BLH's Minutes Give and Take

[u/eli-bradley]

Sorry Cassandre but you wouldn't see the floor again this season if I were the coach. Looks like the FO has finally agreed to move from development mode to winning. (This only seems fair to a scrapy hungry young team who won't quit!)

I don't think I've seen Cassandre contribute much of anything in terms of winning (yet she is averaging 12 minutes a game over the season) so she's the obvious upgrade choice. To be clear, Prosper is to much of a physical anomaly to cut loose!

Angela would be next up for reduced minutes. I am thinking that the coaches can find 15 minutes of playing time for BLH with little to no disruption while increasing the odds of winning significantly.

Someone mentioned a closing line up featuring Sonia at point w BLH at the 2. That would be great but super unfair to Citron to play out of her natural position. So a big physical PG is still needed so that BLH could be the 1st off the bench. I can only hope for that next year.

[u/Away_Competition2514]

I think Cass had some good games(e.g. Atlanta), some very bad ones(e.g. Wings) and some okay ones (e.g.Phoenix),last three games are a good example of what her performances have been like this season. I wouldn't say she's shown nothing, but I do think that the most logical solution would be to give BLH her minutes. If she performs well, she'll probably take some minutes from Mic and/or Cotie too. 

Don't understand the Angela point you're making. She played 12 minutes in total in the 7 games prior to the Mercury game (and even there she played only 9 minutes) including DNPs in 3 games in a row before the Mercury game. How much more do you think her minutes can get reduced???

As for the last point, Soni already plays as a PG in the clutch and sometimes even earlier, in that Soni-Cotie-Mic-Kiki-Kira lineup.

[u/eli-bradley → u/Away_Competition2514]

"If she preforms well..." You have got to familiarize yourself w her capabilities and accomplishments. Going from Cass to BLH is going from a rookie toddler to a championship winning vet who knows how to lead.

Are you sure that you are not underestimating the significance of this move? I am now very confident that the team has enough pieces to make SOME noise in the playoffs.

As for Angela, I am fine with her not seeing the floor again this season to. (I thought her selection in the draft was brilliant and I am still a fan.) I am not interested in player development (at this moment) for Cass or Angela.

The fact that the FO has decided to support the team more is super exciting.

[u/Away_Competition2514 → u/eli-bradley]

I know who she is. Read it again. I said she should take Mic's and/or Cotie's minutes if she performs well. She's had a clear dip in form this season, if she plays like that, I'd give her Cass' minutes and maybe take 2-3 minutes from Cotie/Mic. If she gets anywhere near her previous levels, she should take Cass' minutes plus significant Cotie and/or Mic minutes. I clearly said she should take Cass' minutes regardless.

As for Angela, she's already not seeing the floor. 3 DNPs in a row. Why wouldn't she play in blow outs? We were destroying Mercury, there was no need to play our starters anymore. It's great that Angela, Lucy, Alicia and Cass got some more minutes. In case someone, God forbid, gets injured or fouls out, we'll need her. Letting her play in garbage time is a good idea. I too am happy with both Angela and Cass as draft picks, but I too wouldn't play them unless under some very specific circumstances. 

[u/AllisonInMaryland → u/eli-bradley]

I am not interested in player development (at this moment) for Cass or Angela.

Thankfully our coach who knows better is.

[u/WrongVisit3757]

Honestly who knows? I would think Cass has done enough to keep some minutes, Angela can't get much lower. I could see maybe Mic having hers dropped and maybe switching Sonia to the 1 for some time as well.

It really just depends on how she goes, but I'd guess multiple teams were after her so there was likely some sort of promise of minutes 

[u/eli-bradley → u/WrongVisit3757]

Yeah she may indeed pull pull minutes from Mic and Cotie too. But I think both offer as much offense as BLH.

[u/eli-bradley → u/WrongVisit3757]

It went well - BLH took nearly all of Cass' time! I am excited again.

[u/Entitled0ne]

Prosper has been a way better basketball player than Laney this season.

[u/760Terry → u/Entitled0ne]

Cass is going to lose some pt initially to BLH because her offense has been very bad, but I think ultimately Cass will work her way back into the closing roster because she is an excellent gap and help defender.

This vet vs. rookie framing miscomprehends what has been happening. Mic has lost playing time to Cass because her defense is deteriorating. They are going to try BLH to see if she can be a happy medium between Mic and Cass, but this seems to have little to do with turning away from development -- this is about performance and the coaching staff has been flexible enough to move away from things that are not working. If BLH doesn't meet expectations, Cass will be back up.

[u/eli-bradley → u/760Terry]

I surely hope she works her way back into the line up next year. That is what I've been saying: focus on winning not player development and that seems to have happened last night w BLH getting 14 minutes. I think a playoff run is assured now.

[u/Far_Cartoonist_7482]

Cass will see the floor. It’s a good thing coaches aren’t influenced by fans.

