Round 9

[hellcat]

For those interested, LMSC (http://www.lmsctv.com/) will be broadcasting tonight's West Coast Waves v Canberra Capitals game from 7:15pm (WST).

[Dunkin' Dan]

Hopefully Waves fans will all get themselves down to the Sand Pit, but that's great news for the Caps followers.
As good as the Waves have been so far, I have a feeling that Canberra are in for a big one tonight. This is a different calibre of team to anything we have faced this season.

[Dunkin' Dan]

As expected, a bit of a butt-kicking - not helped by being without Melissa Marsh (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hbq16ApM9KU).
Thankfully with another game on Sunday the Caps took their foot off the pedal at the end, allowing the Waves to win the 4th quarter.
Final score: 65-92

Awesome shooting display by Canberra. Our perimeter defence wasn't the best by any means, but Bibby, Cosier & Hunt just couldn't miss for a while there. With Marsh's absence depriving us of our main perimeter weapon, and Tolo either smothering or just intimidating the heck out of everything that went up in the paint, it was a long night for the Waves offence.

[Jive Turkey]

Any word on Kristi Harrower's status today ?

[hellcat]

Awesome shooting display by Canberra. Our perimeter defence wasn't the best by any means, but Bibby, Cosier & Hunt just couldn't miss for a while there. With Marsh's absence depriving us of our main perimeter weapon, and Tolo either smothering or just intimidating the heck out of everything that went up in the paint, it was a long night for the Waves offence.

Going into the game, I had hoped that this might be a potential break out game for Alison Lacey, given the weaker opposition, but she went 0/5 fg and was barely noticeable on the floor. :???:

Game photos: West Coast Waves v Canberra Capitals (http://portfolio.hoopshots.com.au/p199612376).

[Leftfield]

The Caps won their two games this weekend 92-65 (against the Waves) and 97-66 (Lightning) to go to 12-1 which is their best ever start to a season. They do look to be the complete team, Batkovic, Tolo, Wilson, Cosier and Hunt is one of the Canberra's strongest ever starting fives and Bibby, Lacey, Romeo, Lewis and Haynes provide solid back-up, and coached by Graf, one of the best in the world.

I don't think Dandenong can catch them, and Logan are perhaps punching a little above their weight, but it will be interesting to see if Bulleen can, their next match up will be HUGE.

[Hit Girl]

Going into the game, I had hoped that this might be a potential break out game for Alison Lacey, given the weaker opposition, but she went 0/5 fg and was barely noticeable on the floor. :???:

Game photos: West Coast Waves v Canberra Capitals (http://portfolio.hoopshots.com.au/p199612376).
Hahaha.

Don't worry, Pussycat. I'm sure Lacey & the Caps will be just fine.

Lacey already had a breakout game against Sydney but had to give up her starting spot to accommodate the return of Suzy Batkovic.

That has resulted in reduced minutes but she appears to have made a solid contribution today against Adelaide.

As for her being "barely noticeable", in all the Caps games I've seen, even when she hasn't bothered the scorers she has defended well and displayed good ball-handling & passing skills.

Clearly a player of considerable potential who I look forward to seeing fulfil it in the coming years.

[Hit Girl]

The Caps won their two games this weekend 92-65 (against the Waves) and 97-66 (Lightning) to go to 12-1 which is their best ever start to a season. They do look to be the complete team, Batkovic, Tolo, Wilson, Cosier and Hunt is one of the Canberra's strongest ever starting fives and Bibby, Lacey, Romeo, Lewis and Haynes provide solid back-up, and coached by Graf, one of the best in the world.

I don't think Dandenong can catch them, and Logan are perhaps punching a little above their weight, but it will be interesting to see if Bulleen can, their next match up will be HUGE.
I actually think the depth of the Canberra roster is their greatest asset. The players coming off the bench are good enough to start elsewhere - particularly the backcourt players.

Personally, I think Romeo has a touch more class than Hunt, while Bibby & Lacey are playing behind two of the form players in the competition in Wilson & Cosier.

I expected Bulleen to shoot out of the blocks and Canberra to build momentum as the season progressed. It looks like it's going to be the other way around.

It's a two-horse race for mine. The Dandy girls lack the class & consistency of the other two.

[Dunkin' Dan]

Hahaha.

Don't worry, Pussycat. I'm sure Lacey & the Caps will be just fine.
I don't think anyone is questioning whether or not the Caps will be fine. They look simply awesome at the moment.

Lacey on the other hand ... I agree with hellcat. If it wasn't for the 4th quarter bricks I wouldn't have even realised she was out there playing on Friday night. Even her 4 turnovers got lost amongst all those from the Waves. Unfortunately I really can't see her holding onto that Storm roster spot the way she is playing right now. If she was a typical WNBL rookie then you'd understand her being brought through slowly, but she is a college star and a WNBA top 10 draft pick. You'd think she would be a ready-made WNBL player.

The plus side for her is that she is in a great situation in Canberra in that they really don't need her to contribute. They can easily cover for her.

As for her being "barely noticeable", in all the Caps games I've seen, even when she hasn't bothered the scorers she has defended well and displayed good ball-handling & passing skills.
Clearly you didn't tune in to the Waves game then.

[Leftfield]

Personally, I think Romeo has a touch more class than Hunt, while Bibby & Lacey are playing behind two of the form players in the competition in Wilson & Cosier.


