Rookie WNBA Commissioner Lisa Borders seems to be taking an
aggressive approach to providing more wide-spread exposure for her league. Not
only were she and her people able to garner a Friday prime-time slot on NBATV
for Week 6’s rematch between the unbeaten Lynx and Sparks … the addition to the
national broadcast schedule was displayed prominently on the league’s website.
Kudos as well to the folks running the website, where the
up-dating of statistical information seems much more prompt and thorough than
in past seasons.
Fist-bump, indeed, Boss-lady!!
The following data reflects play
through Friday, June 24.
We’ll rank the teams from 1 to 12 in all criteria and simply
add up the rankings. Low score wins, naturally.
No.
1 Los Angeles Sparks, 12-1 (9)
[4-week Abacus rating: 1
2-week Abacus rating: 1
2015 Abacus rating: 10]
KK: +6; (7 Road Wins
– 1 Home Loss) / No. 2 overall
Flow: +5.08; (43.54
stops OF opp [No.4] – 38.46 stops BY opp [No.1] / No.2 overall
Striping: +1.69;
(+1.08) conversions [No. 2] – (-0.62) opp conversions [No. 1]) / No. 1 overall
SPOR-t: +54; (561
[No. 4] – 507 [No. 3]) / No. 4 overall
Abacus Revelation:
Coach Agler’s sure-handed pests rank No. 1 in both preventing and forcing TO’s.
No.
1 Minnesota Lynx, 13-1 (9)
[4-week Abacus rating: 2
2-week Abacus rating: 2
2015 Abacus rating: 2]
KK: +7; (8 Road Wins
– 1 Home Loss) / No. 1 overall
Flow: +5.93; (46.64 stops
OF opp [No.1] – 40.71 stops BY opp [No.2] / No.1 overall
Striping: +0.04;
(+0.61) conversions [No. 5] – (+0.57) opp conversions [No. 8] / No. 6 overall
SPOR-t: +125; (571
[No. 2] – 446 [No. 1]) / No. 1 overall
Abacus Revelation:
The Lynx have been the best defensive rebounding team so far.
No.
3 Chicago Sky, 6-8 (19.5)
[4-week Abacus rating: 3
2-week Abacus rating: 6
2015 Abacus rating: 3]
KK: +1; (3 Road Wins
– 2 Home Losses) / No. 4 overall (tied)
Flow: +1.00; (41.79
stops OF opp [No.5] – 40.79 stops BY opp [No.3] / No.5 overall
Striping: -0.32;
(+0.39) conversions [No. 7] – (+0.71) opp conversions [No. 11] / No. 8 overall
SPOR-t: +74; (606
[No. 1] – 532 [No. 4]) / No. 2 overall
Abacus Revelation:
The Sky are the league’s least willing 3-point shooters, posting a usage rate
of .144.
ABACUS INFOMERCIAL
Masters of the Craft
(Part 1)
Which teams are
performing the rudimentary skills of the game most proficiently at both ends of
the floor? Let’s consider six elements of play: FG shooting, three-point
shooting, Points per Game, Offensive Rebounding, the matter of turnovers and
the SPOR-t score of our ratings. These teams hold a Top Four rank offensively
and defensively:
FG%: Chicago, Los
Angeles, Minnesota
3FG%: New York, Los
Angeles
PPG: Chicago, Los
Angeles, Minnesota
OR%: Chicago
TO%: Los Angeles
SPOR-t: Los Angeles,
Minnesota
No.
4 New York Liberty, 10-4 (20)
[4-week Abacus rating: 4
2-week Abacus rating: 6
2015 Abacus rating: 1]
KK: +3; (6 Road Wins
– 3 Home Losses) / No. 3 overall
Flow: +2.71; (45.36 stops
OF opp [No.3] – 42.64 stops BY opp [No.7] / No. 3 overall
Striping: -1.04;
(-0.64) conversions [No. 11] – (0.39) opp conversions [No. 7] / No. 11 overall
SPOR-t: +67; (559
[No. 5] – 492 [No. 2]) / No. 3 overall
Abacus Revelation:
The Liberty are holding opponents to less than 40% accuracy from the field..
No.
