The WNBA: Thread II

[Granite Sox]

This is a really interesting hypothetical. I've lived in Indy for about 20 years and my guess is it would be 55/45 Haliburton if this was done tomorrow. The institution of the Pacers locally is incredibly popular and Clark has only been a member of the community for a few months. Fun thought exercise.

Agree. I also lived in Indy for 17+ years (early '90's, and then again from '03-'16).

I think it's also great that Haliburton has been a regular courtside fan at a lot of the Fever home games.

Andrew Luck, Reggie Miller, and obviously Peyton would be the best comps in terms of popularity. CC isn't there yet.

Tamika Catchings and Katie Douglas were the two most popular Fever players prior to Clark. But they were drowned out by Peyton and Reggie.

People outside of Indiana have no idea how popular Reggie Miller is/was...

 

[deanx0]

I lived in Indy for 10 years (went to Game 4 of the Finals when the Pacers could have tied things 2-2 but then Kobe became Kobe in overtime), and with my wife's family and some friends still there, we were actually just back in the state for visits. It was pretty astounding that all of them, at various levels of sports fandom, after talking about whatever college they supported (we were in Bloomington, so it was mostly Indiana, but my brother-in-law is ND alum and a friend is a massive Purdue fan), the Fever and Clark were the next biggest topic. Obviously this is tied to the fact that the Fever are in season and the Pacers are not, but I think the reason it is Clark over Haliburton by a bit is that she is pulling the casual fans in droves.

My probably over-simplistic analysis is that people love Haliburton because they follow the Pacers, while they follow the Fever because the love Clark. It's a minor distinction, but an important one in my opinion.

 

[smokin joe wood]

My probably over-simplistic analysis is that people love Haliburton because they follow the Pacers, while they follow the Fever because the love Clark. It's a minor distinction, but an important one in my opinion.

I completely agree and it's easy to hear if you watch a Fever game. The crowd roars much differently when Clark scores. I went to a Fever game a few weeks ago and were are a lot of people attending from outside of Indiana. Crazy to me.

Another major factor is that Bally is a huge deterrent for fans who want to casually watch the Pacers. They're hitting approx. 19,000 households...to put that in perspective - Indiana State played Seton Hall in Indianapolis in the NIT final (during March Madness) and it drew 1.4 million viewers. Many Fever games are being shown over-the-air locally. To put it more bluntly - the Fever shotgunned their TV deal after they got the #1 pick and it's better than the local NBA franchise. Stunning incompetence from Bally and the NBA.

 

[InstaFace]

Stunning incompetence from Bally and the NBA.

Or just a reliance on those sweet, sweet national TV dollars as a buffer to wait people out and gain leverage on some negotiations.

(you know more than I do about the particulars with Bally, which is frankly a low bar anyway, but this sort of negotiation blackmail seems pretty common among sports leagues that have just secured a pillar of their financial future, and use it to squeeze another pillar harder)

 

[amh03]

Watching the Liberty/Storm game…the Storm have to be exhausted after this stretch but still getting it done.

Edit- well that didn’t last…the Liberty are just so good!!

 

[Bosoxian]

This is a really interesting hypothetical. I've lived in Indy for about 20 years and my guess is it would be 55/45 Haliburton if this was done tomorrow. The institution of the Pacers locally is incredibly popular and Clark has only been a member of the community for a few months. Fun thought exercise.

Fever are outdrawing last year’s Pacers.

 

[amh03]

Frustrated that Ion is airing the Lynx/Fever game in Boston instead of the Sun/Aces game! Boston Should be local for the Sun and it’s the #2 vs #4 ranked teams.

 

[OCST]

Yeah I love Ionescu but I’m not at all sure she’s better than Clark at this point. Might be. It’s close either way.

Ionescu is class but if I had to pick the one player most vital to NYL this season after Stew it would be Jones.

 

[riboflav]

Indiana struggles against MN who is long and tough. Boston had trouble handling the late double team and she really struggles to read rotations and pass out of the doubles. Their interior rebounding was awful. Boston played 34 minutes and had 5 rebounds as the starting center. MN also shot threes really well early and late. Clark has to be more consistent defensively guarding the ball. She can be too easy to beat at times and will give up on the play leading to massive over-rotations and wide open threes on the weak side.

EDIT: They need a major upgrade at the 4 spot and preferably a player who can rebound and stretch the floor. Smith has her moments but she can't play in space in the HC and can't shoot, which is not a great fit for Mitch and Clark. They need four shooters on the floor in order to get the best out of how Clark and Mitch play. Boston also struggles in the midrange which is unfortunate bc she is open a lot at the FT line off the short roll.

