The defending champion Chicago Sky were decidedly “middle-of-the-road”
(5 – 3, No.7 rank) during the season’s opening month before finding their “stride”
and notching nine victories in 11 tries over the next four weeks, including
road wins over rivals Connecticut and Las Vegas … shooting a league-best .496
from the floor and .413 on three-balls.
Rumors abound that home-town-girl Candace Parker will join
Seattle’s Sue Bird (who’s already conducting her “exit tour” through the
league) in retirement at the close to this campaign – would it not be fitting
to see these two “class acts” meet in this season’s Finals, giving us yet
another chapter in the UConn – Tennessee rivalry that has so shaped and
elevated Women’s Hoops through the years?
While the “W” has not adopted the 3FG to the extent to which
the NBA has – better than two of every five FGA’s was a trey in the NBA this
past season – thise season’s data does suggest that behind-the-arc proficiency
is an extremely useful tool.
The team that has made more three balls is 72 – 34 (13 games
even) thus far … better than two-out-of-three.
Here’s what the average 2022 WNBA game performance looks
like, numerically.
[All data reflects play through Thursday, June 30. An explanation of the criteria is available below.]
Possessions: 79.4
Points: 81.6 [PPP:
1.027]
FG: 29.7 – 68.1, .436
3FG: 7.9 – 22.7, .347
3PAr/Usage rate: .333
FT: 14.3 – 18.1, .788
(Off – Tot) Reb: 8.2 – 34.7
[OR% .236]
TO: 13.5 [TO% .154]
No. 1 Chicago Sky, 14-5
(14)
[2-week Abacus Rank: No. 4
4-week Abacus Rank: No. 7
6-week Abacus Rank: No. 3]
KK: +5; (7 Road Wins
– 2 Home Losses) / No. 1 overall
Flow: +1.74; (45.3 stops
OF opp [No. 6] – 43.5 stops BY opp [No. 3] / No. 4 overall
Striping: +1.29;
(+2.50) conversions [No. 4] – (+1.21) opp conversions [No. 1] / No. 2 overall
SPOR-t: -4; (525 [No.
5] – 529 [No. 9]) / No. 7 overall
Abacus Revelation:
The Sky’s seven road victories to-date lead the circuit.
No. 2 Connecticut Sun, 13-7 (14.5)
[2-week Abacus Rank: No. 3
4-week Abacus Rank: No. 2
6-week Abacus Rank: No. 1]
KK: +3; (6 Road Wins
– 3 Home Losses) / No. 2 overall (tied)
Flow: +3.90; (46.1 stops
OF opp [No. 4] – 42.2 stops BY opp [No. 1] / No. 1 overall
Striping: -1.15;
(+1.05) conversions [No. 10] – (+2.20) conversions [No. 8] / No. 10 overall
SPOR-t: +149; (606
[No. 1] – 457 [No. 1]) / No. 1 overall
Abacus Revelation:
The Sun out-play the opposition by nearly four (3.90) conversions per game.
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%: Chicago, Dallas,
Las Vegas, Seattle
PPG: Connecticut
OR%: Connecticut,
Minnesota
TO%: Seattle,
Washington
SPOR-t: Connecticut
No. 3 Washington Mystics, 13-9
(15)
[2-week Abacus Rank: No. 1
4-week Abacus Rank: No. 3
6-week Abacus Rank: No. 4]
KK: +2; (6 Road Wins
– 4 Home Losses) / No. 4 overall
Flow: +1.82; (45.8 stops
OF opp [No. 5] – 44.0 stops BY opp [No. 4] / No. 3 overall
Striping: +0.27;
(+2.23) conversions [No. 6] – (+1.95) opp conversions [No. 6] / No. 6 overall
SPOR-t: +47; (515
[No. 6] – 468 [No. 3]) / No. 2 overall
Abacus Revelation:
The stingy Mystics’ defense allows just 76 ppg, No. 1 in the league.
No. 4 Las Vegas Aces, 14-5
(16.5)
[2-week Abacus Rank: No. 2
4-week Abacus Rank: No. 1
6-week Abacus Rank: No. 2]
KK: +3; (6 Road Wins
– 3 Home Losses) / No. 2 overall (tied)
Flow: +2.47; (46.8 stops
OF opp [No. 3] – 44.4 stops BY opp [No. 6] / No. 2 overall
Striping: -0.32;
(+2.58) conversions [No. 3] – (+2.89) opp conversions [No. 12] / No. 8 overall
SPOR-t: +8; (509 [No.
