That Other Series:

Phoenix 3, Indiana 2. It was a bang-em-up, rock-em-sock-em WNBA finals that set multiple records. Highest in-person attendance. Most points scored over a WNBA Finals. Most teeth wired in place. Most headbutts. Loudest Southern twang. Indiana managed to tie it up 80-80 in the fourth quarter of last night's exciting Game 5, but Phoenix was just too much for anybody to handle.

"Next year in Atlanta."

Game Three Tackled by NFL

From Sports Media Watch:

Mercury/Fever Game 3 drew a 0.29 U.S. rating and 389,000 viewers on ESPN2 Sunday afternoon, up 36% in viewers from Silver Stars/Shock Game 3 last year (286,000) last year, but down 40% from Shock/Mercury Game 3 in '07 (646,000).

...

Game 3 ranks as the lowest rated, least viewed game of the '09 WNBA Finals. Ratings have declined from game to game, going from 0.37 (Game 1) to 0.35 (Game 2) to 0.29 (Game 3).

It will be interesting to see the numbers for Game Four (Wednesday) and Game Five (Friday night).

Holdsclaw Back in Studio for WNBA Finals

It looks like Chamique Holdsclaw's foot-dip into the waters of basketball commentary isn't over.

@Chold1 Just got a message Turner Studio's would love me 2 come back and do da game Tuesday with one of my favs Cheryl Miller!!! and Kate Ready wow.

I don't think I'm going to mind.

Those Other Series:

Indiana 2, Detroit 1. What Bob Corwin called "the Survivor Series" ended with Indiana crossing the finish line just ahead of Detroit. Indiana Pacer's Larry Bird packed the house for Indiana when he bought 9,000 tickets which led to the biggest crowd ever for an Indiana Fever game at Conseco Fieldhouse. That might have made the difference as the Shock fought hard all the way, but Indiana won 72-67.

For Indiana, it is their first Eastern Conference championship. Detroit is denied the WNBA Finals for the first time in five years.

Phoenix 2, Los Angeles 1. When Phoenix got off to a cold start in Game 2, the Sparks returned the favor in Game 3 as Phoenix revisits the finals after their 2007 WNBA Championship, beating Los Angeles 85-74. Phoenix has charted new ground in offensive firepower, and Lisa Leslie's farewell tour comes to an end. (Leslie has been a WNBA start since 1997, the first year of the league.) An emotional game for both Leslie and Michael Cooper, who leaves the Sparks to take over the women's program at USC.

Those Other Series, Elsewhere

Indiana vs. Washington: Washington had heart, but they just didn't have Indiana's talent. 2-0 Indiana, as both series in the Eastern Conference end up as sweeps.

This poses a real difficulty as to who to root for in the Eastern Conference Finals. If Indiana wins, then the Dream are really third place - Indiana beats Detroit, which beats Atlanta. If Detroit wins, then...Detroit is in the finals, enough said.

Seattle vs. Los Angeles: Los Angeles won that won 2-1 on Seattle's home court in probably the worst-officiated playoff game in WNBA history. Yes, I know you can't blame series on the officials, but I think that Los Angeles's win should have an asterisk next to it. Seattle goes out in the first round for like the fourth year in a row or something.

Phoenix vs. San Antonio: 2-1 in favor of Phoenix. I watched that deciding game last night. It was a track meet. "You think you can hang with us, San Antonio? Try to catch up." San Antonio did as well as they could, but ran out of oomph.

This sets up a Phoenix vs. Los Angeles Western Conference Final. I'm leaning towards Phoenix because

a) I'm in contact with more Phoenix fans than L. A. fans,
b) if Los Angeles wins, we'll never hear the end of "This is Lisa Leslie's final year in the WNBA", and
c) there's the danger that those Seattle/Los Angeles referees will show up again.

P2/2009 - Shock 94, Dream 79

"All right, who is to blame?"

I'm going to try to rush through this without much thought. I just want to wrap the season up as quickly as I can and not feel compelled to write very much about it. You gotta keep your head up, look straight ahead, and move on.

1) Sound carries very well in The Arena at Gwinnett Center. I got a chance to see Ivory Latta practicing, and as she heaved up 3-point attempts from various areas of the court, I could hear every grunt and occasionally, an "Oh Lord!"

2) I saw Kelly Miller in the audience with two people who looked like her Mom and her Dad. Kelly Miller, a guard for the Minnesota Lynx, was undoubtedly there to see her identical twin sister Coco Miller play. Kelly's season is over, so she had no other obligations. Soon, neither would Coco.

2a) She was talking with someone wearing a "Georgia Lady Dogs" T-shirt. I wonder how many Georgia Bulldogs womens' basketball team fans live in Duluth.

3) The Dream were practicing in WNBA Playoffs T-shirts. Yes, WNBA, I know that it's important to get the logo on everything, but a WNBA Conference Semi-Finals? I'd wait at least until the Conference Finals for such things.

4) I got to see Kara Braxton close up and personal. Looking at the jersey numbers on the Shock's practice sweats, it seems like the #45 is an ironed-on patch...which is starting to fade over time.

