The Race For the Crown

LOVIN THE WNBA

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Bell Fuller

The Race For the Crown

Jockeying For The Number One Seed

The WNBA season is reaching its climax. There’s no better time of a sports season than its last few weeks of the regular season and the playoffs. It’s no different in the greatest women’s league in the world. Every team in the league still has a legitimate shot at the playoffs and ultimately a championship. Therefore every game is crucial. I love it! But one big factor in who reaches the Finals and wins a championship is who the number one seed is in the playoffs and has home court advantage throughout. 

All eyes are on the WNBA Championship trophy

 Who’s the baddest gun in the West? – Minnesota or Los Angeles? Just when it looked like Minnesota would have the number one seed in the playoffs locked up for the third straight year, here come the Sparks again. The L.A. Sparks are now playing the best and most exciting basketball in the league. But the Minnesota Lynx have stood atop the West virtually the whole season. Yet they’ve struggled as of late with their latest loss against a very strong looking Atlanta Dream. Some of the Lynx’s issues were when center Janel McCarville was forced to miss games with concussion symptoms. She’s the only true center on their roster and the team’s been exposed as they’ve tried to insert talented, yet overmatched forwards at the position in her absence. Especially with her out they’ve suffered but even with McCarville healthy, the Lynx’s interior game seems to be an area of concern for the team. McCarville is great without the ball, setting screens, spacing and one of the best passing centers the game has seen but she doesn’t quite have that tiger in her that Taj McWilliams-Franklin brought to the table as a relentless scorer, defender and rebounder. She’ll need to dig down deep to help the team get that second ring if it’s going to happen. While the Lynx lost a key player and struggled, the Sparks lost a star in Candace Parker and flourished as center Jantel Lavender has been a force the second half of the season. It’s going to be a battle for the number one seed watching these two teams play. The Sparks have been very strong at home this season and a deciding game at Staples could be just the edge that they need to overcome the Lynx. Also the number one seed avoids a date with the dangerous Diana Taurasi, Brittney Griner led Phoenix Mercury in the first round of the playoffs. What’s interesting is that the conventional thought is that the Lynx and Sparks would want to avoid Phoenix. But the Seattle Storm playing as well as they’re playing and having the Sparks number seemingly, maybe L.A wants to avoid the number one seed and a date with the Tina Thompson led Storm. Interesting possibilities in the West. Game on!

The Sparks and Lynx will wrestle for the number one seed in the West

 Who’s the queens of the East? Chi-town or ATL. The Chicago Sky and Atlanta Dream have stood head and shoulders above the rest of the Eastern Conference this season. Atlanta jumped out like the ‘rabbit’ in a Mary Cain led long distance track race. Like the ‘rabbit’ (not Mary Cain) the rest of the pack soon caught up and a very talented Chicago Sky passed them. Now it’s a battle between the most dominant team in the East the past five years and the perhaps the most dominant team for the next five years. A healthy Atlanta Dream team led by superstar Angel McCoughtrey and Erika de Souza and Sancho Lyttle have dominated the glass, the passing lanes and the conference in recent years. And what they just did to the Minnesota Lynx last night tells you that they’re fired up and brimming to get back to the Finals. Injuries set Atlanta back after their torrent start. The return of ‘Red Bull’ Tiffany Hayes- cause she’s like a quick boost of energy to your team (Not to mention Polk County representing), and the impending return of Lyttle has this team focused on another title run. The Sky have vaulted to the head of the pack led by three bonafide stars: Epiphanny Prince- Piph Da Great, Big Syl- Sylvia Fowles and the young phenom Elena Delle Donne (feature on her soon to come). They’ve dealt with injuries as well but when all three are on the floor, they’re very tough to beat. Atlanta’s intensity and defensive prowess gave the Sky fits in their first meeting. They see each other three more times in these few remaining weeks of the regular season starting this Saturday on national tv. It should be a war. Seeding isn’t as important in this race for the top spot like it is in the West in terms of the first round playoff opponent as I really believe any matchup will prove difficult. Connecticut, Indiana, Washington and even New York could be a tough series for anyone. Yet if the Sky and Dream do clash in the Eastern conference finals then home court advantage could be a major factor. Both teams are very strong at home Atlanta 11-1, league’s best record but they are a horrible 3-8 on the road while Chicago is 10-2 at home and a respectable 8-6 on the road. As a matter of fact, home court is going to be crucial. Ahhhh, the joy of the WNBA. Game on I say!

