Arike is such a hot or cold player, and for sure kudos to Gabby for helping ensure a cold night for her. Is it wrong that I’ve always questioned the “shooters gotta shoot” mentality when they wind up with a below 20% game and an L? Would it kill them to draw the defense and feed the hot hands? Other notes, agreed that McCowan definitely won the battle with Li.
I really appreciate you asking for the storm fans to be patient with Dominque getting heavy minutes. I also agree with you that the starters probably played a lot minutes bc of the embarrassment of the Phoenix game but whew boy that is not sustainable. Hopefully coach quinn is able to utilize her bench more bc we need to be able to rely on them also. It's a long season so I feel we will have a better feel for this team by June. These first handful of games against our western conference foes are TOUGH
100% agree. They can't be playing Gabby, AC, and Skylar almost the entire game EVERY game and expect that they'll hold up in a 44-game season. I also agree that by the end of June, we should know more about this team and the bench players. Hopefully, Dom is able to find more playing time as she gets more exposure, more practice, etc.
I was so happy to see the Storm pull out the win after their embarrassing loss against Phoenix. Unfortunately I missed the entire first half when they played so well because I was driving home. It was great to see Gabby play so well after she did so little in our first game. Nneka had a Monster game with her rebounding as well as her scoring. Dick Fain said she had 19 rebounds for the game but I guess the official scorers disagreed. Skylar played great getting everyone involved with 9 assists to go with her 21 points. It's also nice to see Gabby being the primary ball handler some of the time allowing Sky to play off the ball. I was a little disappointed the Li Yueru couldn't match up better against Teaira McKowen but she's not as physical yet as Dallas' bruiser. Like most people I was disappointed that Dominique Malonga hardly got to play at all, but I know Coach Quinn wanted to win at all costs. But I think she could have trusted and used her bench more so the starters didn't have to play such long minutes. It was nice to see AC get back in the flow more.
We'll see how the Storm does in the rematch against Phoenix at home. And then facing the Las Vegas Aces. We should know very soon how good this team really is.
Yeah, I remember Dick Fain saying Nneka had 19 rebounds so I wonder if the stats changed at some point before the end of the game. Or even just after the game ended. I know that can happen because sometimes they don't count an assist, and it gets added later, as an example. Nneka, Skylar, and Gabby all played incredibly well.
I agree with you on bench use. Over the course of 40 or more ganes if they continue on this path they will wear down and at more risk of injury. Plus when they do get in foul trouble the bench won't be ready to contribute. Im not sure why Zia wasn't used after her play in the first game. She looked pretty good. Quinn's substitution patterns and timing have been historically questionable. Malonga maybe 19 and need time to develop but that doesn't happen sitting in the seat. She needs time to play and make mistakes.
Hey Jeff, speaking on bench production, can you explain how the Aces are allowed to hold 13 players and carry a cap deficit? Seems a bit fishy to me. Is there a loophole because Tyus Parker is pregnant? If so, I don’t remember us taking advantage of that loophole in ‘21 (I believe) when Kiki (Herbert Harrington) was pregnant.
Arike is such a hot or cold player, and for sure kudos to Gabby for helping ensure a cold night for her. Is it wrong that I’ve always questioned the “shooters gotta shoot” mentality when they wind up with a below 20% game and an L? Would it kill them to draw the defense and feed the hot hands? Other notes, agreed that McCowan definitely won the battle with Li.
I really appreciate you asking for the storm fans to be patient with Dominque getting heavy minutes. I also agree with you that the starters probably played a lot minutes bc of the embarrassment of the Phoenix game but whew boy that is not sustainable. Hopefully coach quinn is able to utilize her bench more bc we need to be able to rely on them also. It's a long season so I feel we will have a better feel for this team by June. These first handful of games against our western conference foes are TOUGH
100% agree. They can't be playing Gabby, AC, and Skylar almost the entire game EVERY game and expect that they'll hold up in a 44-game season. I also agree that by the end of June, we should know more about this team and the bench players. Hopefully, Dom is able to find more playing time as she gets more exposure, more practice, etc.
I was so happy to see the Storm pull out the win after their embarrassing loss against Phoenix. Unfortunately I missed the entire first half when they played so well because I was driving home. It was great to see Gabby play so well after she did so little in our first game. Nneka had a Monster game with her rebounding as well as her scoring. Dick Fain said she had 19 rebounds for the game but I guess the official scorers disagreed. Skylar played great getting everyone involved with 9 assists to go with her 21 points. It's also nice to see Gabby being the primary ball handler some of the time allowing Sky to play off the ball. I was a little disappointed the Li Yueru couldn't match up better against Teaira McKowen but she's not as physical yet as Dallas' bruiser. Like most people I was disappointed that Dominique Malonga hardly got to play at all, but I know Coach Quinn wanted to win at all costs. But I think she could have trusted and used her bench more so the starters didn't have to play such long minutes. It was nice to see AC get back in the flow more.
We'll see how the Storm does in the rematch against Phoenix at home. And then facing the Las Vegas Aces. We should know very soon how good this team really is.
Yeah, I remember Dick Fain saying Nneka had 19 rebounds so I wonder if the stats changed at some point before the end of the game. Or even just after the game ended. I know that can happen because sometimes they don't count an assist, and it gets added later, as an example. Nneka, Skylar, and Gabby all played incredibly well.
I agree with you on bench use. Over the course of 40 or more ganes if they continue on this path they will wear down and at more risk of injury. Plus when they do get in foul trouble the bench won't be ready to contribute. Im not sure why Zia wasn't used after her play in the first game. She looked pretty good. Quinn's substitution patterns and timing have been historically questionable. Malonga maybe 19 and need time to develop but that doesn't happen sitting in the seat. She needs time to play and make mistakes.
Hey Jeff, speaking on bench production, can you explain how the Aces are allowed to hold 13 players and carry a cap deficit? Seems a bit fishy to me. Is there a loophole because Tyus Parker is pregnant? If so, I don’t remember us taking advantage of that loophole in ‘21 (I believe) when Kiki (Herbert Harrington) was pregnant.