While the fruits of Title IX’s Gender Equity march on
through a fifth decade and the league a third, three WNBA squads perhaps took
equity a bit too literally on the competitive level this season. Two, the Phoenix
Mercury and Seattle Storm, scored and allowed exactly the same number of points
(2,784 and 2,808 respectively) while another, the Dallas Wings, decided to
finish first in scoring and last in points allowed (2,929 and 3,019
respectively). Not all good deeds go unpunished, as all three qualified for the
playoffs, albeit at the entry level.
While its rosters are more chock-full of size, skill and
athleticism than ever before (maybe even more than any other current pro sports
league), the WNBA becomes more and more a coaches’ league with every passing
season. The circuit’s two stalwarts are piloted by Cheryl Reeve and Brian
Agler, both of whom cut their teeth on the battle-tested Detroit Shock staff of
Bill Laimbeer, whose New York Liberty broke free of mediocrity to close their
season on a ten-game run.
But it’s tough not to pull for a basketball “lifer” like the
Mystics’ Mike Thibault, whose first head coaching gig back in the ‘80’s was in
the World Basketball League, a summer loop for under-sized (no taller than
6’4”) dudes. Likewise, hats off to WNBA lifer Vickie Johnson, who had her young
Stars taking strides towards respectability in the season’s closing weeks.
And how ‘bout those Connecticut Sun, expected to be bottom-feeders without the on-court stylings of one, Chiney Ogwumike? But the voodoo of Coach of the Year Curt Miller created Jonquel Jones in her stead and a playoff squad in the process.
On the other hand, the dysfunctional Atlanta Dream, perhaps
the WNBA version of the cursed Clippers, wasted no time in cutting ties with a
big name like Michael Cooper.
The Season by the Numbers (per-game per team)
Possessions: 78.1
Points: 81.5 [PPP:
1.043]
FG: 30.0 – 67.9, .441
3FG: 5.91 – 17.48, .338
3PAr/Usage rate: .257
FT: 15.7 – 19.6, .801
(Off – Tot) Reb: 8.83 – 33.9
[OR% .261]
TO: 13.0 [TO% .145]
Home teams were 121-83 (.593); the team who committed fewer
TO’s was 125-65 (.658).
An explanation of the ranking criteria is
available here. An index of the season’s bi-weekly ratings is available here.
No.
1 Minnesota Lynx, 27-7 (10)
[2-week Abacus Rank: No. 1
4-week Abacus Rank: No. 1
6-week Abacus Rank: No. 1
8-week Abacus Rank: No. 1
10-week Abacus Rank: No. 1
12-week Abacus Rank: No. 1
14-week Abacus Rank: No. 1]
KK: +10; (12 Road
Wins – 2 Home Loss) / No. 1 overall
Flow: +5.62; (44.8 stops
OF opp [No. 1] – 39.2 stops BY opp [No. 1] / No. 1 overall
Striping: -0.16;
(+1.09) conversions [No. 4] – (+1.25) opp conversions [No. 11] / No. 7 overall
SPOR-t: +128; (628
[No. 1] – 500 [No. 2]) / No. 1 overall
Abacus Revelation:
The Lynx increased their per game 3FG attempts by two while making 41% over
their final seven games.
No. 2
Los Angeles Sparks, 26-8 (14)
[2-week Abacus Rank: No. 8
4-week Abacus Rank: No. 5
6-week Abacus Rank: No. 5
8-week Abacus Rank: No. 5
10-week Abacus Rank: No. 3
12-week Abacus Rank: No. 3
14-week Abacus Rank: No. 2]
KK: +9; (10 Road Wins
– 1 Home Loss) / No. 2 overall
Flow: +4.03; (43.6
stops OF opp [No. 3] – 39.6 stops BY opp [No. 2] / No. 2 overall
Striping: -0.13;
(+1.07) conversions [No. 5] – (+1.21) opp conversions [No. 7]) / No. 6 overall
SPOR-t: +51; (563
[No. 6] – 512 [No. 3]) / No. 4 overall
Abacus Revelation:
The Sparks forced 92 TO’s in 385 opponent possessions during Weeks 15 & 16
– not quite one out of every four possessions.