5) Working out with the Shock was Rick Mahorn (I was seated near the Shock's section.) Mahorn was wearing an old pair of grey shorts with his gut hanging out over them. I noticed that he has some sort of tattoo on his lateral left calf, but I couldn't make it out. If any tattoo experts or other taxidermists care to enlighten me on the meaning of Mahorn's tattoos, I'd be grateful.

6) More on sound carrying well in The Arena at Gwinnett Center - the 24-second buzzer will split your ears in half. The advantage, however, is that it's nice and cool in The Arena.

7) Katie Smith was all dressed up. Obviously, she wasn't playing. Let me be the first to say that Ms. Smith cleans up verrrrrry nicely. However, I'm married, so Ms. Smith is safe.

8) The Shock seemed to be taking its warmups very seriously. Usually, most teams will make a half-assed show of stretching, but the Shock were really into it. I couldn't see what was going on on the Dream's side of the court, but Carol Ross was working with the players again for the pre-game. I thought I also saw Sue Panek out there.

8b) If Williams or Panek disappears in the off-season, we'll know which one of the two shouted out "Kelly" to take those free-throws in Game One. There will only be one assistant coach for all WNBA teams in 2009; someone has to go to the back of the bus.

9) The Dream are still wearing their #5s. Once again, I saw #5 written on Sancho Lyttle's upper arm.

10) Someone named Sheena Brown sung the National Anthem. My prognosis was that she was okay. I give her a "C". Didn't embarrass herself, but nothing spectacular.

11) The Arena went pitch black for the player introductions. One thing that The Arena at Gwinnett Center doesn't have that makes a big difference is the Jumbotron. The Arena have two television screens at the opposite ends of the arena that are too small to really gather the crowd's attention.

The Dream played their intro music and clip - Beyonce's "Diva". In the dark - their section of the court wasn't lit during the intros - the Shock were jamming to the music and trying out their club moves.

12) Atlanta starters: Latta, Castro Marques, de Souza, Lyttle, McCoughtry
Detroit starters: Hornbuckle, Teasley, McWilliams, Ford and...

...Nolan. Yep, after suffering a concussion in Game One, either Nolan or her trainer decided she was all right to play in Game Two. Nolan was the last person to take the practice court, getting a very brief warm-up before the start of the game.

13) The first quarter seemed to start well for the Dream. We got off to a 4-0 lead. Our passing, however, wasn't that great. Alexis Hornbuckle hit a 3-pointer to put the Shock up for the first time 9-8. From there on it was back and forth until the Shock made a little run at the end of the first quarter to finish the quarter 23-19.

14) I counted no more that three bad calls against the Dream in that first quarter alone. A bad call against McCoughtry than sent Shavonte Zellous to the foul line, a foul against Michelle Snow on a legitimate block of a Kara Braxton shot attempt that sent Braxton to the line (where she missed both shots) and a foul against McCoughtry for what I felt was incidental contact.

Those bad calls gave Detroit four points. (4-for-6 from the free throw line.) Before Shock fans accuse me of whining, let me write that refereeing was not what lost Atlanta the game. However, the foul calling was...it was horrible. I feel really sad for the NBA that these guys are going to be allowed to call games.

15) At the end of the first quarter, McCoughtry had 10 of Atlanta's 19 points. Detroit was shooting 50 percent and the Dream was shooting under 40 percent. Deanna Nolan had eight points of her own.

16) In the second, Marynell Meadors had this (partial) lineup on the floor:

Ivory Latta
Coco Miller
Jennifer Lacy
Armintie Price

With all due respect to Ivory Latta's accomplishments in this game, that's not the lineup that strikes fear in anybody. On the other hand, this was when I first learned that Chamique Holdsclaw wasn't even dressed. We had nine active players, the Shock had nine active players and this was what it had come to.

17) McCoughtry picked up her third personal foul of the game with 7:17 left in the second quarters. That would bring in Miller for McCoughtry and partially contribute to the lineup you saw in #16, above.

The first part of the game slogged as no fewer seven free throw attempts took place before the McCoughtry foul. After the foul, Nolan sank two free throws for a 30-26 Detroit lead.

18) With the Latta-Price-Miller-De Souza lineup on the floor and the Shock up 33-26, the Dream went on an 11-4 run that saw Latta hit a 3-pointer and Coco Miller hit a long 2-point shot. The only player on Detroit's team to score during that run? Nolan. (Nolan played 37 minutes of the game.)

Even so, Atlanta's play still looked sloppy and unfocused. During one sequence, with the ball almost going out of bounds, Detroit managed to save the ball. Atlanta was caught unawares, and only a 24-second violation kept Detroit from adding two points.

19) Rick Mahorn was having a nice long chat with Referee Kevin Sparrock, riding him like a rented mule. Mahorn never shut up. Detroit learned this from Big Bill Laimbeer - ride the referees all game and play as hard as possible. Make the referees fear for their jobs if they call a bevy of (deserved) calls against Detroit, and force the officials to give you the benefit of the doubt lest the game degenerate into an endless march to the free-throw line.

As DTP at RebKell would say, "That's just hard-nosed basketball." It sure works for Detroit.

