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***official 2024/25 women’s college bball thread*** paige gets her title and will soon be beat up and abused in the wnba (4 Viewers)

It sounds like you are saying her teammates suck at an extraordinary level.
I didn't hear anyone say anything about sucking.

But there do seem to be a lot of players who struggle to control a hard or quick pass they have to reach for while either on a full run or moving in traffic. A skill most of us are used to seeing be routine at the college level.
 
It sounds like you are saying her teammates suck at an extraordinary level.
I didn't hear anyone say anything about sucking.

But there do seem to be a lot of players who struggle to control a hard or quick pass they have to reach for while either on a full run or moving in traffic. A skill most of us are used to seeing be routine at the college level.
I think the fact that CC's teammates often struggle handling her passes illustrates why CC is unlike any other player we've seen in the women's game. She simply passes harder, faster, and with more anticipation than anyone her teammates have played with before. That leads to additional turnovers.

If you put an NBA PG in there the same thing would happen to an even greater degree and he would be charged with a ton of TO's, but he'd still be the best PG in the league.
 
It sounds like you are saying her teammates suck at an extraordinary level.
I didn't hear anyone say anything about sucking.

But there do seem to be a lot of players who struggle to control a hard or quick pass they have to reach for while either on a full run or moving in traffic. A skill most of us are used to seeing be routine at the college level.
I think the fact that CC's teammates often struggle handling her passes illustrates why CC is unlike any other player we've seen in the women's game. She simply passes harder, faster, and with more anticipation than anyone her teammates have played with before. That leads to additional turnovers.

If you put an NBA PG in there the same thing would happen to an even greater degree and he would be charged with a ton of TO's, but he'd still be the best PG in the league.
Or, most of those are actually bad passes.
 
It sounds like you are saying her teammates suck at an extraordinary level.
I didn't hear anyone say anything about sucking.

But there do seem to be a lot of players who struggle to control a hard or quick pass they have to reach for while either on a full run or moving in traffic. A skill most of us are used to seeing be routine at the college level.
I think the fact that CC's teammates often struggle handling her passes illustrates why CC is unlike any other player we've seen in the women's game. She simply passes harder, faster, and with more anticipation than anyone her teammates have played with before. That leads to additional turnovers.

If you put an NBA PG in there the same thing would happen to an even greater degree and he would be charged with a ton of TO's, but he'd still be the best PG in the league.
Or, most of those are actually bad passes.
Some are. I haven't watched every game, but I've watched several. In the games I've watched there have been plenty of examples of TO's getting credited to her simply because she's playing at a faster level than her teammates.
 
Fever laid the smackdown on the Sky tonight, and Caitlan was just outstanding. Chicago tried to goon it up late with a bunch of cheap and flagrant fouls against her, but she just laughed it all off, as that is all they had for her tonight was dirty play. But hey, congrats to Reese for staying in the game at the end when down 25 with mostly just backups on the floor so she could get to 10 points. lol
 
Top 10 in scoring and on pace to break the all-time assist record. As a rookie. Where is that transition period Taurasi was talking about?
The haters who thought they'd at least get a year or two before Clark started kicking butt are probably crying themselves to sleep every night already.

I had to laugh at the announcers near the end of the game last night talking about the rookie of the year thing, as if it is or was still in question. Just go look at the Vegas odds right now. Clark is the runaway winner, and it won't be close (although I am sure some of the haters who are rooting against her are voters and will vote accordingly, but it won't matter).
 
If the Rookie of the Year vote isn't unanimous, there is another game being played.
Those with a cause won't let go of the largely irrelevant double-double thing, but the eye test says it all. If anyone can watch both Clark and Reese play and even think it's a conversation, they either don't know basketball and/or have an axe to grind for a variety of reasons (jealousy, racism, etc.).
 
Top 10 in scoring and on pace to break the all-time assist record. As a rookie. Where is that transition period Taurasi was talking about?
Lasted about 2 weeks. All of those saying Caitlin was overrated, should never have been the #1 pick etc are eating serious crow right now. She makes her entire team better. She took everything they gave her physically and is now the one standing tall.
 

Interesting stat:

17% of the WNBA’s flagrant fouls this season have been committed against Caitlin Clark

The Chicago Sky were responsible for 80% of the flagrants committed against Clark

---------------


Hilarious, but not at all surprising.

Makes you wonder if the WNBA will do anything about this obviously intentional targeting of a rookie.
 
