Sloot/WNBA

[ZagDad84]

Also, this was a sneak peak at the upcoming Commissioner's Cup game. Still to be determined who will host. Some extra $$$ on the line. Hopefully the Storm didn't jinx it last year. They were the best team up to that point, crushed Connecticut in the Cup, then turned to crap the rest of the season after the All Star/Olympics break.

Not looking good for the Sky to host.

The win means the two teams split their head-to-head meetings so homecourt for the WNBA Commissioner's Cup championship game will come down to the second tiebreaker. That's point differential in the cup games and the Aces have a huge lead over the Sky with two games left to play.

ZagDad

[ZagDad84]

Here is a couple of Sloot Highlight videos.

Link No. 1: https://twitter.com/i/status/1539438411756584961

Link No. 2: https://twitter.com/i/status/1539450581596635137

ZagDad

[seacatfan]

Cloud had 13 assists tonight. It's neck and neck w/ her and Sloot for the league lead. Sloot is right around 7 per game, well under what she's been doing the last 5 years.

[seacatfan]

Sky destroyed the Sparks. LA is an absolute embarrassment to the league at this point. I feel bad for Nneka, she deserves better than this. Game was pretty much over after Q1, definitely over at the half. Parker got a triple double in only 3 quarters. Sloot sat the entire 4th quarter, only played 16 minutes. She was in scoring mode, 15 points on 6-8 shooting. Only 1 assist though. This year has been really weird. Parker had 10 dimes, Allemand had 6.

Game was on Facebook, so there are a bunch of comments appearing all during the game. Apparently Dana Evans has a fairly big fan club and they are not happy she's not really in the rotation. I don't think the Sky are missing her one bit. Allemand isn't scoring at all, but she runs the team nicely when Sloot is getting a rest. I just can't forget how awful Evans was in the playoffs last season, she instantaneously killed their momentum in every single game she appeared in. I'm sure she's better her second year in the league, but I still don't trust her to play significant minutes at all.

[ZagDad84]

Here is a link for highlights of yesterday's Sky demolishment of the Sparks: 06/23/22: Chicago Sky @ Los Angeles Sparks - WNBA.com - Official Site of the WNBA

SeaCat, I agree, I do not have any idea on what Coach Wade is doing with his rotations at the guard position. One has to wonder why Sloot only signed a 1-year contract this spring when many stars were signing 2-year deals. Maybe it means something, maybe not. I guess we will see next spring.

I also question what is going on with the Sky giving up huge leads and letting their opponents back in the game when they should put them away (like last night against the Sparks). This habit of allowing teams back into games has cost the Sky several games already this season. The Sky could have the best record in the WNBA if they won all the games they had big leads in.

The above being said, you do have to give Coach Wade his due. Chicago is now 12-5 and has the 2nd best record in the WNBA just behind the Las Vegas Aces (13-3) who the Sky beat by 9 earlier this week.

ZagDad

[seacatfan]

Sloot w/ another buzzer beating 3 for a win.

[seacatfan]

What is it w/ the Sky? Up 10 or 12 midway thru Q4, then gave the lead away, including fouling McBride on a 3 w/ less than 10 seconds left. Keep making things harder than they have to be.

Sloot continuing to be more of a scorer than playmaker recently. 18 on 7-13, 4-7 behind the arc, 6 assists. Quigley had 7 dimes. Allemand finally found some offense, she had 11 (had 5 points in 6 games previously this season).

[seacatfan]

Sloot hit the 2300 mark for career assists. Fastest ever, about 50 games ahead of Penicheiro and 80 games ahead of Bird (that's nearly 3 seasons!).

https://twitter.com/WBBTimeline/status/1541211815266471937

[ZagDad84]

Thanks SeaCat.

Assuming no injuries, Sloot will catch Whalen sometime in the next 8 games for No. 3 on the all-time assists leader board. Sloot is 300 assists behind Ticha Penicheiro as of today. Sloot should get about another 100+ assists for the rest of this year putting her 200 behind Ticha, so sometime towards the end of next year Sloot should be No. 2 in assists. As of today, Sloot is 836 assists behind Sue Bird. Sloot has 30 more assists than Bird so far this year, so by the end of this year she should be about 800 assists behind bird. Based on her current performance, assuming no injuries and she continues to play (and Bird stays retired) She should catch Sue Bird sometime between 3.0 to 3.5 years after this year.

Today's game was so typical of Chicago. Sky came out and worked up a double digit lead after 3 quarters and maintained it through the first half of the 4th quarter and then their offense went in the toilet. Little passing around the perimeter, no dribble drives and chuck up for 3 just before the shot clock ran out. Don't even get me going on the total lack of defense in the last 5 minutes by the Sky. It looked like the Sky were escorting the Lynx players to the hoop.

Coach Wade was out today and Kaleah Copper (back) did not play today, so Rebekah Gardner go the start be we also saw lots of Sloot & Julie Allemand, Sloot & Dana Evans as well as Julie Allemand & Dana Evans. Sloot got 29+ minutes today and Allemand got 20+ while Evans was limited to not quite 8 minutes.

Have been very impressed with Emma Meesseman on both sides of the ball. With Meesseman, Allemand and Gardner having been added to the Sky for this year, I think the Sky may be a better team than last year. With today's victory, the Sky are now 13-5, are on a 3 game winning streak and only a half game out of having the best record in the WNBA.

