Saturday, August 26, 2017

WNBA 2017: 14-week Progress Report

The 25 WNBA games staged during Weeks 13 & 14 bore witness to 14 40+% three-point shooting performances. [Fortnight Four’s 23 tip-offs produced 20 such displays.]

Two teams shot north of Forty for the full 14 days, two allowed such marksmanship – the Sky did both.

Simultaneously, the ladies had their roughest stretch of the season at the foul line, a paltry .789. Of course, even at that level, the “W’s” free-throw accuracy easily surpasses the production of their NBA brethren. In an average game this summer, a team shoots 16.08 for 19.96 (.805) from the charity stripe.

Fast Fact: In WNBA ’17, the team that attempts more free throws is 108 – 57 (.655).


The following rankings reflect play through Friday, August 18. An explanation of the criteria is available here. An index of the season’s bi-weekly ratings is available here.


No. 1 Minnesota Lynx, 22-5 (11.5)
[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]

KK:  +8; (10 Road Wins – 2 Home Loss) / No. 1 overall (tied)
Flow:  +5.70; (45.1 stops OF opp [No. 1] – 39.4 stops BY opp [No. 1] / No. 1 overall
Striping:  -0.37; (+0.85) conversions [No. 8] – (+1.22) opp conversions [No. 8] / No. 8 overall
SPOR-t:  +130; (634 [No. 1] – 504 [No. 1]) / No. 1 overall

Abacus Revelation: The Lynx’s 14.6 points-per-100-possessions edge is six points more than the next best squad (LA).


No. 2 Los Angeles Sparks, 21-8 (13.5)
[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]

KK:  +8; (9 Road Wins – 1 Home Loss) / No. 1 overall (tied)
Flow:  +3.24; (42.9 stops OF opp [No. 6] – 39.6 stops BY opp [No. 2] / No. 2 overall
Striping:  -0.22; (+1.14) conversions [No. 4] – (+1.36) opp conversions [No. 11]) / No. 6 overall
SPOR-t:  +29; (568 [No. 5] – 539 [No. 4]) / No. 4 overall

Abacus Revelation: The Sparks have held opponents below 70 points in seven games, tied for No. 1.


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, Minnesota
3FG%: Chicago, Minnesota
PPG: Los Angeles, Minnesota
OR%: Minnesota, New York, Washington
TO%: Los Angeles
SPOR-t: Connecticut, Minnesota, New York


No. 3 Connecticut Sun, 18-10 (17)
[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]

KK:  +4; (8 Road Wins – 4 Home Losses) / No. 3 overall
Flow:  +2.11; (43.6 stops OF opp [No. 2] – 41.5 stops BY opp [No. 5] / No. 3 overall
Striping:  -0.39; (+0.84) conversions [No. 9] – (+1.23) conversions [No. 9] / No. 9 overall
SPOR-t:  +84; (604 [No. 2] – 520 [No. 3]) / No. 2 overall

Abacus Revelation: The Sun own the lowest TO rate (.125) in the loop.


No. 4 Washington Mystics, 16-12 (18)
[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]

KK:  +2; (6 Road Wins – 4 Home Losses) / No. 5 overall
Flow:  +1.04; (41.8 stops OF opp [No. 8] – 40.8 stops BY opp [No. 3] / No. 5 overall
Striping:  +0.59; (+1.75) conversions [No. 2] – (+1.16) opp conversions [No. 6] / No. 3 overall
SPOR-t:  +25; (584 [No. 3] – 559 [No. 7]) / No. 5 overall

Abacus Revelation: The Mystics’ FG defense (.506) went missing-in-action during Weeks 13 & 14.


No. 5 Phoenix Mercury, 15-13 (20)
[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]

KK:  +1; (8 Road Win – 7 Home Losses) / No. 6 overall
Flow:  +1.29; (43.1 stops OF opp [No. 3] – 41.8 stops BY opp [No. 6] / No. 4 overall
Striping:  +0.82; (+1.04) conversions [No. 6] – (+0.21) opp conversions [No. 1] / No. 2 overall
SPOR-t:  -23; (533 [No. 10] – 556 [No. 6]) / No. 8 overall

Abacus Revelation: The Mercury ranked second shooting (.487) during Weeks 13 & 14.



ABACUS INFOMERCIAL
Scoring Pace 25 games [171 overall]

100+ points: 6 games [18 overall]
90-99 points: 6 games [62 overall]
80-89 points: 19 games [123 overall]
70-79 points: 12 games [95 overall]
60-69 points: 6 games [35 overall]
<60 points: 1 games [9 overall]



No. 6 New York Liberty, 16-12 (24)
[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]

KK: +3; (7 Road Wins – 4 Home Losses) / No. 4 overall
Flow:  +0.68; (42.9 stops OF opp [No. 5] – 42.3 stops BY opp [No. 7] / No. 6 overall
Striping:  -0.55; (+0.63) conversions [No. 10] – (+1.18) opp conversions [No. 7] / No. 11 overall
SPOR-t:  +74; (578 [No. 4] – 504 [No. 1]) / No. 3 overall

Abacus Revelation: The Liberty shot better on three balls (.455) than overall (.437) in a recent home victory over the defending champs.


No. 7 Chicago Sky, 11-17 (29.5)
[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]

KK:  -3; (7 Road Wins – 10 Home Losses) / No. 8 overall (tied)
Flow:  -2.14; (42.7 stops OF opp [No. 7] – 44.9 stops BY opp [No. 12] / No. 10 overall
Striping:  +1.14; (+1.63) conversions [No. 3] – (+0.48) opp conversions [No. 2] / No. 1 overall
SPOR-t:  -55; (539 [No. 9] – 594 [No. 9]) / No. 10 overall

Abacus Revelation: The Sky posted a whopping 97 points a game during Weeks 13 & 14.