20) There was more questionable foul calling against Atlanta in the back half of the second quarter, but a lot of those were real judgment calls. Coco Miller hit a basket putting the Dream back in the lead, 39-37. With Atlanta back over the limit in fouls, Detroit caught up with Atlanta and took the lead 43-41 on a driving lay-up with 49 seconds left. Lyttle answered back with a basket five seconds later, and picked up the foul....

...but missed the free throw. Atlanta was having a horrible night at the free throw line. By now both teams were over the limit, and a pair of Crystal Kelly free throws put the Shock up 45-43. However, with eight seconds left Ivory Latta hit a 3-pointer to put the Dream up 46-45. Zellous got the ball back and attempted two shots, but could get neither to fall. Atlanta would carry its 46-45 lead into halftime.

21) So how did we look? In the score going into halftime, we looked fine. However, the score hid a lot of problems.

First, our rebounding:

Erika de Souza: 8 points, 1 rebound
Sancho Lyttle: 6 points, 1 rebound

Detroit had a 21-11 first half rebounding advantage. They were getting the defensive boards and overall getting the ball. The only reason were were in the game at all is that we were 5-for-7 from 3-point range.

Second, free throw shooting. We had only hit 53 percent of our free throws.

We weren't concentrating. Our "system" - PG moves the ball up, hands to McCoughtry or Castro Marques and Lyttle/de Souza gets the rebound - was broken. We weren't getting rebounds. McCoughtry and Castro Marques had three personal fouls. Lyttle and de Souza didn't hit the boards. If it werne't for Ivory Latta's shooting and McCoughtry's big first quarter we'd be down and not up in the second.

22) Halftime entertainment was Star - the hardest working mascot in the WNBA - with two other unidentified mascots - performing at the Jonas Brothers. They were lip-synching to some nameless and tuneless Jonas Brothers song. I didn't think it was much of a show....

...until a group of about 15 young ladies rushed the court and the mascots fled from their screaming fans. Great punchline that we didn't see coming. A friend told me that the young ladies - many of whom wore headscarves - were members of a mostly Muslim basketball team in Atlanta.

The other part of the entertainment was the Super Dunk Team. Trampolines, basketball, dunking. A great show, but you can only see it once, and this was the third time I've seen it in two years. Maybe they should set the basketball on fire....

23) As the third quarter started, Detroit came out strong and we faltered. The went on a 10-0 run at one time, sparked by Cheryl Ford and Deanna Nolan. The Dream were called twice for traveling. Angel McCoughtry missed a comple of jumpers and De Souza missed from point-blank range.

During the run, Erika de Souza picked up her fourth personal foul. For three minutes, the Dream didn't score and it looked like shades of Game One. Meadors was forced to call a full time out. Also during the run, the opening strains of Green Day's "Brain Stew" were used as the Dream moved the ball up the court.

My mind is set on overdrive
The clock is laughing in my face
A crooked spin
My sense is dulled
Passed the point of delirium

24) Louis Williams of the Philadelphia 76ers was in the crowd. No one even knew who he was. Is he the dude that Armintie Price is going to be marrying?

25) During the run, however, McCoughtry picked up her first steal of the night - halfway through the third quarter. Another foul was called on Armintie Price - another dubious call which finally broke the back of the audience, which started booing loudly.

26) However, Detroit went over the limit with 3 1/2 minutes to go. Price, amazingly, hit both of her free throws. Latta drove to the basket...and then thirty seconds later, she was at the basket for an amazing drive and foul!

...and Latta missed the free throw. Michelle Snow, however would drive to the basket and pick up a foul. She hit both of her shots, the second putting Atlanta up 58-57.

27) Indeed, the most amazing thing about those last three minutes of the third quarter was Ivory Latta. Down 61-58, she hit a 23 foot 3-pointer with 51 seconds left to tie the Dream at 61-61.

28) What we didn't know was this would be the high water mark of Atlanta's 2009 season. (Our motto in 2008 - "Expect Great for Thirty Minutes.") Armintie Price had one smart move left - she fouled Detroit with 15 seconds left, knowing that the Dream had a free foul to give. However, Detroit scored the last five points of the third quarter and led 66-61 going into the final ten minutes.

29) Detroit was still outshooting the Dream 48 percent-43 percent after 30 minutes. Erika de Souza finally got some rebounds; Sancho Lyttle didn't. Iziane Castro Marques played seven minutes without scoring a point. Hell, without taking a shot. What the hell?

30) In the fourth quarter...

...well, what can you say about that fourth quarter? Detroit went 12-for-18. Atlanta went 6-for-18. Nothing but a bunch of missed shots.

31) In the crowd: Georgia Bulldogs head coach Andy Landers. Obviously there to say hello to the Miller sisters, and others.

32) Detroit continued its third quarter run to extend the lead to 70-61. The final game of iPod Karaoke for the 2009 season was played. It was Ivory Latta, making a wretched attempt at a song called "Knock Me Down". If there was anything the Dream got right, it was that the Shock couldn't Knock Ivory Down. But one player does not a team make.

33) The announced attendance was 4,780. Sounds about right (suitably inflated). Friday night game in a foreign arena when high school football is being played all over Georgia. At least The Arena at Gwinnett Center can make a small crowd look big.

The 4,780 attendance was the lowest attendance in Dream history. Maybe after Game One, the fans had seen enough. I heard that both WNBA Live Access and NBA-TV were glitch-filled all night. If true, consider yourselves lucky.