Game Highlights Video: 06/26/22: Minnesota Lynx @ Chicago Sky - WNBA.com - Official Site of the WNBA
Sloot pass Highlight Video: https://twitter.com/i/status/1541198131139837958
Sloot for the game highlight Video: https://twitter.com/i/status/1541221561499373574

ZagDad

[ZagDad84]

Here is an article on Courtney Vandersloot in today's Spokesman-Review:

Often overshadowed, Courtney Vandersloot finally being recognized for all-time great career
UPDATED: Sat., June 25, 2022
By W.G. Ramirez
For The Spokesman-Review

LAS VEGAS – Speaking before her Chicago Sky recorded the biggest comeback in WNBA history, Courtney Vandersloot offered a coy smile when being labeled a “silent assassin.”

“Yes, I love it,” the Kent, Washington, native said. “That’s where I like to be.”

Deep in the shadows of some of the greatest guards the league has seen – where veterans Diana Taurasi and Sue Bird, or up-and-coming superstars such as Kelsey Plum and Jewell Loyd can create a buzz by simply walking into an arena – a decorated résumé can quickly be overshadowed.

And Vandersloot couldn’t care less.

“Anybody will tell you I’m not a spotlight type, I don’t want to be in the spotlight,” the three-time West Coast Conference Player of the Year at Gonzaga said. “I like being around my teammates and being a great team player. The accolades that come, they’re gonna come whether you’re silent or not. I just want to work in silence and keep it that way.”

She did Tuesday in Vegas, where the Sky overcame a 28-point deficit and handed the Aces just their third loss of the season.

“Sloot’s tremendous,” former Washington Husky Plum said before that game. “I think people don’t talk about her competitiveness enough, what she brings to the table. She’s just a winner. She’s tough as nails. Obviously, everyone knows she can pass as good as anyone in the world. It’s always fun playing against her, every night. I know I’m in for a dogfight.”

You can read the rest of the article here: Often overshadowed, Courtney Vandersloot finally being recognized for all-time great career | The Spokesman-Review

ZagDad

[ZagDad84]

Video Link for some Sloot highlights for the past three games: https://twitter.com/i/status/1541482519069167616
Congratulations Sloot

ZagDad

[ZagDad84]

Sloot makes All-Star team as an All-Star Reserve.

From the Swish Appeal:

Three hometown players lead WNBA All-Star reserves
The defending champion Chicago Sky will have four total representatives as they host the All-Star Game for the first time.
By Sabreena Merchant@sabreenajm
Jun 28, 2022

The hometown Chicago Sky will be well-represented at this year’s All-Star Game to be held on July 10.

The defending champions were already sending Candace Parker to the game as a starter. Now, they will be adding three more reserves, including reigning Finals MVP Kahleah Copper, free-agent signing Emma Meesseman, and 12-year veteran Courtney Vandersloot. It is the second consecutive All-Star nod for both Copper and Vandersloot (fourth overall for Sloot), and the second All-Star berth for Meesseman, her first coming in 2015 with the Washington Mystics.

You can read the entire article here: Three hometown Chicago Sky players lead 2022 WNBA All-Star reserves - Swish Appeal

ZagDad

[seacatfan]

Early game today. Sky beat the Sun. Not a big game statistically for Sloot, but winning is the goal. They keep the pressure on the Aces for best record in the league, and get a little breathing distance on the Sun, who seem to be slumping somewhat.

[seacatfan]

Here is an article on Courtney Vandersloot in today's Spokesman-Review:



You can read the rest of the article here: Often overshadowed, Courtney Vandersloot finally being recognized for all-time great career | The Spokesman-Review

ZagDad

Nice complimentary comments from Plum. She and Sloot got into it a bit toward the end of their recent game, but it looked like as the clock was expiring they made up.

[ZagDad84]

Early game today. Sky beat the Sun. Not a big game statistically for Sloot, but winning is the goal. They keep the pressure on the Aces for best record in the league, and get a little breathing distance on the Sun, who seem to be slumping somewhat.

An early game at 11:00 AM (local) as it was kids day and hundreds (if not thousands) of day camp kids were in attendance.

Sky got off to a great start with 32 points in the first quarter and 23 in the 2nd quarter for a 22 point lead at halftime. In the first half, the Sky shot 20-24 overall.

As is becoming all to common place in the Sky games, the Sky fell asleep at halftime and let Connecticut cut the 22 point lead down to 6 a couple of times in the 4th quarter before a couple of 3s sealed the deal for Chicago. While the Sky scored 32 points in the first quarter, they only scored 36 in the entire 2nd half. Chicago had 11 turnovers in the first half and another 11 turnovers in the 2nd half (22 turnovers overall) with 18 of the turnovers committed by the Sky starting 5 (including 6 by Sloot). Of the 22 turnovers by the Sky, 15 (???) were steals by the Sun. Chicago on the other hand could only generate 3 steals and 4 turnovers on the Sun. Chicago was very happy with the way they shot the ball, particularly in the first half, because in most other aspects of the game, they stunk up the place.

One key milestone occurred in today's game. Candice Parker made a no-look pass to Kahleah Copper with 33.5 seconds left before halftime to become the eighth player in WNBA history to reach 1,500 career assists. Parker is the only player in WNBA history to eclipse 6,000 points, 3,000 rebounds and 1,500 assists in a career.

ZagDad