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over 1 year ago: PHOENIX - SEPTEMBER 05: (L-R) Swin Cash #2 Lauren Jackson #14 and Sue Bird #10 of the Seattle Storm celebrate after defeating the Phoenix Mercury in Game Two of the Western Conference Finals during the 2010 WNBA Playoffs at US Airways Center on September 5 2010 in Phoenix Arizona. The Storms defeated the Mercury 91-88 to win the series 2-0. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that by downloading and or using this photograph User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)
Our fearless leader Q (from Seattle) has the break down of Sue's play over at SB Nation Seattle, but for those curious here's a bit more on what happened. Specifically, what went wrong for the Mercury.
Before we start tearing apart the Mercury defense however, lets just open with a quote from Lauren Jackson talking about how the Mercury were able to "contain" her in Game 2.
"They (Phoenix) played great defense."
And we will leave it at that before moving on to demonstrate how the Mercury defense failed when it mattered most.
To quickly recap, the game was tied at 88 with the Storm in possession and about 23 seconds on the clock. Bird had just blocked Temeka Johnson's shot and rebounded the ball on the other end to keep the game tied.
Yes, Sue Bird got a crucial end of game block and rebound. That doesn't happen every day. Making a clutch three, however, is very much expected.
Here's how it went down.
On the final play, the Mercury were supposed to be in "Green" which means they switch everything.
When Jackson set a screen on Bonner, Smith was supposed to switch on to Sue but didn't which gave Bird time to catch and cleanly turn, face the basket and set her feet. Bonner closed out as much as she could to contest the shot but as we all know, Sue Bird makes those shots. The mistake was between Tangela and Bonner not switching the screen.
That much is clear based on what we saw and what Coach Gaines said after the game. He hadn't seen the replay yet however, so specific blame wasn't assigned.
The play starts with Tanisha Wright holding the ball high to run down some clock. She then uses a Camille Little screen to initiate the action. The Mercury (Taurasi and Dupree) immediately switch the screen which denies Wright any kind of space.
At the same time, Sue Bird (being guarded by DeWanna Bonner) breaks to towards the ball as Lauren Jackson sets a screen on her.
At this point it gets a bit murky but it seems like Bonner hangs back (instead of trying to lock and trail Bird around the scree) and prepares to accept the hand-off of Jackson from Tangela Smith.
You see how Bonner is back on her heels in position to intercept Jackson.
Somewhere in a split second (about .3 seconds per the clock visible in these screen shots) confusion sets in.
In this next shot you see Smith starting to move back to follow Jackson and Bonner stepping out towards Bird. By this point the fate is all but sealed.
Here it seems like Smith has a change of heart and is trying to hand Jackson off to Bonner but Bonner has already started her acceleration towards Bird.
Obviously, this is happening very quickly in real time.
At this point the ball is in the air head towards Bird who is wide open to receive the pass. Bonner isn't close and by now Smith is moving in the other direction.
Bird has now caught the ball, squared to the basket and set her feet. Bonner covered a lot of distance quickly (because that's what she does) but is still several feet away from Sue who is already into her shooting motion.
By the time the shot is being released, Bonner does her best to get high and (according to Bird) forced Sue to change the trajectory of the shot giving it a lot of arc.
The fact that Bonner can close that much distance and still alter the shot says a lot about DeWanna's ability as a defensive player. The fact the Sue Bird hit the shot says a lot about what a cold-blooded assassin she is.
"We were in an all-out switch which we've been doing all year. I have no clue how she got open. Obviously, we didn't switch and she's probably the last person you want to leave open. She hit a big shot," Taurasi said about the play after the game.
I didn't speak to either Bonner or Smith about the play and it's likely we won't get a chance to hear from them either.
Other quotes:
Here's a few other quotes from Candice Dupree that didn't make into any other story
"At the end I don't think they were really running an offense. It was more coming down, probing, trying to get something off the pick and roll. They get offensive rebounds, put backs, another shot, you've got to scramble now - it's a scramble mode - you're not really in any kind of defense where you can have something set and they hit shots."
Dupree said about the Storm end of game offense which was really more them just attacking quickly and giving the Mercury defense a taste of it's own medicine.
Ironic that the Storm come-back was fueled by running and a chaotic attack as opposed to their normal controlled half court execution. It says a lot about the Seattle team that they were able to play this way. Wright, Little and of course Cash played great during that stretch.
