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26 points 13 assists 7 rebounds. The Sky blew out the league leading Lynx. Unfortunately Chicago stinks this year.
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Yes, Sloot had a great game yesterday. She shot 11-16 overall, 3-6 from 3-point range and 1-1 free throws.
Chicago had a horrible off season. Fired their head coach and replaced her with a new coach who has no head coaching experience and only 2 years of asst. coaching experience.
Their best player and top scorer (Elena Della Donne) threatened to sit out if she was not traded to a team of her choice. Chicago had to settle for what they could get.
Their point guard (Sloot) and top shooting guard (Quigley) missed the first week and half of the season because they were playing each other in the Turkish Championship (Best of 3), won by Sloot's team. Sloot then took another week and a half off to play for the Hungarian National team. Combine the missed games with an entirely new offensive scheme and it is easy to understand why Chicago has looked out of sync so far this year.
We will see how the Chicago team develops as the season progresses.
ZagDad -
Yeah Delle Donne and Fowles pulling the same thing in back to back off seasons was a brutal blow. Obviously the Sky didn't get close to equal value in those 2 trades. It wasn't long ago Chicago looked like they were about to become the dominant team in the Eastern Conference for the foreseeable future. It sure went sideways in a hurry.
Wasn't aware of the new coach's lack of experience. San Antonio did the exact same thing. What's the deal w/ these WNBA franchises? Are they deliberately trying to have losing teams?
Hey, I have zero head coaching or assistant coaching experience, maybe I can be a WNBA head coach next season!Comment
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Thanks for the info guys. Always enjoy the Sloot news, but don't follow the WNBA.
Had no idea that Della Donne forced a trade. Knew she had been traded & thought Chicago was nuts. Makes more sense now.But we don't play nobody.Comment
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According to Courtney's comments in post game presser, the team's had barely more than a week of practice together as a unit due to her absences (and Quiqley's) playing in European championship games. Tho not impressed w/Sky's new coach's responses in the Q & A, Sloot sounded like she could rally the team around her in-game savvy and ability to distribute the ball going forward. Would savor that.Comment
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okay its just me and my opinion but HOW does a team function when its players jump in and out of the game?....Ephany Prince did the same thing for Chicago a few years ago and other players do it as well....seems to me that if the WNBA wanted to really be a big important league they would pay their players appropriately and forbid them from playing during the season for other teams..Comment
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I think the WNBA is already paying players what it can afford to pay them. It is subsidized by the NBA and barely hanging on from what I understand. I don't know why women's professional basketball leagues are able to pay players so much more in other countries, but I don't think it's going to change.Comment
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But you are correct sylean, that has to be difficult w/ players coming and going and not having rosters set and stable. Players have skipped entire WNBA seasons to rest their bodies, since the real money is overseas. However a few players do the opposite, concentrating on only playing during the WNBA season.Comment
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There really are two (2) issues here; First the playing for other teams during the WNBA off season and playing for the (a) National Team.Originally posted by sylean View Post
While it would be nice if the WNBA paid their players sufficiently that the players would not be forced (essentially) to play in foreign leagues, the reality is that if the NBA did not subsidize the WNBA, the WNBA would not exist. The WNBA simply cannot survive on their own under the current pay scale let alone if the player salaries were increased by 50-100% or more. There simply is not the demand for women's basketball to justify high ticket prices, and lucrative TV packages. For example, the lady Zags have an average higher attendance than the Chicago Sky. Here in the US the teams are generally privately owned and the government does not subsidize any teams or leagues like many of the foreign nations.
When Diana Taurasi can get paid a million dollars to not play for the Phoenix Mercury by her Russian BB team, the WNBA stands no chance in a salary war with many of the foreign leagues. Even if a "no compete clause" was legal and you forced the players to chose, the WNBA would come out on the short end of the stick.
Sloot just got her dual citizenship with US & Hungary. It was Sloot's choice to play for Hungary. No league is going to ban their players from playing with the National Team even if that national team is a foreign national. If you follow soccer at all, think of how many players the Seattle Sounders have lost to the national team in the middle of the season. It is happening right now as the national team is playing in the gold cup with the team made up of players from the MLS teams and foreign teams. It also happens during the Olympics. I think the NHL is the only league which is not going to take time off during the Winter Olympics. I think all other leagues either take a break during the Olympics or play without their stars. Even the NBA with their exorbitant salaries still has an abundance of players who want to play for team USA.
Keep in mind that all of the WNBA teams are in the same boat. Chicago is in this boat mainly to their own undoing combined with player contracts that permit the players to sit out and earn years of experience towards free agency. Sylvia Fowles forced Chicago to trade her to Minnesota a couple of years ago and Elena Della Donne did it to Chicago this year by forcing a trade to Washington effectively gutting a top tier team. It is hard to build a fan base when players refuse to play out their contracts. Without a large and enthusiastic fan base, the WNBA will always be a "minor" league.
ZagDadComment
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Another great game by Courtney and a nice little write up to go with it.
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Thanks for the link CandL. It was a very nice article.
In Pokey's (previous Sky headcoach) offense, Sloot was not been asked to lead the team. Very deliberate offense. Dribble the ball down the court and pass it to the scorer's. Leading the team always fell to the scorer's or veterans (Fowles, Della Donne, Pondexter, etc.). With Cappie hurt and the others traded, the Sky do not have what most would consider a "star" on their team. The new coach appears to want a much more uptempo offense. This type of offense suits Sloot's skills much better.
The current Sky team is just like her Zag teams. No standouts, no all-Americans, no 5-star recruits, just a bunch of hard-nosed players playing their butts off. The last four games, has been like old home week for Sloot and she has stepped up to the plate. I hope the Sky keep this uptempo offense as I think that Sloot is in the last year of her contract and running this type of offense will make her very valuable.
ZagDadComment
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Thanks CandL.But we don't play nobody.Comment
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Sloot and the Chicago Sky are hot. Sky have won 4 of their last five including today's victory over the LA Sparks (defending champions).
Sloot went for 14 points (5-8 overall, 2-3 from 3 and 1-1 FT), 14 assists, 5 rebounds, 1 steal and only 2 turnovers. Except for the victory over the Seattle Storm, Sloot is averaging a double-double over the past 5 games.
Things are heating up in Chi-Town.
ZagDadComment
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Good for the Sky and Sloot. Seems like pretty much everybody is mired in mediocrity in the Eastern Conference, they can play their way back into the playoff race. Maybe pretty much the whole league is mired in mediocrity other than Minnesota and LA. Except for the teams that really stink, like San Antonio. And Seattle has been struggling for a month or more.Comment
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Another great game for Sloot today and another win for the Sky. She finished w/ 26 pts., 7 rebounds, 10 assists w/ 0 TO's! 9-11 from the field, 3-3 behind the arc and 5-5 from the FT line. That's off the charts efficiency, can't do much better than that.Comment
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