Game 13 wrap: GSV fast breaks + 2-3 zone = blowout of CONN

Chen gets plenty of playing time, Hall and Powers get on scoreboard

• Box Score

Apricot In-Game Notes

Pregame

• There’s been a lot of overlap of Valks games and NBA! The first Valks game was at the same time as MIN-GSW Game 1, so someone on press row had to tell me about Steph’s injury. That same person also got to show me at least two of Halliburton’s game winners, and the scores of Finals G6 which overlapped the Fever game. It’s become a tradition.

• (Update of a fateful tradition: same reporter told me about Hali’s injury. )

• In retrospect it makes logical sense, as Chase had to be booked as much as possible not intersecting possible GSW home games, meaning they would have to intersect the Eastern Conference playoff games.

  Notably though if GSW had to play Finals G6 or G7, one would be at Chase and thus would have conflicted with a GSV game. I guess they could have changed the time of the GSV game (or in a pinch the date… GSW changed the dates of two games this season due to LA fire rescheduling).

• Along these lines, I read that Chase is booked for potential GSV playoff dates, which perhaps shows the Valks are farther ahead of schedule than even Light Years anticipated.

• Temi watch: looks like some game theory over in EuroBasket.

  @richardcohen.bsky.social‬:

  [[

  Spain cling on and win 78-75. But I still love the play by Sweden to take overtime on purpose and give themselves the extra shot to win by 7 or 8. I wouldn't have trusted GB to beat Germany and help them out, either. Smart, tournament basketball, even if it didn't ultimately work.

  So Spain have won Group D, and Sweden are out. Great Britain need to beat Germany by 12 or more to go through in second, otherwise Germany go through.

  ]]

• Bibby actually hit some big shots in preseason crunch time too. If there were 15 player rosters I expect she would stay on the team. Oh well, next CBA.

• GER up 16 over GBR. A 28 point turnaround seems unlikely for Temi’s team, so we should expect her back early, possibly as soon as the next game.

• I didn’t check the exact details, so I don’t know if we’re talking about the near-impossible situation of the WNBA Finals or the very possible 1st round…

  … but I really doubt they will move the venue except as an absolute last resort. They’d have to rent it for big $, they’d have to make sure it was in shape to handle the logistics, they’d lose tremendous amount of revenue for concessions partners…

  They’d probably try in order:

  1. Get WNBA to move the dates

  2. Move the time to midday

  3. Try to reschedule the artist

  Now I’m curious enough to look into the actual conflict…

• Okay, it looks like the big issue is the Laver Cup Sep 19-21. This is all day 19/20 and half of 21. Playoffs start Sep 11. If GSV is still in it by 9/19, WNBA will definitely want to schedule one or maybe two games for the Fri-Sun slots for TV viewing. Maaaaaybe they could use the half day on 9/21, though I don’t know how fast you can convert it from tennis to basketball…

• I believe Fágbénlé has 48 hours to report for duty w GSV (by WNBA collective bargaining rules… possibly GSV and her can work out something slower). So it’s basically certain that she’ll be available for the 29th.

  I assume GSV will want her back as soon as possible, as IND was strongly attacking the GSV lack of any centers on the roster. Also, GSV didn’t sign any replacement centers so I think they expected her back sooner.

• On Chen’s contract. It was never formally announced but GSV can cut her at any time without negative team consequences.

Game Time

• Starters as before: KT, Talbot, Mo, Tip, VB

• Q1.

  GSV defending PNR going under. Two bricks from CON trying to punish.

  Great hustle from Burton.

  8.25. CON defense is show and recover.

  8.09. CON now trying to post up with Tina Charles each time. Good move, GSV still doesn’t have a real center until Fagbenle comes back.

  8.00. VB rejects the screen on the empty side PNR to punish the show/recover D

  7.10. Tip/VB small small PNR. Nice roll from Tip.

  6.00. Tip calls for the empty side PNR again. This time CON expects her to reject so they overplay that side; Tip takes screen to go the other way, good drive, score.

  5.20. This is surely the highest in-game 3P% in franchise history. 50%.

• Q1

  4.18. GSV worked hard to rotate the ball to get a good angle for the post entry pass to Amihere. Once the ball was there, she pounced.

  4.05. Folk hero Chloe Bibby in. Rousing cheer. She promptly haikyuus a CON pass into the stands.

• Looks like Leite’s back must be acting up.

• 3.57. Good D on the BLOB ATO (baseline out of bounds after timeout). I think there were two backcuts covered.

  Amihere has been a bundle of everything. Vigorous post defense, fouls, near giveaways, a power layup and a steal for 2.

  2.45. VB goes under in PNR defense, this time Hartley makes her pay.

  2.10. Bibby with her traditional pick and pop. This time great ball fake and drive but an even better rotation for a block from Nelson-Ododa.

  Twice burned, GSV changes its PNR D from going under to going over + drop.

  0.30. Really nice play with Kate pass to a VB backcut. Help rotates off corner, kick to Bibby, 3. So huge for her to be shooting well as she’s the only above-average 3 point shooter active today.

• Q2.

  10.00. Did I say folk hero already? Then Kaitlyn Chen is a Valkyrie Nation institution. Massive ovation for her debut.

  9.20. AND 1 FOR CHEN. Deafening roar.

  8.31. CON cold from 3. They’ve got to go to more post ups and paint shots. The expected value per shot may be the same as a three, but GSV lives on the runout counterattacks and long rebounds.

  8.20. CON puts Chen / Martin in a PNR. Martin shows and recovers. That defuses the initial action but a post up gets FTs.

  Talbot with another steal on the entry pass. She’s had maybe four in the last two games, baiting the entry and then reaching around.

  KT with two straight plays outrunning CON and catching the pass over the top.

  6.18. Okay, Ballhalla trying to start another Wave. The last Wave was during a too-long review last game. That was a transgressive protest against the overbloated bureaucracy. This is not justifiable with moral philosophy. It’s purely hedonistic.

• Q2

  5:35. CON with the surprise trap. But GSV passes out nicely.

  5.05. GSV pulling out the 2-3 zone again

  4.46. Tip gets picked up by Charles in transition. Chen sees the mismatch, throws to Tip. Tip just cold bloodedly sized her up and shot a 3 in her eye.

• Thanks, I love the tip about celebrations on TV. I'm watching live so I don't know what footage there is

• Q2

  3.31. More GSV 2-3 zone. First play with the 2-3 zone, I think CON went straight to a post up and it worked. What is all this rigamarole they are trying, switching sides etc? They aren’t getting anywhere. I say put Charles in the middle, let her eat. Of course, the lack of this I think is good for GSV.

  3.22. Talbot’s shot is really messed up. She’s been pretty sturdy on defense and cleaning up rebounds. 6 REB, 3 AST. But missed 2 FTAs in a row, which is funny because I believe she came in with a reputation as a good shooter.

• Q2

  1.58. It’s interesting how much Tip cuts inside (or rolls inside). Kind of plays like a big when off-ball.

  1.35. Okay, CON clearly reads Valkyrie Nation because they go to Charles in the middle of the zone and she lays it up over Amihere.

  It’s getting ugly. They try to put Peters in the middle of the zone. She kicks it out for 3, miss. It’s now a 27 POINT LEAD.

• I think I’m going to sign off unless the game gets abnormally close. Be sure to comment if something notable happens.

• On Chen T: She got fouled and then pushed off catching her defender in the face.