WNBA 2019 Final Report

Earlier this decade when Cheryl Reeve’s Minnesota Lynx were the WNBA’s “gold standard,” their brain-trust seemed to take a page from Red Auerbach’s old playbook by recruiting the former college teammate (Janel McCarville) of a current player (Lindsay Whalen) to fill a roster void.

In more recent times, Bill Laimbeer seems to be re-mixing the formula by which Greg Popovich has sustained NBA excellence for a couple of decades in the Central Texas former home of Big Bad Bill’s Las Vegas Aces, with their Twin Towers (Cambage and Wilson) and moderate-but-heady use of the three ball.

Heading into the post-season, though, it appears that the championship is EDD and Washington’s to lose.

Here’s what an average 2019 WNBA game performance looks like, numerically.

[An explanation of the criteria is available here.]

Possessions: 79.0

Points: 78.7  [PPP: 0.996]

FG: 29.1 – 68.6, .424

3FG: 6.8 – 20.0, .338

3PAr/Usage rate: .292

FT: 13.7 – 17.3, .796

(Off – Tot) Reb: 9.0 – 34.8  [OR% .260]

TO: 14.5  [TO% .160]

No. 1 Washington Mystics, 26-8 (5)

[14-week Abacus Rank: No. 1

12-week Abacus Rank: No. 1

10-week Abacus Rank: No. 1

8-week Abacus Rank: No. 1

6-week Abacus Rank: No. 1

4-week Abacus Rank: No. 1

2-week Abacus Rank: No. 3]

KK:  +9; (12 Road Wins – 3 Home Losses) / No. 1 overall

Flow:  +4.26; (44.8 stops OF opp [No. 6] – 40.5 stops BY opp [No. 1] / No. 1 overall

Striping:  +1.72; (+3.62) conversions [No. 1] – (+1.90) opp conversions [No. 10] / No. 1 overall

SPOR-t:  +72; (595 [No. 1] – 523 [No. 6]) / No. 2 overall

Abacus Revelation: True Shooting Pct: .579 (No. 1); Opp. .518 (No. 6); Diff. +61 (No. 1)

No. 2 Los Angeles Sparks, 22-12 (15)

[14-week Abacus Rank: No. 4

12-week Abacus Rank: No. 5

10-week Abacus Rank: No. 4

8-week Abacus Rank: No. 5

6-week Abacus Rank: No. 5

4-week Abacus Rank: No. 8

2-week Abacus Rank: No. 6]

KK:  +5; (7 Road Wins – 2 Home Losses) / No. 3 overall

Flow:  +1.12; (46.7 stops OF opp [No. 2] – 45.6 stops BY opp [No. 8] / No. 5 overall

Striping:  +0.74; (+2.37) conversions [No. 2] – (+1.63) opp conversions [No. 7]) / No. 2 overall

SPOR-t:  +11; (520 [No. 7] – 509 [No. 4]) / No. 5 overall

Abacus Revelation: True Shooting Pct: .522 (No. 5); Opp. .507 (No. 5); Diff. +15 (No. 5)

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

3FG%: Connecticut, Las Vegas

PPG: Washington

OR%: Connecticut, Minnesota

TO%: Connecticut

SPOR-t: Connecticut, Minnesota

No. 3 Connecticut Sun, 23-11 (16)

[14-week Abacus Rank: No. 2

12-week Abacus Rank: No. 2

10-week Abacus Rank: No. 2

8-week Abacus Rank: No. 4

6-week Abacus Rank: No. 2

4-week Abacus Rank: No. 2

2-week Abacus Rank: No. 1]

KK:  +6; (8 Road Wins – 2 Home Losses) / No. 2 overall

Flow:  +1.29; (45.7 stops OF opp [No. 5] – 44.4 stops BY opp [No. 4] / No. 4 overall

Striping:  -0.53; (+1.00) conversions [No. 10] – (+1.53) conversions [No. 5] / No. 9 overall

SPOR-t:  +84; (565 [No. 2] – 481 [No. 2]) / No. 1 overall

Abacus Revelation: True Shooting Pct: .509 (No. 8); Opp. .529 (No. 10); Diff. -20 (No. 9)

No. 4 Chicago Sky, 20-14 (21)

[14-week Abacus Rank: No. 3

12-week Abacus Rank: No. 4

10-week Abacus Rank: No. 5

8-week Abacus Rank: No. 6

6-week Abacus Rank: No. 7

4-week Abacus Rank: No. 3

2-week Abacus Rank: No. 10]

KK:  +3; (8 Road Wins – 5 Home Losses) / No. 5 overall

Flow:  +0.97; (46.7 stops OF opp [No. 3] – 45.7 stops BY opp [No. 10] / No. 6 overall

Striping:  +0.59; (+2.01) conversions [No. 3] – (+1.43) opp conversions [No. 4] / No. 3 overall

SPOR-t:  -10; (527 [No. 6] – 537 [No. 8]) / No. 7 overall

Abacus Revelation: True Shooting Pct: .543 (No. 2); Opp. .506 (No. 4); Diff. +37 (No. 2)

No. 5 Las Vegas Aces, 21-13 (22)

