Through its first eight weeks and
122 tip-offs, WNBA 2018 has been nothing if not “streaky.” Looking at the season
in two-week segments, only three teams can be said to have played consistently
– only the Seattle Storm posting a “winning” record in all four Fortnights.
(Indiana and New York have been steady losers.)
The Connecticut Sun paired and
explosive 7-2 opening month with a rather odious 3-8 second. As they were
securing coach Mike Thibault’s 300th career win, his Mystics were
flip-flopping stretches of crisp (5-1, 4-1) play with sloppy (1-3, 2-3)
performance. Recent champions Minnesota and Phoenix broke slowly from the
starting box (especially the Lynx) but appear to have righted their ships.
And Brian Agler’s “Showtime”
Sparks had their strut in style until a crowded schedule slowed their roll to
2-5 over Fortnight IV.
Maybe the New Kids on the Block
we should be watching most closely are just now flipping the switch in North
Texas.
A sport seems to get unpredictable
when it puts a franchise in Las Vegas, huh?
The Season by the Numbers (per-game per team) thru 122 games
Possessions: 79.3
Points: 81.8 [PPP:
1.032]
FG: 29.9 – 67.9, .440
3FG: 6.5 – 19.0, .341
3PAr/Usage rate: .280
FT: 15.4 – 19.3, .798
(Off – Tot) Reb: 8.7 – 34.1
[OR% .255]
TO: 14.0 [TO% .156]
Stats and data represent play
through Thursday, July 12.
An explanation of the criteria
for ranking is available here.
An index of bi-weekly ratings
available here.
No.
1 Seattle Storm, 15-6 (10)
[2-week Abacus Rank: No. 1
4-week Abacus Rank: No. 1
6-week Abacus Rank: No. 1]
KK: +3; (6 Road Wins
– 3 Home Losses) / No. 2 overall (tied-3)
Flow: +3.52; (44.3 stops
OF opp [No. 4] – 40.8 stops BY opp [No. 1] / No. 1 overall
Striping: +1.14; (+2.52)
conversions [No. 3] - (+1.38) opp conversions [No. 9] / No. 2 overall
SPOR-t: +50; (579
[No. 2] – 529 [No. 4]) / No. 4 overall
Abacus
Revelation: The Storm throttled its opponents into sub-40% FG shooting
during Weeks 7 & 8.
No. 2 Phoenix Mercury, 14-7 (16)
[2-week Abacus Rank: No. 10
4-week Abacus Rank: No. 3
6-week Abacus Rank: No. 3]
KK: +6; (9 Road Wins
– 3 Home Losses) / No. 1 overall
Flow: +1.10; (44.1 stops
OF opp [No. 5] – 43.0 stops BY opp [No. 7] / No. 3 overall
Striping: +1.26;
(+2.57) conversions [No. 2] – (+1.31) opp conversions [No. 7] / No. 1 overall
SPOR-t: -63; (500
[No. 11] – 563 [No. 10]) / No. 11 overall
Abacus
Revelation: The Mercury’s Griner-led D holds the opposition to a league
worst (best?) .418 FG shooting.
No. 3
Connecticut Sun, 10-10 (18.5)
[2-week Abacus Rank: No. 3
4-week Abacus Rank: No. 1
6-week Abacus Rank: No. 1]
KK: +3; (5 Road Wins
– 2 Home Losses) / No. 2 overall (tied-3)
Flow: +0.55; (43.2 stops
OF opp [No. 7] – 42.6 stops BY opp [No. 4] / No. 6 overall (tied)
Striping: +0.10; (+1.30)
conversions [No. 6] – (+1.20) conversions [No. 6] / No. 8 overall
SPOR-t: +91; (620
[No. 1] – 529 [No. 4]) / No. 1 overall
Abacus Revelation:
Connecticut’s FG shooting dipped from .459 to .414 during Weeks 7 & 8.
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%: Dallas, Phoenix,
Seattle
3FG%: NONE
PPG: Seattle
OR%: Dallas, Minnesota
TO%: Atlanta,
Indiana, Washington
SPOR-t: Connecticut, Dallas,
Seattle
No.
