2024 WNBA Thread

[caulfield12]

42 minutes ago, greg775 said:

I disagree. Here's the reason Clark was so popular in college and coming into the league and why the unexplainable jealousy and hatred of NBA players and media toward her is so disappointing: It has nothing to do with skin color. She shoots from the logo like Steph Curry which people LOVE. Her long-range shooting is special and remarkable and fun to watch those bombs flush through the hoop.

That's why attendance is so high in the WNBA for her games. Also in college she had spectacular passes like Maravich in some respects. Finally she is the bleeping ALL-TIME leading college scorer men or women for gosh sakes.

Kudos to Charles Barkley, LeBron, Paul Pierce and some others for speaking out in her behalf. And shame on Stephen A Smith for his little diatribe Friday blasting her. Very sad stuff. If I were Clark I would immediately leave the WNBA (she can afford losing a 75000 salary, big deal there, lol). Sign with a European team for the upcoming season, get a few weeks rest and see if Nike will keep her shoe deal, etc. Get out of that league now where she is considered the enemy and not even getting great support of her teammates. Just my take. (Some of the coaches statements have been disappointing as well re. Clark). Let her play ball. Geez.

Top 3 or 5 all-time in NCAA assists without extra Covid year.

Higher average 3 pointer made in distance over S.Curry and Trae Young at 28 feet.

 

She would get some cred it the black community if she joined Ice Cube’s 3 vs. 3 baller league for ten games and $5-10 million, but that would only annoy the other 95% of WNBA that has to play overseas to subsidize their salaries with $1 million dollar deals like Griner in Russia or Taurasi.

I mean, Clark’s even getting criticized because her best friend Kate Martin is quickly becoming very good friends with A’ja Wilson, the best player in the league.  Versus the perception Clark’s black teammates don’t have her back, which isn’t the case with Temi f**benle and Aliyah Boston.  Like Martin is a traitor to Caitlin.

[Stinky Stanky]

3 hours ago, greg775 said:

I disagree. Here's the reason Clark was so popular in college and coming into the league and why the unexplainable jealousy and hatred of NBA players and media toward her is so disappointing: It has nothing to do with skin color. She shoots from the logo like Steph Curry which people LOVE. Her long-range shooting is special and remarkable and fun to watch those bombs flush through the hoop.

That's why attendance is so high in the WNBA for her games. Also in college she had spectacular passes like Maravich in some respects. Finally she is the bleeping ALL-TIME leading college scorer men or women for gosh sakes.

Kudos to Charles Barkley, LeBron, Paul Pierce and some others for speaking out in her behalf. And shame on Stephen A Smith for his little diatribe Friday blasting her. Very sad stuff. If I were Clark I would immediately leave the WNBA (she can afford losing a 75000 salary, big deal there, lol). Sign with a European team for the upcoming season, get a few weeks rest and see if Nike will keep her shoe deal, etc. Get out of that league now where she is considered the enemy and not even getting great support of her teammates. Just my take. (Some of the coaches statements have been disappointing as well re. Clark). Let her play ball. Geez.

Pretty good take.  And kudos to Mr. Barkley and others for having the guts to voice an honest opinion, like he always does.

[greg775]

2 hours ago, caulfield12 said:

Top 3 or 5 all-time in NCAA assists without extra Covid year.

Higher average 3 pointer made in distance over S.Curry and Trae Young at 28 feet.

 

She would get some cred it the black community if she joined Ice Cube’s 3 vs. 3 baller league for ten games and $5-10 million, but that would only annoy the other 95% of WNBA that has to play overseas to subsidize their salaries with $1 million dollar deals like Griner in Russia or Taurasi.

I mean, Clark’s even getting criticized because her best friend Kate Martin is quickly becoming very good friends with A’ja Wilson, the best player in the league.  Versus the perception Clark’s black teammates don’t have her back, which isn’t the case with Temi f**benle and Aliyah Boston.  Like Martin is a traitor to Caitlin.

That would be perfect if she joined that Ice Cube League. Clark is trying to be nice and humble and not respond to all this b.s. A great way to respond to all this WNBA resistance would be joining the Ice Cube League as you say and put the WNBA on hold til the league can handle a situation like this better. She has a lot of power and understandably doesn't want to use it. But she may have to use it if this gets any worse.

