Cliff Brunt: My WNBA midseason report on MVP, team races
By CLIFF BRUNT
ISL Editor
This is my midseason report on the MVP and team races as the WNBA hits the Olympic break.
MVP race
This year’s WNBA MVP race is as close as it’s ever been at the halfway point.
Because Tamika Catchings won the MVP award last year, she won’t get sentimental votes this year. That means a tie probably won’t go to her unless the Fever end up with the best record in the East. It’s not looking like it’s going to go that way barring a collapse by Connecticut.
Here’s my top 10. League ranks on stats in parentheses.
10. Seimone Augustus, Minnesota
Stats: 16.4 ppg (11), .514 fg pct.
She’s the best of a lot of really good players, but because Minnesota is so balanced, it’s tough for one player to stand out. Maya Moore could just as easily be in this slot.
9. Cappie Pondexter, New York
Stats: 20.0 ppg (3), .874 ft pct. (9).
She’d be higher, but her team is struggling and her shot has been a bit off.
8. Sophia Young, San Antonio
Stats: 16.7 ppg (9), 7.3 rpg (9), 2.50 stl pg (2).
Young is a key element for the surging Silver Stars. Her biggest help and hindrance is that Becky Hammon is on the team.
7. Kristi Toliver, Los Angeles
Stats: 17.4 ppg (8), 5.0 assists (4), .927 ft pct. (1).
Toliver is probably going to run away with the most improved player award. She runs the show for one of the league’s best offenses, and she’s been extremely efficient. She doesn’t have the star power to win the MVP award, though.
6. Tamika Catchings, Indiana
Stats: 18.2 ppg (7), 7.4 rpg (8), 2.0 stl pg (5).
Catchings would be higher is she was shooting a little better, but she’s at 42.6 percent from the field. There are too many players doing well overall to allow someone shooting such a low percentage to be a frontrunner.
5. Becky Hammon, San Antonio
Stats: 16.2 ppg (12), 5.7 ast pg (1), .485 3-pt shooting (7).
She does it all, and for a team that enters the break on a 9-game win streak. If San Antonio overtakes Minnesota, she becomes the favorite.
4. Sylvia Fowles, Chicago
Stats: 18.5 ppg (6), .636 fg pct. (1), 12.4 rpg (1).
Fowles is as dominant as anyone in the league. I’d like to see her team win a bit more before moving her up. The Sky got off to a good start but fell back. In a season with so many players performing exceptionally well, team success will likely be a tiebreaker.
3. Angel McCoughtry, Atlanta
Stats: 22.6 ppg (1), 3.15 stl pg (1).
Anytime a player leads the league in scoring and a major defensive category, they are on the short list in the MVP race. McCoughtry doesn’t come across as the most pleasant individual, and her perceived bad attitude could cost her with voters, but there’s no denying that she’s a special talent.
2. Tina Charles, Connecticut
Stats: 18.7 ppg (5), 11.3 rpg (2), 1.11 bpg (7)
Charles is the dominant player for a team tied for the league’s best record. Nothing fancy, just dominance.
1. Candace Parker, Los Angeles
Stats: 19.0 ppg (4), 10.2 rpg (3), 2.6 bpg (1).
The tiebreaker here is the blocks. Parker averages 2.6 blocks. Taj McWilliams-Franklin of Minnesota is second with 1.58. That’s right, Parker averages a full block more than the player in second place. That’s ridiculous. And her team is winning, and she’s clearly THE star on a team of stars.
Team races:
After the first half of the WNBA season, what looked like a walk in the park for the defending champion Minnesota Lynx suddenly has become much more complicated.
Minnesota won its first 10 games and 13 of its first 14 games before losing three straight. The Lynx got back on track, winning its last two before the Olympic break, but their aura of invincibility is gone.
In fact, Minnesota is just a game ahead of Los Angeles and 1 ½ games ahead of surging San Antonio in the Western Conference standings. San Antonio has won nine straight, and at this rate, Minnesota easily could fall from Finals lock to lower seed in the first round of the playoffs.
In the East, Connecticut is the hot team, with five straight wins. The Sun have matched Minnesota’s 15-4 record.
Indiana is in an interesting predicament. The Fever are 10-7 and in second place, and some fans are concerned. It should be noted, however, that Indiana typically wins about 21 games, so at the halfway point, they appear to be on track.
Catchings started the season on a tear, winning player of the week honors twice. Her shot, as it occasionally does, left her for a while. If it comes back and Indiana gets hot, she’s in the running for back-to-back MVP awards.
Indiana’s problem at this point is twofold: the Fever can’t seem to hold leads, and they aren’t getting the production they expected out of the post. The combination of Tammy Sutton-Brown and Jessica Davenport has been solid, nothing more. That’s not good enough in a division that has Tina Charles.
Katie Douglas has struggled to shoot as well. Perhaps the consolation is that the Fever are in second place with their best two players shooting under 43 percent. Better days appear to be on the horizon, but I’m not sure the Fever can catch Connecticut.
Atlanta is in third place in the East at 9-10, but the past two seasons should tell you that the regular season means nothing to the Dream. All they need to do is get into the playoffs and they can handle the rest.
It should be a great second half.
