2023 WNBA Finals Game 2 Observations

Game 2 of the WNBA Finals is in the books and…yeah, that was rough.  After New York got it close in the second quarter, Vegas dominated and won 104-76. 

 

1^st Quarter

• Vegas had such a nice screen play to get Plum open, but it was a nice recovery defensively.  That said, it was a nice shot by her
• Interesting to start with Breanna Stewart on A’ja Wilson.  She’s a great defender but still, I think Jonquel Jones is a better choice
• What the hell happened on Laney’s layup attempt?  She was open
• If Kiah Stokes is hitting a 3, New York is in trouble.  She is not a particularly good shooter.  If that’s how New York loses, they just have to eat it
• I have no idea how A’ja Wilson just saved that ball, but it was nice
• That and-1 by A’ja Wilson was absolutely ridiculous
• Vegas’s gameplan is clicking on all cylinders.  They’re getting into New York’s head on defense and are making them overthink their shots (Laney and Sabrina Ionescu both missed shots they can make easily) and are playing at a fast pace on offense.  They’ve literally made so many shots on open 3’s or fastbreak baskets at the rim
• That was a bad job on the double team by New York.  Courtney Vandersloot was wide open but was behind a defender; she needs to run to a place where Jones can see her to pass
• New York just had a bad play; they had an open player from 3 with the ball and a defender closing in, so she passed it to a defended Vanderbilt.  Huh?
• That layup was so clutch for New York.  They’ve taken so many bad shots (contested difficult shots, passing up good looks, ill-advised decisions), but that could be a game changer.  I hope so; this game has been atrocious
• Even though New York has missed all their 3’s, I think they are still persistent on taking open 3’s as the quarter went on.  Odds are with a good shooting team that some will fall eventually
• Jones getting the offensive rebounds and going up with it is one of my favorite things to watch in basketball.  It’s insane just how strong she is
• Yeah, that Chelsea Gray shot stinks for New York.  They played it so well, so you really can’t beat yourself up over that
• Vegas has made multiple and-1’s on ridiculous shots.  It’s insane to watch
• Well thankfully New York finally made a 3.  Marine Johannes drilled one…I should have guessed after Game 1
• How do you leave A’ja Wilson wide open at the free throw line?  I don’t get it
• I’m not quite sure how Stewart ended up able to run right into the midrange open, but it was a pretty play by her
• That Jackie Young cut and finish was awesome!  I love that kind of basketball with dynamic basketball.  Vegas has one of the most beautiful offenses I have seen…and yet I somehow am stuck rooting for Connecticut, who gets stuck in mud at times
• That was a nice play by Ionescu to get a foul, but even still it was nice defense by Vegas.  It was just a brilliant play by a superstar to make anything out of it
• Even though Young has 2 fouls, I wouldn’t take her out.  Her style of play doesn’t typically warrant a lot of free throws, especially if they take her off Ionescu.  It’s not like taking out Jones, which I thought was the right move by New York
• This has been rough.  38-19?  I hope it gets closer, otherwise y’all could end up with some really odd notes that might not be about basketball.  Roger (my dog) is asleep, Victoria (my fiancé) is getting there.  I don’t blame them one bit

 