[14-week Abacus Rank: No. 6

12-week Abacus Rank: No. 3

10-week Abacus Rank: No. 3

8-week Abacus Rank: No. 2

6-week Abacus Rank: No. 3

4-week Abacus Rank: No. 4

2-week Abacus Rank: No. 8]

KK:  +4; (8 Road Wins – 4 Home Losses) / No. 4 overall

Flow:  +2.71; (48.4 stops OF opp [No. 1] – 45.7 stops BY opp [No. 9] / No. 2 overall

Striping:  -1.85; (+0.35) conversions [No. 12] – (+2.21) opp conversions [No. 12] / No. 12 overall

SPOR-t:  +55; (529 [No. 5] – 474 [No. 1]) / No. 4 overall

Abacus Revelation: True Shooting Pct: .516 (No. 6); Opp. .495 (No. 1); Diff. +21 (No. 4)

ABACUS INFOMERCIAL

Scoring Pace 204 games

100+ points: 18 games

90-99 points: 50 games

80-89 points: 114 games

70-79 points: 135 games

60-69 points: 73 games

<60 points: 18 games

No. 6 Minnesota Lynx, 18-16 (22.5)

[14-week Abacus Rank: No. 4

12-week Abacus Rank: No. 6

10-week Abacus Rank: No. 6

8-week Abacus Rank: No. 7

6-week Abacus Rank: No. 6

4-week Abacus Rank: No. 6

2-week Abacus Rank: No. 2]

KK:  +1; (7 Road Wins – 6 Home Losses) / No. 6 overall (tied)

Flow:  +1.94; (46.0 stops OF opp [No. 4] – 44.1 stops BY opp [No. 3] / No. 3 overall

Striping:  -0.63; (+1.21) conversions [No. 8] – (+1.84) opp conversions [No. 9] / No. 10 overall

SPOR-t:  +62; (549 [No. 3] – 487 [No. 3]) / No. 3 overall

Abacus Revelation: True Shooting Pct: .531 (No. 3); Opp. .524 (No. 8); Diff. +7 (No. 6)

No. 7 Seattle Storm, 18-16 (27)

[14-week Abacus Rank: No. 8

12-week Abacus Rank: No. 6

10-week Abacus Rank: No. 7

8-week Abacus Rank: No. 3

6-week Abacus Rank: No. 4

4-week Abacus Rank: No. 5

2-week Abacus Rank: No. 4]

KK:  +1; (7 Road Wins – 6 Home Losses) / No. 6 overall (tied)

Flow:  -0.38; (44.6 stops OF opp [No. 7] – 45.0 stops BY opp [No. 7] / No. 8 overall

Striping:  +0.13; (+1.96) conversions [No. 4] - (+1.82) opp conversions [No. 8] / No. 6 overall (tied)

SPOR-t:  -6; (508 [No. 9] – 514 [No. 5]) / No. 6 overall

Abacus Revelation: True Shooting Pct: .513 (No. 7); Opp. .526 (No. 9); Diff. -13 (No. 8)

ABACUS INFOMERCIAL

Scoring Differential 204 games

1-5 points: 56 games

6-10 points: 63 games

11-15 points: 34 games

16-20 points:  21 games

>20: 30 games

No. 8 Phoenix Mercury, 15-19 (32)

[14-week Abacus Rank: No. 7

12-week Abacus Rank: No. 8

10-week Abacus Rank: No. 7

8-week Abacus Rank: No. 8

6-week Abacus Rank: No. 7

4-week Abacus Rank: No. 10

2-week Abacus Rank: No. 9]

KK:  -2; (6 Road Wins – 8 Home Losses) / No. 8 overall

Flow:  +0.26; (43.9 stops OF opp [No. 8] – 43.6 stops BY opp [No. 2] / No. 7 overall

Striping:  +0.28; (+1.87) conversions [No. 5] – (+1.59) opp conversions [No. 6] / No. 5 overall

SPOR-t:  -93; (468 [No. 12] – 561 [No. 10]) / No. 12 overall

Abacus Revelation: True Shooting Pct: .529 (No. 4); Opp. .503 (No. 2); Diff. +26 (No. 3)

No. 9 Dallas Wings, 10-24 (32.5)

[14-week Abacus Rank: No. 9

12-week Abacus Rank: No. 9

10-week Abacus Rank: No. 9

8-week Abacus Rank: No. 9

6-week Abacus Rank: No. 10

4-week Abacus Rank: No. 9

2-week Abacus Rank: No. 7]

KK:  -7; (2 Road Wins – 9 Home Losses) / No. 10 overall (tied)

Flow:  -2.88; (42.0 stops OF opp [No. 12] – 44.9 stops BY opp [No. 6] / No. 10 overall

Striping:  +0.49; (+1.60) conversions [No. 6] – (+1.12) conversions [No. 1] / No. 4 overall

SPOR-t:  -13; (517 [No. 8] – 530 [No. 7]) / No. 8 overall

Abacus Revelation: True Shooting Pct: .484 (No. 11); Opp. .533 (No. 11); Diff. -49 (No. 12)