[caulfield12]

4 hours ago, greg775 said:

I disagree. Here's the reason Clark was so popular in college and coming into the league and why the unexplainable jealousy and hatred of NBA players and media toward her is so disappointing: It has nothing to do with skin color. She shoots from the logo like Steph Curry which people LOVE. Her long-range shooting is special and remarkable and fun to watch those bombs flush through the hoop.

That's why attendance is so high in the WNBA for her games. Also in college she had spectacular passes like Maravich in some respects. Finally she is the bleeping ALL-TIME leading college scorer men or women for gosh sakes.

Kudos to Charles Barkley, LeBron, Paul Pierce and some others for speaking out in her behalf. And shame on Stephen A Smith for his little diatribe Friday blasting her. Very sad stuff. If I were Clark I would immediately leave the WNBA (she can afford losing a 75000 salary, big deal there, lol). Sign with a European team for the upcoming season, get a few weeks rest and see if Nike will keep her shoe deal, etc. Get out of that league now where she is considered the enemy and not even getting great support of her teammates. Just my take. (Some of the coaches statements have been disappointing as well re. Clark). Let her play ball. Geez.

Smith said he understood where Carrington was coming from, but also doesn't hold Clark "accountable for that."

"But what Caitlin Clark has to understand is it’s not really you personally. It’s you the figure, it’s you, the prop, per se, that is being utilized to address a bigger point," Smith said.

"The fact that she is a young White lady, and the world has gravitated to her the way that they have in a way they have done for no one else in the 28-year history of the WNBA… it's just further evidence of the times that we're living in, but most importantly, the times that we've been living in and the progress that reportedly has been made, although it has existed in some degree, doesn't negate the fact that we can't gloss over the reality of what we're exposed to every single day… There’s still a lot of work to be done, because things haven’t changed as much as we’d like to believe, period."

 

 

https://www.foxnews.com/sports/stephen-a-smith-goes-trump-invoked-monologue-caitlin-clark-times-were-living-in

Greg, he/Smith wasn't criticizing Clark here.

Read carefully.  It's because she isn't more forcefully choosing a side, because she doesn't want to be politicized.

 

 

Edited June 16 by caulfield12

[greg775]

17 minutes ago, caulfield12 said:

Smith said he understood where Carrington was coming from, but also doesn't hold Clark "accountable for that."

"But what Caitlin Clark has to understand is it’s not really you personally. It’s you the figure, it’s you, the prop, per se, that is being utilized to address a bigger point," Smith said.

"The fact that she is a young White lady, and the world has gravitated to her the way that they have in a way they have done for no one else in the 28-year history of the WNBA… it's just further evidence of the times that we're living in, but most importantly, the times that we've been living in and the progress that reportedly has been made, although it has existed in some degree, doesn't negate the fact that we can't gloss over the reality of what we're exposed to every single day… There’s still a lot of work to be done, because things haven’t changed as much as we’d like to believe, period."

 

 

https://www.foxnews.com/sports/stephen-a-smith-goes-trump-invoked-monologue-caitlin-clark-times-were-living-in

Greg, he/Smith wasn't criticizing Clark here.

Read carefully.  It's because she isn't more forcefully choosing a side, because she doesn't want to be politicized.

 

 

I enjoy your posts. I guess I'm really sickened by what Clark is going through. She played four years at Iowa. Now she has to deal with Stephen A Smith spouting gobblygook when all Clark wants to do is play ball and get her body through this WNBA season so she can finally rest her body after so much ball. I'd throw in the towel and go play in the Big Three. Why not?

[caulfield12]

7 hours ago, greg775 said:

I enjoy your posts. I guess I'm really sickened by what Clark is going through. She played four years at Iowa. Now she has to deal with Stephen A Smith spouting gobblygook when all Clark wants to do is play ball and get her body through this WNBA season so she can finally rest her body after so much ball. I'd throw in the towel and go play in the Big Three. Why not?

Because every anti-Clark fanatic out there and more will say "I told you so" if she doesn't light up the Big 3 Baller league and somehow disappoints.

She has already dealt with enough pressure and sky-high expectations the last 2-3 months, she needs a full offseason to work on her strength, defensive agility/quickness, going to the left off the dribble, getting her shot off faster while maintaining accuracy, her body and mind need to rest and recuperate, simply put.

