After 3 straight (shocking!) losses, the defending WNBA champion Minnesota Lynx closed the 1st half of their 2012 season with 2 wins, thus taking a 15-4 record into a 5-week layoff occasioned by the 2012 Olympic Games. The Lynx, of course, have 3 players on the U.S. Olympic team--Seimone Augustus, Maya Moore and Lindsay Whalen--and so are fortunate that the entire league is shutting down for the occasion.
The Lynx are also fortunate to have followed their 3-game losing streak with 2 games vs. the WNBA's worst team, Tulsa, who enters the Olympic break with a 3-15 record. After hammering on the Shock 107-89 (in Tulsa) and 89-64 (today [Thursday July 12] in Minneapolis, the Lynx enter the 5 week sabbatical at 15-4.
15-4! And we're the defending WNBA champs! What could be better?
So how come the Lynx and their fans are feeling so blue? Well, there's those 3 straight losses after a 10-0 and then 13-1 start. And there's those 3 straight losses. And, oh yeah, there's those 3 straight losses. So the Lynx are 15-4. Would you have taken 15-4 before game #1? In a heartbeat. If they had won 4, then lost 1, then won 4 more, then lost 1, then won 4 more, then lost 1, then won 3 more, then lost 1, for a record of 15-4, there'd be no bellyaching. But, instead, 3 of the 4 losses came consecutively and, suddenly, the sky was falling.
But then came 2 wins vs. Tulsa in which:
Maya Moore broek loose for 26 points and 8.5 rebounds per game
Seimone Augustus scored 15.5 ppg
Lindsay Whalen scored 12. 5 ppg with 7.5 assists per
Taj scored 10 ppg with 10 boards and 2.5 blocks
Monica Wright (starting in place of Rebekah Brunson) scored 10 ppg with 2.5 steals
Candace Wiggins scored 17 ppg (25 in game 2) with 2 steals per game
Amber Harris scored 7 ppg
Brunson will be back from her injury (not serious) as will rookie Deveraux Peters. With those 2 and the 7 above producing like they did against Tulsa, the Lynx will be very hard to beat. But of course you cannot expect the same production against the rest of the league that you get vs. Tulsa.
The biggest point is that the Lynx waaay out-shot Tulsa, including a league record 69.5 percent in game 1, and even shot 82 percent from the line in both games. And they even out-shot the Shock from beyond the arc. In their 3 losses they out-shot their opponents twice on 2-point attempts but got totally demolished on the 3-ball.
The Lynx rarely win the possession game anymore--too many turnovers and too few offensive boards--and so the key through 13-1 was out-shooting their opponents, often by a wide margin. The key to the 2nd half of the season will be to find their shooting touch as well as enough defensive chops to get back to out-shooting people. We know they can do it vs. Tulsa. What about San Antone, LA and Connecticut?
Friday, July 13, 2012
Sunday, July 8, 2012
USA 17Us Easily Win Gold Medal
USA hammered Australia 95-62 to win the gold medal at the World Championships in Lithuania. As has been the pattern, the USA pulled away in the 2nd half. USA led 38-24 at the half, and won the 2nd half 57-38. Connor Frankamp led USA with 22 points, while Jahlil Okafor added 17 points and 8 boards and Justise Winslow 13 and 11.
Tyus Jones scored just 2 points but added 6 assists and 3 steals. He came off the bench but played a team 3rd-best 26 minutes.
Tyus Jones scored just 2 points but added 6 assists and 3 steals. He came off the bench but played a team 3rd-best 26 minutes.
Lynx Lose 3
OK, the Lynx are officially in a slump. The Lynx now have lost to the #3 and 4 teams in the WNBA on the road and now #2 Connecticut at home, 86-80.
For the 3rd straight game, the Lynx fell well behind--23-13 in the 1st, and 74-54 early in the 4th quarter. They quickly rallied to within 78-75 with 1:43 left to go, but got no closer.
Also for the 3rd straight game, an opposing guard and an opposing inside player pretty much had their way with the Lynx defense. This time it was Kara Lawson with 22 points and Tina Charles with 19 and 15.
Granted that Sophia Young, Candace Parker and Charles are all all-star caliber players. Ditto Becky Hammon, Kristi Tolliver and Lawson. But the fact is that most WNBA teams have a smooth operator in the lane and most have a solid perimeter threat. When exactly are the Lynx going to shut any of these people down?
But, wait. In the Lynx' hour of need, along comes the month-long schedule break for the Olympic games, preceded only by 2 games with the 2-13 Tulsa Shock. Still, a second straight WNBA title no longer seems likely, muchness inevitable. Maya Moore has struggled over these past 3 games, Lindsay Whalen has struggled at times, now (against Connecticut) Rebekah Brunson struggled mightily.