 

[riboflav]

They need more than that too. Samuelson is too slow to guard anyone which is why Hull plays so much. They have no depth. It will be hard to build all this through the draft as they'll be picking mid-first round this year and probably next year. They'll need free agents. Do FAs want to move to Indiana to play with Clark? I can see both yes and no, here. I know next to nothing about how the cap works but I do know their best players make the least money but K. Mitch. Wheeler and Samuelson are second and third in salary and they don't play much at all. IDK when their contracts are up but moving on from them and getting two borderline all star FAs would make this team a contender.

EDIT: I found it. Wheeler is a UFA at the end of the year so she's gone which is awesome. But, they're stuck with Samuelson for 2025.

 

[amh03]

Also, it'd be awesome if a mod could break this out into a W 2024 thread or something. I think the 2024 season started on page 3. I guess I'm hoping we have enough interest here now that there is a new thread every year.

Maybe we start a 2024 Playoff thread and then next season go w a fresh thread? Also, there’s probably room to have a Clark thread.

Anyway, leading into the game I expected the Fever to win last night. Collier came out so strong in that 2nd half…she wasn’t going to have it. If A’ja wasn’t the clear MVP, it would have to be Collier.

And the Sky looked great last night with Carter back from her illness. Reese had her best night, too, in a while. The Sparks will come back next year…there’s some good stuff there and they’re working on things. What a tough deal they got with the injury to Brink. But the Sky stayed afloat…had to with Atlanta’s win. Going to be quite a race for that last playoff spot w/the Mercury clinching the 7th spot.

 

[OCST]

With all their flaws, Fever are on a 7-2 streak- both losses to MIN.

I agree - even their decent players are sort of one-dimensional or have big weaknesses.

If I’m a shooter I’m all over the chance to play with Clark. Their spacing isn’t great. Clark does need to take care of the ball better but a couple of times per game she dribbles into dewd ends because she’s got nowhere to go. A shot maker or two who are not a liability defensively would be huge.

 

[BaseballJones]

The Sun are doing exactly what I thought they'd do - beat up on essentially the rest of the league, while struggling against the really good teams (LV and NY in particular). They have 10 losses on the year, but 5 of them are to those two teams. They're very good, but not elite good, and now are in 3rd place. They have to hold off Vegas for the #3, which would mean they'd avoid having to play both the Liberty and the Aces in the playoffs. Six games left, the first two against the Sparks, which they should win. Then against Phoenix, which they should also win (no guarantees though). But then they get Vegas and Minnesota back to back, and IMO the best case there is that they go 1-1, before wrapping it up with Chicago (which they should win).

The good news for the Sun is that LV has a much tougher schedule the rest of the way: at NY, at Ind, at Ind, vs Con, at Sea, vs Dal. Good chance they lose one of those games in there, maybe two.

 

[RorschachsMask]

View: https://twitter.com/alexaphilippou/status/1832588710933590417

 

[amh03]

So bummed….

 

[reggiecleveland]

A bit odd she is the one releasing this news. I have to admit I am not a big fan of hers. If she would stop shooting so much she would be really valuable. If Clark cuts TO and she cuts FGA their value will rise.

Edit Smart to rest with a wrist injury with a team going nowhere. Players who sell out like that hit the deck a lot and wrist injuries can linger.

 

[amh03]

Certainly sounds like a wise decision on her & the team’s part. Don’t want to develop into a chronic issue…

Since my niece started at LSU, we were watching the women’s basketball team and have really appreciated what Reese brought to that team. A group of 4 of us got tickets to the Sun/Sky team on 9/19 in part to see Reese play in person…so definitely bummed about that. It’ll still be fun, of course, but wish we were going to see Reese, for sure…(first world problems, I know).

 

[reggiecleveland]

Fever's emotions worry me. really up bouncing when they smacked Chicago, super whiny, letting frustration show, now flat and out of in 2nd half. Almost seem like believes their press. Clark, Mitchell taking bad shots, not moving the ball.

 

[OCST]

I am at Aces-Liberty.

NY 73-LV 71, :19.1.

 

[OCST]

exhale. Liberty had a 20 pt lead and blew it, but got some key stops in the last two minutes and held on. Nervy game.

 

[amh03]

I am at Aces-Liberty.

NY 73-LV 71, :19.1.

That was a great game!