[caulfield12]

https://x.com/HaterReport_/status/1802392370169750002?ref_src=twsrc^google|twcamp^serp|twgr^tweet
 

This has got to be an act, this whole Angel Reese as league villain thing.

Getting to be like pro wrestling now.

[greg775]

2 hours ago, caulfield12 said:

https://x.com/HaterReport_/status/1802392370169750002?ref_src=twsrc^google|twcamp^serp|twgr^tweet
 

This has got to be an act, this whole Angel Reese as league villain thing.

Getting to be like pro wrestling now.

I don't think it's an act cause they are headhunting poor CC. Going for the head is not good, folks. This whole CC saga is disappointing on so many levels. Summary: College phenom joins fledgling league and immediately brings better conditions to the participants in the league with a lot more salary to come after a new TV deal. Jealous league participants can't be thankful, they try to remove the player from the league by harming her on the court and/or trying to get her to say some anti-woke stuff off the court.

You can't make this up.

[greg775]

Clark 23 9 and 8 today? She's an all star folks. Put her in the all star game. Can u imagine that game when all the stars get to attack her with flagrant 1s? It will be so obvious. Why don't they just put her in one of those dunk tanks before the game and let the WNBA clowns throw balls at her and dunk her? Or make her dress in her own separate locker room since they despise her so much (see today's headhunting foul). Wonder what kind of crowd they had  today. WNBA doesn't interest me enuf to watch. Just following CC's stats when I remember they have a game.

Edited June 17 by greg775

[southsider2k5]

This is the dumbest "controversy" ever.  Reese is going for the ball and got Clark upside her head. It was nothing.   It's a slick small guard move.  Instead of going high glass where a shot blocker can get to the ball, you hold it more out and then give it the Gervin flip at the end.  Reese just couldn't get to the ball because Clark's head was in the way. It wasn't even a "hard" foul.  Only two types of people have a problem with this foul.  1. Someone looking to exploit the race angle, or 2. Someone who has never played any playground or competitive basketball ever in their lives.  In the 90s this would have been a play on.

[caulfield12]

2 hours ago, southsider2k5 said:

This is the dumbest "controversy" ever.  Reese is going for the ball and got Clark upside her head. It was nothing.   It's a slick small guard move.  Instead of going high glass where a shot blocker can get to the ball, you hold it more out and then give it the Gervin flip at the end.  Reese just couldn't get to the ball because Clark's head was in the way. It wasn't even a "hard" foul.  Only two types of people have a problem with this foul.  1. Someone looking to exploit the race angle, or 2. Someone who has never played any playground or competitive basketball ever in their lives.  In the 90s this would have been a play on.

Reese always takes pretty typical wild swings with her arms down in the paint...so it looks worse.

Slowed down by a factor of 3-5X, it does look a lot more violent than it really was on replay.  She popped right back up (this time her teammates "had her back" this time), and in her comments in post-game, Clark didn't call it a "non basketball play" like two weeks ago with Chennedy Carter.

 

And of course Thomas with the CT Sun actually got kicked out a game for her foul against Reese, but it got about 5-10% of the attention Clark is getting with the white/black angles.

[greg775]

17 hours ago, southsider2k5 said:

This is the dumbest "controversy" ever.  Reese is going for the ball and got Clark upside her head. It was nothing.   It's a slick small guard move.  Instead of going high glass where a shot blocker can get to the ball, you hold it more out and then give it the Gervin flip at the end.  Reese just couldn't get to the ball because Clark's head was in the way. It wasn't even a "hard" foul.  Only two types of people have a problem with this foul.  1. Someone looking to exploit the race angle, or 2. Someone who has never played any playground or competitive basketball ever in their lives.  In the 90s this would have been a play on.

I just disagree. She was headhunting, sir. CC has been fouled 'too' hard in each of her games. I don't even want to address any race issues. Some of us in America see people, not color. Nobody may believe me on that but it's true. CC is getting the rude treatment from the league players. No reason for the bitterness against CC.

[southsider2k5]

5 minutes ago, greg775 said:

I just disagree. She was headhunting, sir. CC has been fouled 'too' hard in each of her games. I don't even want to address any race issues. Some of us in America see people, not color. Nobody may believe me on that but it's true. CC is getting the rude treatment from the league players. No reason for the bitterness against CC.

