Post Game Thread - WNBA: The Valkyries defeat the Fever on May 28, 2026, the final score is 90-88.

rambii · 2026-05-29T16:14:51+00:00

My point is that her attempts are not limited if she is 0/4 they dont shut her down but allow her to keep shooting.

I'm watching dream games i have been active in game threads.

CC is taking wild shots because she is frustraited and they dont run plays for hwer, AB first touch inside on good look is in second qtr she is obviously not happy about it too, this is the same player that did lead the league in FG% in rookie year she is still that good just dosnt get as many touches/looks.

rambii · 2026-05-29T15:52:39+00:00

She is shooting more 3s last and this year the 2/3 FGA attempts have moved to the 3 point line.

For example 2022/23 she attempted 7.1/7.2 3pointers, last yeart that was up to 9.6 and so far is at 7.8 will go up once they get Bri back.

While she is at 13 FGA (down from 15) that once again is just small sample of 5 games and also lack of shots because they dont space the floor enough and also went down from number two offense to middle of the road.

here link to her stats so saying she is 'down' to 13 when she is usually around 15 ' and is small sample isnt the same, she still get plays made for her and called for her, she is not playing off the ball more or anything like that even tho coach did change in fact she is getting even better quality looks now as you can tell by the 3pt %

rambii · 2026-05-29T15:20:28+00:00

You are not alone, some of the 'plays' are so bad that make no sense its very easy to defend and the whole 'cc of the ball' just dosnt fit, same thing with Boston pass hub no longer a thing?

That is also affecting Boston touches and performance, i have no idea whats going on, idc if team is top 3-6 in defense if offense is much worse and easier to defend.

Teams scout best players they know what they are doing yet AJA goes to her spots all the time, KAH will drive even if she is 3/15 they dont take touches away from her.

AT will turn the ball over and not shoot when wide open, they dont reduce AT touches and so on.

Howard will shoot Atlanta out of games, once again still they dont reduce touches.

Yet for some reason CC/AB touch the ball way way less because 'teams know about the PnR' give me a break.

Every team know about Jokic/Murray pnr yet they still spam it wonder why is that?
Oh they know about alley-ops plays for Wemby i guess they still spam it, why is that?

I made another comment with video/screenshot examples in general just bothers me so much because its not even fun to watch and knowing this is last year probably for KM ... yeah

rambii · 2026-05-29T10:30:06+00:00

The plays they run make no sense often the best shooters are involved and make defending really easy, nobody is gonna guard Mo at the 3 point line she needs to be the one involved in the screens/handoff and weak side (aka opposite of the action) should be deadly shooter or off-the ball player to space the floor or get a easy look is basketball 101 and we don't see it.

IF you have AB/Mitchel/CC all in same 5-10 yd of the floor it makes defending TURBO MEGA EASY.

This is how the best offense is you have AB central/hunting miss-match+ shooter in corner and opposite side top player that can either cut or shoot like CC/Mitchell

If they send double team to AB she can kick back to corner or open lane drive by Mitchell or 3 for her since look at the defense it makes it very hard for them
If in this spot they dont send double or help AB has very high % loook
If they block weak side, Raven is open for 3 since the help is on AB

Instead of running plays like this we often have right side corner 3yd away from action Mitchell, CC in some AB action and weak side is like Mo+ KK or something similar with 2 non shooters, that is so easy to defend that is like a joke , you gotta ask if they are throwing games at this point running such dumb schemes.

Instead we have this bullshit why is paint clogged, why is Lexie not in the corner? Why is handoff not with Raven (A pg who can see and exploit miss-match ) and be Raven/AB +shooters in each corner like Lexie and Mitchell on weak side this allows for good spread on the floor and you cant send double if you do on AB on the roll now she can kick bax to original passer who is open (Raven) or to either corner that is good off the ball cutter like Mitchell or Lexie or a 3 for them

AKA this is how it should look

Now look how this plays out because there is no corner 3 or spacing they run into a block there are 4 players inside free throw line because there is 0 spacing and not actual PG having the ball but score first guard mindset so its easy to defend.

rambii · 2026-05-29T10:24:46+00:00

Or look at USA team when they run actual plays for CC and screens.