Clark's learning period isn't going to be her shooting or assist numbers, but the TO and efficency numbers. She is not scoring efficiently and has turned it over too much. As she gets more efficient and commits fewer TOs she be a potential MVP candidate.

The NBA comp I've thought about was Luka Doncic. Not so much in style of play, but in impact. They are both high usage and low efficiency players with big counting stats and a great impact on winning.
 
28-4-12 again (7 TOs though). IIRC the Fever are now 16-8 after a 1-8 start.

The Fever highlights remind me of Pete Carril's Princeton teams. If Steph Curry were at point.

The sour face on all those UCONN stans as they suck on the Clark lemon is pretty fun to see.
 
Angel Reese sets the all time WNBA rebound record. Even with the narrative about rebounding her missed shots, that’s pretty incredible.
 
A few ways the WNBA postseason and offseason are different from the NBA…

The conferences don’t matter for playoff seeding or bracketing. It’s the top 8 by record.

The first round is best-of-3. The better seed hosts Games 1 and 2. If you have homecourt and split the first two, you go on the road for Game 3.

The semifinals and finals are best-of-5. 2-2-1 format.

There’s no restrictions on how often teams can trade or convey swap rights on first round picks. When Chicago traded for Marina Mabrey in a complex four-team deal in 2023, Chicago gave up their first round picks in 2023 and 2024, and gave swap rights on their 2025 first-rounder.

There’s a draft lottery and it’s weighted, but combined record the past two seasons determines the lottery and the draft order for the first round. So even though Phoenix will make the playoffs, they will be in the draft lottery because they were 9-31 last year. Conversely, Dallas might not be in the draft lottery because they were 22-18 last year.

Usually the draft lottery has four teams in it with the top two spots drawn and the remaining teams slotted 3rd and 4th based on record. But the league hasn’t announced how the Golden State expansion team will be incorporated into the draft. The expectation is they will be slotted 5th because that’s NBA/WNBA precedent, but I could see a scenario where the WNBA recalculates the draft lottery weighting and throws Golden State in there with the 5th best chance of winning.

——
A few 2025 draft notes that might affect how teams play out the rest of the season…

As of now, the projected draft lottery and first round order (before trades, penalties, or inserting the expansion team) is

1. Los Angeles
2. Phoenix
3. Washington
4. Chicago

5. Atlanta
6. Dallas
7. Indiana
8. Seattle
9. Minnesota
10. Connecticut
11. Las Vegas
12. New York

LA is way out in front in the tankathon. Phoenix has two games on Washington, and the 3-8 spots are almost all one game ahead of the next in line, then a biiiigg separation from the 9-12 teams.

Phoenix is in the draft lottery, but New York has swap rights on their pick. So based on standings right now and assuming the 2025 draft works like the 2024 draft, New York has a 27.6% chance of getting Paige Bueckers.

Atlanta does not have their 2025 first-round pick. They gave it up when they traded for Allisha Gray. So they have more pressure to make the playoffs than the other teams floating around them.

Dallas has swap rights on Chicago’s first round pick, so even though Chicago is playing like they are tanking, they won’t keep their pick if it’s in the lottery.

Washington has their own first-round pick and Atlanta’s. So they could have two lottery picks if Atlanta flames out. They also might be able to tank below Phoenix, who will be trying to move up in the playoff standings.

Las Vegas does not have their first-round pick. It got stripped as a penalty for how they handled their contract negotiations and subsequent trade of Dearica Hamby (and IMO other impermissible benefits and salary cap violations the Aces committed but the league couldn’t prove).

With Golden State coming in (most likely as the fifth pick, but nothing official yet), the first round will have 12 picks, and the second and third rounds will have 13.
 
Clark's learning period isn't going to be her shooting or assist numbers, but the TO and efficency numbers. She is not scoring efficiently and has turned it over too much. As she gets more efficient and commits fewer TOs she be a potential MVP candidate.

The NBA comp I've thought about was Luka Doncic. Not so much in style of play, but in impact. They are both high usage and low efficiency players with big counting stats and a great impact on winning.
Since the Olympic break, Clark has been the best guard in the league. Even with her slow start, she’s climbed to top 20 in PER and TS% and PIE for the season.

But the true reveal is how she alters opponents’ play. She has the biggest gravitational pull of any guard in the league. Opponents are reluctant to crash the boards because they would rather not get an offensive rebound than have her throw a transition pass over them. Opponents will sacrifice the offense of one of their guards to pick her up 80 feet from the basket and try to get/keep the ball out of her hands.

