The WNBA Playoffs: Part 2

An Interesting Conclusion to The WNBA Season

While WNBA teams  the Atlanta Dream, the Phoenix Mercury, and Minnesota Lynx have all clinched their way into the WNBA playoffs, there are still many teams who have yet to clinch playoff berths. The standings  are very close, especially in the Eastern conference where 4 teams are currently in the playoff hunt. Each WNBA team currently has either two or three  games remaining on their WNBA schedules.

The Washington Mystics are currently in 2nd place in the Eastern Conference standings. The Mystics have a record of 15-16 and have  three games remaining on their schedule. Wednesday they will face Elena Delle Donne and the Chicago Sky, who currently are in 3rd place  in the Eastern Conference standings.  The Mysitcs also have a game against the Connecticut Sunn and will close out the season against the New York Liberty on Saturday.

The Chicago Sky, who have played a lot of games without their star in Delle Done, are currently sitting at 3rd place in the Eastern Conference. The Sky have been led by rookie Jamierra Faulkner, who has emerged as a great point guard, as well as All-Star Jessica Breland. The Sky currently have a record of 14-17, with games against the Indiana Fever and San Antonio Stars also.

The Indiana Fever are currently sitting at 4th place in the Eastern Conference, with a record of 14-17. All-Star Tamika Catchings has played well since her return from an injury earlier in the season. The Fever have two games against the New York Liberty, in addition to the game with the Chicago Sky. Coach Lin Dunn will look to get the Fever to the playoffs in her last season of coaching in the WNBA.

Lastly the New York Liberty are currently in 5th place  in the Eastern Conference and have a record of 13-17.  The Liberty are led by All-Star Tina Charles, who has averaged nearly 18 points and 10 rebounds per game this season. In addition to the two games with the Fever, the Liberty have a home against WNBA’s best team, the Phoenix Mercury.

The  West doesn’t seem  to be as complex as the East, the Los Angeles Sparks and San Antonio Stars look to be the 3rd and 4th seeds in the Western Conference standings. The Sparks led by All-Stars Nneka Ogwumike and Candace Parker, have the 3rd best record in the west at 14-17. The San Antonio Stars,  led by Becky Hammon, have the 4th best record in the west  at 14-18. The only way things would get interesting  is if  either of these teams lost their remaining games and the Tulsa Shock or Seattle Storm win out.

This last week of WNBA regular season basketball should be very interesting and the atmosphere for these games should be playoff like. There will definitely be some playoff spots clinched by Sunday, as those games are the last of the WNBA schedule. With the playoffs near it is time for the stars of the league to shine.

 

 

 

Spurs Make History Again

The Becky Hammon Impact

The San Antonio Spurs have had one memorable year thus far in 2014. In June they won the franchise’s 5th NBA championship since 1999. The Spurs managed to demolish the Miami Heat in 5 games, beating them by an average of nearly 15 points per game, which is one of the largest margins of victory in NBA Finals history . However what the Spurs did recently topped all of  the team’s previous achievements.

Tuesday the Spurs announced WNBA star, Becky Hammon, as a new assistant coach of the team. Hammon had been practicing with Spurs and even attended a few of the team’s games during the previous NBA season. Becky Hammon will go down in history as the first female to ever be hired on an NBA coaching staff, opening doors for possibly more females to be hired by other NBA teams in the future.

Hammon recently announced she would be retiring from the WNBA after 15 seasons and that this would be her last season with ironically the San Antonio Stars. Hammon is a seven time WNBA All-Star and is ranked as one of the top 15 WNBA players of all time. In her career she  has averaged nearly 13 points, 4 assists , and 2 rebounds per game. Hammon’s best basketball skill is her ability to shoot the basketball, as she has shot the three pointer  at nearly  37% throughout her career.

Hammon should be the perfect fit with the Spurs who shot the ball exceptionally well in the NBA Finals and throughout the season. The Spurs shot the 3 pointer at nearly 40% all season and shot 49% from the field during the playoffs. With the hire of Becky Hammon as an assistant coach, the idea that a woman could lead a group of men seems more realistic than ever. However Hammon still has a WNBA season left to complete, as the San Antonio Stars are currently in playoff contention. With that being said, the Spurs have definitely made an enormous mark on the game of basketball and have opened the eyes of young women around the world.