Players looked lost in the offense. Lots of iso and no creativity. High screens run constantly. Hopefully this is just an outlier, and players are still exhausted from playing overseas. But the offensive system run lastnight needs to be more creative putting players in better positions to score. Ezi shooting threes isn't that position.
That game felt like an undisciplined game of barnyard ball that Phoenix just happened to dominate. I saw better play running during moments in the preseason game (when the “starters” were on the floor) than I did last night. I hope they dig deep and learn from this. We looked terrible from minute one with only a few runs to get us within 6…Dallas who got slammed by Minnesota at least hung with them for the first half, we got beat from jump.
I don’t think I saw anything particularly cohesive with PHO either… I think that was what was so disappointing is that we got whooped by a middling at best team (while playing with one superstar down 😒).
Terribly disappointing. I'd been trying to convince myself that, despite the obvious weaknesses, the sum would add up to more than the parts and the Storm could compete for a championship this season. It's only one game, but that was a really, really bad game. With a short-handed roster as it is, this is really discouraging.
To me they look truly disconnected. It didn’t seem like there was a true leader on the court. Credit to Skylar and Nneka for their work, but it just didn’t feel like they were ready.
Thanks again Jeff for such for such excellent reporting. It just seems that coaching played a big factor in this game as well. This would be the year for Noey to prove herself. Her first years as head coach she had an all star team. That was fresh off Dan Evan’s brilliance. Then she had Sue the coach on the floor. Once Sue left it has gone downhill. What are your thoughts?
I would think they would give Coach Quinn the season and evaluate from there. I believe the organization has already given her multiple contract extensions since they hired her as the Head Coach in 2021. And this off-season, they chose her over Jewell. It’s one really, really bad game. If the season completely derails, then I could see them making a change mid-season or before the end of the season, but it would have to get really bad. Not just one horrible game.
They might move on from her if the team misses the playoffs. But if they make the playoffs and especially if they win a playoff series, then I don’t see that happening.
Sky is right that it's just one game. We lost a few early in the season last year before the chemistry jelled. I honestly think the layout of the Mercury arena affected depth perception and knocked us off our game a bit in the first half. Will be interesting to see if other teams struggle there too.
Last night felt a lot like 2023 - a complete dumpster fire. This team is not a championship contender and seemingly has no path to get there this year.
Players looked lost in the offense. Lots of iso and no creativity. High screens run constantly. Hopefully this is just an outlier, and players are still exhausted from playing overseas. But the offensive system run lastnight needs to be more creative putting players in better positions to score. Ezi shooting threes isn't that position.
That game felt like an undisciplined game of barnyard ball that Phoenix just happened to dominate. I saw better play running during moments in the preseason game (when the “starters” were on the floor) than I did last night. I hope they dig deep and learn from this. We looked terrible from minute one with only a few runs to get us within 6…Dallas who got slammed by Minnesota at least hung with them for the first half, we got beat from jump.
Definitely played like something out in the barnyard...
I don’t think I saw anything particularly cohesive with PHO either… I think that was what was so disappointing is that we got whooped by a middling at best team (while playing with one superstar down 😒).
Terribly disappointing. I'd been trying to convince myself that, despite the obvious weaknesses, the sum would add up to more than the parts and the Storm could compete for a championship this season. It's only one game, but that was a really, really bad game. With a short-handed roster as it is, this is really discouraging.
To me they look truly disconnected. It didn’t seem like there was a true leader on the court. Credit to Skylar and Nneka for their work, but it just didn’t feel like they were ready.
Thanks again Jeff for such for such excellent reporting. It just seems that coaching played a big factor in this game as well. This would be the year for Noey to prove herself. Her first years as head coach she had an all star team. That was fresh off Dan Evan’s brilliance. Then she had Sue the coach on the floor. Once Sue left it has gone downhill. What are your thoughts?
I would think they would give Coach Quinn the season and evaluate from there. I believe the organization has already given her multiple contract extensions since they hired her as the Head Coach in 2021. And this off-season, they chose her over Jewell. It’s one really, really bad game. If the season completely derails, then I could see them making a change mid-season or before the end of the season, but it would have to get really bad. Not just one horrible game.
They might move on from her if the team misses the playoffs. But if they make the playoffs and especially if they win a playoff series, then I don’t see that happening.
Noey needs to go!
Sky is right that it's just one game. We lost a few early in the season last year before the chemistry jelled. I honestly think the layout of the Mercury arena affected depth perception and knocked us off our game a bit in the first half. Will be interesting to see if other teams struggle there too.
Last night felt a lot like 2023 - a complete dumpster fire. This team is not a championship contender and seemingly has no path to get there this year.