Clark (and Reese) should make second-team All-WNBA. Clark will probably get a couple 5th place mentions on MVP ballots.
 
But the true reveal is how she alters opponents’ play. She has the biggest gravitational pull of any guard in the league.
You can see this in the passing lanes she has. The defense has to guard her out to NBA distances, with considerably less athleticism to cover the rotations or the length to challenge shooters, and there's just so much space on the floor for her teammates.
 
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Apparently ESPN yanked Sheryl Swoopes from her planned broadcast of the game last night because Swoopes has been talking trash about Clark and getting the facts wrong, then, instead of apologizing when challenged, doubled down. Nancy Lieberman was the replacement and indirectly called Swoopes out on the broadcast.

I get why WNBA greats who didn't make even a small percentage of what Clark is bringing in are jealous. And why black players are rolling their eyes at some of the coverage. I don't think Clark wouldn't get the same level of love if she were black -- the midwestern princess thing is 100% a factor IMO. But it's still time to let it go. As Lieberman points out, she's going to make some of them millionaires. And she can straight up play -- as the game-loves-game NBA players keep pointing out.
 
Clark's learning period isn't going to be her shooting or assist numbers, but the TO and efficency numbers. She is not scoring efficiently and has turned it over too much. As she gets more efficient and commits fewer TOs she be a potential MVP candidate.

The NBA comp I've thought about was Luka Doncic. Not so much in style of play, but in impact. They are both high usage and low efficiency players with big counting stats and a great impact on winning.

Maravich is the comp for me re: Caitlin
 
Clark's learning period isn't going to be her shooting or assist numbers, but the TO and efficency numbers. She is not scoring efficiently and has turned it over too much. As she gets more efficient and commits fewer TOs she be a potential MVP candidate.

The NBA comp I've thought about was Luka Doncic. Not so much in style of play, but in impact. They are both high usage and low efficiency players with big counting stats and a great impact on winning.
Since the Olympic break, Clark has been the best guard in the league.
I think I might argue that Kelsey Mitchell has been the best guard since the break.
 
But the true reveal is how she alters opponents’ play. She has the biggest gravitational pull of any guard in the league.
You can see this in the passing lanes she has. The defense has to guard her out to NBA distances, with considerably less athleticism to cover the rotations or the length to challenge shooters, and there's just so much space on the floor for her teammates.
Absolutely. And it manifests in different ways. Like how Boston will go for a block-style seal from the elbow to give Clark a big window to throw the pass over her and lead her to the basket. Or how Mitchell will release for the 50-foot lead pass, and then cut back out for a three. Or Hull/Samuelson’s sense to space to spot up in just the right place to make it as difficult as possible to help/rotate off them. And now there’s repor between Clark and Smith, who generally doesn’t need to be set up to score and can’t be left open anywhere.

And then Indiana added the wrinkle where if defenses try to run Clark off the three-point line, they now have options where Clark can drive to the block and then kick it out to a shooter. Hull and Mitchell get a lot of open threes from that, and they’re drawing a lot of fouls around the basket, too.

Another part that IMO is all Sides… Clark’s gravity is so strong, Indiana can spot her up 25 feet out along the sideline and run the play to the other side. This pops up once every 4-5 minutes. IMO they do this to give Clark chances to catch her breath and not have to sub her out, but since the defense still has to guard Clark out there, she’s involved in the play without moving.
 
Clark's learning period isn't going to be her shooting or assist numbers, but the TO and efficency numbers. She is not scoring efficiently and has turned it over too much. As she gets more efficient and commits fewer TOs she be a potential MVP candidate.

The NBA comp I've thought about was Luka Doncic. Not so much in style of play, but in impact. They are both high usage and low efficiency players with big counting stats and a great impact on winning.
Since the Olympic break, Clark has been the best guard in the league.
I think I might argue that Kelsey Mitchell has been the best guard since the break.
Mitchell will probably be named East Player Of The Month for August. She led the East in scoring for the month.
 
I get why WNBA greats who didn't make even a small percentage of what Clark is bringing in are jealous. And why black players are rolling their eyes at some of the coverage. I don't think Clark wouldn't get the same level of love if she were black -- the midwestern princess thing is 100% a factor IMO. But it's still time to let it go. As Lieberman points out, she's going to make some of them millionaires. And she can straight up play -- as the game-loves-game NBA players keep pointing out.
Well said
 
Clark is Eastern Conference Player Of The Month for August--first rookie in WNBA history to win. (I read that they didn't begin the award until 2010).