Candice Dupree talked about letting a few questionable calls effect the team mentally.
"I would hope that it didn't. It's something that's happened all season long. I know at one point we had five fouls and I think they had one but you can't let that stuff get to you. You've got to keep attacking offensively and just try and play smart on defense," Dupree said.
On last note on Jana Vesela.
Lauren Jackson picked up her fourth foul early in the third quarter and sat with about 6 minutes remaining. Willingham and Vesala came into the game.
With Jackson off the floor, the Mercury immediately went to Kara Braxton in the post against the much shorter Willingham. Vesela however, was fantastic with her help defense. Timing her traps perfectly so Kara couldn't pass out.
Jana had two blocks, two steals and two rebounds in that six minute stretch and the Storm cut six points of the Mercury lead while Lauren sat. That was a huge stretch in the game. If the Mercury had taken advantage of Jackson being off the court and stretched the 16 points lead to 20 or 24 they probably would have won the game.
0 recs | 15 comments
I'm glad you're all right, Seth
By any chance, did you record the game?
WaveOcean - September 6, 2010
yes, it’s on my DVR. I have no way to get it off and share it. Not that technically smart.
I did watch the 4th quarter again last night. The Storm were working their asses off and winning every loose ball. The Mercury seemed slow at every turn.
Also, note the Storm unusual offensive “set” which basically put all five players outside the arc and had one attacking off the dribble. This created confusion for the Mercury who had game planned their half-court defense pretty well.
Props to Agler for throwing in that end of game wrinkle and props to the Storm for raising their intensity level.
Still think that Vesela’s 6 minutes in the third were huge. Hope Seattle fans are giving her credit for that.
Seth Pollack - September 6, 2010
Oh man
There’s no chance you can upload it on youtube or anything?
This is a game that people will talk about for the next 10 years. It must endure the ages. You see if it doesn’t!
WaveOcean - September 6, 2010
Football?
What the heck is going on between Jackson and Smith in that last shot? Looks like two football lineman going at it.
Is Taurasi one of the players who was affected by refs calls? Her fans (incorrectly in my opinion) seem to think she doesn’t get foul calls she should.
ttdomi - September 6, 2010
Somebody's got to say it!
Questionable calls and non calls have been the story of the Merc season. First, let me say, the better team won the series, but we woudn’t be talking about Bird’s great shot to win it without them getting some “help” from the officials along the way.
It probably started with the no call on Taurasi’s 3 pointer, when Abrosimova was draped all over her. I think there were a couple of doube dribbles by the Storm, but I’d have to look at the replay to be sure. And did they really need to call the “and ones” late in the game? I think there were many similar incidental contact fouls that were overlooked earlier in the game, on both sides. These kind of borderline calls normally are not made late in a game. Finally, it looked to me like Meek was fouled by Bird on that late layup attempt; wasn’t she pushing off with that right hand, forcing Meek to take an off-balance shot from further away? Another questionable no call.
The officiating was at best inconsistent, and at worst blatantly biased towards the Storm. The Merc were repeatedly called for “ticky tack” fouls, while Bird and Wright could grap and poke and push off at will with few consequences. Let’s get real! You can’t be a “great defensive team” like the Storm without fouling. They don’t have any defensive secrets that nobody else has. They just don’t get called on it as often as other teams.
The players can’t say it, and the coaches can’t say it, but I think there was a systematic bias against the Mercury by the officials this year. After watching 19 home games this season, there was no more than a handful where I left thinking that the officials called a good game. What’s going on? Conspiracy? A few rogue officials? I really don’t know.
I think the league needs to take a close look at their quality control system. My understanding is that home games are monitored by a local observer, who reports to the league office. The league office doesn’t have time to review every game. But what if the local observer has a bias for a certain style of play, or a bias against the Mercury?
The Merc have had a very inconsistent season, and lost a lot more close games at home than would be expected from a team with their personnel. Lest we forget, they were the preseason pick to repeat. I think the inconsistent officiating is part of the reason for their inconsistency.
OVJ - September 6, 2010
I have to agree
One of the problems, as I understand it, is that to save travel costs you get the same crew, or at least parts of it, pretty constantly. So if you get a bad official (or one that gets tired of being booed by a particular home crowd), they can continually affect the same team over and over. All of which can further be exacerbated by what I feel is a huge problem with ALL basketball officiating, where the ref in charge of a certain area at one end is in charge of a different area at the other end.