I wouldn't say either is classier than the other, I think Romeo is a little more steady than Hunt, but Canberra look more dynamic when Hunt is on court. What I find interesting is both are spending about 19-20 minutes a game on court and their stats are very similiar, so they don't lose anything when either is on court.

Wilson & Cosier's stats are very similiar as well, the Caps are an amazingly even team.

[CapsSupporter]

I think that is one of Canberra's strengths this year, anyone of Tolo, Bibby, Cosier, Wilson or Batkovic could be their top scorer for the game, and then you still have Hunt, Romeo and Lacey who have all had 15pt + games as well!!You can't afford to just defend 1 or 2 players because then all the others are capable of really hurting you.

I think our point guards are more even this year as well. If Hurst got into foul trouble last year, Romeo wasn't in the same league (but who else was!!) and it hurt us at times last year. This year we have Hunt and Romeo who are putting up very similar consistent numbers which means that Carrie can go with whoever is performing better on the night. Lacey can also handle the point as well, and I kind of think that not being the point is hurting her game a little. At college she was used to running the show and got a lot of her points from penetration and pull ups. Running at the 2 position, she is not getting that opportunity as much as she might be used to. It kind of stems from Australia not really seeing too many point guards of her size who are also able to crash the boards, thus playing her at the 2 or 3 rather than the 1.
Would love to see a game with Lacey running the 1 and benefitting from the give and gos like Hunt is doing from Tolo and Batkovic. C'mon Carrie, give it a go!!!

[Hit Girl]

I don't think anyone is questioning whether or not the Caps will be fine. They look simply awesome at the moment.

Lacey on the other hand ... I agree with hellcat. If it wasn't for the 4th quarter bricks I wouldn't have even realised she was out there playing on Friday night. Even her 4 turnovers got lost amongst all those from the Waves. Unfortunately I really can't see her holding onto that Storm roster spot the way she is playing right now. If she was a typical WNBL rookie then you'd understand her being brought through slowly, but she is a college star and a WNBA top 10 draft pick. You'd think she would be a ready-made WNBL player.

The plus side for her is that she is in a great situation in Canberra in that they really don't need her to contribute. They can easily cover for her.


Clearly you didn't tune in to the Waves game then.
I don't think Lacey could give a toss about her Storm roster spot.

There's no point playing under a coach who isn't committed to developing her game by giving her meaningful game time.

She's better off playing the next two or three seasons at Canberra under Carrie Graf where she will definitely improve.

As for Lacey's performance against the Waves, who cares? If you & Pussycat want to judge Lacey's abilities based on a one-off performance against third-rate opposition like the Waves, I'll leave you to it.

I'll base my judgement on what I've seen of her over the course of the season thus far. My assessment is that she's a player of considerable potential who will improve consistently over the course of this season and beyond.

[Hit Girl]

I wouldn't say either is classier than the other, I think Romeo is a little more steady than Hunt, but Canberra look more dynamic when Hunt is on court. What I find interesting is both are spending about 19-20 minutes a game on court and their stats are very similiar, so they don't lose anything when either is on court.

Wilson & Cosier's stats are very similiar as well, the Caps are an amazingly even team.
I certainly didn't mean to sound critical of Hunt who is having a terrific season for us.

I'm happy for her to continue as the starting pg with Romeo sharing half a game with her.

Form-wise, I agree there is very little between them.

I think Romeo looks to have a little more poise & athletic ability which is why I've expressed a preference for her.

The reality is that the Canberra players probably face tougher opposition during the week going against each other than they do on the weekends. I mean, who do you think would win a game between the following sides:


1. Hunt
2. Cosier
3. Lacey
4. Haynes
5. Tolo

1. Romeo
2. Bibby
3. Wilson
4. Lewis
5. Batkovic

Personally, I wouldn't have a clue!

[CapsSupporter]

Great thought Hit Girl, that is a match up I would love to see!!!! I should get down to more practices!!! I think Canberra has the only true 10 person roster in the league, with all players averaging at least 5 minutes and only Wilson averaging around the 30 minute mark.

Speaking of great match ups, do you ever think the league could support an "All Star" game?

[Leftfield]

I certainly didn't mean to sound critical of Hunt who is having a terrific season for us.

I'm happy for her to continue as the starting pg with Romeo sharing half a game with her.

Form-wise, I agree there is very little between them.

I think Romeo looks to have a little more poise & athletic ability which is why I've expressed a preference for her.

The reality is that the Canberra players probably face tougher opposition during the week going against each other than they do on the weekends. I mean, who do you think would win a game between the following sides:


1. Hunt
2. Cosier
3. Lacey
4. Haynes
5. Tolo

1. Romeo
2. Bibby
3. Wilson
4. Lewis
5. Batkovic

Personally, I wouldn't have a clue!

Interesting thought and very tough to call. Hunt and Romeo are putting up similiar numbers, as is Cosier and Wilson and Lewis and Haynes. It would probably come down to the other two match ups (I'd swap Cosier and Lacey) with Tolo perhaps having the egde on Batkovic as Batkovic has only recently returned, and Bibby over Lacey because she is the better scorer.

The big question for me and one that can't really be answered until the end of season, is where will this team ranks compared to past Canberra teams. They have never gone 12-1 before and have a real chance of going 20-2 or 21-1 over the regular season. If they do win the title it maybe with the best record in Capitals history. It would be an amazing effort considering the player turnover after last season.