[cardfan1996]

Dreadful and horrible are pretty absurd adjectives to use to describe an All-American and future WNBA lottery pick.

That said, I'm just going to say what I've said several times this season: this team doesn't feel very hungry, game in and game out. Whatever their weaknesses were, the Hulls and Wilson went at 100% all the time. Brink and Jump are the only players I see with fire in their bellies, and Jump has a limited repertoire and what seems to be a now-well-known scouting defense profile. So we rise and fall with Brink. Today she was sick, and we sunk. 

I really love so much about Jones, but honestly, I think she's just too good natured and happy-go-lucky to push through to the next level. She barely tries to take threes anymore, and it feels like she plataued her sophomore year. That's still enough for some stellar games, press awards, and a lottery pick, but I just don't get the sense she'll do anything necessary to avoid losing. Her rush to hug Boston immediately after they won the final four says everything about her character and spirit but also her competitive fire to win at all costs. 

Ultimately, I fear Tara has a cornucopia of good pieces but not the ones to construct a dominant lineup. Sometimes them's the breaks. It is what it is, and I hope we can get hot when it counts and Jones does her thing when all the chips are down. In the mean time, I'm prepared for a few more weekends like this one, where we rise one day and fall the next.

I think trying to draw conclusions about a player’s state of mind based on her being happy on the court, or showing sportsmanship is “pretty absurd.” Neither you nor I know Haley or know her state of mind.

My observations are simply about her play and what is observable and knowable by a complete stranger. So dreadful and horrible compared to what should happen in similar scenarios is pretty “fair” to me. I don’t speculate on whether or not her emotions mean anything unless she has spoken about that. And the only thing she has said is she wants to win another natty before she graduates.

[cardfan1996]

Dreadful and horrible are pretty absurd adjectives to use to describe an All-American and future WNBA lottery pick.

That said, I'm just going to say what I've said several times this season: this team doesn't feel very hungry, game in and game out. Whatever their weaknesses were, the Hulls and Wilson went at 100% all the time. Brink and Jump are the only players I see with fire in their bellies, and Jump has a limited repertoire and what seems to be a now-well-known scouting defense profile. So we rise and fall with Brink. Today she was sick, and we sunk. 

I really love so much about Jones, but honestly, I think she's just too good natured and happy-go-lucky to push through to the next level. She barely tries to take threes anymore, and it feels like she plataued her sophomore year. That's still enough for some stellar games, press awards, and a lottery pick, but I just don't get the sense she'll do anything necessary to avoid losing. Her rush to hug Boston immediately after they won the final four says everything about her character and spirit but also her competitive fire to win at all costs. 

Ultimately, I fear Tara has a cornucopia of good pieces but not the ones to construct a dominant lineup. Sometimes them's the breaks. It is what it is, and I hope we can get hot when it counts and Jones does her thing when all the chips are down. In the mean time, I'm prepared for a few more weekends like this one, where we rise one day and fall the next.

I think trying to draw conclusions about a player’s state of mind based on her being happy on the court, or showing sportsmanship is “pretty absurd.” Neither you nor I know Haley or know her state of mind.

My observations are simply about her play and what is observable and knowable by a complete stranger. So dreadful and horrible compared to what should happen in similar scenarios is pretty “fair” to me. I don’t speculate on whether or not her emotions mean anything unless she has spoken about that. And the only thing she has said is she wants to win another natty before she graduates.