2009 WNBA – As We Enter the Postseason

With the 2009 WNBA regular season now concluded, it’s a good time to pause, reflect, and anticipate.

I can’t remember another season that was so impacted by injuries as this one. Those injuries certainly crippled Minnesota (though they hung in there), and delayed the maturation of several teams. L.A. might have been a terror if Leslie hadn’t been out for much of the middle of the season.

While some of the injuries are normal in the due course of playing basketball, it does seem like there are an increasing number of injuries that can be attributed to the amount of basketball these ladies have to endure to both make a living and play in the WNBA. Many of the year-round stars look tired, physically and mentally. Many of them seriously need a couple of months off. I can’t help wonder how long before a noticeable percentage of top tier players begin to forgo the WNBA season?

The Playoff Teams

In a few days, the playoffs will start San Antonio vs Phoenix, and Los Angeles vs Seattle in the west; and Washington vs Indiana, and Detroit vs Atlanta in the east.

The West

Right now, the easiest series to pick may be LAS vs SEA simply because of Lauren Jackson. Even if she’s willing to give her stress-fractured back a go, she’s been sitting out for a while and might not quite be in synch with the rest of the team. Even so, the key here is definitely LJ. Without her, the odds of a Storm win are thin.

Phoenix’s devil is the three-game series. I don’t think a team in the league can beat them 3-out-of-5, but the likes of the Stars and the Sparks can certainly take it to the Mercury in a 2-of-3 setup.

I’ll pick Phoenix and L.A. getting out of this round.

The East

In the East, things are about as muddled as they’ve been all season. A healthy Indiana is a tough team to beat. But they’ve been up and down in August, so it’s really hard to judge exactly where they’re at. Washington is one of those “on any given night” teams. They have the ability to put together a run in a short series. No question.

With Atlanta and Detroit…both teams have certainly improved as the season has worn on. Detroit is a very dangerous team if only for Nolan (when she shows up). A big question is if Katie Smith with be healthy enough to play. If she is, Detroit’s odds increase a lot. Atlanta has the size to match up with Detroit, but their outside shooting has been suspect most of the season. If they get into trouble, Detroit’s experience might pull them out a victory.

For the east, I’ll choose Indiana and Atlanta (in a pick ’em).

The Other Teams

What of Minnesota, Sacramento, New York, Chicago, and Connecticut? What’s in the cards for next season?

Minnesota was the victim of injuries this season, no doubt about it. 1st year coach Jennifer Gillom did an outstanding job given that she got the position days before the season started. I see them adding some depth in the draft.

New York has a solid coach. What it desperately needs are legitimate stars instead of a bunch of roll players. The draft will definitely help here.

Connecticut might have to get better commitments from its foreign players…which may be tough in a World Championship year. I expect some interesting roster changes to keep stability.

Chicago, I think, needs to think about replacing Steve Key. As GM, he has a team with some stars and potential stars, but it’s much too laden with roll players. As a coach, he seems a few years behind the curve.

And as for Sacramento. Given how “well” Whisenant did following the sacking of Jenny Boucek, I’d say that if the team is going to revisit it’s former glory, a mind change will have to happen. Some players with chronic injuries will likely have to be left at the side of the road. Coach will also have to maybe update his view of the game which, as with Coach Key, seems to be lagging behind a bit.

Other Thoughts

Rosters

While most coaches only go 7 or 8 deep by the end of the season (though some will go 10), I think the roster reduction with no reserves has been a mistake. Some will tout how high the competition was this year. I think of many games where teams brought 9 players, one of them dinged. These teams can’t hold a full practice during extended road trips. Worse, it screws up rotations in games where the refs get whistle-happy. One or two players in foul trouble can make a short bench seem that much shorter.

I’d like to see teams upped to 12 players next season, with a one player float. Call that player inactive or injured reserve or whatever. Teams need that extra body that has been in practice and watching film for when a teammate goes down. Simple as that.

Game Presentation

As for the presentation of games. I do have to give kudos for the number of games that were scheduled to be available through the season, mostly via the Internet through the LiveAccess site. Unfortunately, LiveAccess has left something to be desired.

The fact is that watching games on the computer isn’t really the ideal choice. Worse, the games are streamed at a low resolution, so if you go full-screen, there are a lot of artifacts. So, piping it over to the TV isn’t really a great option.

Of course, this was when LiveAccess was actually working. Technical problems plagued many games. From the aesthetic of using the wrong aspect ratio (Washington was especially bad with this), to delivery problems that caused late starts to broadcasts (if they started), to ends of games getting dropped, to games that would work on one computer one day and then fail to load the next. Clearly, much refinement and testing needs to be done for next season.

What really miffs me has been the paucity of TV coverage. From a television standpoint, this has been the worst season of the WNBA yet. I find it unconscionable that NBA-TV isn’t showing every available WNBA game live (provided it’s not on ESPN or ABC), with games archived on LiveAccess as is currently the case. I also disagree with game blackouts outside not-sold-out home markets if there is a game being broadcast. NBA-TV is a premium option on many providers (e.g., mine), so having the option of LiveAccess is convenient (again, when it works).

Oh, and WNBA.com… you need to get the schedules you post correct. It is incredibly frustrating to be waiting for a game to be broadcast only to discover that it isn’t being broadcast. Grrrr.