This was such a fun game. One thing I've really enjoyed about Dominique is her resilience. If she makes a mistake or someone scores on her defense, she doesn't let it eat at her and she moves on and learns.
I also really like what the players are saying about being themselves. As a recovering perfectionist with anxiety, I can relate to Skylar. It can be hard to find people who are okay with that personality and I've seen a lot of judgment toward her on other online forums. But the Storm have embraced her as she is and she's thriving. I love that for her. Hearing Erica say the same about being accepted and seeing her play her best is heartwarming.
Very well said! Nneka's comment about the players being allowed to be themselves and also be OK with different personalities was eye-opening to me. And there is no doubt that Erica, Skylar, Gabby, etc., are all excelling. That is a credit to the players, the coaching staff, and the organization.
I'm also very impressed with Gabby and the complete game that she plays. Who knew that a French Army Knife was more versatile and powerful than a Swiss Army Knife?
Definitely a great team win. Can't say enough about what EW has brought to this team. She should be an Allstar in my opinion. Dom has been fantastic subbing in for Ezi and Nneka. It's crazy how much she improves game to game. She shoukd work on developing a jump hook. With her length noone is blocking it.
As far as Li goes, if they trade her I hope they bring s big in because if someone gets injured they are gonna be lacking in size. Can't they add a player at somepoijt? The whole Katie Lou thing really hamstrung this team depth wise. Eventually just playing 6 or 7 is gonna be s problem.
Great electrifying game! Next step is consistency. The storm can take their place in the commissioners cup game if they win out which won't be easy. Golden state is still really good even losing players to eurobasket and i hope they're ready to play and win!
Such a great and much-needed win. And it's really great that we outscored the Lynx by more than they beat us by in Minnesota. It was cool to hear EDub making the comment that point spread matters in the Commissioner's Cup games. I'm thrilled with EDub's play as our point guard. She's been incredible. She gives us 2 PG's in our starting lineup, and, of course, Skylar can play the 2, too. I'm always impressed with Dom Malonga and what she provides the team and I'm still hoping that she can start getting 15-20 mins P.T. regularly very soon.
I was also disappointed that Li Yueru got no P.T. in this game. If it had something to do with a pending trade, we'd better not be considering trading her to the Lynx. They desperately need another post player, especially one as talented as Li. We can't give the Lynx their missing piece to win the Western Conference. We need to start giving Li 10-15 mins per game. It will pay off. Right now we're a poor Free Throw shooting team and Li is our best FT shooter at 90%. Any minutes that Li can play instead of Ezi is going to improve that stat. Li's not as fierce a shot blocker as Ezi, but she can develop that more.
What you're suggesting simply isn't realistic. Even on the low end, there is no way the Storm can play Dominique Malonga 15-20 MPG and Li Yueru 10-15 MPG. If the Storm weren't trying to compete for a championship, then maybe that could be realistic. If the Storm were the Dallas Wings with a 1-10 record or the Connecticut Sun with a 2-7 record, then those players could get more playing time. And, likely, Nneka Ogwumike and Skylar Diggins wouldn't be on the roster at all.
It's more important for the Storm's Championship aspirations to get Ezi back into rhythm so that she can perform like she did in this game against Minnesota with 13 points, 8 rebounds, and 3 blocks than it is for Li Yueru to get minutes. I do believe Dom Malonga's minutes can increase as the season progresses to the point where maybe she is averaging 13-15 MPG. 20 MPG is probably unrealistic unless they start playing some lineups with Nneka, Ezi, and Dom together. But obviously, there are reasons they should stagger them (don't want them all tired, don't want them all getting into foul trouble, etc.)
And it was nice to see Ezi have a pretty decent game for a change - more typical of what she's done in recent years. I'd really like to see her get back to having double doubles again and leading the league in blocked shots. That would really help us out and keep us on the winning track!
I think you're right about my desired minutes for Li and Dom not being realistic right now but I think that Coach Quinn could find a minimum of 5 minutes every game for Li and preferably 7-9 minutes and the sooner that Dom gets a consistent 15 minutes per game P.T., the better we will be as a team. That will start to pay big dividends IMHO.
The team traded Li Yueru this morning to the Dallas Wings for future draft picks. The best being the Wings' 2026 2nd-round pick. If Dallas finishes in last place as they currently are, that would be the top pick of the 2nd round. With the two additional expansion teams coming, that means it'll be pick 16 (best-case scenario). If Seattle keeps all of their draft picks, that means they will likely have 4 draft picks in the Top 20 and possibly 4 picks in the Top 16.
This was such a fun game. One thing I've really enjoyed about Dominique is her resilience. If she makes a mistake or someone scores on her defense, she doesn't let it eat at her and she moves on and learns.
