RebKell's Junkie Boards

[toad455]

Let's feel good about the W and that Mystics were off tonight. We actually played defense tonight, too. It's clear though that we need to hit our 3s to stand a chance.

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LET'S GO LIBERTY!!!!!!

Twitter: @TBRBWAY

[Bob Lamm]

[bluedevilaztecfan5]

[pilight]

Lib sign Paris Kea

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I'm a lonely frog
I ain't got a home

[Shades]

[root_thing]

Post Game Press Conference 8/7: Hopkins, Clarendon, Nurse, Zahui B.

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I'm a big fan of Paris Kea. She can create off the dribble, and Paris shot the ball really well overseas this winter. Also, Kea is a very good passer, although she can get a little TO prone when over-aggressive. I'm a little surprised because Kea is a slender 5-9/5-8, so she doesn't really fit the positionless scheme defensively. However, she should blend in well offensively.

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You can always do something else.

[toad455]

At least it's not another rookie. Kea should be available by next weekend once she actually arrives in the wubble and quarantines for four days. Will help avoid having Nurse or Jones running PG.

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LET'S GO LIBERTY!!!!!!

Twitter: @TBRBWAY

[J-Spoon]

[bluedevilaztecfan5]

[Bob Lamm]

Yesterday the Liberty gave me a wonderful lift. The thought of watching the rest of this season was so depressing. Now it's different. Do I think that we can have a good team in 2020? No. Do I think we can somehow finish 8th and make the playoffs? No. But now I can approach games ahead with the feeling: we COULD win. That feels so much better.

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Remember Roe v. Wade. Work for and support legal abortion all over the world and full reproductive rights for everyone.

[NYSports56]

[Richyyy]

I thought it was interesting the way Zahui B's successful offensive game led into her defense. People normally talk about it the other way round, how defense can lead to offense, but it seemed like once she started hitting shots she started feeling good and focussed on the other end as well. Because Zahui B often plays some complete garbage defense, including early in that Washington game. But as the game wore on, she was making plays, and moving her feet, and generally staying involved and keeping her head in the game.

Maybe she's one of those players where Hopkins should make sure he runs a couple of plays for her right at the start, and then she'll be more productive as the game goes on. Sometimes it's all about the mind games, more than how much time you put in on the practice court or in the weight room.

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Independent WNBA coverage: http://www.wnbalien.com/

[root_thing]

I’ve been saying since Zahui B. arrived in NY that she is a momentum player. If Amanda gets off to a good start, there’s a reasonable chance she’ll have a decent game. But if she gets off to a bad start, then it’s highly unlikely she’ll turn things around. The problem with Zahui is that she’s very mistake-prone. I don’t know if it’s bad instincts or low basketball IQ, but she can kill you with turnovers and fouls. On the other hand, Amanda clearly possesses some skills and at this point she is very experienced. Zahui has been a star overseas for 3 or 4 years, so there's even a history of sustained success in a pro environment. It’s no shock when you see these occasional good games. The question is will they ever be more than just flashes.

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You can always do something else.

[Bob Lamm]

Hard to fairly assess Walt Hopkins' system and approach based on seven games with some crucial Liberty players definitely or probably (Sabrina) out for the season. I can imagine it perhaps working well when we have all our best shooters on the court or ready to come in from the bench.

But I will strongly dissent from Walt on this: I don't want to see Kiah Stokes continuing to shoot three-pointers. I don't care if she's lights out in practice. She otherwise had a valuable game against the Aces with 12 rebounds, two blocks, and some good defense. Yet Kiah was 0-5 on threes and is now four for 25 (.160 percentage) for the season. Walt: do you want Kiah Stokes taking a three-pointer in a very close game with three minutes left? I saw it today. I don't want to see that again.

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Remember Roe v. Wade. Work for and support legal abortion all over the world and full reproductive rights for everyone.

[ClayK]

If you assume that the Liberty are not a title threat this year, and if you want to find out if Kiah Stokes can become a WNBA starter by adding three-pointers to her game, then she should fire away.

It's possible, if not likely, that she will not be effective from distance. But if you give her enough time and she settles in to being an average three-point shooter (regardless of position), you now have transformed a borderline WNBA starter into a difficult matchup and a much more valuable player.