Napheesa Collier is the Western Conference Player Of The Month. I mentioned upthread that she is the only one I have seen who was able to battle Clark one-on-one. Clark seemed legit flustered by Collier.
 
Was listening to a podcast this morning with a guy writing a book about Caitlin Clark (Howard Megdal).

Interesting relating the Caitlin Clark origin story to Iowa 6-on-6 basketball.

This isn't the first time women's basketball was popular. Apparently, women's high school basketball was wildy popular in Iowa from the 1920's to 1970's. They were apparently drawing 10-15,000 fans to girls high school basketball games decades before Title IX, when girls playing sports was unheard of in many states.

Anyway, they played 6-on-6 basketball, which I'd never heard of.

Each team has 3 guards and 3 forwards. They can't cross halfcourt.
So, the 3 guards only play defense (you know, guard) and then pass the ball to the forwards. Only the forwards can shoot/score. And in most variations, the forwards can only dribble 2 times before they shoot or pass.

Anyway, the point it's fast-paced with a lot of ball movement and long passes. Sound like anybody you know?

AFAIK, Clark never played 6-on-6, but all the people she learned basketball from did. Iowa's state girls HS basketball championship was still played with 6-on-6 rules in 1993. And it reaches back to 1920.

It's how Lisa Bluder grew up playing basketball. Probably Jen Jansen too, and certainly everybody Jansen learned to play from.

So, it makes sense that 100 years of rich Iowa women's basketball in that style has led to a wunderkind flinging 60 foot passes down the court and pushing the pace at a fever pitch.

Grew up in IA. Jansen definitely did. She was huge in IA high school and I wondered how her game would transition to the college level. She went to Drake where he head coach was ... Bluder. She transitioned just fine.
 
Small sample size theater, but...

Pre-August: 8.2 As to 5.6 TOs per game (1.46 to 1)
After: 9.0 As to 5.1 TOs per game (1.76 to 1)

Trending in a better direction. Not sure how many assists you'd need to justify 5 TOs per game though -- but it's a lot more than 9.0. Probably a million factors in play too.
 
:eek:

Most career games with 20 PTS & 10 AST:
10 — Courtney Vandersloot (422 GP)
9 — Diana Taurasi (559 GP)
7 — Caitlin Clark (34 GP)

Also during tonight’s triple double performance (her second of the season) she became the fastest player in WNBA history to reach 100 3-pointers made. She also became the first rookie to have multiple triple doubles in a season, and became only the fifth WNBA player in history to record multiple triple doubles in a season. She is currently ninth in scoring, but I bet she’s higher in games since the all-star break.
 
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I saw a stat from a few days ago that Clark is scoring or assisting on 36.7 points per game. If that average holds, it will be the highest in WNBA history.
 
Small sample size theater, but...

Pre-August: 8.2 As to 5.6 TOs per game (1.46 to 1)
After: 9.0 As to 5.1 TOs per game (1.76 to 1)

Trending in a better direction. Not sure how many assists you'd need

A lot of the PGs in the WNBA have AST/TO ratios in the 2.0-2.3 range. Sabrina Ionescu, probably the best active comp for Clark, has an AST/TO of 2.00.
The Fever as a team are about one turnover per game above the league average, which given their pace of play isn’t as bad as all the handwringing over Clark’s turnovers would indicate. If Clark can shave one TO off her game and the rest of the team can collectively shave one of theirs, they’re operating on New York’s level.
 
:eek:

Most career games with 20 PTS & 10 AST:
10 — Courtney Vandersloot (422 GP)
9 — Diana Taurasi (559 GP)
7 — Caitlin Clark (34 GP)

Also during tonight’s triple double performance (her second of the season) she became the fastest player in WNBA history to reach 100 3-pointers made. She also became the first rookie to have multiple triple doubles in a season, and became only the fifth WNBA player in history to record multiple triple doubles in a season. She is currently ninth in scoring, but I bet she’s higher in games since the all-star break.
Indiana is +1 in games played versus most other teams. Indiana and Phoenix have played 34, everyone else has played 33. Clark’s PPG is 9th.

Clark is tied for 4th all-time in WNBA regular season triple-doubles. Alyssa Thomas has 10, Sabrina Ionescu has 4, Candace Parker has 3. Clark, Chelsea Gray, Courtney Willams have 2.