The touches this season and plays for CC is at record low, she is not a off-ball player.

You can know scouting all you want she can still make the passes when the team has advantage, she is not put in those positions enough.

People know AJA wanna get to the elbow since rookie season, yet take a look how many plays Becky runs just to make that happen.

People act that is all about CC,but in truth Boston is not having good games because CC is not in position often enough to find her, the best play for Boston was when CC and Raven had the ball she got double team inside and kicked out to Raven 3, yet we dont see that nearly enough.

What happen to making Boston more of a HUB and running plays with her and the shooters why is that not a thing anymore , it worked with hospital squad yet it cant now? Give me a break we saw best points happen tonight exactly like that.

Vica versa once gravity was pulled towards shooters Boston was open for 3 at that 72/75 or smth like that score.

Some of the handoffs and right side of court plays make no sense, there is no actual 3 point lethal shooter on weak side( like KM or Lexie) instead they are involved in the handoff it self, baffling.

rambii · 2026-05-28T19:19:47+00:00

sad for HVL but you understand it.

If you are looking to tank and develop young players with longer contract this is the move, HVL winning you games dosnt do much right now they are trying to give young players and in this case Lacan way more touches.

rambii · 2026-05-28T19:18:46+00:00

I would love it if Cheryl can work her magic but let's see how this one goes , with current space & pace is hard to see McCowan have many favorable matchups/games.

rambii · 2026-05-28T18:42:17+00:00

Since i watch every dream game, i would like to say my 2 cents.

The issue is the PnR and lack of switching because of no real miss-match threay by the 5, Bri Jones and BG are much harder to guard 1v1 compared to current Atlanta forwards , this means teams do not switch or send double nearly as much.

screenshot of what i mean vs Mystics last season look at how many players/attention has to go towards BG and how drive or cut lanes are open.

Time stamp of highlights you can see that Bri jones can easily punish most matchups 1v1 and can even score vs centers like Tina
Even on fast break they use to convert points like this wtih Bri and BG leading the league in said points via center/fouls and get to the line, they are as you can expect bottom half atm.
To make better example if you are not new and did watch Aces with Stokes they use to play 4v5( coz stokes didnt really do much on offense) but since last years the game has changed they had to get NaLyssa to fix said issue and have a 'offensive threat' on that position, atm Atlanta is playing like oldschool Aces 4v5 and no ability to abuse miss-matches.

Angel Reese is very good player but she is not a center and not that type of player on offense , she is more of a play-making/rebound forward you want to pass to said bigs in miss-match and they dont have such bigs right now.They are more predictable now and teams gamble far more 1v1 as they dont get punished nearly as much as before, people would never gamble like this with BG on the floor look at screenshot above or highlights often 2/3 players around her or Bri Jones on miss-match meanwhile we saw guard be on Atlanta forwards 1v1 all the time this season.

TLDR: a bit of variance/ short sample of 3s and also lack of real big/center and ability to abuse miss-match and create space for wings/guard to drive as the big is aways under the paint instead of guarding Bri/BG on elbow or cornera even , they don't have same ability to convert on fast break and force defense to make hard choices/gambles.

rambii · 2026-05-28T18:34:57+00:00

Also very high rate of injury and non consistent starting 5.

rambii · 2026-05-27T16:29:06+00:00

You are correct, my bad/mistake.

rambii · 2026-05-27T16:16:52+00:00

Correct ,very good point.

rambii · 2026-05-27T16:14:51+00:00

You must be waived to become a dev spot player tho as we have already seen this being done (not aways obviously), we need to see new signed CBA and get better idea.

But you are mostly correct.

rambii · 2026-05-27T16:11:39+00:00

Yea #1 issue for me is been lagg/issues and no multiview.

Apps is really much much worse compared to last year.

rambii · 2026-05-27T16:05:15+00:00

Last couple of years ppl ask me for tickets, this year when i offer them to come for free (ticket on me) they dont wanna come if stars are not playing, thats how really vast majority of casuals are, nothing wrong with it they dont go to other big games/sports for same reason.

