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)