We only caught the fourth quarter, alas, of Finals Game One last night-- and it wasn't much of a surprise: Detroit came in with a double-digit buffer, let the Stars tie it up at the very end, then made free throws and a rebound or two to take a one-game lead.
The Shock's veterans ran the show: Katie and Taj combined for 49 points. And Detroit looked like a team-- more like a team than the Stars, really, in those last minutes: Taj looked like part of that team, even though she's been there for less than a full season, and even though she had serious respiratory trouble. She lost her voice on Wednesday, and needed treatment during the game.
Becky looked like the Hammon I remember from years past in New York: penetrating, or overpenetrating, and trying to win the game almost on her own. Hey, it worked against L.A... but against the Shock she didn't hit a three-pointer all night.
Fun fact: both teams' benches combined for... nine points. And Pierson didn't play.
The worst thing about sports is injuries, and the worst thing about the WNBA season is that injured athletes don't get time to recover. If you make, each May, a list of the teams that could possibly win the finals-- those with competent coaches, a veteran leader or two, sufficient firepower, etc.-- the team that does win it all may not be the one with the intangible edge in May: sometimes it's the team with the fewest serious injuries come Labor Day.
That would be Phoenix, last year (as much as I loved to watch them); it was Detroit, the year before (Yo Griffith's accumulation of small injuries, DeMya's incomplete rehab), and Sacramento, the year before that.
This year, though, both finalists have lost big pieces-- Detroit lost two starters, the SASS arguably their most important reserves. Detroit gave up last year's title game, as Ted explained at the time, in part because they lost Cheryl Ford. This year they lost Ford again, and they may have to keep going without Pierson too: if the Shock prevail-- and most folks seem to think that they will-- it will be Laimbeer's greatest triumph as coach.
But they still shouldn't mic him up during the games.
The Shock's veterans ran the show: Katie and Taj combined for 49 points. And Detroit looked like a team-- more like a team than the Stars, really, in those last minutes: Taj looked like part of that team, even though she's been there for less than a full season, and even though she had serious respiratory trouble. She lost her voice on Wednesday, and needed treatment during the game.
Becky looked like the Hammon I remember from years past in New York: penetrating, or overpenetrating, and trying to win the game almost on her own. Hey, it worked against L.A... but against the Shock she didn't hit a three-pointer all night.
Fun fact: both teams' benches combined for... nine points. And Pierson didn't play.
The worst thing about sports is injuries, and the worst thing about the WNBA season is that injured athletes don't get time to recover. If you make, each May, a list of the teams that could possibly win the finals-- those with competent coaches, a veteran leader or two, sufficient firepower, etc.-- the team that does win it all may not be the one with the intangible edge in May: sometimes it's the team with the fewest serious injuries come Labor Day.
That would be Phoenix, last year (as much as I loved to watch them); it was Detroit, the year before (Yo Griffith's accumulation of small injuries, DeMya's incomplete rehab), and Sacramento, the year before that.
This year, though, both finalists have lost big pieces-- Detroit lost two starters, the SASS arguably their most important reserves. Detroit gave up last year's title game, as Ted explained at the time, in part because they lost Cheryl Ford. This year they lost Ford again, and they may have to keep going without Pierson too: if the Shock prevail-- and most folks seem to think that they will-- it will be Laimbeer's greatest triumph as coach.
But they still shouldn't mic him up during the games.
posted by Stephanie at 11:29 AM