I also really like what the players are saying about being themselves. As a recovering perfectionist with anxiety, I can relate to Skylar. It can be hard to find people who are okay with that personality and I've seen a lot of judgment toward her on other online forums. But the Storm have embraced her as she is and she's thriving. I love that for her. Hearing Erica say the same about being accepted and seeing her play her best is heartwarming.
Very well said! Nneka's comment about the players being allowed to be themselves and also be OK with different personalities was eye-opening to me. And there is no doubt that Erica, Skylar, Gabby, etc., are all excelling. That is a credit to the players, the coaching staff, and the organization.
The Courtney Williams analysis is one reason I love subscribing. It is fun to learn about these strategic choices! Thank you.
Agreed!!!
I'm also very impressed with Gabby and the complete game that she plays. Who knew that a French Army Knife was more versatile and powerful than a Swiss Army Knife?
Definitely a great team win. Can't say enough about what EW has brought to this team. She should be an Allstar in my opinion. Dom has been fantastic subbing in for Ezi and Nneka. It's crazy how much she improves game to game. She shoukd work on developing a jump hook. With her length noone is blocking it.
As far as Li goes, if they trade her I hope they bring s big in because if someone gets injured they are gonna be lacking in size. Can't they add a player at somepoijt? The whole Katie Lou thing really hamstrung this team depth wise. Eventually just playing 6 or 7 is gonna be s problem.
With everything that’s gone on with the Storm over the past few months and last season. That last quote was very interesting to me.—-
Totally agree with your statement.
What a great game. I have to say, the points in the paint stood out huge for me because I feel that has been lacking for us. I hope we continue.
Great electrifying game! Next step is consistency. The storm can take their place in the commissioners cup game if they win out which won't be easy. Golden state is still really good even losing players to eurobasket and i hope they're ready to play and win!
Such a great and much-needed win. And it's really great that we outscored the Lynx by more than they beat us by in Minnesota. It was cool to hear EDub making the comment that point spread matters in the Commissioner's Cup games. I'm thrilled with EDub's play as our point guard. She's been incredible. She gives us 2 PG's in our starting lineup, and, of course, Skylar can play the 2, too. I'm always impressed with Dom Malonga and what she provides the team and I'm still hoping that she can start getting 15-20 mins P.T. regularly very soon.
I was also disappointed that Li Yueru got no P.T. in this game. If it had something to do with a pending trade, we'd better not be considering trading her to the Lynx. They desperately need another post player, especially one as talented as Li. We can't give the Lynx their missing piece to win the Western Conference. We need to start giving Li 10-15 mins per game. It will pay off. Right now we're a poor Free Throw shooting team and Li is our best FT shooter at 90%. Any minutes that Li can play instead of Ezi is going to improve that stat. Li's not as fierce a shot blocker as Ezi, but she can develop that more.
What you're suggesting simply isn't realistic. Even on the low end, there is no way the Storm can play Dominique Malonga 15-20 MPG and Li Yueru 10-15 MPG. If the Storm weren't trying to compete for a championship, then maybe that could be realistic. If the Storm were the Dallas Wings with a 1-10 record or the Connecticut Sun with a 2-7 record, then those players could get more playing time. And, likely, Nneka Ogwumike and Skylar Diggins wouldn't be on the roster at all.
It's more important for the Storm's Championship aspirations to get Ezi back into rhythm so that she can perform like she did in this game against Minnesota with 13 points, 8 rebounds, and 3 blocks than it is for Li Yueru to get minutes. I do believe Dom Malonga's minutes can increase as the season progresses to the point where maybe she is averaging 13-15 MPG. 20 MPG is probably unrealistic unless they start playing some lineups with Nneka, Ezi, and Dom together. But obviously, there are reasons they should stagger them (don't want them all tired, don't want them all getting into foul trouble, etc.)
And it was nice to see Ezi have a pretty decent game for a change - more typical of what she's done in recent years. I'd really like to see her get back to having double doubles again and leading the league in blocked shots. That would really help us out and keep us on the winning track!
I think you're right about my desired minutes for Li and Dom not being realistic right now but I think that Coach Quinn could find a minimum of 5 minutes every game for Li and preferably 7-9 minutes and the sooner that Dom gets a consistent 15 minutes per game P.T., the better we will be as a team. That will start to pay big dividends IMHO.
The team traded Li Yueru this morning to the Dallas Wings for future draft picks. The best being the Wings' 2026 2nd-round pick. If Dallas finishes in last place as they currently are, that would be the top pick of the 2nd round. With the two additional expansion teams coming, that means it'll be pick 16 (best-case scenario). If Seattle keeps all of their draft picks, that means they will likely have 4 draft picks in the Top 20 and possibly 4 picks in the Top 16.