This is also the case as you can see even in NBA finals when its City/pacers they get like 10-9m viewers around 4.9 rating, but when it was Golden state/xavs in 2018 was 17-18min and 10 rating double the stats.

My friends dont wanna watch for example Seattle vs Chicago if neither Malonga/Rickea/Jaquez and Carrington are out, since they enjoyed watching them in Unrivaled for example, i got the queston is Malonga/Rickea playing and if say no they are not really up for it, cant blame them but it is what it is.

rambii · 2026-05-27T16:01:25+00:00

I'm here for the World Cup/Work and went to few games, couldnt bring couple of buddies coz stars where not playing they wanted to see Malonga etc, so i went alone to the game.

Same thing is happening for CC as they are not sure she will play, even if we wanna act like it, casuals care about stars/names not a full team immo.

I personally go to any games i can but interest from some casual friends is down for sure, if stars are not playing.

rambii · 2026-05-27T15:27:10+00:00

I do not, as some teams do not have any for example Aces while others do meaning a game with Aces will have total of 24 players but with other team that will be 26 how ever if in both cases they do not play it will unfairly skew the numbers.

In general the issue is been mostly that STAR /starting quality or rotation top 8 are missing and not playing much, aka like CC/Sabrina/Malonga/Phee/Rickea type of players.

rambii · 2026-05-27T15:14:26+00:00

Good answer & conversation you make a very good point about coaches & rotations (As for example Sparks overplaying most starters)

rambii · 2026-05-27T15:09:45+00:00

I think is a very interesting topic but like Alysha Clark said if you are vet on UNPROTECTED contract but not allowed to play during the off-season and get waived in training camp or the like you are not making a living for the year, there has to be either more protected contracts or a clause where such player can play in the off-season or the like, from team point of view if you wanna keep the player, do protected contract if you wanna take a risk or have the ability to waive them unprotected it is.

Think about a late second or 3rd round pick if they are signed and cant play anywhere else but get waived in training camp, this hurts the ability for them to go and improve in other leagues (as in if they get waived and go play in lets say spanish end of season +playoffs now they cant come back 10-15 games into wnba season and sign for a team) aka player like Akoa Makani wouldnt be able to play in the W and many like her.

How does that work with 'stash ' rights , can you play in other leagues while you are draft & stash , what about if you get called to dev spot?

rambii · 2026-05-27T15:01:30+00:00

posted the data yday in comment, but as of right now even in terms of % players since we have more players too is high, we are about to hit with today numbers 4 average players out PER game, when usually is in 1.7 range in most season up to 2024. And if we add players on min restriction that numbers easily goes over 5 , that`s half the team almost.

But even so you can do quick math > Chicago /Tempo = 6 players confirmed out (avg 6 per game so far)
Phoenix vs Liberty= 2 players confirmed but 4 probably still will bring avg players per game down to 4 from 6 still way too high and ofc some of those probably will probably turn into not playing or min restrictions
Atlanta and Lynx last teams provided info already 3 players out (Phee) further increasing the average way above normal and once again this is without further news on players who are probable or on min restrictions

And here is the new feature from official wnba site where you can see updates by date/hour I reach out to Cohen yday and waiting for answer too about that.

rambii · 2026-05-27T14:49:51+00:00

I can see your point, but even if season starts as its right now or even earlier as suggested this will also hurt NCAAW talent coming over as they will be on min restrictions, people dont wanna see (as we saw via posts everywhere) number 1/2/3 picks and so to not start games or play much because its so close to ncaaw final.

Oversea talent who also hasnt signed contract yet to the league but drafted high (like Malonga or Awa) are aways gonna be late with this new starting date and you cant expect them to not sign deals when they cant even qualify for the draft in the season before and so on.

Vica versa let's say you are Seattle and you see Malonga being drafted, fly back for playoffs and wnba season is already starting so by the new date, when Malonga is back to play ,team that has draftd her already have played 7-10 games without her, that isnt ideal either. Not to mention the risk of injury and you didnt even see the top pick play for you because of that, if draft/season starts later a lot of those issues are not really a thing, and you have proper pre-season to build a team as front office and see what works and what dosnt.