Also, this serves as notice to other posts in and out of the league that if you can shoot threes, you can find a home in New York.

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Oṃ Tāre Tuttāre Ture Svāhā

[root_thing]

Post Game Press Conference 8/9: Hopkins, Zahui B., Stokes

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You can always do something else.

[bluedevilaztecfan5]

Amanda Zahui B wasn’t a huge 3pt threat in college...showed promise in her rookie season with Tulsa (12-36).

Her first two seasons in New York she shot 5-24 from distance. But she’s kept working on it, and kept shooting in the games. That’s much more promising than what Kiah has shown, based on Amanda’s rookie season.

And Kiah is on a much more accelerated track as far as attempts go.
I don’t like to see 0-5 at the end of a game, nor do I really want an unproven shooter taking a 3 at the end of a close game.
But I want to see her keep shooting in general. I think her form is nice, and several of her misses have rimmed out. I did like how she was more aggressive attacking in the paint too, and with her left.

Also, funny in the interview how Walt says something along the lines of “not trying to go after the refs, they’re not biased” then soon after says A’ja got some superstar calls, well deserved, and “I just told my players that’s the way the league works, like the NBA”.
Doesn’t super star treatment=bias?

[Stormeo]

I really would like to see Hopkins allow Zahui B. and Stokes to try and score more around the rim. They each have the body and physicality to take on other opponents their size, and juuuust enough of a skillset to score in the paint in the right situations (most teams don't have that defensively-elite, ultra-tall center). Combined, I think their 3s-to-2s ratio is all off - it'd be nice if the coaches made more of a concerted effort to get the two to score in the paint more every game. They don't have to cut down on the 3PT attempts that much (well, some would argue Stokes should )- it really does keep defenses honest and allows other players to get to the rim themselves. As we've seen, there have been nights and will be more nights where neither player's 3s go in - and those two have to be able to make a fair amount of shots in a given game to give the Liberty any chance at winning it. They'll be that much more effective if they can mix things up a little more imo.

[root_thing]

Kiah Stokes is the GOAT!...If accolades for making 3's during practice were a thing.

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You can always do something else.

[Rock Hard]

[Bob Lamm]

[GlennMacGrady]

[bluedevilaztecfan5]

I do believe in fairies, I do, I do!

[NYL_WNBA_FAN]

Re: Kiah, she’s always been able to shoot 3s in practice/warmups. I think 80% of her issue is unselfishness/lack of confidence. She made a killer spin move in this game as well. She has skill. She doesn’t have IMO much self-belief in her offensive game. It may not be great, but it’s definitely better than she shows. Honestly on a team that’s going nowhere, I’m ok with her shooting 3s in these games. If it’s a skill set that improves, great. If it’s not, so what? If NY keeps losing, which they probably will, there’s a 75% chance of a top 2 pick, which will translate into a post player being available. If there’s no college season and they do something weird with the draft, you still have numerous young players you can move. Either way either Kiah improves her shooting and is a rotation player of importance in 2021 or she doesn’t and you use her off the bench as a defensive specialist.

The development of Zahui is the most important portion of the season right now. She’s never been consistent and even with her two breakout games she’s at 41% from the field. You can’t count on her hitting 10 threes every two games out of 7 just to sustain a 41% FG % so I think development in the paint is vital to her improvement. OTOH her rebounding has been terrific and her defense/activity have been good. I’m hoping she’ll be a fifth player on a team with a very strong core 4 next year. As such, if you get 8 ppg, 7 rpg and floor spacing out of your fifth-best offensive player, you’re probably in a good place.

The Liberty are like a mind-numbing 10 points per 100 behind the next team in offensive efficiency. I can’t imagine how bad the numbers are when Jones is at PG. Whatever it is, it must be awful. Kea has to help just by default.

In spite of the offensive numbers, the system itself is a VERY guard-friendly offense. It’s an offense Durr should thrive in if she sustains no longer-term issues with COVID. If she’s 100% next year it’s an ideal system for a player with her skills.

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The poster formerly known as LibWNBAFan.

[Bob Lamm]