2018 WNBA: April 12

A statistical look at Ariel’s impact on the Mystics in her rookie season:



Not a surprise at all to Longhorn fans:
“Atkins ranks in the top five among WNBA rookies this year in no fewer than ten statistical categories, including win shares, steals, points, and assists.”
 
Even though Washington pulled it out in the 4th quarter, they looked discombobulated the whole game. On offense and defense, they just didn't seem to have it together. Honestly, I think they miss Ariel's hustle on both ends of the court!
 
jusme828 said:
Even though Washington pulled it out in the 4th quarter, they looked discombobulated the whole game. On offense and defense, they just didn't seem to have it together. Honestly, I think they miss Ariel's hustle on both ends of the court!
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I tuned in at the beginning of the 3Q - the combo of Washington playing so badly, Ariel out and the game announcer all contributed to me getting some cleaning done around the house.
 
not to mention the sound cutting in and out in the first quarter. Their solution to the problem was to go to commercial instead of just letting the video play on while they worked on the audio.
 
Last games of the regular season are on this weekend. All times are CST. Washington is on TV for both of their last two games. Kinda surprising that LA at Conn is not offered on ESPN3 like all the rest of the games on Sunday. Washington at Minn on Sunday is also on ESPN2.

Friday, August 17
Minnesota at Connecticut 6:00 PM
Los Angeles at Washington 6:00 PM NBATV
Las Vegas at Dallas 7:00 PM
Atlanta at Phoenix 9:00 PM
New York at Seattle 9:00 PM NBATV

Saturday, August 18
Chicago at Indiana 3:00 PM NBATV

Sunday, August 19
Los Angeles at Connecticut 2:00 PM
Atlanta at Las Vegas 5:00 PM ESPN3
New York at Phoenix 5:00 PM ESPN3
Indiana at Chicago 5:00 PM ESPN3
Dallas at Seattle 6:00 PM ESPN3
Washington at Minnesota 6:00 PM ESPN2/WatchESPN

August 21: Playoffs begin
 
BabHorn said:
Last games of the regular season are on this weekend. All times are CST. Washington is on TV for both of their last two games. Kinda surprising that LA at Conn is not offered on ESPN3 like all the rest of the games on Sunday. Washington at Minn on Sunday is also on ESPN2.

Friday, August 17
Minnesota at Connecticut 6:00 PM
Los Angeles at Washington 6:00 PM NBATV
Las Vegas at Dallas 7:00 PM
Atlanta at Phoenix 9:00 PM
New York at Seattle 9:00 PM NBATV

Saturday, August 18
Chicago at Indiana 3:00 PM NBATV

Sunday, August 19
Los Angeles at Connecticut 2:00 PM
Atlanta at Las Vegas 5:00 PM ESPN3
New York at Phoenix 5:00 PM ESPN3
Indiana at Chicago 5:00 PM ESPN3
Dallas at Seattle 6:00 PM ESPN3
Washington at Minnesota 6:00 PM ESPN2/WatchESPN

August 21: Playoffs begin
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Games tonight will be the key to whether games on Sunday are relevant to anything other than final regular season stat lines.

Vegas HAS to win tonight in order for Sunday to mean anything.
 
mb227 said:
Vegas HAS to win tonight in order for Sunday to mean anything.
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you can say the same about Dallas, LA vs Washington and Conn.

Have to check how those games went but the LA vs Washington game had a great ending if you were pulling for Washington. :smile1:
 
So, Washington and Atlanta are tied for second at 22-11. If, on Sunday, Atlanta wins over Las Vegas and Washington beats Minnesota, they will tie for second or if they both lose, the same result.

In that case, Atlanta has a 2-1 edge over Washington during the season series and Atlanta will be the second seed with Washington as the third seed.
 
playoff format:
WNBA Playoff Picture 2018 - WNBA.com - Official Site of the WNBA
too bad rounds one and two are single elimination rounds. I thought the second round at least was best two of three games.
The first and second rounds are single elimination. In the first round, the No. 5 seed hosts the No. 8 seed and the No. 6 seed hosts the No. 7 seed. In the second round, the No. 3 seed hosts the lowest-seeded first-round winner and the No. 4 seed hosts the other first-round winner.
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Vegas just folded in the second half...pathetic. Up by six at the half in a game that lacked defense and they choke it away.

Anyone need floor seats Sunday?

Hope they step up next year...won't be good if Vegas teams develop a reputation for choking when something of importance is on the line. Knights blow Game 7 in epic fashion and the Aces blow it with the playoffs in their grasp...
 
mb227 said:
Vegas just folded in the second half...pathetic. Up by six at the half in a game that lacked defense and they choke it away.
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I would say the better team won. All three games between the two were won by Dallas, although only one was by double digits (10 pts) and the other two, including Friday's, by single digits (six and five pts). To make the point about Dallas being the better team, albeit only slightly better, Dallas also won the preseason meeting between the two.

Sometimes, a team just doesn't have the guns to win. You have to admire their refusal to give up.
 
interesting race for the fourth spot. Conn is currently one game ahead of both Phoenix and LA. LA and Conn go head to head. Conn wins, they are fourth and get a bye to the second round. If both LA and Phoenix win, all three are tied for the fourth spot. Conn has won the series against LA. LA has the edge over Phoenix and Phoenix topped Conn in their season series. It would go down to the next tie breaker, whatever that is.
 