There have only been 33 regular-season triple-doubles in WNBA history. (It’s super hard to get 10 assists in a 40-minute game in a league that shoots in the low 40s.)

Clark probably going to finish top 20 in all of the top five counting stats. It would be weird if a player checked all five of those boxes and didn’t make All-WNBA.
 
:eek:

Most career games with 20 PTS & 10 AST:
10 — Courtney Vandersloot (422 GP)
9 — Diana Taurasi (559 GP)
7 — Caitlin Clark (34 GP)

Also during tonight’s triple double performance (her second of the season) she became the fastest player in WNBA history to reach 100 3-pointers made. She also became the first rookie to have multiple triple doubles in a season, and became only the fifth WNBA player in history to record multiple triple doubles in a season. She is currently ninth in scoring, but I bet she’s higher in games since the all-star break.
Indiana is +1 in games played versus most other teams. Indiana and Phoenix have played 34, everyone else has played 33. Clark’s PPG is 9th.

Clark is tied for 4th all-time in WNBA regular season triple-doubles. Alyssa Thomas has 10, Sabrina Ionescu has 4, Candace Parker has 3. Clark, Chelsea Gray, Courtney Willams have 2.

There have only been 33 regular-season triple-doubles in WNBA history. (It’s super hard to get 10 assists in a 40-minute game in a league that shoots in the low 40s.)

Clark probably going to finish top 20 in all of the top five counting stats. It would be weird if a player checked all five of those boxes and didn’t make All-WNBA.
That is the point that IMO often gets overlooked when comparing stats from the WNBA to the NBA. The games are simply 8 minutes shorter and it is obviously more difficult to score since the players are shorter than the men.

However, I am still shocked that the record for 20 PTS & 10 AST is only 10.

Clarks last 8 games:
24 PTS - 10 REB - 10 AST (W)
28 PTS - 4 REB - 12 AST (W)
31 PTS - 4 REB - 12 AST (W)
19 PTS - 5 REB - 5 AST (W)
19 PTS - 7 REB - 7 AST (W)
23 PTS - 5 REB - 8 AST (L)
23 PTS - 5 REB - 9 AST (W)
29 PTS - 5 REB - 10 AST (W)
 
What a :trainwreck: this thread is, more often than not.

If there weren't differing opinions, I wouldn't look in.

But that's an anathema seemingly.

Lighten up, you know who you are.
as a veteran of the nba thread and as the guy running this thread i would just like to say that having it called a trainwreck is about the best thing anyone has ever said to me thats how you know it is great take that to the bank brohans
 
now we just need to figure out which wnba fanbase is the equivalent of the philadelphia fans take that to the bank brochachos
 
:eek:

Most career games with 20 PTS & 10 AST:
10 — Courtney Vandersloot (422 GP)
9 — Diana Taurasi (559 GP)
7 — Caitlin Clark (34 GP)

Also during tonight’s triple double performance (her second of the season) she became the fastest player in WNBA history to reach 100 3-pointers made. She also became the first rookie to have multiple triple doubles in a season, and became only the fifth WNBA player in history to record multiple triple doubles in a season. She is currently ninth in scoring, but I bet she’s higher in games since the all-star break.
Indiana is +1 in games played versus most other teams. Indiana and Phoenix have played 34, everyone else has played 33. Clark’s PPG is 9th.

Clark is tied for 4th all-time in WNBA regular season triple-doubles. Alyssa Thomas has 10, Sabrina Ionescu has 4, Candace Parker has 3. Clark, Chelsea Gray, Courtney Willams have 2.

There have only been 33 regular-season triple-doubles in WNBA history. (It’s super hard to get 10 assists in a 40-minute game in a league that shoots in the low 40s.)

Clark probably going to finish top 20 in all of the top five counting stats. It would be weird if a player checked all five of those boxes and didn’t make All-WNBA.
That is the point that IMO often gets overlooked when comparing stats from the WNBA to the NBA. The games are simply 8 minutes shorter and it is obviously more difficult to score since the players are shorter than the men.

However, I am still shocked that the record for 20 PTS & 10 AST is only 10.

Clarks last 8 games:
24 PTS - 10 REB - 10 AST (W)
28 PTS - 4 REB - 12 AST (W)
31 PTS - 4 REB - 12 AST (W)
19 PTS - 5 REB - 5 AST (W)
19 PTS - 7 REB - 7 AST (W)
23 PTS - 5 REB - 8 AST (L)
23 PTS - 5 REB - 9 AST (W)
29 PTS - 5 REB - 10 AST (W)
There’s also an element of style of play to it. The most popular offensive alignment by far in the WNBA is Horns: 1 out top, 2 & 3 down in the corners outside the three-point line, 4 & 5 at the elbows. Keeping the low post clear like that is a great way to open up cuts to the basket off-ball or PnRs from either elbow, but it’s not a system designed for the same player to rack up a lot of points and assists at the same time.

