What's wrong with the Flames?
Thursday 08 January 2004
The Flames have been very inconsistent throughout the year and to me, the last straw was the home loss to Bulleen last weekend which I considered a game they should have won. There are two main problems I think the Flames have - one which could be resolved this season and one which will have to wait till the offseason.
#1 Point guard play. This year, the point guard play has been a shadow of what it has been the last couple of seasons. In many games, Karen has started Michelle Musselwhite at the point and given Muss a lot of minutes there. MICHELLE MUSSELWHITE IS NOT A POINT GUARD. Karen should repeat this mantra several million times. Musselwhite is a pure 2 guard and plays like one.
When the real point guards have played, they look tentative and uninspired. Narelle Lindsay last year was driving a lot more and running the team with authority. This year, she barely penetrates at all (and she is a very good penetrator) and she doesn't look as assertive. Kelly Wilson of the AIS looked much better than Kelly Wilson of the Sydney Flames (and got more PT to boot) but then again, it could be difficult to make a judgment because Kelly has had injury problems throughout the whole season (which have now resulted her in taking the rest of the season off).
I don't know what's changed - maybe it's the fact that Musselwhite is hogging all the PG minutes and whenever the PGs do play, they're afraid of being yanked if they make mistakes so therefore they play conservatively. Whatever it is - something has to change. The Narelle Lindsay of last season must make an appearance this season. The Flames' offence has been spotty at best and I believe this is due to a lack of direction from the point. There's been some beautifully executed plays but also a lot of passing the ball around the perimeter and jacking up an ill-advised shot with 2 secs left on the shotclock.
#2 Erratic post play. I like Tammy Hoare but she's not cutting it. She's got size and some nice post moves but she is not the presence in the middle the Flames need. Her rebounding and boxing out are mediocre at best and she's very inconsistent. It's no coincidence the Flames won the title when they had Suzy Batkovic in the middle. Hopefully the Flames recruit Gabrielle Richards hard in the offseason.
Specifically why did the Flames lose to Bulleen? Some really stupid turnovers (turning over the ball on an outlet pass after a defensive rebound is bad), slack perimeter defence (note to Flames - Sharin Milner isn't the best shooter in the world but I wouldn't dare her to make open shots because she CAN, and did) and surprise surprise, inconsistent execution on offence (which goes back to the point guard play).
Snelly had a bad one but I found out later she played through the game with a shoulder injury. She put in a brave effort (30 mins!) and tried to spark the Flames in the last minute with 5 quick points. Musselwhite had a really good game and hopefully she realises that her strength is penetration and scoring points in the paint as opposed to jacking up wayward 3-balls. Shelley was ok but had a lot of shots and putbacks rim out.
Emma Randall has to step up rebounding and defensive-wise but I don't think it's in her - there is a reason why she was rooted to the bench at the AIS. Tammy Hoare showed flashes of good post play but as usual, that's all it was - flashes.
Katrina Hibbert was impressive for the Boomers. Her shooting is impeccable and she's done a lot of work on conditioning. I hear she wants to try out for the WNBA again and good luck to her but her lack of speed and quickness is a big drawback.
Hollie Grima is disappointing. Someone better get her a good post coach quick. Hollie needs to put on some muscle, get a few more post moves and develop a "don't mess with me, bitch" attitude. Otherwise she could end up as one of those Euro-post types *shudder*
And coach Chambers, PLAY SHARIN MILNER MORE. Encourage her to be more aggressive offensively. Very few can match her speed.
Bulleen also have to practise their boxing out. If not for their good perimeter shooting, they could've been in trouble because they weren't getting many second chances (a total of four offensive rebounds compared to Sydney's 19).