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%: New York, Seattle

3FG%: NONE

PPG: Atlanta

OR%: Los Angeles, Phoenix

TO%: New York

SPOR-t: Atlanta, New York, Phoenix

No. 10 Indiana Fever, 13-21 (38)

[14-week Abacus Rank: No. 11

12-week Abacus Rank: No. 10

10-week Abacus Rank: No. 10

8-week Abacus Rank: No. 10

6-week Abacus Rank: No. 9

4-week Abacus Rank: No. 7

2-week Abacus Rank: No. 5]

KK:  -4; (6 Road Wins – 10 Home Losses) / No. 9 overall

Flow:  -1.06; (43.6 stops OF opp [No. 10] – 44.6 stops BY opp [No. 5] / No. 9 overall

Striping:  -0.88; (+1.10) conversions [No. 9] – (+1.99) conversions [No. 11) / No. 11 overall

SPOR-t:  -17; (533 [No. 4] – 550 [No. 9]) / No. 9 overall

Abacus Revelation: True Shooting Pct: .508 (No. 9); Opp. .518 (No. 7); Diff. -10 (No. 7)

No. 10 New York Liberty, 10-24 (38)

[14-week Abacus Rank: No. 10

12-week Abacus Rank: No. 10

10-week Abacus Rank: No. 11

8-week Abacus Rank: No. 11

6-week Abacus Rank: No. 11

4-week Abacus Rank: No. 11

2-week Abacus Rank: No. 10]

KK:  -7; (6 Road Wins – 13 Home Losses) / No. 10 overall (tied)

Flow:  -3.91; (43.1 stops OF opp [No. 11] – 47.0 stops BY opp [No. 11] / No. 11 overall

Striping:  +0.13; (1.46) conversions [No. 7] – (+1.32) opp conversions [No. 3] / No. 6 overall (tied)

SPOR-t:  -56; (503 [No. 10] – 559 [No. 10]) / No. 10 overall

Abacus Revelation: True Shooting Pct: .504 (No. 10); Opp. .539 (No. 12); Diff. -35 (No. 10)

No. 12 Atlanta Dream, 8-26 (43)

[14-week Abacus Rank: No. 12

12-week Abacus Rank: No. 12

10-week Abacus Rank: No. 12

8-week Abacus Rank: No. 12

6-week Abacus Rank: No. 12

4-week Abacus Rank: No. 12

2-week Abacus Rank: No. 12]

KK:  -9; (3 Road Wins – 12 Home Losses) / No. 12 overall

Flow:  -4.32; (43.9 stops OF opp [No. 8] – 48.2 stops BY opp [No. 12] / No. 12 overall

Striping:  -0.18; [+0.96) conversions [No. 11] – (+1.13) conversions [No. 2] / No. 8 overall

SPOR-t:  -92; (469 [No. 11] – 561 [No. 11]) / No. 11 overall

Abacus Revelation: True Shooting Pct: .462 (No. 12); Opp. .503 (No. 3); Diff. -41 (No. 11)

WNBA 2019: 14-Week Progress Report

No Offense … but the WNBA in 2019 has been a league in flux. Not only has the league felt the absence of multiple elite performers, but the Association’s very existence beyond the current campaign is in doubt.

Have the Players drawn a line in the sand by opting out of their Collective Bargaining Agreement with the league, essentially challenging their Adam Silver-gilded benefactors to put up or shut up when it comes to compensation and accommodation?

On the court, “No Offense” seems to be the order of the day. During the 2018 season, only SIX times did a WNBA team tally fewer than 60 points in a ballgame … that total has been tripled already this season. (We’ve already seen 85 sub-70-point efforts thus far, compared with but 42 a year ago.)

That said, the last four weeks and 57 games have delivered a crisper and more effective offensive product leaguewide. Through 10 weeks and 131 games, Team Average was scoring 77.1 points on .418 FG shooting and 16.2 FTA’s. Subsequently, scoring has increased by three points per game, FG% to .435 and FTA’s to nearly 20 per. Perhaps curiously, three-point shooting has held steady, in terms of both volume (29%) and accuracy (34%).

Here’s what an average 2019 WNBA game performance looks like, numerically.

[All data reflects play through Monday, September 2.  An explanation of the criteria is available here.]

Possessions: 78.9

Points: 78.4  [PPP: 0.994]

FG: 29.0 – 68.5, .423

3FG: 6.8 – 20.0, .338

3PAr/Usage rate: .291

FT: 13.8 – 17.2, .799

(Off – Tot) Reb: 9.0 – 34.8  [OR% .260]

TO: 14.5  [TO% .160]

No. 1 Washington Mystics, 23-8 (6)

[12-week Abacus Rank: No. 1

10-week Abacus Rank: No. 1

8-week Abacus Rank: No. 1

6-week Abacus Rank: No. 1

4-week Abacus Rank: No. 1

2-week Abacus Rank: No. 3]

KK:  +8; (11 Road Wins – 3 Home Losses) / No. 1 overall

Flow:  +4.45; (44.9 stops OF opp [No. 7] – 40.4 stops BY opp [No. 1] / No. 1 overall

Striping:  +1.56; (+3.56) conversions [No. 1] – (+2.00) opp conversions [No. 9] / No. 1 overall

SPOR-t:  +59; (588 [No. 1] – 529 [No. 7]) / No. 3 overall

Abacus Revelation: The Mystics’ 11 road victories is three better than their nearest rival.