Yeah, no.  She was going to block a shot, that's it.  Its freaking basketball, it happens.  All of the same people who five minutes ago were talking about how their freshman team cut selves could beat Clark one on one are now horrified to find out that they play real basketball too, and that sometimes, they even get fouled.  Noooooooooooooo.  Even the people on the floor knew it was a play on.  They went, picked their teammate up and walked away.  If the people on the floor were actually concerned, they would have gone after Reese, but they didn't.  Even after the game both Clark and Reese said it was nothing.  Crap like this is why media gets a bad name, as well as the hangers on looking for a few cheap clicks and some engagement.

[southsider2k5]

greg needs more pearls to clutch...

 

[Quin]

so is this thread gonna be about the US Women's Olympic Basketball team or [insert daily generated controversy that is utilizing Caitlin Clark as a surrogate for someone else's talking point]

[greg775]

8 hours ago, southsider2k5 said:

Yeah, no.  She was going to block a shot, that's it.  Its freaking basketball, it happens.  All of the same people who five minutes ago were talking about how their freshman team cut selves could beat Clark one on one are now horrified to find out that they play real basketball too, and that sometimes, they even get fouled.  Noooooooooooooo.  Even the people on the floor knew it was a play on.  They went, picked their teammate up and walked away.  If the people on the floor were actually concerned, they would have gone after Reese, but they didn't.  Even after the game both Clark and Reese said it was nothing.  Crap like this is why media gets a bad name, as well as the hangers on looking for a few cheap clicks and some engagement.

Nope. Disagree. A lot of national pundits are agreeing it was an egregious foul. Watch from different angles. She went for the head IMO. Also CC teammates have not been backing her. Sorry to disagree with you but it's pretty obvious to many that the league wishes Ms. Clark would go away. All Star game is gonna be funny. She's gonna make it. Will her teammates pass to her? Will other team knock her block off so to speak?

[greg775]

6 minutes ago, Quin said:

so is this thread gonna be about the US Women's Olympic Basketball team or [insert daily generated controversy that is utilizing Caitlin Clark as a surrogate for someone else's talking point]

CC is all over the podcast/talk show world. Lot of discussion. LeBron and Charles B have supported CC as well as Serena. Maybe it can't be discussed here. That's fine. Lock 'er up if u wish. On fouling ... it's an unwritten rule to not go after the head and not clip someone's knees or calves on a 3 from the corner.

[greg775]

1 hour ago, southsider2k5 said:

greg needs more pearls to clutch...

 

Not sure what I think of Doris' comment there. I generally like her commentary and play by play.

[Quin]

1 minute ago, greg775 said:

CC is all over the podcast/talk show world. Lot of discussion. LeBron and Charles B have supported CC as well as Serena. Maybe it can't be discussed here. That's fine. Lock 'er up if u wish. On fouling ... it's an unwritten rule to not go after the head and not clip someone's knees or calves on a 3 from the corner.

I know! I'm actually watching the WNBA now cause of her (which has expanded to the rest of the rookies) and considered tickets to a Liberty-Fever game until I saw the absolute silly prices.

Buuuuut

• Reese's play where she hit her in the head was like, a normal ass basketball play. That was very obvious on every replay. She missed the ball.
• If you want to talk about Caitlin Clark, who is not on the Women's Olympic Basketball team, maybe do that in a WNBA thread? Or are we gonna talk about Chet Holmgren  being robbed of a spot in the entirety of the men's thread?

[greg775]

1 hour ago, Quin said:

I know! I'm actually watching the WNBA now cause of her (which has expanded to the rest of the rookies) and considered tickets to a Liberty-Fever game until I saw the absolute silly prices.

Buuuuut

• Reese's play where she hit her in the head was like, a normal ass basketball play. That was very obvious on every replay. She missed the ball.
• If you want to talk about Caitlin Clark, who is not on the Women's Olympic Basketball team, maybe do that in a WNBA thread? Or are we gonna talk about Chet Holmgren  being robbed of a spot in the entirety of the men's thread?

OK. Fair enuf.

[caulfield12]

https://www.cbssports.com/wnba/news/2024-wnba-all-star-game-fevers-caitlin-clark-leads-early-projections-for-team-wnba-roster-to-face-team-usa/

• Nneka Ogwumike -- F, Seattle Storm

Ogwumike is no longer in the mix for Team USA after her controversial snub for the Tokyo Olympics, and she'll have a chance to show them what they're missing in the All-Star Game. The veteran forward has been as good as ever in her first season with the Storm. Her 18.2 points per game are second on the team, as are her 7.7 rebounds. As usual, she's been extremely efficient and is leading the league in field goal percentage at 59.8. 