7] – 501 [No. 4]) / No. 4 overall
Abacus Revelation:
The sure-handed Aces rank No.1 in TO% (.130).
No. 5 Seattle Storm, 12-7
(23)
[2-week Abacus Rank: No. 7
4-week Abacus Rank: No. 6
6-week Abacus Rank: No. 6]
KK: 0; (4 Road Wins –
4 Home Losses) / No. 5 overall (tied)
Flow: +1.32; (46.9 stops
OF opp [No. 2] – 45.6 stops BY opp [No. 9] / No. 5 overall
Striping: +1.26;
(+3.47) conversions [No. 1] - (+2.21) opp conversions [No. 9] / No. 3 overall
SPOR-t: -32; (477
[No. 9] – 509 [No. 5]) / No. 9 overall
Abacus Revelation:
The Storm rank No. 2 in protecting the ball (.144, TO%) and forcing opponent
miscues (.174).
ABACUS INFOMERCIAL
Scoring Pace 119
games
100+ points: 10 games
90-99 points: 45
games
80-89 points: 85
games
70-79 points: 70
games
60-69 points: 21
games
<60 points: 7
games
No.6 Dallas Wings,
9-11 (26.5)
[2-week Abacus Rank: No. 6
4-week Abacus Rank: No. 4
6-week Abacus Rank: No. 5]
KK: -1; (5 Road Wins
– 6 Home Losses) / No. 8 overall (tied)
Flow: -1.60; (43.2 stops
OF opp [No. 10] – 44.8 stops BY opp [No. 8] / No. 9 overall
Striping: +0.85;
(+2.20) conversions [No. 7] – (+1.35) conversions [No. 2] / No. 4 overall
SPOR-t: +6; (526 [No.
4] – 520 [No. 7]) / No. 5 overall
Abacus Revelation:
The Wings rank fourth in both making and defending 3FG’s.
No. 7 Atlanta Dream, 9-11 (29.5)
[2-week Abacus Rank: No. 5
4-week Abacus Rank: No. 4
6-week Abacus Rank: No. 7]
KK: -1; (4 Road Wins
– 5 Home Losses) / No. 8 overall (tied)
Flow: -2.10; (47.2 stops
OF opp [No. 1] – 49.3 stops BY opp [No. 12] / No. 10 overall
Striping: +0.30;
[+2.08) conversions [No. 8] – (+1.78) conversions [No. 5] / No. 5 overall
SPOR-t: +5; (471 [No.
10] – 466 [No. 2]) / No. 6 overall
Abacus Revelation: The streaky Dream have won nine of their last 11
games.
ABACUS INFOMERCIAL
Scoring Differential 119
games
1-5 points: 31 games
6-10 points: 40 games
11-15 points: 21
games
16-20 points: 13 games
>20: 14 games
No. 8 Minnesota Lynx, 6-14
(31.5)
[2-week Abacus Rank: No. 10
4-week Abacus Rank: No. 10
6-week Abacus Rank: No. 11]
KK: -3; (3 Road Win –
6 Home Losses) / No. 10 overall (tied)
Flow: -0.35; (43.0 stops
OF opp [No. 12] – 43.4 stops BY opp [No. 2] / No. 7 overall
Striping: -1.58; (0.90)
conversions [No. 11] – (+2.48) opp conversions [No. 10] / No. 11 overall
SPOR-t: +32; (549
[No. 2] – 517 [No. 6]) / No. 3 overall
Abacus Revelation:
The Lynx hope to improve in their No. 3 ranking in OR% (.278).
No. 9 Los Angeles Sparks,
7-11 (32)
[2-week Abacus Rank: No. 8
4-week Abacus Rank: No. 8
6-week Abacus Rank: No. 8]
KK: 0; (4 Road Wins –
4 Home Losses) / No. 5 overall (tied)
Flow: +0.33; (44.4
stops OF opp [No. 8] – 44.1 stops BY opp [No. 5] / No. 6 overall
Striping: -2.14;
(+0.39) conversions [No. 12] – (+2.53) opp conversions [No. 11]) / No. 12
overall
SPOR-t: -21; (509
[No. 7] – 530 [No. 10]) / No. 8 overall
Abacus Revelation:
The Sparks rank last in both three-point usage (.247) and accuracy (.327).