No. 2 Connecticut Sun, 22-9 (17)

[12-week Abacus Rank: No. 2

10-week Abacus Rank: No. 2

8-week Abacus Rank: No. 4

6-week Abacus Rank: No. 2

4-week Abacus Rank: No. 2

2-week Abacus Rank: No. 1]

KK:  +7; (8 Road Wins – 1 Home Loss) / No. 2 overall

Flow:  +1.52; (45.8 stops OF opp [No. 5] – 44.3 stops BY opp [No. 4] / No. 4 overall

Striping:  -0.53; (+0.94) conversions [No. 11] – (+1.47) conversions [No. 5] / No. 10 overall

SPOR-t:  +85; (564 [No. 2] – 479 [No. 2]) / No. 1 overall

Abacus Revelation: The Sun’s +99 in O-Boards, compared to its opposition, is over 25% better than the “W’s” next best squad.

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

3FG%: Connecticut, Las Vegas

PPG: NONE

OR%: Connecticut, Minnesota

TO%: Connecticut

SPOR-t: Connecticut, Minnesota

No. 3 Chicago Sky, 19-13 (20)

[12-week Abacus Rank: No. 4

10-week Abacus Rank: No. 5

8-week Abacus Rank: No. 6

6-week Abacus Rank: No. 7

4-week Abacus Rank: No. 3

2-week Abacus Rank: No. 10]

KK:  +2; (7 Road Wins – 5 Home Losses) / No. 5 overall

Flow:  +0.88; (46.5 stops OF opp [No. 2] – 45.6 stops BY opp [No. 8] / No. 5 overall

Striping:  +0.81; (+2.06) conversions [No. 3] – (+1.25) opp conversions [No. 2] / No. 3 overall

SPOR-t:  -4; (529 [No. 5] – 533 [No. 8]) / No. 7 overall

Abacus Revelation: Uncharacteristically, the Sky posted the league’s best OR% (.300) during Weeks 13 & 14.

No. 4 Los Angeles Sparks, 19-12 (21)

[12-week Abacus Rank: No. 5

10-week Abacus Rank: No. 4

8-week Abacus Rank: No. 5

6-week Abacus Rank: No. 5

4-week Abacus Rank: No. 8

2-week Abacus Rank: No. 6]

KK:  +5; (7 Road Wins – 2 Home Losses) / No. 3 overall

Flow:  -0.06; (46.2 stops OF opp [No. 3] – 46.3 stops BY opp [No. 10] / No. 8 overall

Striping:  +0.94; (+2.52) conversions [No. 2] – (+1.58) opp conversions [No. 6]) / No. 2 overall

SPOR-t:  -9; (508 [No. 9] – 517 [No. 5]) / No. 8 overall

Abacus Revelation: The Sparks rank among the elite in FG defense (No. 2) and forcing TO’s (No. 3).

No. 4 Minnesota Lynx, 17-15 (21)

[12-week Abacus Rank: No. 6

10-week Abacus Rank: No. 6

8-week Abacus Rank: No. 7

6-week Abacus Rank: No. 6

4-week Abacus Rank: No. 6

2-week Abacus Rank: No. 2]

KK:  0; (6 Road Wins – 6 Home Losses) / No. 7 overall

Flow:  +2.09; (46.2 stops OF opp [No. 4] – 44.1 stops BY opp [No. 3] / No. 3 overall

Striping:  -0.52; (+1.27) conversions [No. 8] – (+1.78) opp conversions [No. 8] / No. 9 overall

SPOR-t:  +63; (551 [No. 3] – 488 [No. 3]) / No. 2 overall

Abacus Revelation: The pesky Lynx D has been forcing 17+ TO’s over the past 14 games.

ABACUS INFOMERCIAL

Scoring Pace 188 games

100+ points: 12 games

90-99 points: 48 games

80-89 points: 107 games

70-79 points: 124 games

60-69 points: 67 games

<60 points: 18 games

No. 6 Las Vegas Aces, 20-12 (22)

[12-week Abacus Rank: No. 3

10-week Abacus Rank: No. 3

8-week Abacus Rank: No. 2

6-week Abacus Rank: No. 3

4-week Abacus Rank: No. 4

2-week Abacus Rank: No. 8]

KK:  +3; (7 Road Wins – 4 Home Losses) / No. 4 overall

Flow:  +2.91; (48.7 stops OF opp [No. 1] – 45.8 stops BY opp [No. 9] / No. 2 overall

Striping:  -1.89; (+0.45) conversions [No. 12] – (+2.34) opp conversions [No. 12] / No. 12 overall

SPOR-t:  +55; (525 [No. 6] – 470 [No. 1]) / No. 4 overall

Abacus Revelation: The Aces’ 3-point accuracy, top-tier all season, dipped to No.8 (.347) during Weeks 13 & 14.