Bummed that A’ja missed it, but nice she was there. Any news on Hamilton?

 

[BaseballJones]

Big turn of events for the Sun. They were on the verge of losing to the last place Sparks while Vegas could have pulled out a win against NY, which would have made the teams (CT and LV) just one game apart in the standings for 3rd/4th place. Huge deal for CT to be #3 instead of #4. But the Sun had a 24-9 fourth quarter against LA and the Liberty managed to win against Vegas, meaning it's now a three game spread.

 

[OCST]

No. (That's answering amh).

For those who missed it, Liberty forward Betnijah Laney-Hamilton, who was having a great game to that point, went down hard. I originally thought she was knocked out cold, it was one of those "oh, fuck" injury moments where the whole crowd gasped. Reports today are it's the same knee she had surgery on, not long ago.

The fans were screaming for a foul but I'm 99% certain that it was an inadvertent collision with Jones. Ofc they didn't show the replay in the arena and I haven't seen it since.

Midway through the third quarter the Liberty were up by 20. I said that the Aces just weren't that good without Wilson and I asked my daughter if she wanted to leave early to hit the merch store (Barclays doesn't do a great job with controlling crowd flow - the last time we went they ushered us out a side door and wouldn't let us in to the concourse areas to buy overpriced team logo crap - huge fail). Just then the game turned because ofc I jinxed it. Aces D strung together some stops. Liberty collectively got a case of the yips and started chucking up bad-idea shots. I think I'm being unbiased as I can be in saying that there were some truly awful calls and no-calls in there as well, all favoring Vegas.

The low point was when Stewart won a foul with the lead down to only a couple of points late in the fourth, and missed both FT (!!!)

Aces briefly took the lead (did I mention they were down by 20?) but the Liberty pulled it together, nosed back ahead with two minutes to go, and held on for dear life. Jones was huge in the critical moments, getting a stuff at one end and drawing a foul at the other and sinking both FT to put it from a 2 to 4 point lead with less than a minute.

I love Jones' game. One of the reasons why I generally watch less hoops then I once did is that the 3-point era doesn't do that much for me. I actually liked watching the Ewing-Oakley Knicks go up against Zo and the Heat in the mid-90's. I love the play of centers from the era of classic big men -not just blocks and rebounds, but fancy footwork and a variety of scoring moves in the low post, and especially the ability to pass out of the double-team. That's how Jones plays. Like the rest of the Liberty she was terrible for ten minutes in the second half, but for the rest of the game she was dominant. Her passing vision and skill is unreal.

Never in doubt, I told my daughter as we squeezed into the merch store at the end of the game and she bought a Jones T-shirt, like her old man's.

 

[InstaFace]

Great post, OCST. What a cool thing to be able to do with your daughter.

 

[RorschachsMask]

View: https://twitter.com/TheDunkCentral/status/1833253138650042833

 

[reggiecleveland]

View: https://twitter.com/TheDunkCentral/status/1833253138650042833

That is big deal. The WNBA has been debating whether to concede Sunday to the NFL. It shows, at least CC's fans are not the same people as previous WNBA fans which were probably people like most of us, fairly hardcore sports fans. Barkely alluded to this in his rant about the WNBA not embracing Clark. She is bringing in people they never had before, not just more of the same people they had.

The WNBA needs to hope for an exciting NCAA season and tournament where ideally a few stars emerge. Another player with say 25% Clark's popularity coming not the league woould be great.

 

[amh03]

@OCST - that Hamilton collision was with Jones. Latest update I’ve seen is good news -

Great news, per Liberty source: “Betnijah Laney-Hamilton avoided any significant injury in last night’s collision. Her return to play timeline is currently being evaluated by the team’s physicians and performance staff.”

Article

 

[Merkle's Boner]

That is big deal. The WNBA has been debating whether to concede Sunday to the NFL. It shows, at least CC's fans are not the same people as previous WNBA fans which were probably people like most of us, fairly hardcore sports fans. Barkely alluded to this in his rant about the WNBA not embracing Clark. She is bringing in people they never had before, not just more of the same people they had.

The WNBA needs to hope for an exciting NCAA season and tournament where ideally a few stars emerge. Another player with say 25% Clark's popularity coming not the league woould be great.

Maybe I’m biased as a UConn grad, but I think Paige Bueckers is going to be awesome in the W. And I imagine she’s going to LA, assuming they get the first pick, where she will team up with Cameron Brink.