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%: Los Angele,
Minnessota
3FG%: Minnesota
PPG: Los Angeles,
Minnesota
OR%: Minnesota, New
York
TO%: Dallas
SPOR-t: Connecticut,
Minnesota, New York
No.
3 New York Liberty, 22-12 (18)
[2-week Abacus Rank: No. 5
4-week Abacus Rank: No. 7
6-week Abacus Rank: No. 6
8-week Abacus Rank: No. 6
10-week Abacus Rank: No. 7
12-week Abacus Rank: No. 6
14-week Abacus Rank: No. 6]
KK: +5; (9 Road Wins – 4 Home Losses) / No. 3 overall
Flow: +1.85; (43.3 stops
OF opp [No. 5] – 41.4 stops BY opp [No. 5] / No. 4 overall
Striping: -0.32;
(+0.68) conversions [No. 10] – (+1.00) opp conversions [No. 7] / No. 9 overall
SPOR-t: +102; (594
[No. 2] – 492 [No. 1]) / No. 2 overall
Abacus
Revelation: The Liberty successfully defended their home court for the
season’s final seven weeks.
No.
4 Washington Mystics, 18-16 (18.5)
[2-week Abacus Rank: No. 2
4-week Abacus Rank: No. 3
6-week Abacus Rank: No. 4
8-week Abacus Rank: No. 2
10-week Abacus Rank: No. 2
12-week Abacus Rank: No. 2
14-week Abacus Rank: No. 4]
KK: +1; (7 Road Wins
– 6 Home Losses) / No. 5 overall (tied)
Flow: +0.41; (41.4 stops
OF opp [No. 8] – 40.9 stops BY opp [No. 3] / No. 6 overall
Striping: +0.50;
(+1.74) conversions [No. 2] – (+1.24) opp conversions [No. 10] / No. 2 overall
SPOR-t: +8; (580 [No.
4] – 572 [No. 7]) / No. 5 overall
Abacus Revelation:
A Mystics’ game this season averaged fewer than three TO’s per team per
quarter.
No.
5 Connecticut Sun, 21-13 (21)
[2-week Abacus Rank: No. 11
4-week Abacus Rank: No. 7
6-week Abacus Rank: No. 3
8-week Abacus Rank: No. 4
10-week Abacus Rank: No. 4
12-week Abacus Rank: No. 4
14-week Abacus Rank: No. 3]
KK: +4; (9 Road Wins
– 5 Home Losses) / No. 4 overall
Flow: +2.21; (44.1 stops
OF opp [No. 2] – 41.9 stops BY opp [No. 6] / No. 3 overall
Striping: -0.51;
(+0.71) conversions [No. 9] – (+1.22) conversions [No. 8] / No. 11 overall
SPOR-t: +78; (593
[No. 3] – 515 [No. 4]) / No. 3 overall
Abacus
Revelation: In their final six games, the Sun measured +5.50 in FTA’s, best
in the loop.
ABACUS INFOMERCIAL
Scoring Pace 33 games
[204 overall]
100+ points: 5 games
[23 overall]
90-99 points: 7 games
[69 overall]
80-89 points: 23 games
[146 overall]
70-79 points: 17
games [112 overall]
60-69 points: 11
games [46 overall]
<60 points: 3
games [12 overall]
No.
