Rec’ing on…What a WNBA Playoff Season

On the eve of the fifth, and concluding, game of the 2007 WNBA Finals, I thought I’d take a moment and reflect on the playoff road that led us here.

I’ve got to say that the triple overtime game between Indiana and Connecticut… that was a classic. Though I was rooting for Indiana, I have to say

On the eve of the fifth, and concluding, game of the 2007 WNBA Finals, I thought I’d take a moment and reflect on the playoff road that led us here.

I’ve got to say that the triple overtime game between Indiana and Connecticut… that was a classic. Though I was rooting for Indiana, I have to say that this was one of those games that it was a shame couldn’t have ended in a draw. Both teams deserved major kudos for the tenacity and level of play.

My only surprise was how easily Phoenix made it through to the finals. I fully expected Seattle and San Antonio to stretch them to three-game series. Seattle had such success against the Mercury during the season that I didn’t expect them to essentially roll over and die; but given their list of injuries to key personnel, maybe it wasn’t so surprising after all.

Indiana beating the Sun was a pleasant break from what I had predicted. Indiana played a gutsy series, and I think that it will serve them well heading into the 2008 season.

And then there’s Detroit. I’ve made little secret that I am not a Shock fan due largely to the whiny attitude Coach Laimbeer brings to the organization. That said, even in my pre-season predictions, I thought that Detroit had the best roster, excellent coaching (whining aside), and that the Finals were probably theirs to lose. As much as I didn’t want them to make it to the end, I have to give them their props.

So, it’s now all down to one game between two teams for all the marbles. With me being a die-hard Phoenix fan since the team was formed, and a loather of the never-ending litanny coming from the Detroit bench directed at the officials, it’s not difficult at all to figure out who I’m going to be rooting for on Sunday. Even so, I’m not going to make a prediction. Both teams have shown that they can win at home and on the road playing their own style as well as the style of their opponent. This is a pick-’em game that will be decided in the heads and hearts of the players on the court. It could be a classic, but it could just as easily be a lackluster game or a blowout. I don’t think that matters anymore. The playoffs have more than satisfied this WNBA fan.

Before I close, a few notes. First: Please stop showing playoff games on ESPN Classic– the least subscribed of the ESPN nets. As bad as it is to have games relegated to NBA-TV, it’s worse when it’s tucked away in the ESPN closet like that. Honestly, show all the games on ESPN, ESPN-2, or ABC.

Some have suggested expanding the playoffs from 3,3,and 5 to 5,5,and 7. I’m not really a big fan of the seven-game series. I think it’s too long. Five games pretty much shows us what we need to see. It gives teams time to so know another’s system that it comes down to talent, heart, and sometimes luck. Seven games just becomes an endurance contest. Yawn. That said, I think all the playoff games should be 5-game series. It removes the home-court-advantage complaining that the current 3-game setup has, yet still gives teams a shot at overcoming one bad game.

On another blog (link), the writer muses on a comment that Geno Auriemma made during the fourth game of the WNBA finals — that this was how the NBA used to be. I, too, sort of agree with that. Not entirely, as NBA-TV shows classic games from the early seventies that are even classier. I mean, on those old games there was a decided lack of mugging among post players — referees actually called fouls on non-incidental body contact. Players didn’t whine. The shorts looked like gym shorts. This is the basketball–NBA basketball–I grew up with. Are these finals like how the NBA used to be? Not the NBA of the 70s, but maybe of the 80s. And for people like me who aren’t enamored with the stream of dunks and the never-ending parade of clear-outs, that’s a good thing. It’s the closest thing we have to what basketball was designed to be.

One final thought: I hope that Catch has an efficient time with rehab. USA Basketball will miss you, but hopefully not the 2008 WNBA.

Now…. let the final game begin!