 

[OCST]

That is big deal. The WNBA has been debating whether to concede Sunday to the NFL. It shows, at least CC's fans are not the same people as previous WNBA fans which were probably people like most of us, fairly hardcore sports fans. Barkely alluded to this in his rant about the WNBA not embracing Clark. She is bringing in people they never had before, not just more of the same people they had.

The WNBA needs to hope for an exciting NCAA season and tournament where ideally a few stars emerge. Another player with say 25% Clark's popularity coming not the league woould be great.

The crowd at the games I've been to is a really interesting mix.

-lots of families with kids
-alumnae/alumna groups of schools with players in the game - UConn, South Carolina, Iowa, always a vocal Ducks contingent for Ionescu
-hipsters of all genders
-frat guy and 20's-30's recent frat guy traditional sports fans
-older gay couples
-young couples on dates, gay straight and whatever
-lots of African-American folks of all ages

There were plenty of folks following the NFL around me, but also a few looking at the Fever game on their phones.

 

[reggiecleveland]

Maybe I’m biased as a UConn grad, but I think Paige Bueckers is going to be awesome in the W. And I imagine she’s going to LA, assuming they get the first pick, where she will team up with Cameron Brink.

I agree she's really good and very charismatic.

 

[amh03]

Paige has also had a very fun summer…she’s been everywhere - multiple games, Espys, Olympics, US Open, and more. She’s so likable…I expect to see a lot of her as well.

 

[BaseballJones]

Paige is also a terrific person. She’s the real deal aside from being a tremendous basketball player.

 

[InstaFace]

I've only caught part of the 3rd and now the 4th quarter, but Aces - Fever is really fun so far. Refs letting a reasonable amount of physicality go, some nice Clark plays, Boston can't hit the broad side of a barn, A'ja Wilson hasn't really been herself either.

 

[InstaFace]

Indiana gets two different chances - to take the lead with a Clark 3, and then after some good defense, to tie on what became an open Boston corner 3. Both rimmed out.

Strange for a team like Indiana that's so offense-heavy to see them make the defensive plays they needed but couldn't buy a basket for several minutes in the middle of the 4th, including two crucial ones that cost them in crunch time.

 

[reggiecleveland]

Clark took a really bad deep 3 when it was a one possession game. Indiana has looked bad the last two games.
Caitlin really needs to fix her body language and reactions to bad calls. I get she has had hate thrown at her from all angles and gets beat up, but her reactions don't help her cause. What I don't like is her palms up (the Lowry or the Luka) when her teammates miss a shot of cause a turnover not being ready for a pass. One of my favorite things about the WNBA is the lack of flopping toughness of the players and she seems she wants to be the Lebron of the WNBA in a bad way, make flopping and crying to the ref the norm.

 

[reggiecleveland]

I will put my prediction here. Alyssa Thomas will break the single game WNBA assist record in the last game of the year vs the Sky. Clark is 27 assists ahead but has only two games left. Thomas has three games left. I would not put it passed the WNBA to give CC a T and have her miss the last game. Thomas is shooting way less and putting up huge assist numbers lately. If Caitlin gets fewer than 20 assists total her last two games Thomas will have a great chance to catch her.

EDIT: I am not a betting man, but Alyssa Thomas assist vs SKy are at 7.5 now. Good bet on over.

 

[amh03]

I will put my prediction here. Alyssa Thomas will break the single game WNBA assist record in the last game of the year vs the Sky. Clark is 27 assists ahead but has only two games left. Thomas has three games left. I would not put it passed the WNBA to give CC a T and have her miss the last game. Thomas is shooting way less and putting up huge assist numbers lately. If Caitlin gets fewer than 20 assists total her last two games Thomas will have a great chance to catch her.

EDIT: I am not a betting man, but Alyssa Thomas assist vs SKy are at 7.5 now. Good bet on over.

Re the bolded - are you suggesting there’s a conspiracy by the W to sit Clark?

 

[Merkle's Boner]

Re the bolded - are you suggesting there’s a conspiracy by the W to sit Clark?

Yeah I’m struggling to figure out how the league could be so monumentally stupid to sit their most important player.

 

[BaseballJones]

I will put my prediction here. Alyssa Thomas will break the single game WNBA assist record in the last game of the year vs the Sky. Clark is 27 assists ahead but has only two games left. Thomas has three games left. I would not put it passed the WNBA to give CC a T and have her miss the last game. Thomas is shooting way less and putting up huge assist numbers lately. If Caitlin gets fewer than 20 assists total her last two games Thomas will have a great chance to catch her.