34) With 6:34 to go in the final quarter and Detroit up 72-63, Shavonte Zellous blocked an Angel McCoughtry jump shot. I guess Zellous said her piece about the potential Rookie of the Year.

35) With 5:31 left, Zellous would steal the ball from McCoughtry. The running layup made the score 79-65 in favor of Detroit. My friend looked at me and said, "That's the game, right there."

Atlanta looked listless, as if they just wanted to get this beating over with and go home. The winner of a Grand Hotel Promotion was announced on one of the screens at the far ends of the arena. He only looked mildly amused. Great.

36) McCoughtry hit an amazing 3-pointer in the corner as time expired to close the score to 79-68. Zellous answered with a 2-pointer just before a 24-second violation, and got the free throw to reset the score to 82-68.

37) The Shock drove forward. They led by 17 points on an Olayinka Sanni drive with about two minutes to go.

38) It was time for the Jam Cam. But the Jam Cam only looks good when you have a big screen. It just looked like a half-assed Jam Cam. And who wanted to Jam when you were down by 15+ in your final game of the season. Maybe the overhead should have played a funeral requiem.

39) The final moment of amusement left to be squeezed out of the 2009 Atlanta Dream season announced, "In for the Dream...Nikki Teasley."

I understand his confusion. At least he corrected himself.

40) The final points of the 2009 season for the Dream were scored by Jennifer Lacy. At the free throw line, she hit her first shot...but missed the second. Of course.

94-79 Shock. Teasley dribbled the final seconds of the game away and Atlanta's dream of a WNBA championship was finished.

Okay. I'm done. The final game writeup of the 2009 season is over. Thanks to everyone who read them.

Show the Love

Sekou Smith at the Atlanta Journal-Constitution writes about the Game Two loss:

“This is so disappointing,” McCoughtry said. “We thought we had this series, and I really thought we had a chance to contend for a championship this year. We have so much talent, but unfortunately, it just wasn’t meant to be.”

Click the link, and show the love.

Two and Out

Atlanta fell 94-79 tonight at the Arena at Gwinnett Center. It was the second loss in a best-of-three series. Detroit wins 2-0 and moves on to the Eastern Conference finals.

Atlanta's season is over.

What else is there to say? Here's the box score to look at, although you'll probably be like me, crawled up in a corner somewhere.

As you might understand, I might not blog on Saturday. Depends on how I feel.

UPDATE: pilight has inadvertently cheered me up:



We signed you up to be our team leader
And be an asset to our fledgling team
We didn't plan on you riding the cedar
While the bullies from Detroit ended the Dream

Where oh where are you tonight?
Why did you leave me here all alone?
I searched the world over and thought I found true love
You met another and Phht! you were gone

Oh well. Chamique and Shalee will be healthy next year.

Nolan Now Uncertain for Game Two in Atlanta

From the Detroit Free Press:

Star guard Deanna Nolan was still woozy this afternoon after the Detroit Shock landed in Atlanta, so her availability for Game 2 of the best-of-three Eastern Conference semifinals is uncertain, according to coach Rick Mahorn.

...

“We just don’t know yet,” Mahorn said of her status for tonight’s game in Duluth, Ga. “I’m not trying to hide anything, but she’s still feeling woozy. We think it’s a slight concussion. All we’re doing today is watching film. We’ll have a shootaround on Friday and see what we have.”

Atlanta vs. Detroit, Friday September 18th

Who: The Atlanta Dream (18-16) take on the Detroit Shock (18-16) in a playoff game.

The Dream have a cast including Angel McCoughtry (12.8 ppg) and Sancho Lyttle (13.0 ppg, 7.5 prg). Iziane Castro Marques (14.4 ppg) leads the team in scoring. Deanna Nolan is back (16.9 ppg) for the Mystics and rookie Shavonte Zellous (11.9 ppg) helps an injury-riddled Shock team.

What: The second of a best-of-three Eastern Conference Semifinals play-off series. The first game was played in Detroit on Wednesday where the Shock won 94-89. The Dream must win the remaining two games in Atlanta to move forward.

Where: The Arena at Gwinnett Center in Duluth, GA. Note that neither this game nor a possible Sunday game will be played at Philips Arena.

When: Tipoff is 7:30 pm Eastern on Friday, September 18th. The game will be nationally broadcast on NBA-TV. The game should also be available on WNBA Live Access - as it turned out, the game wasn't available there last time but since not all markets get NBA-TV it should be available.

Why: Game One told you why right there. With Detroit winning the home opener, Atlanta must win tonight and then win the follow-up game on Sunday to advance to the Eastern Conference Finals. If we don't beat the Shock tonight, it's "see you (hopefully) next year".

It is very hard to keep the Shock down. Three times this season a WNBA team has come back from an 18 point deficit. Two of those times were Detroit Shock comebacks, the first last night in Game One where the Dream were held scoreless for over five minutes in the third quarter. Even when you're leading Detroit, you can never be secure.

Part of the reason for that comeback was Deanna Nolan. Nolan had been shooting under 30 percent in the four regular season games against the Dream, but it doesn't matter if you take a lot of shots. She went a sub-par 9-for-23 but she scored 25 points against the Dream in Game One.