ABACUS INFOMERCIAL
Scoring Differential 25 games [171 overall]

1-5 points: 7 games [39 overall]
6-10 points: 9 games [59 overall]
11-15 points: 3 games [33 overall]
16-20 points:  3 games [19 overall]
>20:  3 games [21 overall]



No. 8 Dallas Wings, 13-16 (31)
[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]

KK:  -2; (4 Road Wins – 6 Home Losses) / No. 7 overall
Flow:  -4.00; (40.6 stops OF opp [No. 10] – 44.6 stops BY opp [No. 11] / No. 11 overall
Striping:  +0.38; (+1.03) conversions [No. 6] – (+0.66) conversions [No. 4] / No. 4 overall
SPOR-t:  -34; (563 [No. 6] – 597 [No. 10]) / No. 9 overall

Abacus Revelation: The Wings take 4.31 more FT’s per game than the opposition, tops in the league.


No. 9 Seattle Storm, 13-16 (32.5)
[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]

KK:  -3; (3 Road Wins – 6 Home Losses) / No. 8 overall (tied)
Flow:  -0.52; (40.6 stops OF opp [No. 9] – 41.1 stops BY opp [No. 4] / No. 8 overall
Striping:  +0.33; (+1.83) conversions [No. 1] - (+1.50) opp conversions [No. 12] / No. 5 overall
SPOR-t:  -97; (511 [No. 11] – 608 [No. 11]) / No. 11 overall

Abacus Revelation: The Storm rank dead last (TO%, .167) in taking care of the ball.


No. 10 Atlanta Dream, 10-19 (36)
[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]

KK:  -5; (3 Road Wins – 8 Home Losses) / No. 11 overall
Flow:  -0.45; (43.6 stops OF opp [No. 3] – 44.0 stops BY opp [No. 10] / No. 7 overall
Striping:  -0.88; [-0.26) conversions [No. 12] – (+0.62) conversions [No. 3] / No. 12 overall
SPOR-t:  +4; (554 [No. 8] – 550 [No. 5]) / No. 6 overall

Abacus Revelation: The Dream had more FG attempts than points during their winless Weeks 13 & 14.


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%: Indiana, Los Angeles, Seattle
TO%: Chicago, Seattle
SPOR-t: Chicago, Indiana, Seattle


No. 11 San Antonio Stars, 7-23 (38)
[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]

KK:  -9; (1 Road Win – 10 Home Losses) / No. 12 overall
Flow:  -2.00; (40.5 stops OF opp [No. 11] – 42.5 stops BY opp [No. 8] / No. 9 overall
Striping:  -0.45; (+0.38) conversions [No. 11] – (+0.83) opp conversions [No. 5] / No. 10 overall
SPOR-t:  -19; (555 [No. 7] – 574 [No. 8]) / No. 7 overall

Abacus Revelation: The Stars have made 58 of 141 treys (.411) during the past four weeks (9 games).


No. 12 Indiana Fever, 9-20 (41)
[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]

KK:  -4; (3 Road Wins – 7 Home Losses) / No. 10 overall
Flow:  -4.38; (38.6 stops OF opp [No. 12] – 43.0 stops BY opp [No. 9] / No. 12 overall
Striping:  -0.34; (+0.93) conversions [No. 7] – (+1.28) conversions [No. 10] / No. 7 overall
SPOR-t:  -123; (498 [No. 12] – 621 [No. 10]) / No. 12 overall

Abacus Revelation: The Fever attempted 11 fewer FT’s per game then their opponents during Weeks 13 & 14..


Abacus Revelation for the Road / Random Ranking – Conversion Quotient (CQ)

Total WNBA play through 171 games computes to 26,747 offensive possessions, of which 12,967 resulted in “conversion” – a successful FG or trip to the foul line – a conversion rate of .485.

Minnesota CQ, +72 [conv. rate: .515 (No. 1) – opp. conv rate: .443 (No. 1)]
Los Angeles CQ, +44 [conv. rate: .507 (No. 2) – opp. conv rate: .463 (No. 2)]
Connecticut CQ, +35 [conv. rate: .507 (No. 3) – opp. conv rate: .472 (No. 4)]
New York CQ, +16 [conv. rate: .483 (No. 6) – opp. conv rate: .467 (No. 3)]
Washington CQ, +8 [conv. rate: .489 (No. 4) – opp. conv rate: .481 (No. 6)]
Phoenix CQ, +2 [conv. rate: .487 (No. 5) – opp. conv rate: .485 (No. 7)]
Atlanta CQ, -7 [conv. rate: .474 (No. 9) – opp. conv rate: .481 (No. 5)]
Seattle CQ, -15 [conv. rate: .481 (No. 8) – opp. conv rate: .496 (No. 9)]
San Antonio CQ, -28 [conv. rate: .467 (No. 11) – opp. conv rate: .495 (No. 8)]
Chicago CQ, -29 [conv. rate: .469 (No. 10) – opp. conv rate: .498 (No. 10)]
Dallas CQ, -33 [conv. rate: .483 (No. 7) – opp. conv rate: .516 (No. 11)]
Indiana CQ, -58 [conv. rate: .460 (No. 12) – opp. conv rate: .518 (No. 12)]

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