 

• Arike Ogunbowale -- G, Dallas Wings

After being snubbed for a Team USA spot, Ogunbowale is a lock for this year's All-Star Game, just as she has been for the past three seasons. She's second in the league in scoring at 26.4 points per game and is chipping in 4.5 rebounds, 5.5 assists and a league-leading 3.2 steals. Those are career-high marks across the board, and with her scoring ability she should be one of the favorites to take home All-Star MVP. In fact, the last time the league used this format, that's just what she did. 

 

• Caitlin Clark -- G, Indiana Fever

Clark missed out on a Team USA spot, but she'll have a chance to show the selection committe they made the wrong decision during the All-Star Game. The No. 1 overall pick will almost certainly be voted in by the fans, and she'll deserve the honor. Despite facing some of the most intense defensive pressure in the league, Clark is enjoying a historic rookie season. She's averaging 16.3 points, 4.9 rebounds and six assists per game and is 15th in the league in scoring and fourth in assists. 

 

          Dearica Hamby, F, LA Sparks

 

Those are the four most glaring omissions from the US Olympic Team.

On the other side, 42 year-old Diana Taurasi, Britney Griner and Chelsea Gray, PG/Aces, still hasn't played since WNBA 2023 Finals...are the three weakest or controversial members.  Although Griner has actually been playing really well in recent weeks, fwiw.

[southsider2k5]

9 hours ago, greg775 said:

Nope. Disagree. A lot of national pundits are agreeing it was an egregious foul. Watch from different angles. She went for the head IMO. Also CC teammates have not been backing her. Sorry to disagree with you but it's pretty obvious to many that the league wishes Ms. Clark would go away. All Star game is gonna be funny. She's gonna make it. Will her teammates pass to her? Will other team knock her block off so to speak?

I guess you are new to competitive basketball.   Well there is one other thing...

[greg775]

3 hours ago, southsider2k5 said:

I guess you are new to competitive basketball.   Well there is one other thing...

How can u deny a shot to the head is not good in basketball or hockey which I played both. You get hit in the head and those are fighting words so to speak. That one angle shows Reese headhunting so to speak, so what's your beef? Not sure how you can defend a foul to the noggin'.

Edited June 18 by greg775

[southsider2k5]

3 hours ago, greg775 said:

How can u deny a shot to the head is not good in basketball or hockey which I played both. You get hit in the head and those are fighting words so to speak. That one angle shows Reese headhunting so to speak, so what's your beef? Not sure how you can defend a foul to the noggin'.

It's not "headhunting".  It's shot blocking.  Maybe in the 65+ league at the Y no one is athletic enough to do this, but this is standard fare in competitive basketball.  Clark said it wasn't a big deal, as did Reese.  None of Clark's teammates tried to do anything about it because they also knew it was incidental.  Tell me how you know better than all of them?

You either have no idea what an actual hard foul looks like, or you really want to push the Reese is a villian agenda for some unknown reason.

[greg775]

2 hours ago, southsider2k5 said:

It's not "headhunting".  It's shot blocking.  Maybe in the 65+ league at the Y no one is athletic enough to do this, but this is standard fare in competitive basketball.  Clark said it wasn't a big deal, as did Reese.  None of Clark's teammates tried to do anything about it because they also knew it was incidental.  Tell me how you know better than all of them?

You either have no idea what an actual hard foul looks like, or you really want to push the Reese is a villian agenda for some unknown reason.

Not just Reese. The entire league seems to be on a jealousy trip regarding CC. She's almost averaging a triple double despite a couple really bad games from a production standpoint. Do a search on youtube and virtually all the podcasters agree with greg. So please don't make it seem like I'm an outlier on this issue of Clark getting clobbered. I can start linking stuff if u want. Again podcast after podcast agreeing with my stance on the alleged headhunting. As far as Reese see what Dan Patrick said today. She's a fine player but truly nothing special in terms of talent. CC has a talent kids notice ... 3s from the logo. Reese 33 percent shooter patrick said. She's a fine player as evidenced by her double double averages and plays for the great town of Chicago.

Edited June 18 by greg775