And the teams who don’t run it are Minnesota, whose offense is all about keeping the ball and players moving until someone gets open, and Las Vegas, who matchup hunt with their guards and try to give Wilson as much room as possible. So that’s not reliant on a single facilitator, either.

Clark is helped by leading the league in minutes. She goes all 40 a lot. A couple times a quarter they will spot her up way out top so she can rest, and it works because she with her shooting range she still has to be guarded 28-30 feet out. If the opponent is running Horns every time and keeps one of the corners stationary, Clark can guard that player and save energy for offense, too.
 
:eek:

Most career games with 20 PTS & 10 AST:
10 — Courtney Vandersloot (422 GP)
9 — Diana Taurasi (559 GP)
7 — Caitlin Clark (34 GP)

Also during tonight’s triple double performance (her second of the season) she became the fastest player in WNBA history to reach 100 3-pointers made. She also became the first rookie to have multiple triple doubles in a season, and became only the fifth WNBA player in history to record multiple triple doubles in a season. She is currently ninth in scoring, but I bet she’s higher in games since the all-star break.
Indiana is +1 in games played versus most other teams. Indiana and Phoenix have played 34, everyone else has played 33. Clark’s PPG is 9th.

Clark is tied for 4th all-time in WNBA regular season triple-doubles. Alyssa Thomas has 10, Sabrina Ionescu has 4, Candace Parker has 3. Clark, Chelsea Gray, Courtney Willams have 2.

There have only been 33 regular-season triple-doubles in WNBA history. (It’s super hard to get 10 assists in a 40-minute game in a league that shoots in the low 40s.)

Clark probably going to finish top 20 in all of the top five counting stats. It would be weird if a player checked all five of those boxes and didn’t make All-WNBA.
That is the point that IMO often gets overlooked when comparing stats from the WNBA to the NBA. The games are simply 8 minutes shorter and it is obviously more difficult to score since the players are shorter than the men.

However, I am still shocked that the record for 20 PTS & 10 AST is only 10.

Clarks last 8 games:
24 PTS - 10 REB - 10 AST (W)
28 PTS - 4 REB - 12 AST (W)
31 PTS - 4 REB - 12 AST (W)
19 PTS - 5 REB - 5 AST (W)
19 PTS - 7 REB - 7 AST (W)
23 PTS - 5 REB - 8 AST (L)
23 PTS - 5 REB - 9 AST (W)
29 PTS - 5 REB - 10 AST (W)
There’s also an element of style of play to it. The most popular offensive alignment by far in the WNBA is Horns: 1 out top, 2 & 3 down in the corners outside the three-point line, 4 & 5 at the elbows. Keeping the low post clear like that is a great way to open up cuts to the basket off-ball or PnRs from either elbow, but it’s not a system designed for the same player to rack up a lot of points and assists at the same time.

And the teams who don’t run it are Minnesota, whose offense is all about keeping the ball and players moving until someone gets open, and Las Vegas, who matchup hunt with their guards and try to give Wilson as much room as possible. So that’s not reliant on a single facilitator, either.

Clark is helped by leading the league in minutes. She goes all 40 a lot. A couple times a quarter they will spot her up way out top so she can rest, and it works because she with her shooting range she still has to be guarded 28-30 feet out. If the opponent is running Horns every time and keeps one of the corners stationary, Clark can guard that player and save energy for offense, too.
There are ways to target her in the corners in horns. You can get her in zoom action, flash the player she is guarding into the post, involve her in some twist action. I think more teams should go after her, maybe some are saving it to for possible playoff match ups so they have less time to adjust. Her minutes are going to be a problem, IMO. They are going to chase away any and all depth at the wing. They already lost Taylor, who I think is a solid rotation player.
 
:eek:

Most career games with 20 PTS & 10 AST:
10 — Courtney Vandersloot (422 GP)
9 — Diana Taurasi (559 GP)
7 — Caitlin Clark (34 GP)

Also during tonight’s triple double performance (her second of the season) she became the fastest player in WNBA history to reach 100 3-pointers made. She also became the first rookie to have multiple triple doubles in a season, and became only the fifth WNBA player in history to record multiple triple doubles in a season. She is currently ninth in scoring, but I bet she’s higher in games since the all-star break.
Indiana is +1 in games played versus most other teams. Indiana and Phoenix have played 34, everyone else has played 33. Clark’s PPG is 9th.