2^nd Quarter

• Again, New York attempted a horrible shot to start the quarter.  Ionescu had an open look but moved into a contested midrange shot
• Stokes making a second 3 is not something you gameplan for
• I don’t get how nobody came in to help when Jones was struggling in a double team again.  That’s basketball 101 in my mind
• Finally, New York made a great basketball play!  The movement and playmaking that resulted in an open 3 by Laney.  It was a beauty
• I didn’t realize just how nice Stokes’ play defensively was on Ionescu.  That’s tough to keep up at that angle while not fouling
• Even though Jones has done well on the boards, I think Vegas has done well with her.  I would keep going back to the double team against her, which New York has no idea what to do with
• Vegas has had so much luck at the end of the shot clock.  I know it doesn’t work that way, but they really can’t be bothered by that after playing great D
• I’m surprised that Jones seemed so resistant to shoot the 3 when she was wide open
• That offensive board effort by Jones is absolutely unreal.  That is how New York will need to get back in the game…as well as maybe hitting a couple open 3’s
• I hate the weird angle that was at a diagonal that they did
• New York appears to be in purgatory right now.  When they want to take it slower, they’re forced into desperate shots; when they speed it up, they play recklessly and either turn the ball over or take a bad shot.  While they have settled a bit, there are still plays where they look puzzled about what to do
• That footwork by Wilson was nasty!  Though was it a travel?  I think she took a step on the pump fake…
• This really is rotten luck for New York with their shooting.  Thank God for Jones, she has 14 of their 36 points
• Even though Jones had amazing defense, Wilson has some of the most amazing footwork I have ever seen
• That Ionescu 3 has finally made this within 3.  That was a nice play by Laney and Ionescu though; great drive and then pass.  How nobody cover her though?
• I don’t think enough people talk about how bad Ionescu’s shot selection can be.  She is forcing it so much and took a fade away double teamed 3.  That’s about as horrible of a decision as she could make with time left on the shot clock
• I think that New York has done a better job slowing the game down on defense.  Vegas is at their best offensively when they are able to push the pace, which they appeared to suddenly just realize
• That play by Plum and Alysha Clark was amazing and what I love to watch; that cut and dish is an example of smooth offense
• I wanted it to be closer, and I have received my wish!  Now how to convince Roger to get up to go to the bathroom during halftime…

 

Quarter 3

• It’s wild how Vegas went to halftime and came out with the same mindset they started the game with.  They’ve gone to a lot of double teams on defense and are driving on offense
• Vandersloot had an open 3 and looked to pass.  She has done this a lot in the first couple games.  She needs to be a lot more aggressive if New York wants to win
• I’m convinced that Wilson is the player to watch if you want to teach a kid how to use footwork in the paint
• It hadn’t occurred to me how much Stewart has struggled.  She’s shooting less than 40% from the field, yet I’m still sitting her saying to never give her an inch of room
• It’s unreal how a pick play can make it so that Wilson is suddenly wide open.  She slipped before the pick and nobody followed
• New York seems to be turning the ball over quite a bit.  I think it’s a combination of slightly careless play by New York and
• I think that Chelsea Gray might not have been set on the charge.  That said, I love the taunting by Vegas’s bench
• I look down to make a note about how shocking Plum missing the open layup was.  Then I heard that there was yet another steal.  I saw the replay and she really read that one well.  It was slightly risky, but it did pay off
• New York just had a play that is how to beat a double team.  Jones was triple teamed, dissed it out to someone on the wing.  When a defender closed in, the ball went to Laney who drilled the open 3
• How has Jones been the only player doing anything for New York?  She has 22 of their 52 points, which is nuts
• Vegas has almost exclusively been either driving in or shooting 3’s, usually off a drive.  Gray has done a major part of the playmaking with this
• I didn’t even notice Stephanie Dolson was in the game until Plum exploited a mismatch.  Remember when I called her an x-factor for this series entering the playoffs because I ran out of role players that I thought would get a lot of playing time and make a difference?  Oops
• Wait, Plum has a broken finger?  Geez, I can’t even imagine
• Plum has had several plays where she drove right in and it really is all due to her IQ about what to do
• I think I jinxed it at the end of the 2^nd quarter.  I hope either New York gets back into it or that this game just ends soon

 