The big question is whether Nolan will play at all. She went down with a concussion in the fourth quarter of Game One and despite Rick Mahorn's assurances that Nolan will show up in Game Two Detroit doesn't sound as confident as they could. If Nolan sits out Game Two, don't be surprised.

We can probably expect another appearance from the Dream's Chamique Holdsclaw. She only scored three points on 1-for-4 shooting in Game One; clearly, she's picked up a lot of rust from her extended layoff due to injury. If there's ever a time we needed to see the Chamique Holdsclaw of old - or at least flashes of that player - it's tonight.

Coaching might make a big difference. The Dream's ability to manage during crunchtime was called into question when the Dream coaching staff inexplicably called an 84 percent free throw shooter to substitute for Nolan to take free throws when Detroit had two sub-70 percent shooters on the bench. Meadors said that if Crystal Kelly had missed one or both of those shots, it would have been seen as a smart coaching move. (And if were 1 1/2 feet taller, I'd be Shaquille O'Neal.) A Game Two Atlanta victory will heal all wounds.

Let's get out there and support our team. If there's any time the Dream needs its fans, it's now.

Dream Make AJC Again: Quick Preview of Game 2

Sekou Smith of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution writes from Dream practice before Game Two tonight. Quoting Ivory Latta:

“But we are so pumped up because we know when we come back here and have our fans behind us we can accomplish anything. They’ve truly been our sixth man this year, and we’re going to be focused and have a lot of energy. I promise you we’re going to come out of the gate strong and ready to go.”

You heard that? And now, you need to let the AJC hear it by showing your love and clicking the article.

Nolan Concussion Should Not Keep Tweety Out of Game Two

Deanna Nolan of the Detroit Shock should be ready to play for Game 2 of the Atlanta/Detroit Conference Semifinals Series, according to Detroit Head Coach Rick Mahorn.

From CBS Sports:

Nolan is expected to play Friday despite suffering a concussion and leaving Wednesday's game after being fouled with 16.1 seconds remaining.

"Right now we'll assess that after the doctors look at her, but I think she'll be ready to play on Friday," Mahorn told the Shock's official Web site. "She did a great job tonight."

P1/2009 - Shock 94, Dream 89

Marynell Meadors, Iziane Castro Marques: Meet the Press.

We only write about this one because we are compelled to. On the other hand, I have HDTV so it was almost as good as having a seat at courtside.

If you want the photos, here they are from Lynn Gregg of SportsPageMagazine.com. I would burn these photos, myself, just to put the awful memories behind me.

1) HDTV is definitely not flattering: you can see every blemish on a player's skin, and trust me, some of them have a lot of blemishes. People with acne problems don't come off well. People over sixty don't come off well. HDTV is going to force us to reevaluate our idea of human beauty.

2) We learned that Katie Smith was out, we gave us hope that if all else failed, we could simply "outendure" Detroit's thin bench. Furthermore, Chamique Holdsclaw would finally return to the court "for five to ten minute stretches".

3) Atlanta starters: Latta, Castro Marques, McCoughtry, Lyttle, De Souza. Ivory Latta was going to be at the helm of the ship.
Detroit starters: Nolan, Hornbuckle, McWilliams, Ford, Teasley. Detroit would be starting Nikki Teasley at point guard. Basically, we had two Atlanta point guards on the court.

4) Atlanta started the fireworks off with an 11-2 run in the first quarter. We were doing very well. Latta picked up a steal for the breakway and got fouled by Teasley. McCoughtry hit a 3-point running layup. De Souza was making that sweet bank shot work. Granted, Atlanta was making some bad passes, but they were shrugged off by the announcers as a sign that Atlanta was being aggressive - Detroit couldn't rest because they didn't know where the ball would be coming from. The word used was "attacked".

5) As Atlanta was running up a 19-8 lead, I noticed that Erika's tattoo of a basketball on her right shoulder had something on it. Earlier in the game, Sancho Lyttle had a "5" scrawled in black magic marker ink on her shoulder. Erika's tattoo was partially obliterated by the #5.

Then it occurred to me. #5. Shalee Lehning. The two players were wearing highly visible tributes to Lehning, who was out for the season after shoulder surgery. Supposedly, all of the other players were wearing a #5 somewhere, but Lyttle and de Souza's #5s were the most obvious....

6) We continued to builud to build up that lead. Iziane sank two free throws to give the Dream a 30-12 lead, an 18 point lead. Things were looking good. Only two leads of that size in the entire season had been overcome by an enemy team. One was an 18-point lead by the Sparks, overcome by Phoenix on August 27th. The other was a 19-point lead by Chicago four days earlier....overcome by the team that owned the home court the Dream were standing on.

7) Interesting stat: Deanna Nolan's field goal percentage against the Dream in games preceding this one for 2009? 27 percent.

8) Late in the first quarter, Chamique Holdsclaw returned. She could still handle the ball as well, but her acceleration looked a little suspect.

9) By teh end of the first quarter, we were outshooting the Shock 58 percent to 38 percent. We had outrebounded the Shock 15 to two. Angel McCoughtry had 11 poitns. Iziane Castro Marques had six.