EDIT: I am not a betting man, but Alyssa Thomas assist vs SKy are at 7.5 now. Good bet on over.

Why on earth would the WNBA "favor" Alyssa Thomas over Caitlin Clark, when the CT Sun are historically under appreciated under recognized, and Clark is the one who has brought the league the most fans and money in its history?

 

[reggiecleveland]

I am suggesting the WNBA is incompetent. I am also suggesting CC not leading the league in assists would be popular with many people closest to and on the court. NBA greats like Chuck, recently Ricky Barry and Ice (two guys criminally overlooked because they were overshadowed by Larry and Magic) have stated the WNBA is not protecting Clark and blowing a golden opportunity. The resentment towards Bronny by many players in the NBA, justifiably has to be very high, but only a private comment by a player surreptitiously recorded at a summer league game has surfaced. The NBA has been popular for more than 18 weeks, so they know how to handle things. Even the business savvy, "We own a day of the week" NFL allowed QBs to get crushed for decades before figuring out it hurt business.

They created a schedule where the Fever player every second day the first 3 weeks guaranteeing their new cash cow's introduction to the league would be extremely difficult.. The basketball leaders left her off the Olympic team, in part because she was too popular and a distraction. WNBA insiders, on the NBA network in some cases, promoted the idea a role playing big shooting 35% was a better player. The WNBA has not exactly been overflowing with competence. Within the existing WNBA community, she is disliked, resented as much or more than loved. Caitlin has at least two really cheap Ts this season, so I wouldn't put it past some ref to show they don't favor her by giving her a T. The pressure on the refs will be enormous, and it is not impossible for a ref to come down on the side that appearing to favor CC will cause them grief with the players, coaches etc. These refs were working in obscurity last year and now every slightly questionable call against Caitlin blows up on social media. Refs may resent her too. As I mentioned above, not without reason.Tell me who is the visionary in charge of the WNBA that would be sure she doesn't get hosed by the refs? Angel Hernandez umped 8 LCS and two WS. To use a SOSH analogy, even the moneyball owner and maybe the greatest GM in MLB history, at the beginning had Grady Little making decisions at field level.


I don't think she will. Her coaches etc, have to be all over her about being careful, and most refs are reasonable, understand their place. While I would count on the NBA. NFL to protect a star, I think the WNBA is new to having this many eyeballs and dumb enough to screw this up.

 

[scottyno]

They moved the Fever's last game on the road to a larger arena specifically because of Clark, yeah the league definitely wants her to not play that game so the fans who paid just to see her can all riot just so someone else can maybe set an assists record

 

[amh03]

I am suggesting the WNBA is incompetent. I am also suggesting CC not leading the league in assists would be popular with many people closest to and on the court. NBA greats like Chuck, recently Ricky Barry and Ice (two guys criminally overlooked because they were overshadowed by Larry and Magic) have stated the WNBA is not protecting Clark and blowing a golden opportunity. The resentment towards Bronny by many players in the NBA, justifiably has to be very high, but only a private comment by a player surreptitiously recorded at a summer league game has surfaced. The NBA has been popular for more than 18 weeks, so they know how to handle things. Even the business savvy, "We own a day of the week" NFL allowed QBs to get crushed for decades before figuring out it hurt business.

They created a schedule where the Fever player every second day the first 3 weeks guaranteeing their new cash cow's introduction to the league would be extremely difficult.. The basketball leaders left her off the Olympic team, in part because she was too popular and a distraction. WNBA insiders, on the NBA network in some cases, promoted the idea a role playing big shooting 35% was a better player. The WNBA has not exactly been overflowing with competence. Within the existing WNBA community, she is disliked, resented as much or more than loved. Caitlin has at least two really cheap Ts this season, so I wouldn't put it past some ref to show they don't favor her by giving her a T. The pressure on the refs will be enormous, and it is not impossible for a ref to come down on the side that appearing to favor CC will cause them grief with the players, coaches etc. These refs were working in obscurity last year and now every slightly questionable call against Caitlin blows up on social media. Refs may resent her too. As I mentioned above, not without reason.Tell me who is the visionary in charge of the WNBA that would be sure she doesn't get hosed by the refs? Angel Hernandez umped 8 LCS and two WS. To use a SOSH analogy, even the moneyball owner and maybe the greatest GM in MLB history, at the beginning had Grady Little making decisions at field level.

I don't think she will. Her coaches etc, have to be all over her about being careful, and most refs are reasonable, understand their place. While I would count on the NBA. NFL to protect a star, I think the WNBA is new to having this many eyeballs and dumb enough to screw this up.