5 Dallas Wings, 7-7 (24)
[4-week Abacus rating: 6
2-week Abacus rating: 4
2015 Abacus rating: 6]
KK: -1; (3 Road Wins
– 4 Home Losses) / No. 6 overall (tied)
Flow: -3.21; (40.86 stops
OF opp [No.9] – 44.07 stops BY opp [No.11] / No.10 overall
Striping: +1.39;
(+1.00) conversions [No. 3] – (-0.39) conversions [No. 2] / No. 2 overall
SPOR-t: -13; (563
[No. 3] – 576 [No. 10]) / No. 5 overall (tied)
Abacus Revelation:
The Wings rank dead last (.408) in overall FG shooting, but No. 1 (.325) in 3-point
usage. Correlation, perhaps?
ABACUS INFOMERCIAL
Scoring Pace (Weeks 5
& 6)
100+ points: 6 [9 overall]
90-99 points: 18 [38 overall]
80-89 points: 15 [44 overall]
70-79 points: 19 [60 overall]
60-69 points: 4 [14 overall]
<60 points: 0 [1 overall]
No.
6 Atlanta Dream, 8-5 (26)
[4-week Abacus rating: 4
2-week Abacus rating: 3
2015 Abacus rating: 8]
KK: +1; (4 Road Wins
– 3 Home Losses) / No. 4 overall) (tied)
Flow: +2.00; (45.69 stops
OF opp [No.2] – 43.69 stops BY opp [No.9] / No.3 overall
Striping: -1.85;
(-2.04) conversions [No. 12] – (-0.19) conversions [No. 3] / No. 12 overall
SPOR-t: -13; (537
[No. 5] – 550 [No. 5]) / No. 5 overall (tied)
Abacus Revelation:
The Dream have attempted 95 more FT’s than their opponents, tops in the “W.”.
No.
7 Washington Mystics, 7-8 (30.5)
[4-week Abacus rating: 8
2-week Abacus rating: 9
2015 Abacus rating: 7]
KK: -1; (5 Road Wins
– 6 Home Losses) / No. 6 overall (tied)
Flow: -1.47; (41.53 stops
OF opp [No.7] – 43.00 stops BY opp [No.8] / No.8 overall
Striping: -0.07; (+0.50)
conversions [No. 6] – (+0.57) opp conversions [No. 8] / No. 7 overall
SPOR-t: -42; (510
[No. 9] – 552 [No. 8]) / No. 9 overall
Abacus Revelation:
During Weeks 5 & 6, the Mystics played “even” by Flow, matching their
opponents in stops for the first time this season (44.2 per game).
ABACUS INFOMERCIAL
Scoring Differential (Weeks
5 & 6)
1-5 points: 8 [18 overall]
6-10 points: 12 [35 overall]
11-15 points: 6 [14 overall]
16-20 points: 2 [6 overall]
>20: 3 [10 overall]
No.
8 Seattle Storm, 5-9 (31)
[4-week Abacus rating: 8
2-week Abacus rating: 10
2015 Abacus rating: 11]
KK: -2; (2 Road Wins
– 4 Home Losses) / No. 8 overall (tied)-3
Flow: -0.86; (40.36 stops
OF opp [No.11] – 41.21 stops BY opp [No.4] / No.7 overall
Striping: +0.64;
(+1.32) conversions [No. 1] - (0.68) opp conversions [No. 10] / No. 3 overall
SPOR-t: -105; (493
[No. 12] – 598 [No. 12]) / No. 12 overall
Abacus Revelation:
The Stewie’s Crewie defended the three-ball better than anyone else (.256)
during Weeks 5 & 6.
No.
9 Indiana Fever, 5-9 (32)
[4-week Abacus rating: 7
-week Abacus rating: 5
2015 Abacus rating: 4]
KK: -2; (2 Road Wins
– 4 Home Losses) / No. 8 overall (tied)-3
Flow: -3.64; (40.07 stops
OF opp [No.12] – 43.71 stops BY opp [No.10] / No.11 overall
Striping: +0.46;
(+0.39) conversions [No. 7] – (-0.07) conversions [No. 4] / No. 4 overall
SPOR-t: -40; (507
[No. 10] – 547 [No. 5]) / No. 8 overall
Abacus Revelation:
The Fever’s pesky defense is second best (.189) at forcing TO’s.