The consistent good news has been the Lynx' bench. Candace Wiggins continued her strong play with 11 points, Monica Wright added 6, Amber Harris 4 and Erin Thorn 2 for a total of 23 bench pints to 15 for the Sun.
For the 3rd straight game, the Lynx fell well behind--23-13 in the 1st, and 74-54 early in the 4th quarter. They quickly rallied to within 78-75 with 1:43 left to go, but got no closer.
Also for the 3rd straight game, an opposing guard and an opposing inside player pretty much had their way with the Lynx defense. This time it was Kara Lawson with 22 points and Tina Charles with 19 and 15.
Granted that Sophia Young, Candace Parker and Charles are all all-star caliber players. Ditto Becky Hammon, Kristi Tolliver and Lawson. But the fact is that most WNBA teams have a smooth operator in the lane and most have a solid perimeter threat. When exactly are the Lynx going to shut any of these people down?
But, wait. In the Lynx' hour of need, along comes the month-long schedule break for the Olympic games, preceded only by 2 games with the 2-13 Tulsa Shock. Still, a second straight WNBA title no longer seems likely, muchness inevitable. Maya Moore has struggled over these past 3 games, Lindsay Whalen has struggled at times, now (against Connecticut) Rebekah Brunson struggled mightily.
The consistent good news has been the Lynx' bench. Candace Wiggins continued her strong play with 11 points, Monica Wright added 6, Amber Harris 4 and Erin Thorn 2 for a total of 23 bench pints to 15 for the Sun.
Friday, July 6, 2012
Lynx Lose 2
With a 10-0 start, the MN Lynx set a new WNBA record for wins at the start of a season. At 13-1, they came within 1 win of tying the best 1-loss start of 14-1. But the fact is the Lynx are now playing .500 ball since that 10-0 start after losing at San Antone 93-84 and LA 96-90.
Neither loss was a big surprise--San Antone and LA are the #3 and #4 teams in all of the WNBA and both games/losses came on the road, where the Lynx now have the league's 3rd best record at 5-3. The real secret to their success has been an unbeaten 8-0 record at home.
What is distressing about the losses is that both had about the same shape. Not so much the ebb and flow of the game. The Lynx lost the San Antonio game in the 1st quarter as the Silver Stars took a 35-22 lead. They lost to LA in the 3rd quarter when a 49-43 half-time deficit ballooned to 73-57. They came back in both games but never quite got out of the hole that they'd fallen into.
What I mean is both teams beat the Lynx with the same basic formula. The inside game and the 3. Becky Hammon made 7-of-13 3s for 23 points for the Stars, while Kristi Tolliver was an insane 6-of-6 on 3s and scored 29 points. Both opponents shot better than 50 percent from beyond the arc.
Meanwhile, Sophia Young and Candace Parker each had a field day against the Lynx' inside D, making 18-of-27 shots between them for 22 and 28 points, respectively. What's more, they made 16-of-22 FT, getting to the line too easily and too frequently. Both teams out-shot the Lynx from the FT line, San Antone 86 percent to 71, LA by 82 percent to 53.
Taj McWilliams-Franklin got roasted by both of her counterparts while Lindsay Whalen and Maya Moore each had one poor outing among the 2. Seimone Augustus and Rebekah Brunson averaged 14 and 12 points for the 2 games, while Brunson added 9.5 boards.
On the plus side, the Lynx' bench continues to produce. Against San Antone, Monica Wright scored 18 and Candace Wiggins 10, while Devereaux Peters scored 5 points with 9 boards and 2 steals. Against LA, Wiggins scored another 10 points, as did Amber Harris.
The Lynx won the possession game vs. LA and broke even vs. San Antone. Ironically, they out-shot both from 2-point range. But they got out-shot badly from 3 and from 1 point range, which proved to be a recipe for trouble. The 3 point defense needs to tighten up and the Lynx need to get to the FT line themselves if they're going to stay on top in the WNBA.
Neither loss was a big surprise--San Antone and LA are the #3 and #4 teams in all of the WNBA and both games/losses came on the road, where the Lynx now have the league's 3rd best record at 5-3. The real secret to their success has been an unbeaten 8-0 record at home.
What is distressing about the losses is that both had about the same shape. Not so much the ebb and flow of the game. The Lynx lost the San Antonio game in the 1st quarter as the Silver Stars took a 35-22 lead. They lost to LA in the 3rd quarter when a 49-43 half-time deficit ballooned to 73-57. They came back in both games but never quite got out of the hole that they'd fallen into.