6 Phoenix Mercury, 18-16 (22.5)
[2-week Abacus Rank: No. 7
4-week Abacus Rank: No. 2
6-week Abacus Rank: No. 2
8-week Abacus Rank: No. 3
10-week Abacus Rank: No. 5
12-week Abacus Rank: No. 5
14-week Abacus Rank: No. 5]
KK: +1; (9 Road Win –
8 Home Losses) / No. 5 overall (tied)
Flow: +0.47; (42.6 stops
OF opp [No. 6] – 42.1 stops BY opp [No. 7] / No. 5 overall
Striping: +0.46;
(+0.81) conversions [No. 8] – (+0.35) opp conversions [No. 1] / No. 3 overall
SPOR-t: -42; (517
[No. 11] – 559 [No. 6]) / No. 9 overall
Abacus Revelation:
The Merc’s rate of conversion slipped from 49% to 45% during Weeks 15 & 16.
No.
7 Dallas Wings, 16-18 (29)
[2-week Abacus Rank: No. 3
4-week Abacus Rank: No. 9
6-week Abacus Rank: No. 8
8-week Abacus Rank: No. 9
10-week Abacus Rank: No. 10
12-week Abacus Rank: No. 9
14-week Abacus Rank: No. 8]
KK: -1; (6 Road Wins
– 7 Home Losses) / No. 7 overall
Flow: -3.56; (40.6 stops
OF opp [No. 10] – 44.2 stops BY opp [No. 11] / No. 11 overall
Striping: +0.44;
(+0.99) conversions [No. 6] – (+0.54) conversions [No. 2] / No. 4 overall
SPOR-t: -31; (569
[No. 5] – 600 [No. 10]) / No. 7 overall
Abacus Revelation:
The Wings’ opposition posted the lowest usage rate for three-point shots (.231)
for the season.
ABACUS INFOMERCIAL
Scoring Differential
33 games [204 overall]
1-5 points: 10 games
[49 overall]
6-10 points: 5 games
[64 overall]
11-15 points: 8 games
[41 overall]
16-20 points: 3 games [22 overall]
>20: 7 games [28 overall]
No.
8 Seattle Storm, 15-19 (30)
[2-week Abacus Rank: No. 9
4-week Abacus Rank: No. 5
6-week Abacus Rank: No. 9
8-week Abacus Rank: No. 8
10-week Abacus Rank: No. 9
12-week Abacus Rank: No. 10
14-week Abacus Rank: No. 9]
KK: -2; (5 Road Wins
– 7 Home Losses) / No. 8 overall
Flow: -0.03; (40.9 stops
OF opp [No. 9] – 40.9 stops BY opp [No. 3] / No. 7 overall
Striping: +0.31;
(+1.84) conversions [No. 1] - (+1.53) opp conversions [No. 12] / No. 5 overall
SPOR-t: -74; (521
[No. 11] – 595 [No. 11]) / No. 10 overall
Abacus Revelation:
The Storm limited opponents to seven Offensive Rebounds per game during their
final five games – down from the normal surrender of 10+.
No.
9 Chicago Sky, 12-22 (31.5)
[2-week Abacus Rank: No. 11
4-week Abacus Rank: No. 10
6-week Abacus Rank: No. 10
8-week Abacus Rank: No. 10
10-week Abacus Rank: No. 8
12-week Abacus Rank: No. 7
14-week Abacus Rank: No. 7]
KK: -5; (8 Road Wins
– 13 Home Losses) / No. 9 overall (tied)
Flow: -3.09; (42.2 stops
OF opp [No. 7] – 45.3 stops BY opp [No. 12] / No. 10 overall
Striping: +0.97;
(+1.68) conversions [No. 3] – (+0.71) opp conversions [No. 4] / No. 1 overall
SPOR-t: -83; (522
[No. 9] – 605 [No. 11]) / No. 11 overall
Abacus Revelation:
The enigmatic Sky won twice as many road games (8) as home games this season.
No.
