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BlznTr33s · Joined: 05 May 2004 Posts: 128 Location: Phoenix, AZ

Okay, I'm throwing my towel in the ring and see if I can bring the team some luck.

Keys to Saturday's VICTORY:

- Try to limit LJ's touches in the paint. Houston effectively beat us inside scoring 42 points in the paint to Phoenix's 22. We shot decent from the line, but didn't get there as often as we needed to with only 12 free throw attempts.

- Take care of the rock. These women have improved tremendously in cutting down TO's. Keep up the good work.

- Give Snelly more playing time. She was impressive in her 15 minutes last night hitting 3-4 from the floor, 2-3 on outside shots, and all of her free-throws. She shows no fear when driving the lane and can open up shots for the rest of the team.

- Again, and probably most important... IGNORE the refs. We all know they suck. Don't let them take us out of the game. There were some times when you could see the refs practically deflated the entire team.

- Local Mercury fans!!! Yell your a$$e$ off for the visiting team!! Bring bullhorns and cuss out the refs so we don't see any more technicals assessed to us.

Watching last night's game, it seemed as though we had our opportunities and our plays were effective; we just couldn't get the ball to go down or wouldn't get the calls. If we keep our composure and keep doing what we're doing, we can come together when we need it most.

librarygeek · Joined: 27 May 2005 Posts: 176 Location: Central Phx

I've got three things to say about this game:

- defense
- rebounds
- NO MORE FREAKIN' TURNOVERS

I'll be in Seattle cheering loudly (thank you, Mr. Anderson!). We have got to win this game!

Oh, and Snelly's a ledge! May the Tim Tams spur you on to further greatness.

Mercurymaniac · Joined: 04 Aug 2002 Posts: 1197 Location: Scottsdale

One more thing to add, SCORE MORE POINTS THAN THE STORM!

CamrnCrz1974 · Joined: 16 Jun 2003 Posts: 1689 Location: Central Phoenix

Seattle is in second place, win or lose. There is no home court advantage at stake. This would be an ideal game for Seattle to rest its starters!

No one wants LA to make the playoffs, as the Sparks are the more dangerous team. Time for the Western Conference opponents to step up...Seattle to bench the starters, Houston to beat LA.

RAZGIRL33 · Joined: 27 Jul 2004 Posts: 39

CamrnCrz1974 wrote: Seattle is in second place, win or lose. There is no home court advantage at stake. This would be an ideal game for Seattle to rest its starters!

No one wants LA to make the playoffs, as the Sparks are the more dangerous team. Time for the Western Conference opponents to step up...Seattle to bench the starters, Houston to beat LA.

Probably wont happen though...
"Saturday's game is important for several reasons," Storm coach Anne Donovan says. "It is the last regular-season game, and it not only has implications for us but it impacts other teams."

Donovan says that even though Seattle has clinched a playoff berth, her team wants to go into the postseason on a high note. "You want momentum," she says. "It is our last home game of the regular season, and we're expecting a good crowd."

I just hope we are ready to bring it and we bring it hard! We need to crush that momentum. We wont do it by turning over the ball and missing our frees, threes, or by arguing with the refs. Well, I am temporarly rooting for the SASS. They are ahead at the half. Keep your fingers crossed.I'll be representing the Mercury here in on the East coast tomorrow! Go Mercury!:o

kitkat310 · Joined: 20 Jun 2005 Posts: 303

It would be so stupid if Seattle was to play all their starters most of the game..What if a player got hurt while playing a meaningless game. I know Sue and AD have a lot of pride, but why would you risk it..

It also wouldn't suprise me if LJ sat out this game (so she wouldn't hurt her numbers) It would be an ideal chance to rest..And I'm sure LJ wouldn't mind doing her part to keep LL out of the playoffs..

Short BBallFan512583 · Joined: 24 Aug 2005 Posts: 43 Location: East Coast

I really hope Houston beats LA tonight, but I know that probably won't happen!

caune · Joined: 12 Jun 2002 Posts: 1562 Location: Phoenix

Quote: really hope Houston beats LA tonight, but I know that probably won't happen!

Actually it's very likely to happen. Houston is at home, LA is playing the second of a back to back, and the Comets are the more experienced team.
I'd put my money on Houston!

RAZGIRL33 · Joined: 27 Jul 2004 Posts: 39

Caune wrote:
Actually it's very likely to happen. Houston is at home, LA is playing the second of a back to back, and the Comets are the more experienced team.
I'd put my money on Houston!

Plus look at the fact that the nearly lost to SASS last night. They only won by 3! Lets keep our fingers crossed!

SuziQ · Joined: 17 Apr 2004 Posts: 288 Location: Phoenix

We outrebounded the Storm by 10, but it was the FG % that killed our dreams. Seems like someone put Saran Wrap on the basket, because I didn't think the defensive pressure was quite as bad as it was against Houston.

Ahhh, hell.

Thank you EVERY MERCURY PLAYER for a great season. Say what you will, it was a great ride! Who ever thought that after starting 3-11 we'd ever have a chance to even make the playoffs?

Now I say, GO SACRAMENTO!

Short BBallFan512583 · Joined: 24 Aug 2005 Posts: 43 Location: East Coast

caune wrote: Quote: really hope Houston beats LA tonight, but I know that probably won't happen!

Actually it's very likely to happen. Houston is at home, LA is playing the second of a back to back, and the Comets are the more experienced team.
I'd put my money on Houston!
I'll rephrase what I said before, I meant to say-that knowing my luck LA would beat Houston. But the outcome of that game doesn't really matter now.