The Palace of Auburn Hills looked virtually empty. If the Dream could keep this up, we could theoretically waltz into Atlanta on Friday. But they had to keep it up.

10) And then I heard those words that chilled me. "...and Michael Price is our third official...."

11) A lot of Shock fans are crowing about the Shock's toughness and how they "got into Atlanta's heads". Maybe they can explain that first quarter, then. Or about why, as the announcers claimed, a fan shouted, "Somebody knock somebody down!" after the first quarter.

Detroit "badness" is not a fait accompli.

12) Early in the second, Iziane drove to the basket against three dispassionate Shock defenders. They were strangely passive, as if they were saying, "Oh, there goes Castro Marques for a basket. Interesting."

13) Meanwhile, Cheryl Ford was beating the living daylights out of Angel McCoughtry. Not complaining or whining, just pointing out the Detroit Shock's overall strategy - play ball so tough that referees will only call the worst fouls against you.

Never let it be said that women's basketball isn't a contact sport.

14) With Atlanta up 36-19, Detroit went on its first big run - a 15-5 run that saw Detroit close to seven points, 41-34.

Despite the big run, Detroit didn't get its first offensive rebound of the game until 4:23 to go of the second quarter. Shavonte Zellous got the rebound, Hornbuck missed the layup, and then then just 13 seconds after their first offensive board, Ford made the shot off her own rebound.

15) Ford was really going wild out there. Iziane Castro Marques fell to the floor when she was hit in the face by Cheryl Ford. It was accidental - Ford was swinging her arms and didn't see Iziane coming in behind her.

16) We finally ended Detroit's run, but we weren't looking great anymore. Arminitie Price, now in the game, took a jumper that went in and out, angular momentum bouncing the ball around inside the rim and force carrying the ball back out again. McCoughtry dribbled the ball off her foot for an out of bounds.

We had survived though. Latta sank a couple of free throws to end the second quarter with the Dream up 45-36.

17) Rebecca Lobo chatted with Angel McCoughtry at halftime. After McCoughtry played dutiful daughter and wished her Mom a happy birthday, she was ready to address the Detroit run. McCoughtry has said before that basketball is a game of runs and that she wasn't concerned. Detroit had its run, the Dream would answer with a run and that Atlanta just needed to play its own game and be confident.

18) The Dream were still outshooting Detroit 46.7 percent to 39 percent. We still had an advantage in rebounding and were 15-for-16 from the free throw line. However, we had turned the ball over 12 times in the first half.

Angel McCoughtry had 15 points and 7 rebounds in the first half. Iziane had 10 points. For Detroit, Deanna Nolan had 10 points, Nikki Teasley had 7 points and Cheryl Ford had picked up 6 rebounds.

19) We got a look inside Atlanta's locker room at halftime. Actually, looking in the locker room is never as exciting as they make it out to be. Marynell Meadors condensed Atlanta's second half strategy:

a) Play better defense.
b) Talk and communicate.
c) Rebound and run.

20) In the third quarter, Iziane kept the Dream alive: her shots were the only shots that were falling. She would score the first nine points of the quarter for the Dream and crossed the 20 point barrier. We were back to our double-digit lead again.

21) The announcers felt free to joke about the Dream losing Philips Arena temporarily during the playoffs due to Sesame Street. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution should take note - it shows how the issue was treated by those who were actually in the role of dispassionate reporters instead of middle-aged men missing their fraternity days.

The joking wasn't the least bit offensive. One of the announcers stated that she'd probably take Grover over Elmo in a game. I agree. Elmo has the moves but Grover is a wild man who can dominate the paint.

22) ...

Then it all went to hell.

With the score up in Atlanta's favor 61-48, the Dream didn't score for the remainder of the quarter - a span of time which was five minutes and two seconds long.

Detroit, however, had no such problem. Some claim that the Shock woke up when Deanna Nolan was charged with a technical just before the Detroit run. I don't know if that was true, but the SHock were really turning it on. They were playing the game they wanted to play and we were playing no game at all.

I've been trying to grapple with what happened. We took six shots, and missed all of them. We turned over the ball three times during the run. That was nine turnovers. But the enemy can only make points off of turnovers if they can get the ball back off the misses, or get offensive rebounds, or....

...and that was what happened. Detroit had 10 rebounds during that five minute span, including two team rebounds. Atlanta had only one rebound, a team rebound. Detroit had simply cleaned us off the boards and reduced the Dream to spectators.

Meadors was left floundering around, trying to find some combination of players that could spark something. Castro Marques was removed after she missed a couple of shots, and was substituted for by Holdslaw, a move which went nowhere. (Why would you get rid of your hottest shooter in the third quarter?) Angel McCoughtry was replaced with Armintie Price in the final minute. Nothing worked.

An announcer said that Atlanta gave up 14 points on 16 turnovers.

Kara Braxton's layup with 1:14 left in the third gave Detroit its first lead since early in the first quarter. The Shock led 62-61, and Zellous hit a 3-pointer to put the Shock up 65-61 at the end of the quarter. The Shock had gone on a 17-0 run...which wasn't over yet.

