Imani played most of the second half (total of 17 minutes). She was 2-4 from the field and had 5 rebs plus two assists. Nice game. I did notice that Atlanta does not really seem to run plays for their posts. Two of Imani's shots were taken when she got the ball just past the FT line and took the shot rather than swing the ball. The two other FG attempts were off offensive rebounds. Imani can run and does with Atlanta but that offense, at least in this game, is slanted on getting the guards/wings shots, not the posts.
Is it the offense or just Angel McCoughtry being so ball dominant? I'll admit not being a fan of hers. Commentators always talk about how much she scores but that could be a result of being the biggest 'hero' ball player in the league (IMO). She seems to do the same on Team USA so I'm actually hoping she isn't on the team moving forward - a lot of new talent in the league I'd rather see. As far as Imani is concerned, her biggest drawback has been turnovers - just not the most natural receiver of the ball but she did well last night in 17 minutes - not credited with a single TO.
I haven't an Atlanta game before so it's very hard to speculate based on one game. But their offense appears to be guard centric, focused on their three starting guards, rather than incorporating their posts into the offense. Angel is their big gun so no question that they were trying to get her shots but she seemed willing to give the ball up to an open teammate, who often happened to be a guard rather than a post. Their offense flowed much better when Tiffany Hayes was on the court. When she was out due to foul trouble, it just seemed that Angel was the only option and LA smothered her.
wow, Washington escapes 95-91 after being up 30. Probably unrelated but Conn began their comeback around the time that Ariel went out. Ariel spend most of the second half on the bench with a towel wrapped around her left wrist, probably with a bag of ice under the towel. That's her shooting hand. Hope it's just a sprain or something minor.
Good to see Ariel back in action after Wed's injury. She shot well from the field, even though the team lost to LA 97-86
For those that have it, Spectrum is showing a replay of the LA vs Washington game on Spectrum SportsNet, channel 330 today at 2 pm.
A bit worried about Ariel. I definitely recall at least 1 concussion at Texas - the uncalled flagrant by Samuelson. Wishing her well.
Imani getting the start tonight against the Lynx on NBA TV. Hopefully she doesn't get in early foul trouble against Fowles.
Updated stats on Imani and Ariel. Imani: PPG: 4.1: 9th on the team FG%: 53.5% (23-43): 1st on the team 3pt FG%: none taken FT%: 42.9% (3-7): 11th on the team (disappointing % although the sample size is very small.) APG: 0.6: 9th on the team RPG: 2.6 (31 total): 5th on the team Steals: 7: tied for 6th on the team Blocks: 3: 6th on the team TOs: 13: 8th on the team Fouls: 19: 9th on the team Games Played in: 12 of 16 Ariel: PPG: 10.8: 3rd on the team FG%: 44.3% (58-131): 8th on the team 3pt FG%: 35.7% (20-56): 7th on the team FT%: 75.0% (15-20): tied for 9th on the team APG: 1.4: 5th on the team RPG: 2.3 (32 total): tied for 7th on the team Steals: 21: 2nd on the team Blocks: 7: 3rd on the team TOs: 23: tied for 2nd on the team Fouls: 36: tied for 2nd on the team Games Played in: 14-16
Sue Bird became Seattle's all time leading scorer as the Storm defeated the Washington Mystics 97-91. Ariel looks to have established herself as a starter for Washington and as their #3 scorer. http://www.espn.com/wnba/undefined
I like the quick story about Ariel's being a nominee for Women of the Year but I wish they were a little slower and accurate in proofreading. https://texassports.com/news/2018/7...atkins-an-ncaa-woman-of-the-year-nominee.aspx I did send an email to them pointing out the error. Just so they know people are reading what they put out.
Ariel tore it up tonight against Chicago. 8/14 from the field, 4/7 from 3, 5/6 at the line for a new career high of 25. Also grabbed 7 boards, 4 assists with 2 steals.
Today's (07/15/18) tv schedule (All Games on NBATV): Washington @ Atlanta--2 pm Chicago @ New York--4 pm Conn @ Minn--6 pm I'm hoping at least the first one will be shown in our area. It would be great to see Imani and Ariel at the same time.
I love Della Donne. It's so cool to hear her analysis about Ariel. With Ariel, it's all out all the time, and she does seem so steady and focused. What a year she is having.
Another good article on Ariel’s rookie season thus far: https://www.wnbainsidr.com/insidr/what-has-atkins-brought-to-the-mystics
Neither of our two players had a strong game in the Dream's 80-77 win over the Mystics on Sunday. Ariel only scored 7 pts to go with four rebs and she fouled out. She had at least three fouls in the fourth quarter. Imani played ten minutes, grabbed six rebs and scored five points. Wish I had been able to watch this game as it was supposed to be on but instead I got the Chicago Sky vs the NY Liberty game. I have no idea why that game would be shown in the south when you got a more interesting and relevant game in Washington-Atlanta to fans in the south.
I'd say that was a great article about how Ariel and Texas are perceived at this time. That's going to change. I do wonder if Celeste would be a natural to take over that wing position of Ariel's. She has the size, defensive intensity and scoring ability that it seems Texas coaches are looking for at that spot.
Imani: *has played in 16 of 21 games *averages 11.1 mpg *3.8 ppg *FG% = 53.8% (28-52) *zero 3s attempted *FT% = 36.4% (4-11) *3.2 rpg *0.7 apg *0.5 spg *3 blocks *1 TO per game Ariel: *has played in 20 of 22 games *averages 22.1 mpg *11.4 ppg. [28th in the league] *FG% = 44.4% (84-189) [27th in the league in FG%] *3pter FG% = 37.0% (30-81) [20th in the league in 3 FG%] *FT% = 80.6% (29-36) [would rank 29th in the league but not enough attempts] *1.6 rpg *1.6 apg *1.5 spg [tied for 6th in average, ranked 9th in the league] *9 blocks *1.5 TO per game
I know this is a Longhorns board but got home, watched the Wings-Liberty game I had recorded and Liz Cambage set a new WNBA record with 53 points. Her stat line was obscene: 17/22 from the field (4/5 from 3) 15/16 at the free throw line 10 rebounds 5 blocks Hope I can leave work early enough to make the Wings game Thursday night against Ariel and the Mystics in Arlington.