The Sky, the Dream, Elena Delle Donne, Angel McCoughtrey, this is gonna be fun!

Who are the Los Angeles Sparks???

LOVIN THE WNBA

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Bell Fuller

  Who are the Los Angeles Sparks???

I’m writing this entry as fast as I can on the Los Angeles Sparks this day of August 5, 2013. Because in the next month, week, heck maybe day things could change with them. You see I’ve started two other entries on the Sparks so far this season but just as I was preparing to publish each, things changed. 

Most say there's none better than Candace Parker

For example, seeing the heartache and tears of desire shed by the Sparks as they endured coming one step away from going to the Finals last season and also recognizing their incredibly talented roster which added point guard Lindsey Harding, I was very high on the Sparks for the 2013 season. But after 9 games this superior Sparks squad was just 5-4. One measly game above .500. Immediately I go to my computer and begin typing. It went something like this:

You mean the Sparks have the game’s most talented player in Candace Parker and three, yes, THREE overall number one picks from the draft (Parker, Nneka Ogwumike, Lindsey Harding). Oh, and the other two starters, they were only the overall number two and three picks in their respective drafts as well. All that talent and they’re barely above .500??? I mean everyone was super excited about the overwhelming talent down in the desert with the Phoenix Mercury and deservedly so. But as impressive as the Mercury are, on paper player for player they don’t stack up to the Sparks. Now I’m talking overall basketball credentials going back to freshman year of college on. As a matter of fact, no one’s starting five does. Not even the mighty Lynx and you’re only 5-4?

League's most talented starting lineup on paper

So it went something like that, but I got busy and couldn’t publish the piece immediately and the next thing you know the Sparks win 6 straight. So then I’m writing:

They have caught fire with a 6 game winning streak. We’ve been waiting for this devastating lineup to come together, and right now it seems to be happening. The Sparks are the league’s most talented team, or at least have the league’s most talented starting lineup. They started the season struggling but a change in their mindset overall has this team becoming the type of ballclub we’ve been expecting to watch. It shows in their play and in the attitude they’re displaying.

‘We were very disappointed. That was not who we were. We wanted to identify ourselves and we are now going to be the toughest and the baddest team on the floor on a night-to-night basis.’

Kristi Toliver

It’s been hard to keep up with. I don’t know who the Los Angeles Sparks are yet and I don’t think that they do either as they recently lost to an overly matched Seattle Storm team at home and a ‘Better beat em now cause in a few years they’re gonna be a beast’ Tulsa Shock squad. Then then they came back and blew out a struggling Mystics team. Now with al that being said they’re still in second plaee in the West. That’s partly because when the Sparks are mentally prepared they can play with anyone and the other part is that the Silver Stars, Storm and Shock (though they’re on the rise) have struggled and also cause the Mercury REALLY don’t know who they are yet. There’s no reason the Sparks shouldn’t be battling the Lynx back and forth for the number one seed in the West. L.A. has three players who’s games I adore

Candace Parker- Parker plays such a fluid and beautiful game. She really is revolutionizing the game with her ability to do so many things on the court. (Yet I really believe she should be even more dominant game in and game out)

Kristi Toliver- I was so disgusted with the Chicago Sky when they drafted one of the greatest shooters the WNBA has ever seen in Toliver and nearly let her rot on the bench cause as a point guard she played an unconventional game. It’s such a pleasure to see her flourishing in her career now. I mean who’s heard of a jump shooter being in the top 5 in the league in field goal efficiency? It’s absurd how good she is. 

One of the best shooters the WNBA has ever seen

Nneka Ogwumike- Nneka is so talentedin the post. She reminds me of a baby Kevin McHale. Before Hakeem the Dream changed took post moves to a new galaxy, no one had seen footwork like McHale. Also like McHale, Nneka has Megatron type hands (that’s wide receiver Calvin Johnson of the Detroit Lions for those of you out of the NFL loop). She catches everything. She’s just super

Alana Beard, a consummate professional and tough defender, along with Lindsey Harding, a throwback type at point guard that seems has finally found her WNBA home. This team has the talent to say the least. But as the legendary Bill Russell, the greatest winner in the history of team sports said, ‘Never only let your jersey show up to the arena.’ Knowing you have the talent isn’t enough, playing your heart out game in and game out is what it’s going to take for the Sparks to finally reach their potential.