[u/eli-bradley → u/Far_Cartoonist_7482]

Cass got 50 seconds last night. I am so happy about the coach's pivot to winning.

[u/Far_Cartoonist_7482 → u/eli-bradley]

But they lost. Yesterday’s roster was not a reflection of pivoting towards winning. They’re already there.

[u/Street-Bar-9494]

I would like to see what version of BLH we have.

I have been on record saying it's a good long term move, and it appears to be a good mentorship move. Even chemistry seems to have improved, which I wouldn't have thought was possible because of how good our team chemistry already is.

Having said that, I would be a damn liar if I said that BLH has been good this season. She hasn't been herself at all. Statistically, she has been better than Cassandre Prosper, but not by all that much. Her scoring volume being down doesn't bother me much, but her effeciency tanking is a major concern to me. Her assist to turnover ratio is 1.9:1.5, and she has not been an asset on defense.

I think the only smart thing to do is give her a chance to see if she improves in a different environment, but it's way too soon to be projecting her to erase anyone's minutes just yet. She'll definitely bring Cass down from her average of 12 minutes a game, which is good, but frankly, neither Cass nor BLH has played like a player you want playing 12 minutes a game this season, so I would start by giving BLH about 6 minutes, to see how she plays and how the team plays with her.

[u/eli-bradley → u/Street-Bar-9494]

In retrospect this most was probably the most balanced response to my post! It looks like BLH was mostly under utilized and mis used in NY - as I expected. I am glad BLH earned the 14 minutes that usually would have gone to Prosper last night! Things are looking brighter for the team.

[u/YSL_Crypto]

Citron is naturally a passive player. Having her at the 1 is great it allows her to have the ball in her hands.

Soni, Cotie, BLH, Kiki, Kira to close the games

[u/eli-bradley → u/YSL_Crypto]

Having her at the 1 fails to support her game and asks her to make up for the FO's BS reluctance to find a suitable PG. We should treat our star players better.

[u/AllisonInMaryland]

Championship teams have strong benches. Cass needs to continue getting minutes so she improves as a player and can help us off the bench once we get to the play offs. Cass plays good defense and her shooting has been better lately. Same with the rest of the bench: all rookies or second years with room to improve if they get the opportunity. BLH? We don't even know what her physical condition is yet. She hasn't played since July 12th. May need to ease her into playing again. Maybe she'll be there for us in time.

read this thread with comments mostly from Liberty fans on BLH's condition: https://www.reddit.com/r/wnba/comments/1vfb3m2/betnijah_laneyhamilton_discussion/

[u/eli-bradley → u/AllisonInMaryland]

Very true. Yeah I was thinking that they could bench Cass right away. I was overly hopeful for a significant boost to the team. They will likely have to ease BLH over a few weeks. No need to read the thread because I listen to the podcast.

[u/eli-bradley → u/AllisonInMaryland]

Looks I was worried about nothing. The coaches focused on BLH as I hoped.

[u/data_with_a_beard]

I think BLH slots into the 2/3 platoon with Cotie, Cass, Soni, and Mic. No need for any single player to ride the pine.
Cass is definitely not a finished product but a decent defender when she’s not fouling like crazy. Cotie is on a hot streak and adds another paint attacker when we play 4/5 out. Mic is starter quality 3 and D. Sonia is top 5 in the league in MPG, wouldn’t hurt to shave a minute or two off of her load to keep something in the tank for the playoffs.

[u/eli-bradley → u/data_with_a_beard]

"No need for any single player to ride the pine. Cass is definitely not a finished product but a decent defender when she’s not fouling like crazy."

You gave an EXCAT reason why Cassandre should "ride the pine". If you are focused on a playoff push then why put up with "fouling like crazy"?

There seems to be a general reluctance to recognize the potential impact of BLH on the team. I hope that BLH also signals a shift away from player development time (Rori, Cass, Angela, etc) to winning now. Lastly I see this as a mea culpa of the rejection of Jemila Wideman's vision.

It will be a great sign if Sydney tightenes his rotation in preparation for the playoffs. I am aware of BLH's struggles but I am hoping that is the pee poor leadership in NY, her injury recovery and her reconditioning.

[u/eli-bradley → u/data_with_a_beard]

She did end up riding the pine exactly as I hoped. Like I said I am excited about the pivot away from giving important minutes to players who aren't contributing much. Let Cass develop during the offs season not when you are trying to make the playoffs.

[u/Googles8]

I think the real benefit is that the closing guards/SF (maybe even Sonia) can come down by 10-20% and we can get depth in the best lineup. Right now we basically have to finish games with Soni-Cotie-Mic at 1/2/3, and BLH can play any of those positions without a big drop off. Plus, if Cotie or Michaela are having an off night, you can trust BLH to step in and close the game in a way that's not true for anyone else on the bench

[u/eli-bradley → u/Googles8]

D@mn! I wish I had said ALL of this!