23) Braxton hit a layup to start the fourth quarter with Detroit's 19th straight point. The Shock led 67-61. Finally, Erika made a shot that broke the 19-0 streak and brought us up to 67-63 Detroit. Atlanta had been held scoreless for 5 1/2 minutes.

24) Whle Meadors was still substituting like crazy - four substitutions in the first 2 1/2 minutes of the fourth - the Dream were hanging on and trying to stay within a couple of posessions of the Shock. Detroit had been revitalized by its run.

Nolan was heating up and only getting hotter. She nailed a 3-pointer to put the Shock up 74-66. Iziane answered with another 3-pointer but Zellous answered with a bucket of her own. 76-69 Detroit. Zellous got the offensive rebound, and found Hornbuckle.

It was a replay of early in the Atlanta season, where several times the enemy could find a player wide open outside the 3-point arc, just standing there. Hornbuckle sank the shot for three points. Detroit was now up by double-digits for the first time, 79-69.

25) Atlanta attempted to dig itself out of the hole it was in. The question was whether or not they could get to within two possessions. Detroit kept Atlanta at arms length but Castro Marques was hot again, scoring again with a Detroit 83-75 lead and 5:01 to go.

Detroit kept sending the Dream to the free throw line. Latta hit a pair of free throws to close us to 87-80. McCoughtry would hit a jump shot with 2:09 left to bring the score at 89-82. (McCoughtry had scored 15 points in the first half, but this was only her fourth second-half point.)

26) Nolan answered with a jumper but 10 seconds later, Iziane found Erika and Erika made the layup. Kara Braxton sent Erika to the line agani and the free throw closed the gap to four points, 89-85 with 1:40 to go. When Braxton missed on the other end, Lyttle got the reboudn and found McCoughtry who scored on the runner.

It was a one possession game, 89-87, with 1:19 left. Critical decisions would have to be made because now the game was wide open again.

27) In the final minute, Atlanta got lucky. Nolan went to the free throw line and missed one of two. Cheryl Ford committed two fouls - or "maybe" committed two fouls because both of those fouls were manufactured by Michael Price, who now wanted to shove himself into the game so that the game could rely on his refereeing "skills" and so he could show the NBA what a great referee he was.

Both Erika and Sancho Lyttle went to the free throw line. Each missed one of their shots...but the score was now 90-89, and Detroit held on to a one-point lead with 51 seconds left.

28) We almost had the lead. Angel McCoughtry stole the ball with 29 seconds left and took a good mid-range jumper. In most circumstances, that ball would have sailed in but it went out and in. Nolan came down hard, and I mean hard to the floor. I don't remember if it was on the McCoughtry miss or on the rebound, but Nolan was clearly dizzy and was leaning up against the goal support.

If it were an acting job, Nolan would have been the next Meryl Streep. Nolan was clearly in tears. She didn't want out of this game, but she knew something was wrong. I didn't want her out of this game either. If Atlanta wins, I want it to be pure fair, and not contingent upon some last-minute injuries. Championship runs should not have asterisks.

29) The decision was made. Nolan would have to come out of the game. The problem was that Nolan had earned a trip to the free throw line - was Lyttle called for the personal? I don't think it was really Lyttle's fault - so who would take those shots? The WNBA rules stated that in the event that the person fouled doesn't take the free throws, the opposing coach gets to choose the foul shooter.

This game the Dream a great opportunity. All they had to do was pick someone who could be counted on to tank one of the two free throws. They could pick the worst foul shooter who was still eligible to be picked. This included Olayinka Sanni who had not played (but was dressed, I believe) with a 69.4 percent free throw percentage, or Kara Braxton with a 64.5 percent percentage.

Instead, the Dream brain trust picks...Crystal Kelly, who is an 84.7 percent career free throw shooter. Kelly hasn't played in the game - but at the free throw line, she sinks both of them. 92-89 Shock, and the Dream have the ball with 16.2 seconds left.

29b) And there begins the controversy. The press reported that Meadors chose Kelly because Kelly was theoretically cold, having not played. However, some posters at RebKell claim that they could hear on the game audio that there was some confusion among the Atlanta coaching staff as to whether or not which Detroit players were good shooters and which were poor ones.

A Detroit reporter claims that "One of her [Meadors's] assistants yelled Kelly's name to her when the officials asked, but I didn't see who it was." Did an assistant coach pull the trigger.

Supposedly, video link gives Meadors's expression when she was asked about sending Kelly to the line. I've not seen it, I can't download it at work and I can't vouch that it isn't spyware laden or some sort of RickRoll.

29c) Monique Currie chimes in from Twitter:

@Mocurrie25 Why would you choose a 84 percent free throw shooter on the line? Doesn't matter if she's cold, its goin down! I'd pick one of those bigs

Another RebKell poster stated that if an NBA coach made that move, he would have been crucified by the fanbase.

30) We have one last chance for a 3-pointer to send the game into OT. Seven seconds after the ball is on the court, Iziane heaves up an off-balance three. It doesn't go down. Alexis Hornbuckle gets the rebound with eight seconds left.

The Dream are forced to foul. Nikki Teasley is sent to the line. She hits both of the free throws. 94-89 Shock. We get the ball back, Sancho Lyttle fires it up, and it's missed. It was a last-second buzzer shot anyway.