4^th Quarter

• Honestly, I know that Vegas made the shot, but New York’s defense was pretty good prior to Young’s shot.  The issue is that everyone collapsed on Wilson to leave Young open
• I’m not even mad about the fact that Vanderbilt missed a midrange shot that wasn’t the easiest look.  That said, it’s so sad since she literally was one of the most clutch players in the game even within the last couple seasons
• I have never seen anyone as shocked to be open as Young appeared to be.  I wonder if that played a role in her missing it
• When Wilson tossed the ball off the backboard to herself, I was so giddy.  That was a pretty good idea considering the positioning that Jones had
• I love the handoff plays where the person handing it off acts as a pseudo screen.  Gray just had one of those and it was so pretty.  It’s has an underrated level of difficulty since the player handing off the ball can’t move a ton and has to have good timing to prevent it being a foul
• I feel so bad for Laney.  She has gotten off so many good looks, but can’t it anything from deep
• Vandersloot finally has a field goal!
• Even though it resulted in a turnover, I love the play that Vegas just had on offense.  They have literally just consistently made drive and kick plays almost the entire time they have been playing well.  It literally feels like something I do when goofing around in NBA 2K.  It’s not supposed to work like that.  It’s so smooth, yet New York seems lost
• I’m blown away as to how Vegas has made it so difficult on Stewart.  She drove in and had two defenders collapsing on her.  Jones then drove in, but Wilson had a quick reaction
• Vandersloot has appeared to be more aggressive this quarter.  This happened at the end of the last game too, but it’s definitely too little too late
• Vegas has had a couple sloppy plays suddenly.  The last one stemmed from a Plum pass that was practically right to a New York player (I can’t remember exactly who got it, but it resulted in a New York transition layup)
• Jones appears the only player ready for when Vegas drives in, and even there she has times where she picks up a rough foul or can’t catch up
• That was a really smart play by Plum that I don’t think most people would have made.  Vandersloot was hooking around a pick, but was closing in.  She was not going to have good position, so Plum went up for a 3, which resulted in Vandersloot bumping her for the foul
• As they show the schedule for the remaining games and have “if nesc.” for games 4 and 5, I thought “fat chance”.  I have the TV muted since I’m the only one still awake in the apartment, but I could imagine the announcers were thinking the same.  That’s a worse case scenario for the WNBA, especially with a hyped Finals.  It reminds me of what my dad told me about the 1990 World Series in MLB:  The A’s were expected to win in a blowout, but the Reds ended up sweeping (ironically the MLB was excited that the Reds won the first two games and thought then it would be a close series…yeah, didn’t work that way)
• Laney has attempted 15 shots and has only made 4.  Oof, that is horrible for her; what’s worse is that she has had some great attempts too.  There’s only so much you can do there; I hope she doesn’t get too down on herself for that since it was a bit of bad luck
• Is Gray still in the game?  Why?  I genuinely don’t get it at this point, though she did have a nice 3
• I expect a bunch of people are going to call a late foul a cheap shot or an aggressive one, but it was literally two players getting tangled up
• I needed to review an album for today (obviously not for Is Baller Trademarked Yet, but for Groupie and Harmony and Feeling Groupie).  I opted to choose Drake’s album while watching the remainder of this game.  This has been a weird album to pair with a weird game.  Why do I make life decisions such as this?
• A lane violation with 1:33 left in a blowout game.  I give the refs props there; they care more about it than I would
• Last game, Vegas scored the most points in a game against New York this season with 99.  They beat this value today.  I was a bit nervous how New York’s guards would do defensively entering this series, but they have struggled mightily
• Last game, Johansen had multiple ridiculous 3’s that blew my mind.  She just tried one to pretty much end the game…and it airballed.  I think that’s the epitome of this game
• Well, thank God that game ended.  It’s frustrating since New York has shown glimpses of what they need to do to slow Vegas down on both ends, but then have struggled to make adjustments to pair with Vegas’s.  Today they couldn’t figure out how to adjust to the drive and kick game.  There are ways in which New York can adjust and win Game 3, but I’m not sure they actually will make the moves necessary to do it.  Then again, maybe some shooting luck in Game 3 will change the story a bit (I hope so)

 

What did you think of this game?  Hopefully we get a more exciting one for Game 3!  Let me know your thoughts in the comments!