What I mean is both teams beat the Lynx with the same basic formula. The inside game and the 3. Becky Hammon made 7-of-13 3s for 23 points for the Stars, while Kristi Tolliver was an insane 6-of-6 on 3s and scored 29 points. Both opponents shot better than 50 percent from beyond the arc.
Meanwhile, Sophia Young and Candace Parker each had a field day against the Lynx' inside D, making 18-of-27 shots between them for 22 and 28 points, respectively. What's more, they made 16-of-22 FT, getting to the line too easily and too frequently. Both teams out-shot the Lynx from the FT line, San Antone 86 percent to 71, LA by 82 percent to 53.
Taj McWilliams-Franklin got roasted by both of her counterparts while Lindsay Whalen and Maya Moore each had one poor outing among the 2. Seimone Augustus and Rebekah Brunson averaged 14 and 12 points for the 2 games, while Brunson added 9.5 boards.
On the plus side, the Lynx' bench continues to produce. Against San Antone, Monica Wright scored 18 and Candace Wiggins 10, while Devereaux Peters scored 5 points with 9 boards and 2 steals. Against LA, Wiggins scored another 10 points, as did Amber Harris.
The Lynx won the possession game vs. LA and broke even vs. San Antone. Ironically, they out-shot both from 2-point range. But they got out-shot badly from 3 and from 1 point range, which proved to be a recipe for trouble. The 3 point defense needs to tighten up and the Lynx need to get to the FT line themselves if they're going to stay on top in the WNBA.
Tyus Jones Scores 22 as US Advances
Tyus Jones led the USA 17Us in a 113-59 rout of Canada in quarter-final play, scoring 22 points with 6 assists. USA led 46-30 at the half, then scored more points (67) in the 2nd half than Canada did for the entire game.
Tuesday, July 3, 2012
US Hammers France, Tyus Jones Drops Out of Starting Lineup
The USA 17Us clobbered France 86-50 to go 4-0 in the preliminary round of the World Championship play in Lithuania. USA led just 16-13 after 1 period, but stretched it to 40-24 after 2 and 60-32 after 3 to win easily.
And they did it while shooting poorly. USA shot 39 percent from the field to France's 31 percent, and just 17 percent on 3-point attempts versus France's 20, and 52 percent from the FT line to France's 50. But USA dominated the possession game, snaring an unreal 28 offensive boards to France's 15, and forcing 30 French turnovers while committing 16 of their own.
USA was led by Jahlil Okafor with 21 points and 13 boards. Justise Winslow added 7 steals.
Tyus Jones, Apple Valley, MN, led USA with 5 assists despite losing his starting spot. Coming off the bench, he played 21 minutes, scored 8 points on 2-of-6 shooting, with 5 assists and 4 steals. Jones continues to lead USA with 18 assists in 4 games, and his 7 steals are #3 among the Americans. He is shooting 5-of-11 (.524), 4th best on the team.
USA closes out the preliminary round tomorrow (Wednesday) vs. China/ The quarters, semis and finals are scheduling for Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Now 4-0, it would be a shocker if USA settled for anything less than a world title.
And they did it while shooting poorly. USA shot 39 percent from the field to France's 31 percent, and just 17 percent on 3-point attempts versus France's 20, and 52 percent from the FT line to France's 50. But USA dominated the possession game, snaring an unreal 28 offensive boards to France's 15, and forcing 30 French turnovers while committing 16 of their own.
USA was led by Jahlil Okafor with 21 points and 13 boards. Justise Winslow added 7 steals.
Tyus Jones, Apple Valley, MN, led USA with 5 assists despite losing his starting spot. Coming off the bench, he played 21 minutes, scored 8 points on 2-of-6 shooting, with 5 assists and 4 steals. Jones continues to lead USA with 18 assists in 4 games, and his 7 steals are #3 among the Americans. He is shooting 5-of-11 (.524), 4th best on the team.
USA closes out the preliminary round tomorrow (Wednesday) vs. China/ The quarters, semis and finals are scheduling for Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Now 4-0, it would be a shocker if USA settled for anything less than a world title.
Sunday, July 1, 2012
Tyus Jones, USA Under 17s Open World Play
Tyus Jones and the favored USA Under 17s have opened World Championship play in Lithiania with 3 decisive victories over Australia, the Czech Republic and Egypt. The USA (in Group A) and Croatia (in Group B) are the only undefeated teams after 3 rounds of play, and appear to be headed for the World Championship game onSunday, July 8.