4 Dallas Wings, 12-8 (19)
[2-week Abacus Rank: No. 6
4-week Abacus Rank: No. 7
6-week Abacus Rank: No. 7]
KK: +2; (5 Road Wins
– 3 Home Losses) / No. 5 overall (tied)
Flow: +2.40; (45.1 stops
OF opp [No. 2] – 42.7 stops BY opp [No. 5] / No. 2 overall
Striping: -0.20;
(+0.70) conversions [No. 10] – (+0.90) conversions [No. 2] / No. 9 overall
SPOR-t: +69; (578
[No. 3] – 509 [No. 2]) / No. 2 overall (tied)
Abacus Revelation:
The highest-scoring squad in the circuit (87.3 ppg), the Dallas offense has generated
93.3 points per in their last six games.
No.
5 Minnesota Lynx, 12-8 (19.5)
[2-week Abacus Rank: No. 8
4-week Abacus Rank: No. 9
6-week Abacus Rank: No. 6]
KK: +3; (6 Road Wins
– 3 Home Losses) / No. 2 overall (tied-3)
Flow: +0.85; (43.7 stops
OF opp [No. 6] – 42.9 stops BY opp [No. 6] / No. 4 overall
Striping: -0.50;
(+0.90) conversions [No. 9] – (+1.40) opp conversions [No. 10] / No. 10 overall
SPOR-t: +69; (549 [No.
5] – 480 [No. 1]) / No. 2 overall (tied)
Abacus Revelation:
Currently third from the bottom, the Lynx struggle holding on to the ball (TO%,
.166).
ABACUS INFOMERCIAL
Scoring Pace 33 games
[122 overall]
100+ points: 4 games
[15 overall]
90-99 points: 14
games [45 overall]
80-89 points: 17
games [71 overall]
70-79 points: 25
games [86 overall]
60-69 points: 5 games
[23 overall]
<60 points: 1 game
[4 overall]
No.
6 Washington Mystics, 12-8 (23.5)
[2-week Abacus Rank: No. 2
4-week Abacus Rank: No. 5
6-week Abacus Rank: No. 5]
KK: 0; (5 Road Wins –
5 Home Losses) / No. 8 overall
Flow: +0.55; (41.9 stops
OF opp [No. 10] – 41.3 stops BY opp [No. 2] / No. 6 overall (tied)
Striping: +1.10;
(+2.63) conversions [No. 1] – (+1.53) opp conversions [No. 11] / No. 3 overall
SPOR-t: +3; (567 [No.
4] – 564 [No. 11]) / No. 6 overall
Abacus Revelation:
The Mystics forced 25% fewer TO’s during a rather lackluster Fortnight IV.
No.
7 Los Angeles Sparks, 13-9 (26)
[2-week Abacus Rank: No. 4
4-week Abacus Rank: No. 4]
6-week Abacus Rank: No. 4
KK: +1; (5 Road Wins
– 4 Home Losses) / No. 7 overall
Flow: +0.73; (42.3
stops OF opp [No. 9] – 41.5 stops BY opp [No. 3] / No. 5 overall
Striping: +0.48;
(+1.23) conversions [No. 8] – (+0.75) opp conversions [No. 1]) / No. 5 overall
SPOR-t: -25; (509
[No. 9] – 534 [No. 6]) / No. 9 overall
Abacus Revelation:
Over the last 28 calendar days, the Sparks had back-to-back open dates just
twice – logging 14 games in the process.
ABACUS INFOMERCIAL
Scoring Differential
33 games [122 overall]
1-5 points: 9 games [30
overall]
6-10 points: 6 games
[37 overall]
11-15 points: 8 games
[25 overall]
16-20 points: 5 games [14 overall]
>20 points: 5 games [16 overall]
No.
8 Atlanta Dream, 10-9 (31.5)
[2-week Abacus Rank: No. 9
4-week Abacus Rank: No. 6
6-week Abacus Rank: No. 8]
KK: +2; (5 Road Wins
– 3 Home Losses) / No. 5 overall (tied)
Flow: +0.53; (46.1 stops
OF opp [No. 1] – 45.6 stops BY opp [No. 11] / No. 8 overall
Striping: -1.18; [-0.08)
conversions [No. 11] – (+1.11) conversions [No. 4] / No. 11 overall
SPOR-t: -18; (508
[No. 10] – 526 [No. 3]) / No. 7 overall
Abacus Revelation:
The Dream’s strong 3FG defense went to sleep in Fortnight IV, allowing .408
opponent shooting from deep.