Wow…this is quite a take…so everyone Is in on this? The principals of the W, the refs, players, NBA network, the Olympic coach, the press??? Jeez…think i’ll just leave it at I don’t agree…

 

[reggiecleveland]

I wish the internet abandonment of nuance hadn't invaded this place. I pointed out things that should not have happened, but have happened since the WNBA is not handling the uncharted waters of this situation very well. I never once said it was intentional and I resent the implication. And frankly that assertation is a bit of a dick move. I explained the factors that could lead to a bad decision made by an official. I am the opposite of claiming conspiracy, and believe I made it clear. Leagues do not interfere with officials they know any hint of that or release of anything like that would be ruinous. So the officials will be on their own, and may be good officials or may be Angel Hernandez in the post season, who knows.The WNBA is an immature league and the chance of an unfortunate call by an official messing up one of the most compelling storylines in years is not zero.

Another parallel, the deflategate mess was without doubt affected by how the rest of the league perceived the NEP and their jealously of NE success. That was at the highest level, with plenty of time to make a decision, the chance ongoing resentment could influence a snap decision by an official is less outlandish. Again I don't think it will happen, but I wouldn't pout it past the WNBA to shott itself in the foot again.

 

[amh03]

HUGE - A’ja Wilson just hit 1,000 points for the season…never done before and still have a few games left to go for the regular season!! An amazing feat!!!!

Edit…adding some coverage now that it’s out -

Las Vegas Aces star A'ja Wilson is in the midst of the best individual scoring season the WNBA has ever seen, and she reached a new height on Sunday in her team's 84-71 win over Connecticut Sun when she became the first player to score 1,000 points in a season.

Perhaps the most impressive aspect of Wilson's dominant scoring campaign is that she's remained highly efficient. She's shooting 51.9% from the field, which is the second-best mark of her career and good for seventh in the league. That's while taking 19.6 shots per game, which would be the third-most ever. Of the six other seasons where a player has averaged at least 19 shots, the next best field goal percentage is Diana Taurasi at 45.2.

CBS article

 

[reggiecleveland]

All the record talk does neglect to mention the league played 28 games , then for most of its history played 34, then in 2022 went to 36 games, and now in the last two years has increased to 40. Roger Maris got for a 5% longer season. This is 15% longer than most season and even more than 15% for many. This is not for A'ja who also set the ppg record, or will. But scoring a point and half more than Taurasi's best per game is not quite the blowout it seems. Clark has set the assist record in total assists, but Courtney Vandersloot had 4 years with more APG. Of the 8 times a player has averaged over 8 assists a game CVS has 6 of them. At least the Fever broadcast mentioned Clark's record was for total points. With a big game Thursday she could move into 5th on the Rookie ppg standings. Angel Reese (missed layups and all) did legit set the rebounds per game record though. I get the WNBA is using the ploy of the expanded season to cite records to hype the golden era, but the NBA recognizes league leaders on a pergame basis and I expect the WNBA does too.

On this note they need to expand the playoffs. The finals should be a 7 game series and the first round should be five. They don't need to hurry to get it over with anymore.

 

[riboflav]

Maybe I’m biased as a UConn grad, but I think Paige Bueckers is going to be awesome in the W. And I imagine she’s going to LA, assuming they get the first pick, where she will team up with Cameron Brink.

Paige is fantastic and was arguably on par with Clark in college when both were at full strength. Her going to LA won’t help. It’s my hot take tho. Those games are late. But I get it LA is a big market. I’m not sure that’s enough in the W.

 

[riboflav]

Paige isn’t as flashy as Clark and probably won’t draw the YouTube highlights crowd also.

 

[riboflav]

Don’t forget JuJu another year away. There is a lot of high profile talent coming up.

 

[reggiecleveland]

This may be a weird take, but watch Clark all year she seems to be just good at open threes, but it is the crazy range and step backs she can make, while being a playmaker that set her apart. Paige may be a better shooter of conventional threes. A highlight of her making 6, 7, 8 threes would still be popular.

 

[Merkle's Boner]

Paige isn’t as flashy as Clark and probably won’t draw the YouTube highlights crowd also.

Her game isn’t as flashy, but I would argue her off court personality is much more appealing. Caitlin, whom I love, too often comes across as sort of a machine and I don’t think she lets her hair down too often, which is probably a bad metaphor. Paige just comes across as really fun off the court.