That’s what I think happened yesterday. #42 started to call things pretty tight from the baseline on the Seattle end, but that responsibility goes to #9 on the Mercury end, and she was just letting the same things go. I happened to get better tickets than usual on the Phoenix baseline and was maybe 10 feet away from Johnson’s drive against Bird at the end. Sue did a lot of pushing and grabbing on the drive, well within what constitutes a foul in my opinion, and the ref was in good position to see it (for once), but did nothing. Admittedly, this is one of my pet peeves; I don’t care how much time is left, what part of the playoffs we’re in, who’s involved, or what bad call just happened that you feel you need to make up – a foul is a foul. Period. But that’s rarely what happens. As good as Seattle may be, I doubt there’s a basketball team in the world, at any level, that can go an entire period and only commit 3 team fouls (whether or not they get called is of course another story). I understand what Penny was saying in that regard, but when that’s how the total goes, there is a problem with the crew. They did not call a foul on a pretty aggressive Storm team in the last 5:35, which stands out to me as odd, at least.
I also agree that I left very few (if any) games this season not thinking about the officials. I’d prefer they perform in such a way that I forget they are there. I do think the Mercury themselves have a lot more blame for the team’s inconsistency; the refs sure didn’t help, however.
Also, @ttdomi, in my opinion, Taurasi has a lot of strength and balance that make it appear as if she is not getting hit as hard as she is. Her superior skill makes things look effortless that really aren’t. She does not require as much separation as most players, and she pays for it. Defenders will get physical with her, because that is all they can do, but it doesn’t usually stop her… and if you aren’t stopped, you probably won’t get the call. Like with that 3, for example. Or on the Storm’s next-to-last foul, where the whistle was not blown until the shot bounced off the rim. I’d wager if it did go in, no call. This is where her fans get annoyed, because they see the same contact on another player and that player gets the call, because it impedes them more. What the solution is, how much of the vitriol is bias, or how much each side is to blame, I don’t know, but I’ll tell you one thing. Diana’s forearms were a mess of scratches and bruises by the end of the game, and not just 11 free throws worth.
fez66 - September 6, 2010
"They don’t have any defensive secrets that nobody else has. They just don’t get called on it as often as other teams."
Well, it’s true they don’t have any particular secrets.
Lauren Jackson and Tanisha Wright are pretty good after getting selected to the All-Defensive team. And Cash has been quite a good defender as well this year. Then Agler’s defensive schemes require players who are disciplined and rather smart and he’s assembled a group of those, including Jana Vesela. Abrosimova brings intensity off the bench which has helped the team consistently.
It’s a team effort and at their best it’s their rotations and ability to work as a unit that makes this team great. The fact that their starting unit had a year together under their belt in Agler’s system is also no small part of this.
Nate Parham - September 6, 2010
Maybe I'm not crazy after all!
I expected to get a barrage of rants from Storm watchers telling me I was biased and crazy. Instead I got some confirmation of what I suspected. I would love to see statistics of how many calls officials make against each team. I’d be willing to bet that these numbers would be embarrasing for at least one of those officials last night. That’s why we’ll never see them. The WNBA coddles their officials for reasons that I don’t quite understand. I didn’t think about which official was responsible for the call when Bird was defending Meek on that layup. That sheds a whole new light on the problem, and should be part of the statistical analysis.
While I’m on this rant about officials, I would like to see the WNBA take a closer look at the home officiating, and the observer, for the Storm. I know they’re good, but 19-0?
OVJ - September 6, 2010
You want Storm watchers ranting and telling you you're biased and crazy?
All right, here I am!
When you vomit a 12 point lead with less than 4 minutes left in the game, the players have blown it, not the refs. We totally earned that win.
WaveOcean - September 6, 2010
#55
has officiated a number of Storm games, and they never get a break from him. He’s been one of the worst refs that’s ever stepped foot in the Key (and with Roy, Price, and Mauer, that’s saying something). In fact, in all the non-Storm games I’ve watched on TV over the years, I don’t think the Storm get nearly the same benefit of calls as the home team as other teams do. But now you’re saying the Storm get calls on the road when they can’t even get them at home?
You seem to have selective memory loss when Phoenix was up 19 and the Storm were getting called for everything. And let’s not forget Taurasi’s biggest weapon to get open on a drive-her stiff arm pushoff that rarely (if ever) gets called. But once the Storm started a comeback, then you get upset how they didn’t get calls against them.