Clark is tied for 4th all-time in WNBA regular season triple-doubles. Alyssa Thomas has 10, Sabrina Ionescu has 4, Candace Parker has 3. Clark, Chelsea Gray, Courtney Willams have 2.

There have only been 33 regular-season triple-doubles in WNBA history. (It’s super hard to get 10 assists in a 40-minute game in a league that shoots in the low 40s.)

Clark probably going to finish top 20 in all of the top five counting stats. It would be weird if a player checked all five of those boxes and didn’t make All-WNBA.
That is the point that IMO often gets overlooked when comparing stats from the WNBA to the NBA. The games are simply 8 minutes shorter and it is obviously more difficult to score since the players are shorter than the men.

However, I am still shocked that the record for 20 PTS & 10 AST is only 10.

Clarks last 8 games:
24 PTS - 10 REB - 10 AST (W)
28 PTS - 4 REB - 12 AST (W)
31 PTS - 4 REB - 12 AST (W)
19 PTS - 5 REB - 5 AST (W)
19 PTS - 7 REB - 7 AST (W)
23 PTS - 5 REB - 8 AST (L)
23 PTS - 5 REB - 9 AST (W)
29 PTS - 5 REB - 10 AST (W)
There’s also an element of style of play to it. The most popular offensive alignment by far in the WNBA is Horns: 1 out top, 2 & 3 down in the corners outside the three-point line, 4 & 5 at the elbows. Keeping the low post clear like that is a great way to open up cuts to the basket off-ball or PnRs from either elbow, but it’s not a system designed for the same player to rack up a lot of points and assists at the same time.

And the teams who don’t run it are Minnesota, whose offense is all about keeping the ball and players moving until someone gets open, and Las Vegas, who matchup hunt with their guards and try to give Wilson as much room as possible. So that’s not reliant on a single facilitator, either.

Clark is helped by leading the league in minutes. She goes all 40 a lot. A couple times a quarter they will spot her up way out top so she can rest, and it works because she with her shooting range she still has to be guarded 28-30 feet out. If the opponent is running Horns every time and keeps one of the corners stationary, Clark can guard that player and save energy for offense, too.
There are ways to target her in the corners in horns. You can get her in zoom action, flash the player she is guarding into the post, involve her in some twist action. I think more teams should go after her, maybe some are saving it to for possible playoff match ups so they have less time to adjust. Her minutes are going to be a problem, IMO. They are going to chase away any and all depth at the wing. They already lost Taylor, who I think is a solid rotation player.
I doubt many teams are going to put in that much work and run off that much shot clock to set up their 4th/5th option. If it’s already organically in the game plan like all the motion Minnesota runs, sure. But I am skeptical New York will be altering the playbook much to get Leonie Fiebich more involved.

This offseason, Indiana will have one big-money slot available for a wing thanks to Erica Wheeler’s contract coming off the books. And a second big money slot if they don’t re-sign Kelsey Mitchell. With all the NIL opportunities that will come with playing for the most popular team in the league, there’s a big pile of money to be made for a good player with a savvy social media approach.

I think the opportunity to play wing on an ascending team whose starting PG is a workhorse with the best court vision in the history of the league will be a drawing card. Clark isn’t taking minutes away from wings. She’s keeping Grace Berger nailed to the bench.

Indiana cutting Celeste Taylor IMO was driven more by the organization’s misguided belief in Kristy Wallace than anything else. They looked at their depth chart and saw Samuelson, Wallace, Hull, and Wheeler, didn’t see any minutes for Taylor anytime soon, and needed a roster spot for Dantas. Taylor is talented, but she wouldn’t be getting any playing time for Phoenix if Bec Allen was healthy.
 
Angel Reese out for the season :sadbanana:
Poor timing for league. Wnba was getting some traction. Like her or hate her, Reese in the playoffs was a good thing for league.
It won't matter. Clark drives the ratings, and I think the numbers have shown that the masses only care about Angel when the Sky are playing the Fever. The Sky are gonna be lucky to make the playoffs anyway (which was the case even if Angel hadn't gotten hurt).
 