Conn leaves no doubt about who gets the number 4 slot in the playoffs, defeating LA, 89-86.

Next up to settle the #2 & #3 spots, Atlanta vs Las Vegas at 5 pm and then Washington vs Minn at 6 pm on ESPN2.
 
Playoffs start Tuesday:

Tuesday, August 21—FIRST ROUND
Dallas vs Phoenix 7:30 PM CST ESPN2/WatchESPN
Minnesota at Los Angeles 9:30 PM CST ESPN2/WatchESPN

Thursday, August 23—SECOND ROUND
TBD vs Washington 5:30 PM CST ESPN2/WatchESPN
TBD at Connecticut 7:30 PM CST ESPN2/WatchESPN
 
Ariel returned to the court in the last game of the season after missing the last two games. She went 3-7 from the field (1-4 from BTA) for seven pts, had three rebs, one steal, one block, one assist and one TO. All in 20 minutes. I did lose track of the times she ended up on the floor.
 
Final stats for our exes during the regular season.

Imani:
15 players were listed in the final stats.
Games Played in: 28 of 34
MPG: 10.5
PPG: 3.0 [12th on the team]
FG%: .464 (39-84) [3rd on the team]
3PT%: .000 (0-0)
FT%: .467 (7-15) [12th on the team, the
other three did not take a FT]
ORPG: 1.4 [total # is 4th on the team]
DRPG: 2.0 [total # is 6th on the team]
RPG: 3.4 [6th on the team]
APG: 0.6 [9th on the team]
SPG: 0.5 [total # is 8th on the team]
BPG: 0.3 [total # is 5th on the team]
TOPG: 0.8 [total # is 9th on the team]

Ariel:
13 players were listed in the final stats.
Games Played in: 28 of 34 games
MPG: 22.6
PPG: 11.4 [3rd on the team]
FG%: .430 (117-272) [7th on the team]
3PT%: .361 (44-122) [4th on the team]
FT%: .824 (42-51) [tied for 9th on the team]
ORPG: 0.9 [total # is 5th on the team]
DRPG: 1.4 [total # is tied for 8th on the team]
RPG: 2.4 [tied for 8th on the team]
APG: 2.1 [4th on the team]
SPG: 1.4 [ave. spg is 1st while total # is tied
for 1st on the team]
BPG: 0.3 [total # is 4th on the team]
TOPG: 1.4 [total # is 3rd on the team]
 
Ariel is named to the AP’s All Rookie team!! :clap:

https://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2018/08/21/sports/basketball/ap-bkl-around-the-wnba.html?rref=collection%2Fsectioncollection%2Faponline-sports&action=click&contentCollection=sports&region=stream&module=stream_unit&version=latest&contentPlacement=8&pgtype=sectionfront

Associated Press:
WNBA Player of the Year—Breanna Stewart, Seattle
Coach of the Year—Nicki Collen, Atlanta
Rookie of the Year—A’ja Wilson, Las Vegas
Sixth Woman of the Year—Jonquel Jones, Connecticut
Most Improved Player—Natasha Howard, Seattle
Defensive Player of the Year—Sylvia Fowles, Minnesota
Comeback Player of the Year—Dewanna Bonner, Phoenix
First Team All WNBA: Stewart, Liz Cambaga (Dallas), Elena Delle Donne (Washington), Diana Taurasi (Phoenix) and Tiffany Hayes (Atlanta).
Second Team All WNBA: Candace Parker (LA), Maya Moore (Minnesota), Brittney Griner (Phoenix), Sylvia Fowles (Minnesota) and Skylar Diggins-Smith (Dallas).
All Rookie Team: Wilson, Diamond DeShields (Chicago), Kelsey Mitchell (Indiana), Azura Stevens (Dallas), Kia Nurse (New York) and Ariel Atkins (Washington).
 
Washington will be facing LA Thursday. If LA does the same thing they did against the Mystics, they will try to shut down EDD and Tolliver and take their chances on the rest of the Mystics scoring.

Minnesota was unable to get anyone to score from outside with any consistency when LA shut down Maya Moore and Sylvia Fowles.
 
Washington 96 LA 64.
Ariel had a really nice game, other than getting some quick fouls early.
She ends up with 14 pts on 6-7 from the field, including 2-2 from BTA, 2 rebs, 3 assists and one TO. :hookem2:

Next up on Sunday is Atlanta and a reunion with Imani. Too bad this upcoming series isn't in the finals.
 
BabHorn said:
Washington 96 LA 64.
Ariel had a really nice game, other than getting some quick fouls early.
She ends up with 14 pts on 6-7 from the field, including 2-2 from BTA, 2 rebs, 3 assists and one TO. :hookem2:

Next up on Sunday is Atlanta and a reunion with Imani. Too bad this upcoming series isn't in the finals.
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I wondered a few times if LA thought they were playing 5 Sparks vs 4 Mystics. Ariel made smart cuts to the basket and got 3 layup opportunities so wide open that they would have a peewee basketball coach shaking his head. Evidently Mike Thibault had Ariel taking 3s from the NBA line in the preseason. With Ariel shooting the 3 the way she is now, gotta wonder if Karen tells them to put a longer 3 line on the practice court for the players.
 
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