And if you want blatant fouling when going for the ball, check out Johnson all over Bird on that last time out (23 sec.) after Bird secured the rebound.
So it seems for every instance you can get mad at the refs, so can Storm fans. At least one thing’s consistent-the refs can’t or don’t want to call a consistent game. That’s what it always comes down to, and always will until Orender and Kantner do something substantial to rectify the situation.
wbb fan - September 6, 2010
Long story short
It was, again, a typical WNBA playoff game.
Let’s face it, this was a classic team collapse, with the defenses of both teams being completely lopsided. Phoenix gave up 30 points after holding Seattle to just 61 in the first three quarters, while Seattle held Phoenix to 17 in the last 10 minutes. I cannot believe that even after they clearly got a more “beautiful” game on their home court, Phoenix fans are STILL blaming the refs over this.
I’m beginning to wonder if this is how every fan, player, and coaching staff member of both the Suns and the Mercury thinks. Is there really no one who does not equate Seattle defense to fouling? Can’t anyone in Phoenix figure out the concept of just playing defense aggressively and cleanly by just rotating well, communicating, and challenging shots by being in position to do so?WaveOcean - September 6, 2010
There now, you said it yourself
“Cleanly.”
I didn’t see cleanly. I appreciate aggressive defense and good communication, something the Mercury stopped doing on Sunday. I do not think bodying up someone in the air, pushing on the hip, and pulling on the jersey are clean defense. All of which I witnessed Sue Bird doing on Johnson’s last shot. And frankly, many players were doing so on both ends down the stretch – except only one team was getting penalized for it. Coach Alger himself said their strategy was to foul and live with the consequences. Which was a double-digit deficit, until the things that were fouls earlier in the game suddenly stopped being so.
Seattle is a very good team that I felt would probably advance over Phoenix, but to go out like that just was not right.
fez66 - September 7, 2010
Seattle Defense
I don’t think anyone is saying that Seattle does not have a good defense. But we all know that part of good defense is “getting away” with as much contact, slapping, grabbing, and shoving that you can without getting whistled. It is possible to play defense aggressively and cleanly as you say, and Seattle is fundamentally solid, no question. But there’s also no question that they “got away” with a few fouls that were not called. I’m sure Phoenix did as well. It happens in every game.
Probably what makes this loss so hard to take is that the game took such a quick and unexpected turn in the last 3+ minutes. The fact that the officials played a significant role in the Seattle run, especially after a season of frustration with questionable calls, just makes it a bitter pill to swallow. I’m actually much more angry about the officiating in the WNBA than I am about anything Seattle did.
I don’t blame Seattle for taking advantage of their good fortune. It would be nice if the fans were as humble as the players and admit that they were a little lucky to pull this one out and avoid a game 3. I think I read that this was the first time in league history that one team had a 7-0 record against another team, and the defending champion at that. No matter how you slice it, that is impressive.
OVJ - September 6, 2010
second time
going 7-0. The first was Storm vs. LA in the previous series.
At one point (3rd qtr), both teams had only 2 fouls. It just seemed the refs decided to swallow the whistles. In fact, Peck said a couple times that there were fouls on Pho. that weren’t called. So if Seattle got away with some, so did Pho. Prior to that, Seattle was getting called and Pho. not.
So just like probably every WNBA game ever played, the refs were inconsistent.
I agree you can play good defense without fouling by rotating, challenging, and communicating, which is what the Storm has done all season. You can’t expect a team to play tough defense when they’re best defensive play is to score more points than the other team.
wbb fan - September 7, 2010
It's not that complicated!
Yes, Phoenix may have had a little bit of a letdown. Being up 12 with 3 minutes left, even the vaunted Storm might let down. But you can’t blame the loss totally on a letdown by Phoenix, when Seattle had the benefit of 4 points from the line, while Phoenix got zip. That has an effect on your psyche, no matter how much you try to block it out. I don’t think the Storm suddenly stopped fouling, they just stopped getting called. Are you Storm fans really so cocky that you think you would have won without those free throws?
So go ahead, Storm fans, brag all you want. But deep down, you know you advanced only because you had some help from the officials.
You can get I’ll be rooting for Atlanta in the finals, just so I can see the Storm troopers eat some humble pie.
OVJ - September 7, 2010
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