Skip to main content

Griner, Mercury not focused on 16-game win streak

' 18-game winning streak.


To equal that mark, the Mercury need to win two more games, starting with defending champion Minnesota on Thursday night.


The Lynx have dominated Phoenix recently, winning 14 straight over the Mercury from 2011-13.


Phoenix finally was able to end that skid this year, taking the first two games from the defending champions, which started off this current 16-game run.


Still, that Lynx team wasn't at 100 percent yet with stars Rebekkah Brunson and Seimone Augustus missing the games because of injuries.


"Everyone keeps bringing it up," said Griner, whose offseason playing experience this past winter in China was documented in a video — Lifesize — by ESPN as part of the network's IX for IX series that debuted Wednesday morning.


"They weren't at their full strength, they are now. It's a good test for us against a very good team in this league."


Griner is well aware of winning streaks and how they don't mean much if the end results isn't a championship. When she was in college her Baylor Lady Bears went 40-0 en route to the school's second national championship.


"Who cares about a streak if you don't win a championship," Griner said. "It's all about championships. If we do win one, this streak will just be icing on the cake."


While the Mercury aren't focused on the current streak, other teams and the league have taken notice of their success. The game on Thursday, which wasn't originally scheduled to be national televised will be on NBA TV now.


"They are one of the best offensive teams I've seen in this league," Washington coach Mike Thibault said. "They can score from so many different positions, but also play really solid defense now as well."


Thibault said that what made some of the dominant teams special in the past was that they were able to win championships.


Los Angeles went on to win the 2001 title and then were champions again in 2002. The Houston Comets won the WNBA's first four titles.


Here are five comparisons of the two teams during their streaks:


FRONTRUNNERS: The Mercury have led games for nearly 83 percent of the time during their streak with the biggest deficit only being 13 points. Phoenix has only trailed for just over nine minutes in the fourth quarter of those games. Los Angeles led for 73 percent of the time during its run, the WNBA said according to information provided by the Elias Sports Bureau.


STAR POWER: Lisa Leslie averaged 19.5 points and 9.6 rebounds to earn the league's MVP award. She also was the All-Star MVP and postseason MVP to become the first female player to win all three awards in the same season. Taurasi and Griner are putting up MVP-type numbers this year, but neither was the All-Star MVP with that award going to Atlanta rookie Shoni Schimmel.


HOME COOKING: The Sparks went 16-0 at home that season to become the first team to go unbeaten at home. Seattle accomplished the feat in 2010. Phoenix has been nearly as good, winning 12 of its 13 games at home this season.


ON THE ROAD AGAIN: Of the Sparks' 18 wins, six came away from home during their run. If the Mercury can beat Minnesota they'll have won eight road games. While Los Angeles had to play one game in Washington, Phoenix hasn't had to come to the East Coast during its streak. After playing the Lynx, the Mercury return home to face the Indiana Fever before taking on Atlanta in a potential record-breaking game on Tuesday night.


LEAGUE SIZE: Not to diminish the Sparks' streak at all, but the league had 16 teams in 2001, now there are just 12 in the WNBA meaning that each team's talent pool has increased.


___


Follow Doug on Twitter at http://ift.tt/1cvT8NJ






via Sify.com http://ift.tt/1oQJBes
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

RB Leipzig's Jean-Kevin Augustin joins Leeds United on loan

Leeds [UK], Jan 27 (ANI): German football club RB Leipzig's Jean-Kevin Augustin on Monday joined Leeds United on a loan. The striker joins the Whites on an initial loan deal until the end of the season from Bundesliga outfit Red Bull Leipzig, the club said in a statement. Augustin joined the RB Leipzig in July, 2017 for a fee of 13 million Euros. The 22-year-old featured in both the UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League during his time with the German club, who finished sixth and third in his two seasons, where he scored 20 goals in 67 matches. French national helped his country win the European Under-19 Championship in 2016, where he scored the most number of goals and was adjudged as player of the tournament. Augustin is Leeds' third signing of the January transfer window following the joining of Elia Caprile and Ian Poveda. (ANI) via Sify.com https://ift.tt/2OiruB9
Post a Comment
Read more

Chelsea are a young team, need to improve a lot: Kovacic

London: Chelsea's Mateo Kovacic said they are a young team and need to improve a lot. Chelsea secured a 2-1 win over Hull City on Saturday in FA Cup. Michy Batshuayi scored the opening goal of the match in the sixth minute and Chelsea's second goal was scored in the 64th minute. "It was a tough game, as we knew that it would be, but we need to score in the first half two more goals. That's our problem in this moment but obviously we're happy to go through," the club's official website quoted Kovacic as saying. "It was because we didn't score on time - we had some chances and we didn't use them. In training, we are working on it but we are still a young team, a new team, and we need to improve a lot. We need to take our chances, which in this moment we are not doing great, but we have time to improve and I am sure we will do," he added. Chelsea are currently placed at the fourth position in the Premier League table with 40 points...
Post a Comment
Read more

Chelsea are a young team, need to improve a lot: Kovacic

London [UK], Jan 27 (ANI): Chelsea's Mateo Kovacic said they are a young team and need to improve a lot. Chelsea secured a 2-1 win over Hull City on Saturday in FA Cup. Michy Batshuayi scored the opening goal of the match in the sixth minute and Chelsea's second goal was scored in the 64th minute. "It was a tough game, as we knew that it would be, but we need to score in the first half two more goals. That's our problem in this moment but obviously we're happy to go through," the club's official website quoted Kovacic as saying. "It was because we didn't score on time - we had some chances and we didn't use them. In training, we are working on it but we are still a young team, a new team, and we need to improve a lot. We need to take our chances, which in this moment we are not doing great, but we have time to improve and I am sure we will do," he added. Chelsea are currently placed at the fourth position in the Premier League table ...
Post a Comment
Read more