[OCcardinal]

I really don't want to rag Nivar, who I really like, but those (ahem, 1996) who keep contending that Nivar should be in the lineup in place of Lepolo, tell me what I (and Tara) am not seeing... Here are their stat lines:

Lepolo 2-6 2-5 4-4 5A 2S 0TO 10PTs
Nivar 0-4 0-2 0-2 0A 0S 1TO 0PTs

Not a good game for Nivar. But there are a few stats where she was better than Lepolo:

Rebounds: Nivar (3 in 12 minutes) Lepolo (3 in 31 minutes)
Fouls Drawn: Nivar (6.1 in 12 minutes) Lepolo (5.2 in 31 minutes)
Defensive Rating: Nivar (91.7) Lepolo (112.8) Brink (95.1) [lower is better]

This points to where things stood earlier in the season - Nivar being more athletic/aggressive than Lepolo but Lepolo having better execution.  There were a few games after Lepolo's injury where Nivar's execution was better than Lepolo too, but Nivar seems to have regressed (with Lepolo back to her pre-injury self).  That's not a terrible scenario.  Nivar's still got enough of Tara's trust to get material minutes and I presume Tara will use her more if the matchups/situation calls for it (e.g., Lepolo starts to struggle vs highly athletic guards).

[OCcardinal]

I really don't want to rag Nivar, who I really like, but those (ahem, 1996) who keep contending that Nivar should be in the lineup in place of Lepolo, tell me what I (and Tara) am not seeing... Here are their stat lines:

Lepolo 2-6 2-5 4-4 5A 2S 0TO 10PTs
Nivar 0-4 0-2 0-2 0A 0S 1TO 0PTs

Not a good game for Nivar. But there are a few stats where she was better than Lepolo:

Rebounds: Nivar (3 in 12 minutes) Lepolo (3 in 31 minutes)
Fouls Drawn: Nivar (6.1 in 12 minutes) Lepolo (5.2 in 31 minutes)
Defensive Rating: Nivar (91.7) Lepolo (112.8) Brink (95.1) [lower is better]

This points to where things stood earlier in the season - Nivar being more athletic/aggressive than Lepolo but Lepolo having better execution.  There were a few games after Lepolo's injury where Nivar's execution was better than Lepolo too, but Nivar seems to have regressed (with Lepolo back to her pre-injury self).  That's not a terrible scenario.  Nivar's still got enough of Tara's trust to get material minutes and I presume Tara will use her more if the matchups/situation calls for it (e.g., Lepolo starts to struggle vs highly athletic guards).