The Dog Days of Summer

It's the dog days of summer, locked right in the middle of the WNBA season.  I'm on the road this week, having just moved last week, so it's been a mess around here.

The last stretch of four road games for the Fever have been unquestionably tough.  According to Hollinger, the Fever have faced the toughest WNBA schedule thus far this season, adjusting for the strength of competition.  

So coming out of games with Seattle, Washington and Chicago with a 2-2 record has been good, even if both those wins were against Chicago.   Chicago is better than their record, so the Fever have been fortunate to go 4-0 this season against them. 

Two games came down to inbound passes in the late game. 

Against Chicago, Indiana were able to draw an improbable 5-second violation with their denial defense.  Against Washington, it was a long five seconds but no call was made and the game was over once Washington inbounded the ball and were summarily fouled.

The game against Seattle was another game where referee discretion weighed heavily.   After a "let 'em play" first half, the officials tightened up the second half, taking the Fever by surprise and all but handing the game to the home team, which didn't need much help. 

The main defensive issue is to identify faster perimeter players that need a Tully or Tamika blanket when those players get hot.  It's not clear what can be done when Sue Bird drops 9 points and assists for 2 more in 90 seconds, of course.

Tonight, the Fever play the Tulsa Shock at home.  They are looking for a better result than the loss the last time these two teams met, which is still regarded as the most surprising game outcome of the season according to Massey.