Valkyries 87, Sun 63: Controlling what you can

 “Do not let what you cannot do interfere with what you can do,” John Wooden, perhaps the best basketball coach of all-time, once said.

After getting absolutely destroyed on the road (again), this time by expansion Golden State, it’s an open question as to what the Connecticut Sun can do at the moment, but Wooden was also getting at controlling what you can and taking care of those things.


The Valkyries - the worst three-point shooting team in the league - going 7-for-11 to start the game? Can’t really control that too much. Forcing just three turnovers in the entire first half? Probably can try to do a better job there, especially when you’re also fouling a lot and struggling to get defensive rebounds. An injury to your best offensive player? Uncontrollable. Terrible shot selection? Controllable


I can go on for a while like that and will probably have enough time to in the upcoming fortnight that will see the Sun travel to Las Vegas, Seattle, and Minnesota, potentially without Marina Mabrey for all of them (I don’t see a reason to rush her back from a knee injury quickly).


I think you’re starting to see some cracks in the Sun positivity facade, which is somewhat understandable given how things are going at the moment. But there’s still 30 games to go, and at least both our first-round rookies got starts, and none of the aforementioned teams are going to feel sorry for the Sun on the rest of this road trip. 


What else did we learn from a rough night in front of 18,000+ in San Francisco?:




 

  1. It wasn’t just the three-pointers  - Yes, Golden State started 7-for-11 from behind the arc, but the Sun also looked a step (or more) slow in the second quarter in several areas, which is how you give up 36 points. They showed more energy and confidence in the second quarter, and there’s certainly some positives you can take from that (like Lindsay Allen finally hitting a three), but the Sun were still fouling too much, giving away offensive rebounds, and not really offering any resistance to anything the Valkyries were trying to do.

  2. Where is ONO? - Aneesah Morrow got her first career start, but instead of being in place of Mabrey (who was replaced by Bria Hartley), it was Olivia Nelson-Ododa who didn’t start again, and - perhaps more telling - played just six minutes in that first half when things were going horribly wrong. Morrow certainly deserves more minutes, and we know Nelson-Ododa can have her offensive troubles at times, but - as I’ve pointed out here several times - she leads the Sun in win shares by a fairly wide margin and they are much, much better defensively with her on the court.

  3. Not having a zone offense is frustrating -  Golden State went zone for a lot of the second quarter, which shouldn’t have been surprising, Natalie Nakase has done it in almost every game this season. But the Sun either turned it over or got a bad shot with the shot clock running down on several possessions and didn’t have any cohesion at all, just another sign that the team is not terribly well run at the moment.





Player of the game:  Aneesah Morrow - Not a whole lot to choose from, but Morrow had a team-high 14 points and three offensive rebounds, and continues to show improvement.


Inside the numbers : 16 -  Number of three-pointers the Valkyries, who entered at the worst three-point shooting team in the league, missed consecutively in the second half (going 9-for-31 for the game). I guess if that had happened in the first half.


Under the radar: Not really under the radar, but it’s fun to watch Nakase’s offense roll, even if it’s near the bottom of the efficiency ratings for now. Tiffany Hayes, Kayla Thornton, or Veronica Burton (who I hope wanted out and therefore was left unprotected because we sure could use her at the moment) would penetrate and kick for a three, and when the Sun adjusted, the lane was open or the Valkyries could grab a long offensive rebound (they got 19 Sunday, meaning the Sun have given up 36 offensive rebounds in their last two games). When Nakase gets a couple more shooters, and she will, Golden State will be really dangerous.


Quotable: "When in doubt, you just have to play hard and eventually things will come out in your favor. I think moving forward for us all good teams make sacrifices. In order to be good, we have to as well. But we all really like each other, we all get along, so the next step is just building that confidence." - Jacy Sheldon


Next up: Wednesday at Las Vegas, 10 p.m. EDT



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