That's it. I'm tired of writing about it. Maybe some more later.

Dream Fall 94-89 in Game One

I don't want to write about this game. But I feel that I'm going to have to write about it.

Dream held scoreless for 5:02 in the third quarter.

We lose an 18 point lead. I think this was the biggest lead in the WNBA that was overcome this season. The box score is here.

Down 90-89, Deanna Nolan is forced to go to the bench due to an injury. Marynell Meadors gets a chance to choose the Detroit player who will take Nolan's free throws. She chooses Crystal Kelly. Kelly is hitting 84 percent for the year. Sanni is hitting 69 percent, Braxton is hitting 64 percent.

Meadors chooses Kelly. Kelly hits both free throws. Later on, the mic - Meadors was wired for sound during the game - implies that Meadors or her assistant coaches might not have known which players on the Detroit bench were good free throw players. Coach of the Year?

Now, it's do or die. I have another post in mind, but I think I'll hold off until Atlanta's season ends. Hopefully, that won't be on either Friday or Sunday night.

It's Official: Lehning Out for the Playoffs

Nothing we didn't already know, but the Dream front office has officially confirmed it:

ATLANTA, September 16, 2009— Dream guard Shalee Lehning underwent successful surgery on her left shoulder, the team announced today. A full recovery is expected, but Lehning will not be active during the playoffs.

Lehning suffered the injury (separated shoulder) during the second quarter of the Dream’s regular season finale against the Washington Mystics in a midcourt collision with Mystics guard Lindsey Harding as both players went after a loose ball.

Good luck. Don't forget the meds. Remember, you take the medication before the pain peaks, not when the pain peaks.

Holdsclaw Taking Part in Shootaround in Detroit

From RebKell via Twitter, Chamique Holdsclaw "twittered" that she was heading to the arena to take place in a shootaround.

Looks like Holdsclaw's chances of appearing have jumped from about 80 percent to 85 percent.

Voepel Implies that Lehning Will Play in Playoffs

An article by Mechelle Voepel for her old newspaper, the Kansas City Star, implies that Lehning will play in the playoffs:

Lehning laughed through the ache as she said that. Her coach, Marynell Meadors, acknowledges that when the collision happened, she feared a serious head or neck injury. Thankfully, it wasn’t that. But Lehning — who didn’t return in that game — still has an injured left shoulder that leaves her availability for tonight’s WNBA playoff opener with Detroit as a game-time decision.

“It’s going to take something pretty significant to keep me out,” Lehning said. “Tape it up and play.”

Meadors said, “She’s pretty banged-up. But she’s just a tough kid. Oh my goodness, is she tough.”


I doubt that Lehning is going to play. If she does play, we're going to have to give her a nickname. Like "True Grit" or something.

Article about Tonight's Game from AJC

An article from the AJC that isn't a wannabe-fratboy blog post or isn't copied from the AP? You must be dreaming!

But here it is!

Holding out Holdsclaw: ‘Mique has been idled nine straight games following arthroscopic knee surgery in late August. The club, either overly optimistic or cleverly obfuscating, keeps listing Holdslaw “day-to-day” but she has not suited up since the operation.

“Still day-to-day,” Meadows said while predicting Holdsclaw would dress for today’s game.

If you want to see more articles like this one, you should click this one. They count those clix, you know.

Lehning Out For The Season?

According to two posters on the Atlanta Dream Message Board, Lehning suffered a Type IV shoulder separation. There are six types of shoulder separation; this type has a displacement of the clavicle behind the acromioclavicular joint for those of you taking notes and in Lehning's case it involves ligament damage. She'll have surgery on Tuesday, followed by 4 to 5 months of rehab. (The types are not ordered in ascending severity; they merely describe six categories of injury.) Without having direct knowledge, I suspect that the surgery will be arthroscopic surgery.

Forget the playoffs. Hopefully, the rehab won't interfere with her studies at Kansas State where she finishes her degree. We'll have Lehning back next season.

The argument all season from a vocal segment of Dream fans is that Ivory Latta is the better point guard. Well, if there's any time to prove that assertion, it's now, because the playoffs start in Detroit on Wednesday.

For Once, the AJC Dreams Positive

Surprise of surprises! The Atlanta Journal-Constitution actually reported positively on the relocation of the Atlanta Dream's opening round playoff games to Gwinnett Center. Granted, it got moved to the "Inside Access" section but it's there! And with a nice playoff photo, too!

Contracts are contracts, but evicting a team from its home arena for its first-ever playoff outing is a disappointment. After talking with Tonya Alleyne, the team’s vice president of media relations, it seems less like a failure to plan and more like a failure to dream big enough for this team.

In its first season, the Dream finished with league-record 30 losses. This year, they clinched the second seed in the Eastern Conference and made the second-biggest turn-around in league history. They’ll play the 2008 champions, the Detroit Shock.

Nobody expected it to happen in year two, Alleyne said, because it never does.

“We’re very happy to have this problem,” Alleyne said. “We’ll play wherever they will put us. We’ll play on a playground.”


I'd like to make an official request to the AJC - we need Jamie Gumbrecht to cover the Dream. Or just put Dream game results in the "Inside Access" section. The Sports Department at the AJC ain't worth a.....