10 Atlanta Dream, 12-22 (35.5)
[2-week Abacus Rank: No. 4
4-week Abacus Rank: No. 4
6-week Abacus Rank: No. 7
8-week Abacus Rank: No. 7
10-week Abacus Rank: No. 6
12-week Abacus Rank: No. 8
14-week Abacus Rank: No. 10]
KK: -5; (3 Road Wins
– 8 Home Losses) / No. 9 overall (tied)
Flow: -0.68; (43.3 stops
OF opp [No. 4] – 44.0 stops BY opp [No. 10] / No. 8 overall
Striping: -0.93;
[-0.29) conversions [No. 12] – (+0.63) conversions [No. 3] / No. 12 overall
SPOR-t: +1; (545 [No.
7] – 544 [No. 5]) / No. 6 overall
Abacus Revelation:
The Dream finished the season dead last in both three-point accuracy (.293) and
three-point usage (.217).
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
3FG%: Indiana,
Washington
PPG: Atlanta, Indiana
OR%: Chicago,
Indiana, Seattle
TO%: Chicago, Seattle
SPOR-t: Chicago,
Indiana, Seattle
No.
11 San Antonio Stars, 8-26 (39)
[2-week Abacus Rank: No. 12
4-week Abacus Rank: No. 11
6-week Abacus Rank: No. 12
8-week Abacus Rank: No. 12
10-week Abacus Rank: No. 11
12-week Abacus Rank: No. 11
14-week Abacus Rank: No. 11]
KK: -9; (2 Road Wins
– 11 Home Losses) / No. 12 overall
Flow: -2.68; (40.1 stops
OF opp [No. 11] – 42.8 stops BY opp [No. 8] / No. 9 overall
Striping: -0.34;
(+0.37) conversions [No. 11] – (+0.71) opp conversions [No. 4] / No. 10 overall
SPOR-t: -35; (541
[No. 8] – 576 [No. 8]) / No. 8 overall
Abacus Revelation:
After starting 1-16, the young Stars played a respectable 7-10 post ASG.
No.
12 Indiana Fever, 9-25 (43)
[2-week Abacus Rank: No. 6
4-week Abacus Rank: No. 12
6-week Abacus Rank: No. 11
8-week Abacus Rank: No. 11
10-week Abacus Rank: No. 12
12-week Abacus Rank: No. 12
14-week Abacus Rank: No. 12]
KK: -8; (3 Road Wins
– 11 Home Losses) / No. 11 overall
Flow: -4.56; (38.4 stops
OF opp [No. 12] – 43.0 stops BY opp [No. 9] / No. 12 overall
Striping: -0.28;
(+0.94) conversions [No. 7] – (+1.22) conversions [No. 8] / No. 8 overall
SPOR-t: -118; (496 [No.
12] – 614 [No. 12]) / No. 12 overall
Abacus
Revelation: On the season, the Fever were out-rebounded by seven per game,
the weakest showing in the league.
Abacus Revelation for
the Road / Random Ranking – Missed Shot (FGA) Differential
In its 204 games, WNBA players attempted 27,716 field goals,
misfiring 15,497 times. Here’s each team’s total missed FGA’s for the season in
comparison with its opponent’s total.
Seattle 171 fewer
misses [1143 (No. 1) – 1314 (No. 5)]
Chicago 140 fewer
misses [1282 (No. 7) – 1422 (No. 1)]]
Minnesota 108 fewer
misses [1200 (No. 3) – 1308 (No. 6)]
Los Angeles 81 fewer
misses [1168 (No. 2) – 1249 (No. 9)]
Phoenix 63 fewer
misses [1236 (No. 4) – 1299 (No. 8)]
New York 1 more
miss [1351 (No. 8) – 1350 (No. 2)]
Washington 15 more
misses [1357 (No. 10) – 1342 (No. 3)]
Connecticut 35 more
misses [1354 (No. 9) – 1319 (No. 4)]
San Antonio 35 more
misses [1275 (No. 5) – 1240 (No. 10)]
Atlanta 117 more
misses [1418 (No. 11) – 1301 (No. 7)]
Indiana 126 more
misses [1278 (No. 6) – 1152 (No. 12)]
Dallas 234 more
misses [1435 (No. 12) – 1201 (No. 11)]
