A Look at the Lynx:Defense vs NY

#3 posting 6.24.2006
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This is a look at who is reponsible for the scoring for the opponents--kind of like another box score, a box that is hidden. As you can see Megan Duffy allowed 15 points for the Lynx with Kristen Mann allowing 13. Loree Moore gave up 16 (to Augustus primarily) but the points allowed is only part of the story. It is the points per 100 possessions I am interested in and neither team held the opponents that well. I am only interested in the final result of the possession which can be either A: a made basket. B: a made free throw; C: a steal or forced turnover or D: a defensive rebound. Using this system Adrian Williams ruled by allowing only 50 per 100 possessions. Barbara Farris, NY came in at 63.5. Both have the advantage of getting defensive boards. AW had six defensive boards in the second quarter and had four in a row as the Lynx held NY to only 8 points that quarter.

New York Liberty 93, MN Lynx 83
MINNESOTA
STARTERS
Amber Jacobs 12, 8, 150.0, .750
Seimone Augustus 11, 10, 110.0, .400
Kristen Mann 13, 8, 162.5, .750
Tamika Williams 7, 5, 140.0, .600
Nicole Ohlde 7, 7, 100.0, .571
BENCH
Vanessa Hayden 9, 5, 180.0, .800
Megan Duffy 15, 8, 187.5, .750
Svetlana Abrosimova 6, 5, 120.0, .600
Adrian Williams 7, 14, 50.0, .214
Tynesha Lewis 4, 5, 80.0, .400

NEW YORK
STARTERS
Loree Moore 16,13, 123.1, .538
Becky Hammon 14, 12, 116.7, .500
Shameka Christon 12, 8, 150.0, .625
Kelly Schumacher 13, 12, 108.3, .583
Barbara Farris 7, 11, 63.6, .273
BENCH
Cathrine Kraayeveld 7, 8, 87.5, .500
Sherrill Baker 6, 8, 75.0, .375
Ashley Battle 2, 1, 200.0, 1.000

BY THE NUMBERS
Minnesota 93, 75, 124.0, .560
New York 83, 75, 110.7, .507

So MN gave away 85 points in three quarters of action. Take away the second quarter and the numbers on MN's defense looks like this 85, 58, 146.6, .655. This was the worst defensive performance if you go by the pp100 method. Actually the win against Indiana was the highest Dpp100 before with 114.5. This too was the worst for Dfloor% with .560. Detroit had the honor before with .541.
The fact that NY had 6 three point plays in the first quarter, 3 behind the arc, 3 the old fashioned way, gave them 18 points of their 27.
The point guards for the Lynx on defense (Jacobs/Duffy) play matador allowing too much penetration. Part of the problem, and this is true for the Lynx and many other teams, is that players are not in the proper defensive position--their weight is too far forward throwing them off balance and allowing the ball to zip by them. Their vision, once the player gets the ball, gravitates up to the eyes for some reason. It is extremely rare for a defensive player to look at the midsection before the dribble is made. Once the dribble has started, the defense is not as low as the offense, making it difficult to stop the ball. Arms are not up all the time, but down by the sides.
Another problem is the big folks on the perimeter. TW and Mann have trouble on perimeter defense as when opponents step out for a trey. Their close outs are late and opponents are catching it where and when they want too.
It appeared to me that NY established the physical play on both ends. Ohlde was pushed around by Schumacher. Ohlde needs to initiate contact.
Let's look at a couple more items
Defensive Shooting % (missed shots/total shots)
Jacobs 3/9 .333
Augustus 2/6 .333
Mann 0/6 .000
TWilliams 4/7 .571
Ohlde 5/9 .556
Hayden 6/10 .600
AWilliams 2/5 .400
Abrosimova 2/5 .400
Duffy 4/10 .400
Lewis 1/3 .333
So at this rate Hayden has the best DShooting %, but if you think about hit players had 10 shots against her, so they are able to initially get the ball.
In the rebounds allowed category TWilliams allowed 3, Hayden 2.

Next up: tomorrow morning with a look at the Offense in the NY/Lynx game, plus the regular news of the day.