No. 7 Phoenix Mercury, 15-16 (28)

[12-week Abacus Rank: No. 8

10-week Abacus Rank: No. 7

8-week Abacus Rank: No. 8

6-week Abacus Rank: No. 7

4-week Abacus Rank: No. 10

2-week Abacus Rank: No. 9]

KK:  +1; (6 Road Wins – 5 Home Losses) / No. 6 overall

Flow:  +0.42; (44.0 stops OF opp [No. 8] – 43.6 stops BY opp [No. 2] / No. 6 overall

Striping:  +0.40; (+2.02) conversions [No. 4] – (+1.61) opp conversions [No. 7] / No. 5 overall

SPOR-t:  -88; (470 [No. 12] – 558 [No. 10]) / No. 11 overall

Abacus Revelation: The Mercury are one of only two teams yielding in excess of 10 O-Boards per game.

ABACUS INFOMERCIAL

Scoring Differential 188 games

1-5 points: 53 games

6-10 points: 59 games

11-15 points: 29 games

16-20 points:  20 games

>20: 27 games

No. 8 Seattle Storm, 16-15 (28.5)

[12-week Abacus Rank: No. 6

10-week Abacus Rank: No. 7

8-week Abacus Rank: No. 3

6-week Abacus Rank: No. 4

4-week Abacus Rank: No. 5

2-week Abacus Rank: No. 4]

KK:  -1; (5 Road Wins – 6 Home Losses) / No. 8 overall

Flow:  +0.16; (44.9 stops OF opp [No. 5] – 44.8 stops BY opp [No. 6] / No. 7 overall

Striping:  -0.24; (+1.77) conversions [No. 5] - (+2.02) opp conversions [No. 11] / No. 7 overall (tied)

SPOR-t:  +2; (512 [No. 8] – 510 [No. 4]) / No. 6 overall

Abacus Revelation: The Storm rank first in scoring defense (74.7), but last in defending the three-ball (.364).

No. 9 Dallas Wings, 10-21 (29.5)

[12-week Abacus Rank: No. 9

10-week Abacus Rank: No. 9

8-week Abacus Rank: No. 9

6-week Abacus Rank: No. 10

4-week Abacus Rank: No. 9

2-week Abacus Rank: No. 7]

KK:  -6; (2 Road Wins – 8 Home Losses) / No. 10 overall (tied)

Flow:  -2.48; (42.4 stops OF opp [No. 12] – 44.8 stops BY opp [No. 6] / No. 10 overall

Striping:  +0.61; (+1.65) conversions [No. 6] – (+1.03) conversions [No. 1] / No. 4 overall

SPOR-t:  +3; (522 [No. 7] – 519 [No. 6]) / No. 5 overall

Abacus Revelation: The Wings lead the league in second-chance opportunities (10.8 per game).

No. 10 New York Liberty, 9-22 (37.5)

[12-week Abacus Rank: No. 10

10-week Abacus Rank: No. 11

8-week Abacus Rank: No. 11

6-week Abacus Rank: No. 11

4-week Abacus Rank: No. 11

2-week Abacus Rank: No. 10]

KK:  -6; (5 Road Wins – 11 Home Losses) / No. 10 overall (tied)

Flow:  -4.03; (42.8 stops OF opp [No. 11] – 46.8 stops BY opp [No. 11] / No. 11 overall

Striping:  +0.10; (1.42) conversions [No. 7] – (+1.32) opp conversions [No. 4] / No. 6 overall

SPOR-t:  -56; (507 [No. 10] – 563 [No. 11]) / No. 10 overall

Abacus Revelation: The Liberty stroked their treys at a .408 rate for 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%: New York

3FG%: NONE

PPG: Atlanta, Indiana

OR%: Los Angeles, Phoenix

TO%: New York

SPOR-t: Atlanta, New York, Phoenix

No. 11 Indiana Fever, 11-21 (38)

[12-week Abacus Rank: No. 10

10-week Abacus Rank: No. 10

8-week Abacus Rank: No. 10

6-week Abacus Rank: No. 9

4-week Abacus Rank: No. 7

2-week Abacus Rank: No. 5]

KK:  -5; (5 Road Wins – 10 Home Losses) / No. 9 overall

Flow:  -1.59; (43.3 stops OF opp [No. 10] – 44.8 stops BY opp [No. 7] / No. 9 overall

Striping:  -0.92; (+1.09) conversions [No. 9] – (+2.02) conversions [No. 10) / No. 11 overall

SPOR-t:  -23; (530 [No. 4] – 553 [No. 9]) / No. 9 overall

Abacus Revelation: The Fever played the league’s third-best FG defense (.412) during Weeks 13 &14.

No. 12 Atlanta Dream, 7-24 (43.5)

[12-week Abacus Rank: No. 12

10-week Abacus Rank: No. 12

8-week Abacus Rank: No. 12

6-week Abacus Rank: No. 12

4-week Abacus Rank: No. 12

2-week Abacus Rank: No. 12]

KK:  -8; (3 Road Wins – 11 Home Losses) / No. 12 overall

Flow:  -4.39; (43.6 stops OF opp [No. 9] – 48.0 stops BY opp [No. 12] / No. 12 overall

Striping:  -0.24; [+1.03) conversions [No. 10] – (+1.27) conversions [No. 3] / No. 7 overall (tied)

SPOR-t:  -95; (471 [No. 11] – 566 [No. 12]) / No. 12 overall

Abacus Revelation: The Dream played the “W’s” stingiest (.310) Three-D during Weeks 13 & 14.

