive.

Shout-out to Jordan Horston and Ezi Magbegor, both of whom I had never heard of before today, and both of whom have won me over. I saw Jordan hustling and defending the whole time she played, and Ezi did a great job on both ends, particularly in anchoring the defense in the paint along with Nneka. I love a strong front line.

I'll have to check in on the Sun and Dijonai Carrington ^_^ next. I'm gonna wait until they get finished with their game against the Dream, which is almost over, and then watch the replay of that.
 
Having watched Caitlin Clark's last few games, I think she’s really been embracing the point guard side of her hybrid guard playstyle. As one of the commentators alluded to, I believe during the Storm/Fever game when one of the guards (I can't remember who) missed a pass to a big who was running the floor on a fast break rather than pulling up for a shot, it's definitely a balancing act. You can take your teammates out of the equation and stifle the offense pretty quickly being a scoring point guard.

I obviously understand why folks want her to shoot more, because she's so good at it, but she's a good passer, too, and the true point guard lover in me has enjoyed watching her get her teammates involved. She's still facing plenty of double teams, which obviously means that somebody else somewhere on the court is open, and finding and dishing it to them is just common sense.

As long as the team is playing well, that's ultimately all that matters, and the Fever have been playing pretty well lately from what I've seen. The Storm are one of the elite teams in the WNBA, and the outcome there was exactly what I expected.
 
Something told to watch the Mystics/Sun game that I was going to skip, and I'm really glad I did. It was the best game of the three from Thursday night that I watched.

The Sun had a slow start, and the very shorthanded Mystics (they're missing 3 of their starters) just went off in the first quarter. Their ball movement and execution were so much fun to watch - they're apparently 3rd in the league in average assists per game and have been on a little hot streak lately. They had a double digit lead at one point, but the Sun went on a big run and came back in the second quarter. It was close for the rest of the way, with both teams trading the lead, and went to OT.

My girl Dijonai Carrington won the game for the Sun. She made the layup in traffic towards the end of regulation that sent the game to OT and made big shots throughout the OT period, including a couple of 3s and two free throws at the end that sealed the deal.

I'm proud of the Mystics for keeping it so close and almost pulling it off, but man, I'm super proud of Dijonai. Way to step up, girl! 🥳

dijonaicarrington2.jpg
 
AndyMarquisLive said:
I'd love to see Aalyiah Boston step up and push teamwork harder on Eric Wheeler and Kelsey Mitchell. Mitchell's usually alright, but she can be a bit of a ball hog at times.

If your options are attempt a low percentage basket or pass to a wide open Caitlin Clark, passing to Caitlin Clark is the only right answer.
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You hit it on the nose with Eric Wheeler. She is costing the Fever points with her play. This is still a young team though and hopefully things will sort out with who starts in the lineup. There is no reason that Caitlin shouldn't be both a great passer and a great scorer. There is no reason she has to be one or the other. Some of the players need to get better at providing some screens for her. I would love to see Mitchell drive to the basket and kick the ball back out to Clark.
 
muggle not said:
You hit it on the nose with Eric Wheeler. She is costing the Fever points with her play. This is still a young team though and hopefully things will sort out with who starts in the lineup. There is no reason that Caitlin shouldn't be both a great passer and a great scorer. There is no reason she has to be one or the other. Some of the players need to get better at providing some screens for her. I would love to see Mitchell drive to the basket and kick the ball back out to Clark.
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Exactly, they're a young team, and like I've said before, patience is required here. It's the Fever's first year with Caitlin, who may be a super rookie but is still a rookie nonetheless. She and they are not gonna have all the answers and do everything perfectly right away. If she stays healthy, she'll have a whole career ahead of her to learn, grow, and improve, and her teammates will learn how to play well with her. It just takes time.
 
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