Atlanta’s McCoughtry unravels as Fever win 1st round WNBA series
By CLIFF BRUNT
ISL Editor
Watching Angel McCoughtry play basketball is entertaining.
Watching her histrionics is absolute must-see TV. If you’re not a fan of the WNBA or you haven’t watched the Atlanta Dream guard, you’re missing a show in more ways than one.
McCoughtry was the leading scorer in the WNBA this season. Her game has a smoothness rarely seen among males or females. Her ability to score in bunches is unmatched in the WNBA except perhaps by Cappie Pondexter.
She also wears a constant scowl on her face, talks trash to fans, constantly gripes at her teammates and finds herself in trouble as often as some of the most notorious men’s players. Watching her interact is akin to viewing a reality TV show. Her demeanor reminds me of former Indiana Pacer Stephen Jackson.
As the league’s most volatile player goes, so goes the talented but inconsistent Atlanta Dream.
She, and the Dream, have gone home. The Fever beat them 75-64 on Tuesday to win the first-round Eastern Conference playoff series 2-1.
Atlanta was the two-time defending Eastern Conference champion heading into the decisive Game 3 at Bankers Life Fieldhouse. Indiana appeared on the verge of blowing the Dream out of the building several times, but the champ in them wouldn’t quit. The defiant McCoughtry hit a 24-foot 3-pointer at the end of the first half to tie the score, and the Fever, despite 16 points from Katie Douglas and a dynamic first half from Erlana Larkins, couldn’t gain control.
McCoughtry began to unravel in the third quarter. On a particular 3-pointer, one of the wide open variety, she left her arm in the air, certain that she would make the shot.
Clang.
I’m not sure that’s the moment things started falling apart for the Olympic gold medalist, but things got no better from there.
Atlanta started to make a charge in the fourth quarter, but on one play, McCoughtry and Indiana’s Briann January went after the ball. January undercut McCoughtry, and McCoughtry was issued a technical foul for swatting the ball out of January’s hands after the play. Katie Douglas made the free throw to push Indiana’s lead to 66-59. The Fever pulled away by holding the Dream scoreless for more than five minutes until Lindsey Harding hit a jumper to cut Indiana’s lead to 75-61 with 58 seconds to go.
So, here’s the second-half stat line for the player WNBA fans love to hate. 1-for-9 shooting from the field, two points, four personal fouls.
“We just focused more on her,” Catchings said of Indiana’s second-half approach. “Every time she had the ball, everybody was focused on her. We were playing in between, and it allowed us to kind of stunt at her and get back to our man. Most of the time we leave her, she was going to try to take over, and I felt like man-to-man with (Shavonte) Zellous on her or Katie or even as a team, rotating on her or trapping her or getting the ball out of her hands, we did a really good job as a team.”
Fever coach Lin Dunn’s comments were even more telling.
“The key thing with Angel is if we get her frustrated, then she kind of loses her composure, and I think it affects the rest of her team,” Dunn said.
I don’t know what’s more amazing, that something so simple is true, or that Dunn made getting McCoughtry to that point part of the game plan.
The Fever get credit for shutting her down, and perhaps, I should be focused more on the Fever’s victory. But so much of this was about McCoughtry, which is just the way she likes it. She is in every way the quintessential bad guy, and it really stands out because such players rarely exist in women’s basketball. Fever fans were completely indifferent to everyone else on Atlanta’s team. They booed McCoughtry the same way they boo Diana Taurasi, the previous undisputed public enemy No. 1.
No matter what you think of McCoughtry’s personality, recognize that she is a baller. She can seemingly win by herself, and she knows it. She makes the game look easy at times, scoring when there appears to be no shot and dropping dimes that leave you shaking your head.
For the Fever to get past this unique obstacle says a lot. They did it by buzzing around her and by putting a little something into it when they ran into her.
Finally, she snapped.
It’s no surprise. This is the same player who openly criticized her former coach’s game plans. That coach, Marynell Meadors, by the way, was on the Team USA staff. She’s decent. Fred Williams, Atlanta’s new GM and coach, made one of his first acts suspending her. And after McCoughtry’s technical against January, Williams benched her temporarily.
Think about that for a moment. He benched the leading scorer in the league in the fourth quarter of Game 3 on the road while it was still within reach.
Wow. Every Superman or Superwoman has a Kryptonite out there somewhere. McCoughtry carries hers around with her.
For her sake, I hope she gets it together. She’s a great player, and it would be great to be able to appreciate her without all the asterisks and questions. She is, indeed, a champion and worthy adversary for any team. She could be even better if she’d rein her personality in, and that must be frustrating for her coach, her teammates and her fans.
Perhaps she’ll figure it out today as she’s left to reflect on the fact that the Fever, and her Kryptonite, got the best of her.