Abacus Revelation for the Road / Random Ranking – Home-Court Advantage (?)

In its first 188 games, WNBA 2019 has seen “visiting” teams win 72 times – that’s a road winning percentage of .383 … that’s down from 2018’s standard of .458 (93 road victories in 203 games).

Here’s the break-down by team:

New York 31 games – 16 “visitor” wins (.516)

Indiana 32 games – 15 “visitor” wins (.469)

Atlanta 31 games – 14 “visitor” wins (.452)

Washington 31 games – 14 “visitor” wins (.452)

Chicago 32 games – 12 “visitor” wins (.375)

Minnesota 32 games – 12 “visitor” wins (.375)

Phoenix 31 games – 11 “visitor” wins (.355)

Seattle 31 games – 11 “visitor” wins (.355)

Las Vegas 32 games – 11 “visitor” wins (.344)  

Dallas 31 games – 10 “visitor” wins (.323)

Los Angeles 31 games – 9 “visitor” wins (.290)

Connecticut 31 games – 9 “visitor” wins (.290)

WNBA 2019: 12-Week Progress Report

WNBA 2019’s sixth fortnight became a showcase for basketball old-schooler Mike Thibault’s Washington Mystics, who have been sitting atop these rankings since Week 6. While posting a perfect 5 – 0 record, EDD & Co. were league-best in points both scored and allowed, FG and 3FG shooting, Turnover percentage and Defensive Rebounding – also shot north of 90% from the foul line.

In all likelihood, Coach T is fretting that they’re peaking too soon!

It’s a Make-or-Miss League

Back on June 5, in each team’s third game of the season, the Mystics and Chicago Sky both connected on exactly half their FG attempts – the only occasion in 159 tip-offs when teams posted an identical FG%.

In the other 158 games, the squad who shot better from the field has won a whopping 128 times (.810).

By contrast, the team holding an edge in Total Rebounds is 103 – 47 - 9 (.687) and the team committing fewer turnovers is 89 – 56 – 14 (.614).

Here’s what an average 2019 WNBA game performance looks like, numerically.

[All data reflects play through Monday, August 19.  An explanation of the criteria is available here.]

Possessions: 78.6

Points: 77.8  [PPP: 0.990]

FG: 28.8 – 68.4, .421

3FG: 6.8 – 20.1, .337

3PAr/Usage rate: .294

FT: 13.5 – 16.8, .802

(Off – Tot) Reb: 9.2 – 34.8  [OR% .264]

TO: 14.7  [TO% .162]

No. 1 Washington Mystics, 20-7 (6)

[10-week Abacus Rank: No. 1

8-week Abacus Rank: No. 1

6-week Abacus Rank: No. 1

4-week Abacus Rank: No. 1

2-week Abacus Rank: No. 3]

KK:  +7; (10 Road Wins – 3 Home Losses) / No. 1 overall

Flow:  +4.48; (44.8 stops OF opp [No. 7] – 40.3 stops BY opp [No. 1] / No. 1 overall

Striping:  +1.46; (+3.50) conversions [No. 1] – (+2.04) opp conversions [No. 9] / No. 1 overall

SPOR-t:  +59; (589 [No. 1] – 530 [No. 7]) / No. 3 overall

Abacus Revelation: The Mystics have made exactly as many FT’s (379) as its opponents have taken.

No. 2 Connecticut Sun, 19-8 (14)

[10-week Abacus Rank: No. 2

8-week Abacus Rank: No. 4

6-week Abacus Rank: No. 2

4-week Abacus Rank: No. 2

2-week Abacus Rank: No. 1]

KK:  +5; (6 Road Wins – 1 Home Loss) / No. 2 overall

Flow:  +0.67; (45.9 stops OF opp [No. 5] – 45.2 stops BY opp [No. 6] / No. 4 overall

Striping:  -0.28; (+1.09) conversions [No. 10] – (+1.37) conversions [No. 4] / No. 7 overall

SPOR-t:  +75; (556 [No. 2] – 481 [No. 2]) / No. 1 overall

Abacus Revelation: Sun opponents post a higher 3PAr (.311) than connect rate for treys (.286) – only the Aces duplicate this unusual achievement.

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, Las Vegas

3FG%: Connecticut, Las Vegas

PPG: NONE

OR%: Connecticut, Minnesota, Seattle

TO%: Connecticut

SPOR-t: Connecticut, Minnesota

No. 3 Las Vegas Aces, 18-9 (20)

[10-week Abacus Rank: No. 3

8-week Abacus Rank: No. 2

6-week Abacus Rank: No. 3

4-week Abacus Rank: No. 4

2-week Abacus Rank: No. 8]

KK:  +3; (7 Road Wins – 4 Home Losses) / No. 4 overall

Flow:  +3.89; (49.4 stops OF opp [No. 1] – 45.6 stops BY opp [No. 8] / No. 2 overall

Striping:  -1.72; (+0.61) conversions [No. 12] – (+2.33) opp conversions [No. 12] / No. 12 overall

SPOR-t:  +68; (530 [No. 5] – 462 [No. 1]) / No. 2 overall

Abacus Revelation: The Las Vegas D has induced a total of 1,195 missed FGA’s, 119 more than any other squad this season.

