Let's talk about the ladies first. A nice win, though the shooting was poor throughout for both clubs. Free throws are what won it for the team, which is another good sign: the ability to get into the paint and draw fouls. Nicole Ohlde went 7-14 with 8 rebounds, a welcome sign. Both Lindsey's shot poorly last night, with 4 for 14 nights. To be fair, Ms. Whalen is having a tough overall shooting year as well, with a 35.1% average, similar to Harding's 31.1%. Being the provincial homers Minnesotans often are, I'm guessing most fans here would be defending Whalen; instead we can criticize Harding's struggles. Suffice it to say that one reason both teams are struggling at this point (no pun intended), is that both PG's are not playing up to snuff. Of course, the expectations are much higher in CT than Minny, but along with a strong front court, a championship team needs decent production at the 1. Connecticut has already been at the doorstep, while Minnesota has barely touched the first round. Judging by last night's performance, both teams have a long way to go, with the Lynx second to last in the pack. The July 8th game against Houston is looming large as the two worst clubs in the league will compete to see which one is the more truly inept.
Speaking of inept, Kevin McHale made a trade today, giving up point guard bust Mike James and raw Justin Reed for the aging, slightly over the hill Juwan Howard. This is a decent trade if Howard has anything left to give. He can come in and score in the front court when KG sits, he can also be a decent tandem with KG late in the game. The speculation is that the Wolves now will draft a swing man, but this would be a mistake. Our club still has no front court shot blocking save KG; I've read all the rips against Noah on other boards, but he would be the best player available for this club, considering all the club's needs. The addition of Noah would give them 6 bigs on the squad (if you count Smith a big), and allow them to interchange more effectively, considering that Mark Blount is a one dimensional player, and can't do anything but shoot and occasionally show on defense. Swing men are a dime a dozen in this league; we have the opportunity to fortify our front court. Let's hope the Iron Ranger doesn't screw this one up.
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Hah! It's like when you say something it gets worked on the next game. ;) Very prescient of you. If Lindsey would shoot at around 40%, I think that'd be pretty great for a rookie starter.
Your post made me go look at some of the shooting percentages for point guards. I think best is Kelly Miller (PHX) at 50% followed by Loree Moore (NY) at 48%. I couldn't find Tully (IND) or Teasley's (WSH) shooting percentages but Penichiero (SAC) is 38%, Bird (SEA) is 42%, and (Katie) Smith (DET) is 38%. 50% for Lindsey would be pretty mind boggling.
Tech. she shot at 60% in the game today (3/5) and she got to the line several times but I don't know if that would have lasted if she took more shots. Probably will have to see if it keeps up anyway.
Look forward to your post tomorrow on the game.
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