Jones, Apple Valley point guard, started for the USA in all 5 of its recent games--2 in an exhibition in the Canary Islands and then the 3 World games to date. In the 5 games, Jones is scoring 6 points per game with 5 assists, 2 rebounds, 2 steals and 2 turnovers. He is shooting a respectable 14-of-26 (54.5 percent).
Here's a quick rundown of the 5 USA games to date:
USA 111 Egypt 73. USA outscored Egypt 36-15 in the 3rd quarter to stretch a 13-point half-time lead to rout proportions (86-52), then cruised home. Jabari Parker (Chicago Simeon) and Connor Frankamp (Wichita North) scored 18 points each, Jahlil Okafor (Chicago WhitneyYoung) snared 7 boards and Jones led in assists with 5.
USA 95 Czech Republic 57. USA pulled away from the start, but a 31-12 4th quarter margin accounted for the blow-out. Dakari Johnson (Monteverde Academy) led with 16 points and 12 boards. Jones played just 13 minutes due to foul trouble, and his backup, Joel Berry, led the way with 4 assists. Frankamp added 4 steals.
USA 89 Australia 67. USA pulled away from a narrow 6-point half-time lead with a 36-14 3rd quarter. Okafor scored 16 points, Parker grabbed 8 boards and Frankamp had 5 assists.
This was the 2nd time that the USA dominated the Aussies, having whipped 'em a week ago in an exhibition tournament in the Canary Islands 89-64. This came after USA had hammered Latvia 108-72. In those 2 games Jones scored 10 points on 5-of-11 shooting, while leading USA in assists in both games with 10 and 5, and also had 5 rebounds and 6 turnovers.
Okafor had 26 points and 15 boards vs. Latvia and 19 points vs. the Aussies. D. Johnson added 10 boards vs. Australia. Okafor leads the USA in scoring with 16 ppg across 5 games while Frankamp leads with 42 points (14 ppg) at the Worlds.
If forced to do so, I'd rate the USA players at this point as 1) Okafor, 2) Parker, 3) Frankamp, 4) Jones, 5) D. Johnson though he has been inconsistent, following his big game vs. Czech with 0 points vs. Egypt. Coming on strong has been back-up point guard Barry (Lake Highland Prep, Apopka, FL) with 9 points, 4 boards, 3 assists, 3 steals and 2 turnovers per the 3 World games.
Jones, Apple Valley point guard, started for the USA in all 5 of its recent games--2 in an exhibition in the Canary Islands and then the 3 World games to date. In the 5 games, Jones is scoring 6 points per game with 5 assists, 2 rebounds, 2 steals and 2 turnovers. He is shooting a respectable 14-of-26 (54.5 percent).
Here's a quick rundown of the 5 USA games to date:
USA 111 Egypt 73. USA outscored Egypt 36-15 in the 3rd quarter to stretch a 13-point half-time lead to rout proportions (86-52), then cruised home. Jabari Parker (Chicago Simeon) and Connor Frankamp (Wichita North) scored 18 points each, Jahlil Okafor (Chicago WhitneyYoung) snared 7 boards and Jones led in assists with 5.
USA 95 Czech Republic 57. USA pulled away from the start, but a 31-12 4th quarter margin accounted for the blow-out. Dakari Johnson (Monteverde Academy) led with 16 points and 12 boards. Jones played just 13 minutes due to foul trouble, and his backup, Joel Berry, led the way with 4 assists. Frankamp added 4 steals.
USA 89 Australia 67. USA pulled away from a narrow 6-point half-time lead with a 36-14 3rd quarter. Okafor scored 16 points, Parker grabbed 8 boards and Frankamp had 5 assists.
This was the 2nd time that the USA dominated the Aussies, having whipped 'em a week ago in an exhibition tournament in the Canary Islands 89-64. This came after USA had hammered Latvia 108-72. In those 2 games Jones scored 10 points on 5-of-11 shooting, while leading USA in assists in both games with 10 and 5, and also had 5 rebounds and 6 turnovers.
Okafor had 26 points and 15 boards vs. Latvia and 19 points vs. the Aussies. D. Johnson added 10 boards vs. Australia. Okafor leads the USA in scoring with 16 ppg across 5 games while Frankamp leads with 42 points (14 ppg) at the Worlds.
If forced to do so, I'd rate the USA players at this point as 1) Okafor, 2) Parker, 3) Frankamp, 4) Jones, 5) D. Johnson though he has been inconsistent, following his big game vs. Czech with 0 points vs. Egypt. Coming on strong has been back-up point guard Barry (Lake Highland Prep, Apopka, FL) with 9 points, 4 boards, 3 assists, 3 steals and 2 turnovers per the 3 World games.
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