No. 4 Chicago Sky, 15-11 (21.5)

[10-week Abacus Rank: No. 5

8-week Abacus Rank: No. 6

6-week Abacus Rank: No. 7

4-week Abacus Rank: No. 3

2-week Abacus Rank: No. 10]

KK:  +1; (5 Road Wins – 4 Home Losses) / No. 5 overall (tied)

Flow:  +0.58; (46.8 stops OF opp [No. 2] – 46.2 stops BY opp [No. 9] / No. 5 overall

Striping:  +1.10; (+2.33) conversions [No. 3] – (+1.23) opp conversions [No. 3] / No. 2 overall

SPOR-t:  -28; (507 [No. 9] – 535 [No. 8]) / No. 9 overall

Abacus Revelation: The Sky post the league’s second-highest 3PAr (.322), their opposition the lowest (.260).

No. 5 Los Angeles Sparks, 15-10 (22)

[10-week Abacus Rank: No. 4

8-week Abacus Rank: No. 5

6-week Abacus Rank: No. 5

4-week Abacus Rank: No. 8

2-week Abacus Rank: No. 6]

KK:  +4; (6 Road Wins – 2 Home Losses) / No. 3 overall

Flow:  -0.52; (46.3 stops OF opp [No. 2] – 46.8 stops BY opp [No. 10] / No. 8 overall

Striping:  +0.88; (+2.64) conversions [No. 2] – (+1.76) opp conversions [No. 7]) / No. 3 overall

SPOR-t:  -18; (508 [No. 8] – 526 [No. 6]) / No. 8 overall

Abacus Revelation: The Sparks’ D forced nearly 20 opponent TO’s per game during Weeks 11 & 12.

ABACUS INFOMERCIAL

Scoring Pace 159 games

100+ points: 10 games

90-99 points: 37 games

80-89 points: 83 games

70-79 points: 109 games

60-69 points: 63 games

<60 points: 16 games  

No. 6 Minnesota Lynx, 13-14 (24.5)

[10-week Abacus Rank: No. 6

8-week Abacus Rank: No. 7

6-week Abacus Rank: No. 6

4-week Abacus Rank: No. 6

2-week Abacus Rank: No. 2]

KK:  0; (6 Road Wins – 6 Home Losses) / No. 7 overall (tied)

Flow:  +1.41; (46.1 stops OF opp [No. 4] – 44.7 stops BY opp [No. 4] / No. 3 overall

Striping:  -0.61; (+1.22) conversions [No. 8] – (+1.83) opp conversions [No. 8] / No. 10 overall

SPOR-t:  +48; (541 [No. 3] – 493 [No. 3]) / No. 4 overall

Abacus Revelation: The Lynx’s .446 marksmanship from the field ranks No. 2 in the “W”.

No. 6 Seattle Storm, 15-13 (24.5)

[10-week Abacus Rank: No. 7

8-week Abacus Rank: No. 3

6-week Abacus Rank: No. 4

4-week Abacus Rank: No. 5

2-week Abacus Rank: No. 4]

KK:  +1; (5 Road Wins – 4 Home Losses) / No. 5 overall (tied)

Flow:  +0.50; (45.4 stops OF opp [No. 6] – 44.9 stops BY opp [No. 5] / No. 6 overall

Striping:  -0.34; (+1.89) conversions [No. 5] - (+2.23) opp conversions [No. 11] / No. 8 overall

SPOR-t:  +14; (516 [No. 6] – 502 [No. 4]) / No. 5 overall

Abacus Revelation: Both the Storm and their opponents have connected on 193 3FG’s.

ABACUS INFOMERCIAL

Scoring Differential 159 games

1-5 points: 46 games

6-10 points: 48 games

11-15 points: 26 games

16-20 points:  17 games

>20: 22 games

No. 8 Phoenix Mercury, 13-13 (30.5)

[10-week Abacus Rank: No. 7

8-week Abacus Rank: No. 8

6-week Abacus Rank: No. 7

4-week Abacus Rank: No. 10

2-week Abacus Rank: No. 9]

KK:  0; (4 Road Wins – 4 Home Losses) / No. 7 overall (tied)

Flow:  +0.42; (43.8 stops OF opp [No. 8] – 43.3 stops BY opp [No. 2] / No. 7 overall

Striping:  +0.42; (+2.17) conversions [No. 4] – (+1.75) opp conversions [No. 6] / No. 5 overall

SPOR-t:  -74; (474 [No. 11] – 548 [No. 9]) / No. 11 overall

Abacus Revelation: The Mercury struggled from the field during Weeks 11 & 12, shooting a league-worst .375.