:eek:

Most career games with 20 PTS & 10 AST:
10 — Courtney Vandersloot (422 GP)
9 — Diana Taurasi (559 GP)
7 — Caitlin Clark (34 GP)

Also during tonight’s triple double performance (her second of the season) she became the fastest player in WNBA history to reach 100 3-pointers made. She also became the first rookie to have multiple triple doubles in a season, and became only the fifth WNBA player in history to record multiple triple doubles in a season. She is currently ninth in scoring, but I bet she’s higher in games since the all-star break.
Indiana is +1 in games played versus most other teams. Indiana and Phoenix have played 34, everyone else has played 33. Clark’s PPG is 9th.

Clark is tied for 4th all-time in WNBA regular season triple-doubles. Alyssa Thomas has 10, Sabrina Ionescu has 4, Candace Parker has 3. Clark, Chelsea Gray, Courtney Willams have 2.

There have only been 33 regular-season triple-doubles in WNBA history. (It’s super hard to get 10 assists in a 40-minute game in a league that shoots in the low 40s.)

Clark probably going to finish top 20 in all of the top five counting stats. It would be weird if a player checked all five of those boxes and didn’t make All-WNBA.
That is the point that IMO often gets overlooked when comparing stats from the WNBA to the NBA. The games are simply 8 minutes shorter and it is obviously more difficult to score since the players are shorter than the men.

However, I am still shocked that the record for 20 PTS & 10 AST is only 10.

Clarks last 8 games:
24 PTS - 10 REB - 10 AST (W)
28 PTS - 4 REB - 12 AST (W)
31 PTS - 4 REB - 12 AST (W)
19 PTS - 5 REB - 5 AST (W)
19 PTS - 7 REB - 7 AST (W)
23 PTS - 5 REB - 8 AST (L)
23 PTS - 5 REB - 9 AST (W)
29 PTS - 5 REB - 10 AST (W)
There’s also an element of style of play to it. The most popular offensive alignment by far in the WNBA is Horns: 1 out top, 2 & 3 down in the corners outside the three-point line, 4 & 5 at the elbows. Keeping the low post clear like that is a great way to open up cuts to the basket off-ball or PnRs from either elbow, but it’s not a system designed for the same player to rack up a lot of points and assists at the same time.

And the teams who don’t run it are Minnesota, whose offense is all about keeping the ball and players moving until someone gets open, and Las Vegas, who matchup hunt with their guards and try to give Wilson as much room as possible. So that’s not reliant on a single facilitator, either.

Clark is helped by leading the league in minutes. She goes all 40 a lot. A couple times a quarter they will spot her up way out top so she can rest, and it works because she with her shooting range she still has to be guarded 28-30 feet out. If the opponent is running Horns every time and keeps one of the corners stationary, Clark can guard that player and save energy for offense, too.
There are ways to target her in the corners in horns. You can get her in zoom action, flash the player she is guarding into the post, involve her in some twist action. I think more teams should go after her, maybe some are saving it to for possible playoff match ups so they have less time to adjust. Her minutes are going to be a problem, IMO. They are going to chase away any and all depth at the wing. They already lost Taylor, who I think is a solid rotation player.
I doubt many teams are going to put in that much work and run off that much shot clock to set up their 4th/5th option. If it’s already organically in the game plan like all the motion Minnesota runs, sure. But I am skeptical New York will be altering the playbook much to get Leonie Fiebich more involved.

This offseason, Indiana will have one big-money slot available for a wing thanks to Erica Wheeler’s contract coming off the books. And a second big money slot if they don’t re-sign Kelsey Mitchell. With all the NIL opportunities that will come with playing for the most popular team in the league, there’s a big pile of money to be made for a good player with a savvy social media approach.

I think the opportunity to play wing on an ascending team whose starting PG is a workhorse with the best court vision in the history of the league will be a drawing card. Clark isn’t taking minutes away from wings. She’s keeping Grace Berger nailed to the bench.

Indiana cutting Celeste Taylor IMO was driven more by the organization’s misguided belief in Kristy Wallace than anything else. They looked at their depth chart and saw Samuelson, Wallace, Hull, and Wheeler, didn’t see any minutes for Taylor anytime soon, and needed a roster spot for Dantas. Taylor is talented, but she wouldn’t be getting any playing time for Phoenix if Bec Allen was healthy.
It doesn't take any more work than your normal sets. We do it so the time, just have 2-3 automatics that trigger depending on who is guarding her.

Getting a little ahead of ourselves on the best vision in the history of the league.
 

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