No. 9
Las Vegas Aces, 9-12 (35)
[2-week Abacus Rank: No. 12
4-week Abacus Rank: No. 11
6-week Abacus Rank: No. 10]
KK: -1; (4 Road Wins
– 5 Home Losses) / No. 9 overall
Flow: +0.48; (44.5 stops
OF opp [No. 3] – 44.0 stops BY opp [No. 8] / No. 9 overall
Striping: -3.26; (-1.05)
conversions [No. 12] – (+2.21) opp conversions [No. 12] / No. 12 overall
SPOR-t: +5; (542 [No.
6] – 537 [No. 8]) / No. 5 overall
Abacus Revelation:
Now No. 3 (.757), the Aces have placed among the upper half of the league’s defensive
rebounding teams all season.
No.
9 New York Liberty, 6-14 (35)
[2-week Abacus Rank: No. 5
4-week Abacus Rank: No. 8
6-week Abacus Rank: No. 9]
KK: -5; (3 Road Wins – 8 Home Losses) / No. 11 overall
Flow: -2.00; (42.8 stops
OF opp [No. 8] – 44.8 stops BY opp [No. 9] / No. 10 overall
Striping: +0.23;
(+1.55) conversions [No. 5] – (+1.33) opp conversions [No. 8] / No. 6 overall
SPOR-t:
-21; (514 [No. 7] – 535 [No. 7]) / No. 8 overall
Abacus Revelation: The Liberty improved their offensive rebounding by three per game –
while shooting more accurately, too – during Weeks 7 & 8.
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%: Chicago, Indiana
3FG%: NONE
PPG: Indiana, New
York
OR%: Phoenix
TO%: Chicago,
Minnesota
SPOR-t: Indiana, Phoenix
No. 11 Chicago Sky, 7-13 (37)
[2-week Abacus Rank: No. 6
4-week Abacus Rank: No. 12
6-week Abacus Rank: No. 12]
KK: -4; (2 Road Wins
– 6 Home Losses) / No. 10 overall
Flow: -4.25; (41.3 stops
OF opp [No. 12] – 45.5 stops BY opp [No. 10] / No. 11 overall
Striping: 0.58; (+1.73)
conversions [No. 4] – (+1.15) opp conversions [No. 5] / No. 4 overall
SPOR-t: -109; (512
[No. 8] – 621 [No. 12]) / No. 12 overall
Abacus Revelation:
The Sky top the “W” in 3FG accuracy at .369.
No.
12 Indiana Fever, 2-18 (41)
[2-week Abacus Rank: No. 11
4-week Abacus Rank: No. 10
6-week Abacus Rank: No. 11]
KK: -9; (1 Road Win –
10 Home Losses) / No. 12 overall
Flow: -4.40; (41.5 stops
OF opp [No. 11] – 45.9 stops BY opp [No. 12] / No. 12 overall
Striping: +0.20;
(+1.30) conversions [No. 6] – (+1.10) conversions [No. 3] / No. 7 overall
SPOR-t: -53; (495
[No. 12] – 548 [No. 9]) / No. 10 overall
Abacus Revelation:
Pokey Chapman’s pesky Fever induced 15 opponent TO’s per game during Weeks 7
& 8, No. 2 in the league.
Abacus Revelation for
the Road / Random Ranking – Points per Shot (FGA) Differential
In its first 122 games, WNBA 2018 produced 19,921 points
while attempting 16,567 field goals – a rate of 120.2 points per 100 shots.
Seattle +14.4 points
per 100 shots [129.1 (No. 2) – 114.7 (No. 1)]
Phoenix +13.9 points
per 100 shots [129.1 (No. 3) – 115.5 (No. 4)]
Dallas +11.5 points
per 100 shots [129.1 (No. 1) – 117.6 (No. 5)]
Minnesota +4.6 points
per 100 shots [119.5 (No. 6) – 114.9 (No.2)]
Washington +0.3
points per 100 shots [125.8 (No. 4) – 125.5 (No. 10)]
Las Vegas -0.1 points
per 100 shots [119.3 (No. 8) – 119.4 (No. 6)]
Los Angeles -1.6
points per 100 shots [120.7 (No. 5) – 122.3 (No. 8)]
Chicago -2.7 points
per 100 shots [119.3 (No. 7) – 122.0 (No. 7)]
Atlanta -3.5 points
per 100 shots [111.7 (No. 11) – 115.2 (No. 3)]
Connecticut -5.4
points per 100 shots [118.1 (No. 9) – 123.5 (No. 9)]
New York -13.7 points
per 100 shots [112.6 (No. 10) – 126.3 (No. 11)]
Indiana -18.6 points
per 100 shots [108.8 (No. 12) – 127.4 (No. 12)]