ABACUS INFOMERCIAL
Masters of the Craft
(Part 2)
Are not the
exceptionally inept worthy of some recognition? Here are the teams that hold a
Bottom Four offensive and defensive ranking in our key elements of play: FG
shooting, three-point shooting, PPG, Offensive Rebounding, Turnovers and SPOR-t..
FG%: Dallas, Indiana
3FG%: Connecticut, Indiana,
San Antonio
PPG: Connecticut
OR%: Los Angeles,
Phoenix, Seattle
TO%: Seattle
SPOR-t: San Antonio,
Seattle
No.
10 Phoenix Mercury, 5-9 (35)
[4-week Abacus rating: 11
2-week Abacus rating: 12
2015 Abacus rating: 4]
KK: -2; (1 Road Win –
3 Home Losses) / No. 8 overall (tied)-3
Flow: 0.00; (41.57 stops
OF opp [No.6] – 41.57 stops BY opp [No.5] / No.7 overall
Striping: -0.36;
(+1.00) conversions [No. 3] – (+1.36) opp conversions [No. 12] / No. 9 overall
SPOR-t: -49; (527
[No. 8] – 576 [No. 10]) / No. 10 overall
Abacus Revelation:
For the first time all season, the Merc moved into the top half of the league
in rebounding during the past two weeks – at both ends of the floor.
No. 11
San Antonio Stars, 2-11 (36.5)
[4-week Abacus rating: 10
2-week Abacus rating: 10
2015 Abacus rating: 12]
KK: -5; (0 Road Wins
– 5 Home Losses) / No. 11 overall (tied)
Flow: -2.15; (40.46 stops
OF opp [No.10] – 42.62 stops BY opp [No.6] / No.9 overall
Striping: +0.04;
(+0.15) conversions [No. 9] – (-0.12) opp conversions [No. 5] / No. 5 overall
SPOR-t: -66; (506
[No. 11] – 572 [No. 9]) / No. 11 overall
Abacus Revelation:
During Weeks 5 & 6, San Antonio was outplayed by but four total possessions
– yet lost five of six games.
No.
12 Connecticut Sun, 3-11 (40.5)
[4-week Abacus rating: 12
2-week Abacus rating: 8
2015 Abacus rating: 9]
KK: -5; (1 Road Win –
6 Home Losses) / No. 11 overall (tied)
Flow: -4.86; (41.00 stops
OF opp [No.8] – 45.86 stops BY opp [No.12] / No.12 overall
Striping: -0.64;
(-0.32) conversions [No. 10] – (+0.32) conversions [No. 6] / No. 10 overall
SPOR-t: -20; (529
[No. 7] – 549 [No. 6]) / No. 7 overall
Abacus Revelation:
Opponents converted over half their FG attempts (.508, a whopping .415 on
three-balls) during Weeks 5 & 6..
The Grading Scale
“Flow”: this calculation puts a number to a team’s
unsuccessful possessions (i.e. the other guys’ “stops”). Just take their missed
field goals (attempts minus makes), subtract the offensive rebounds, and then
add the turnovers. The “scores” represent per-game performance.
“Striping”: this calculation measures the impact of missed
free throws and made treys. By subtracting the former from the latter [3’s
minus missed FT’s], we identify a team’s gain or loss in points through
“specialty shooting.” Again the “scores” are per-game. (A further division by
two converts “points” to “conversions” – thus they can be combined with the
“Flow” score.)
KK: Karl Kount – named for George Karl – is a way to measure
a team’s grit and savvy through its ability to defend its home court and win on
the road, a simple calculation for generally reliable info.
“SPOR-t”: SPOR-t stands for “Shooting Plus
Offensive Rebounds minus turnovers.” Add a team’s FG percentage and its
offensive rebounding percentage (o. boards divided by the sum of those o.
boards and the opposition's d. boards). Then subtract the percentage of a team’s
possessions lost to turnovers. For example, a team shoots field goals at a .488
clip, offensive rebounds at a rate of .199, and commits a turnover on .143 of
its possessions. So its SPOR-t is (488+199-143) or 544. Once again, our
measurement will be the difference between the SPOR-t scores of a team and its
opposition.
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