No. 9 Phoenix Mercury,
9-12 (32)
[2-week Abacus Rank: No. 11
4-week Abacus Rank: No. 11
6-week Abacus Rank: No. 9]
KK: 0; (4 Road Wins –
4 Home Losses) / No. 5 overall (tied)
Flow: -0.71; (43.7 stops
OF opp [No. 9] – 44.4 stops BY opp [No. 7] / No. 8 overall
Striping: +0.14;
(+2.33) conversions [No. 5] – (+2.19) opp conversions [No. 7] / No. 7 overall
SPOR-t: -75; (467
[No. 11] – 542 [No. 11]) / No. 11 overall
Abacus Revelation:
The Mercury rank dead last (.379) in defending the three-ball.
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, Indiana
3FG%: Los Angeles, Minnesota,
Phoenix
PPG: Indiana
OR%: New York
TO%: Minnesota, New
York
SPOR-t: Phoenix
No. 11 New York Liberty, 8-11
(34.5)
[2-week Abacus Rank: No. 12
4-week Abacus Rank: No. 12
6-week Abacus Rank: No. 10]
KK: -3; (4 Road Wins
– 7 Home Losses) / No. 10 overall (tied)
Flow: -2.32; (45.1 stops
OF opp [No. 7] – 47.4 stops BY opp [No. 11] / No. 11 overall
Striping: +1.39; (+3.16)
conversions [No. 2] – (+1.76) opp conversions [No. 4] / No. 1 overall
SPOR-t: -83; (443
[No. 12] – 526 [No. 8]) / No. 12 overall
Abacus Revelation:
The stout Liberty defense leads the “W” in FG% (.409).
No. 12 Indiana Fever, 5-16
(43)
[2-week Abacus Rank: No. 9
4-week Abacus Rank: No. 9
6-week Abacus Rank: No. 11]
KK: -5; (2 Road Wins
– 7 Home Losses) / No. 12 overall
Flow: -4.10; (43.0 stops
OF opp [No.11] – 47.0 stops BY opp [No. 10] / No. 12 overall
Striping: -0.38;
(+1.36) conversions [No. 9] – (+1.74) conversions [No. 3) / No. 9 overall
SPOR-t: -41; (530 [No.
3] – 571 [No. 12]) / No. 10 overall
Abacus Revelation:
The scrappy Fever rank second in OR% (.285).
Abacus Revelation for
the Road / per-game missed three-point shots
In 119 games, WNBA players attempted 5,396 three-point
shots. They have been off-target on 3,523 of them – an average of 14.8 misses
per game per team.
New York 18.89 missed
treys [3FG%: .331, No. 9]
Phoenix 17.62 missed
treys [3FG%: .330, No. 10]
Seattle 16.74 missed
treys [3FG%: .367, No. 1]
Las Vegas 16.16
missed treys [3FG%: .362, No. 3]
Dallas 15.80 missed
treys [3FG%: .356, No. 4]
Washington 15.45
missed treys [3FG%: .347, No. 8]
Atlanta 14.45 missed
treys [3FG%: .349, No. 5]
Minnesota 13.20
missed treys [3FG%: .328, No. 11]
Indiana 13.14 missed
treys [3FG%: .349, No. 7]
Chicago 13.11 missed
treys [3FG%: .366, No. 2]
Connecticut 11.75
missed treys [3FG%: .349, No. 6]
Los Angeles 11.11
missed treys [3FG%: .327, No. 12]
The Grading Scale
“Flow”: this calculation puts a
number to a team’s unsuccessful possessions (i.e. the other guys’ “stops”).
Just take their missed field goals (attempts minus makes), subtract the
offensive rebounds, and then add the turnovers. The “scores” represent per-game
performance.
“Striping”: this calculation
measures the impact of missed free throws and made treys. By subtracting the
former from the latter [3’s minus missed FT’s], we identify a team’s gain or
loss in points through “specialty shooting.” Again the “scores” are per-game.
(A further division by two converts “points” to “conversions” – thus they can
be combined with the “Flow” score.)
KK: Karl Kount – named for George
Karl – is a way to measure a team’s grit and savvy through its ability to
defend its home court and win on the road, a simple calculation for generally
reliable info.
“SPOR-t”: SPOR-t stands for
“Shooting Plus Offensive Rebounds minus turnovers.” Add a team’s FG percentage and
its offensive rebounding percentage (o. boards divided by the sum of those o.
boards and the opposition's d. boards). Then subtract the percentage of a
team’s possessions lost to turnovers. For example, a team shoots field goals at
a .488 clip, offensive rebounds at a rate of .199, and commits a turnover on
.143 of its possessions. So its SPOR-t is (488+199-143) or 544. Once again, our
measurement will be the difference between the SPOR-t scores of a team and its
opposition.
We’ll rank the teams from 1 to 12
in all criteria and simply add up the rankings. Low score wins,
naturally.