Gil · Joined: 25 Jun 2002 Posts: 84

There were a few items that this game against the Storm showed that the Mercury definitely need to improve upon next season, not only to make the playoffs, but to advance in the post-season.

1) A commitment to developing an inside game with the post players. Of course, when Maria or Kamila are in the game and posting up their defenders on the block, they at least get a token look inside to keep the opposing team honest about guarding the Mercury post players instead of sitting back in the paint. But more often than not, when Robinson or Irvin have posted up during games, even when they have an opposing guard on their back, they don't get an entry pass into the post. This would have been the perfect opportunity to work the inside game with Lauren Jackson sitting out the entire second half. It's a catch-22 in a sense. How do you expect the younger post players to develop and improve upon their skills, when they don't get the ball where they can make something happen durign the game? Force the defense to guard both the inside and outside honestly, and things should open up more freely for the Mercury's offensive sets.

2) Quit relying so heavily on putting up the three-point shot during the games. If the guards aren't hitting their outside shots (like DeForge these last few games), then it's usually one shot and we're done - we don't force the opposition to play defense on all of our players, or are able to get to the foul line to create some offense when the shot isn't falling. In addition, if there's a miss, it's usually a long rebound that the post players can't get to because they're pinned too far inside the paint and it leads to too many fast-break opportunities for the opposition.

3) We need to play our bench players more during the season to help their development and give them confidence that they can contrbute later on in the season for games like this. There was a strong sense early this year that if Maria did show up, she more than likely wasn't going to be able to finish the regular season becuase the World Qualifying Tournament overlapped the WNBA season. That said, then why not prepare the younger post players (Robinson and Irvin) to be better prepared when Maria did leave by affording them with early, significant minutes during the season to improve their play. Ashley got a lot of early minutes, but Irvin did not. Only during these last few games did we catch a glimpse of what Irvin could bring to the Mercury. In addition, our young perimeter players (Snelly or Williams) also didn't get a lot of time during the season. Certainly, each of them could've been prepared to step in and make a contribution during games, like tonight's, with Taurasi and Taylor not completely healthy during the game, or with DeForge's outside shot not falling.

If you doubt this third point, then look at what Seattle did this season with bringing along their first-round draft pick, Tanisha Wright, and providing her significant minutes off of the bench during the season when Betty Lennox and/or Sue Bird were unable to play b/c of injuries. As a result of Wright playing out on the floor early on in the year, her skills improved, and tonight she looked comfortable and relaxed scoring a career-high (17 points I think) in the game. Or you can look to Sacramento and see how they use their bench. It certainly could've come in handy tonight.

All in all, I give the Mercury credit this season for coming back after a dreadful start to be in the running for a playoff spot. But I see it as another missed opportunity. The Mercury can't continue this trend over the last two seasons - to finish the last week of the regular season, sitting in fourth place, and lose 3 out of 4 games and expect to make the playoffs.

I'm curious to hear what others have to say, and this may be a new topic that could be started in another thread now that I think about it. Oh well, there's never a dull moment with the Mercury and it has been an interesting season to say the least.

BlznTr33s · Joined: 05 May 2004 Posts: 128 Location: Phoenix, AZ

Good breakdown of the three strikes that took us out of contention.
It will definitely be interesting to see what takes place during the off-season and where we'll end up in the lottery.

Having said that, I'm not going to advocate anyone's trade, especially online. Anna has hunted down those folks before. LOL... I know changes will be made, and I'm just be grateful that I don't have to stress over that decision. I hate to see most of our players go. There's only been a few departures that I've celebrated.

*sigh* I guess the tamales didn't bring me any extra luck in starting the game thread. The high point of the game, though, was the shout-out the Mercury Brigade received on the radio broadcast when they were wrapping up the game.

It's been a fun ride this year, and after three months on this roller coaster, I will enjoy the normal, sometimes quite annoying, pace of every day life.... until college season starts :wink:

Dunkin' Dan · Posted: Sun Aug 28, 2005 1:04 am Post subject:

All good points, Gil.

Gil wrote: 1) A commitment to developing an inside game with the post players.
Today's game highlighted the fact that Kamila is not a back-to-the-basket post player. We knew that of course, but that being the case changes the types of ways she can contribute to the offense. The high screen was working a treat for example - it totally takes advantage of her strengths - her reading of the play and her medium-range J.
A-Rob on the other hand... well... did she play? How can she end up with zero rebounds? She is clearly still a raw player with very limited capabilities. I don't think she is the type of player who we can ever run an offense through, but with more experience there's no reason she couldn't be a serviceable 'garbage points' type of player in offense, while patrolling the key on defence.
But in summary, we have a way to go before we have any type of inside-outside offensive schemes with the players on the floor tonight.

Quote: 2) Quit relying so heavily on putting up the three-point shot during the games.
Easier said than done given the types of post players we have. BUT, penetration is definitely something we need to add. Our premier exponent of this could barely jog tonight, but it would make a world of difference if we had a guard capable of beating an opponent off the dribble.
We don't make opposing defenses do any work.
We are too easy to match up on one-on-one, and it causes our offense to stagnate. That leads to 25 seconds of pointless passing followed by a rushed 3 pointer. It needs to stop, I agree fully.

Quote: 3) We need to play our bench players more during the season
Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes!
This is something I find unacceptable. I'm hoping that Carrie has seen the light after our late-season bench contributions. It simply has to change.