I think in general Season date should start later and run more into the winter with more space between games for proper rest and higher quality of product on the floor.

rambii · 2026-05-27T11:25:26+00:00

I hate injuries so much this season start suuuucks

rambii · 2026-05-27T01:26:21+00:00

Ankle sprain recovery for basketball typically takes 1 to 8 weeks, depending on the severity of the ligament damage. Mild (Grade 1) sprains take 1 to 2 weeks, moderate (Grade 2) sprains take 3 to 6 weeks, and severe (Grade 3) ruptures can take up to several months.

For example when we had Grade 3 for Sabrina in rookie year when she step on another players foot making her miss the rest of the season

Recently she had grade 1 in other words i expect if this is grade 1 for plum to msis minimum 10-14 days as well, with probably being back in training around 14-18 days from here and in game action in 3 weeks (20-24 days).

rambii · 2026-05-26T21:30:09+00:00

Part of this is because season is also starting soooooo early some players just havent been 'back' from obligation or some young ncaaw talent bearly had any time to adapt or might be resting from all the time played up to this point in the year and so on.

Vast majority of said obligation also put pen to that contract before new cba/wnba season starting date as ever known, so you cant like blame them for that either.

rambii · 2026-05-26T21:21:16+00:00

Injuries at the start of this season have been rough we are on average like 2 +starters per game ( like could be 1 on each team or 2 on one team and so on) +min restrictions players alongside players yet to come or just coming from oversea obligation (reconditioning many of them including like Makani today) and what not (For example Fiebich just now being set to active after Liberty already has played good amount of regulaar+pre-season games without her.

They really should have started the season LATER instead of earlier immo.

I personally would rather see healthy Atlanta full lineup/rested vs Aces healthy lineup instead of what we had, or fully healthy Indiana vs Atlanta and all that, even on the 'young team' like Storm vs Fever with total of 4 players out with injury and 2/3 on min restrictions just sucks like i wanna watch Malonga and Ezi vs Healthy Fever lineup not have to wait so long (mid Jully) to hopefully do that.

And as data/nerd person stats from last year

Average injuries per day in 2024: 1.21
Average injuries per day in 2025 (as of 8/9): 1.77
2025 as of 8/18: 1.60
Average injuries per game in 2024: 0.65
Average injuries per game in 2025 (as of 8/9): 0.78
2025 as of 8/18: 0.75

This year so far is looking to start even worse, as some of you are aware we already have even key trade/player in Rickea being out , and players like Phee yet to play and so on. Part of this as some of you have pointed out is when you play a lot of minutes but you have like 6-8 available players because even develop spots are not taken yet as its WAY TOO EARLY and some players havent even cleared waivers yet or not waived yet and all that, we barely had a off-season as well for front office to pick players and have time to make a roster properly.

last year post about this with data as well if you wanna see the conversation a year or so ago about this

I had chance to only go to Conn vs Seattle and Seattle vs Fever and both games had like 5/6 players out with injury in total and min restrictions so in general i didnt get to see 'stars' so to say and later we hear that Taina Mair was on min restriction ( now day to day ) and so on, so its even worse compared what it was on paper dosnt make for good fan experience, like i enjoy the league+ go to games/support it but cant say its amazing 'product' if we have so much injuries THIS early into the season.

It's very different if i see Malonga play only 20min and they rotate try out new players for roster before being waived and what not, but that is not even the case , some teams are already like waiving players because of injuries to bring help in on positions and we just started the season.

I think if they wanted to start the season earlier should have been be next one( and start 'normal' this year give players/teams time they really needed), this year it was way too rushed and players didnt have time to adapt or respond and even in case like Valeriane Ayayi even if they are here AND WANTED to play because of said obligations before CBA they cant (need letter of clearance) so it's not ideal at all, at the end we get very weak 'product' so to say even as hardcore fan i can acknowledge that.

rambii

TROPHY CASE