No. 9 Dallas Wings, 9-18 (31)

[10-week Abacus Rank: No. 9

8-week Abacus Rank: No. 9

6-week Abacus Rank: No. 10

4-week Abacus Rank: No. 9

2-week Abacus Rank: No. 7]

KK:  -5; (1 Road Win – 6 Home Losses) / No. 11 overall

Flow:  -2.22; (43.0 stops OF opp [No. 11] – 45.2 stops BY opp [No. 7] / No. 10 overall

Striping:  +0.59; (+1.67) conversions [No. 6] – (+1.07) conversions [No. 1] / No. 4 overall

SPOR-t:  +7; (516 [No. 6] – 509 [No. 5]) / No. 6 overall

Abacus Revelation: The Wings have risen to No. 2 in scoring defense (75.1) through 12 weeks.

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%: New York

3FG%: New York, Seattle

PPG: Atlanta

OR%: Los Angeles, Phoenix

TO%: New York

SPOR-t: Atlanta, New York

No. 10 Indiana Fever, 9-17 (36.5)

[10-week Abacus Rank: No. 10

8-week Abacus Rank: No. 10

6-week Abacus Rank: No. 9

4-week Abacus Rank: No. 7

2-week Abacus Rank: No. 5]

KK:  -4; (4 Road Wins – 8 Home Losses) / No. 9 overall (tied)

Flow:  -1.65; (43.0 stops OF opp [No. 12] – 44.7 stops BY opp [No. 3] / No. 9 overall

Striping:  -0.79; (+1.35) conversions [No. 7] – (+2.13) conversions [No. 10) / No. 11 overall

SPOR-t:  -17; (541 [No. 3] – 558 [No. 11]) / No. 7 overall

Abacus Revelation: The Fever take fewer than one in four shots (.244) from behind the Arc, No. 11 in 3PAr.

No. 10 New York Liberty, 8-18 (36.5)

[10-week Abacus Rank: No. 11

8-week Abacus Rank: No. 11

6-week Abacus Rank: No. 11

4-week Abacus Rank: No. 11

2-week Abacus Rank: No. 10]

KK:  -4; (4 Road Wins – 8 Home Losses) / No. 9 overall (tied)

Flow:  -3.54; (43.5 stops OF opp [No. 10] – 47.0 stops BY opp [No. 11] / No. 11 overall

Striping:  -0.12; (1.17) conversions [No. 9] – (+1.29) opp conversions [No. 2] / No. 6 overall

SPOR-t:  -51; (502 [No. 10] – 553 [No. 10]) / No. 10 overall

Abacus Revelation: The New York defense is yielding 84 points per game, worst in the circuit.

No. 12 Atlanta Dream, 5-21 (45)

[10-week Abacus Rank: No. 12

8-week Abacus Rank: No. 12

6-week Abacus Rank: No. 12

4-week Abacus Rank: No. 12

2-week Abacus Rank: No. 12]

KK:  -8; (1 Road Win – 9 Home Losses) / No. 12 overall

Flow:  -4.38; (43.6 stops OF opp [No. 9] – 48.0 stops BY opp [No. 12] / No. 12 overall

Striping:  -0.52; [+1.04) conversions [No. 11] – (+1.56) conversions [No. 5] / No. 9 overall

SPOR-t:  -97; (470 [No. 12] – 567 [No. 12]) / No. 12 overall

Abacus Revelation: Both the Dream and their adversaries have attempted 459 Free Throws (17.7 per game).

Abacus Revelation for the Road / Random Ranking – Per-game Turnover Differential

Through 159 games, WNBA play has produced 4,672 turnovers (or 14.7 per game per team) … slightly under one out of six (.162) of the season’s roughly 25,000 total offensive possessions.

For the record, on 14 occasions this season WNBA teams have played to a standoff in the Turnover column of a game’s stat sheet … in the remaining games, the team that committed fewer TO’s has 89 wins and 56 losses, .614.

Washington -3.56 TO’s committed per game [11.4 (No. 1) – 15.0 (No. 5)]

Los Angeles -1.72 TO’s committed per game [14.8 (No. 6) – 16.5 (No. 3)]

Connecticut -1.59 TO’s committed per game [14.4 (No. 4) – 16.0 (No. 4)]

Phoenix -0.77 TO’s committed per game [12.9 (No. 2) – 13.7 (No. 8)]

Seattle -0.75 TO’s committed per game [15.9 (No. 10) – 16.6 (No. 2)]

Minnesota +0.11 TO’s committed per game [16.8 (No. 12) – 16.7 (No. 1)]

Indiana +0.85 TO’s committed per game [13.7 (No. 3) – 12.9 (No. 12)]

Atlanta +0.96 TO’s committed per game [14.4 (No. 5) – 13.5 (No. 11)]

Dallas +1.00 TO’s committed per game [15.2 (No. 8) – 14.2 (No. 6)]

Las Vegas +1.22 TO’s committed per game [15.1 (No. 7) – 13.9 (No. 7)]

Chicago +2.08 TO’s committed per game [15.6 (No. 9) – 13.5 (No. 10)]

New York +2.27 TO’s committed per game [15.9 (No. 11) – 13.7 (No. 8)]