![]() For one thing, defenses under Sparks assistant coach Latricia Trammell are pretty consistent: Only three of the top-10 players in minutes per game from L.A.’s top-three 2020 defense were around for 2021’s top-four defense. And she used that post-up skill regardless of the offensive situation, finishing fifth in that metric among 55 players with at least 10 such possessions as well.Ĭritically, this is not someone likely to give back those offensive gains at the other end. That combination allowed Samuelson to thrive in transition, either pulling up or exploiting a mismatch to the tune of 1.359 points per transition possession, good for fifth in the WNBA among the 65 players with at least 30 such possessions. ![]() Samuelson’s field-goal percentage within 3 feet of the hoop last season was a robust 71.4 percent, and 17.7 percent of her attempts came at the rim. No returning regular on the Sparks other than Nneka Ogwumike outperformed that rate last season, and on a team where Samuelson should get regular minutes and a better chance to establish rhythm, the knock-down shooter of her UConn college days should show up in Los Angeles.īut notably, Samuelson has continued to diversify her game, and while her spacing will matter, so too will her ability to maximize her 6-foot-3 frame in mismatches to finish around the rim. When it comes to spot-up shooting, Katie Lou Samuelson has improved from the three-point line in each of her first three seasons in the WNBA, reaching 35.1 percent during 2021. And there were few bright spots, with spot-up shooting, scoring in the post and transition scoring all areas in which the Sparks struggled. The Sparks scored just 0.847 points per possession, good for 11th in the WNBA last season, ahead of only the 6-26 Indiana Fever. And the fault for that lies at the other end of the court. They shut opponents down in the halfcourt, where they were also second to the Sun, and in transition, where their 0.961 points per possession easily led the league.Īnd yet, while the Sun finished 26-6, the Sparks missed the playoffs entirely at 12-20. The Sparks allowed just 0.864 points per possession overall last season, per Synergy Sports, good for second in the league, behind the Connecticut Sun. But there’s that second-order potential of the Sparks, too: Think of it like an explosive combination of chemicals, with the opportunity to see players like Cambage, Carter, Katie Lou Samuelson and Jordin Canada working together, creating an offense worthy of the defense Los Angeles played last season. The individual effects of the many moves are obvious: The Sparks have added players who do everything the roster struggled with last season, and at an elite level. Los Angeles capped its busy offseason Friday with the official addition of Cambage at a salary of $170,000, which allowed the Sparks to keep 12 players on the roster. ![]() “Playing with a five-player that’s dominant in the post, to where you definitely have to double-team them or pick and choose, I think that’ll free my game up, it’ll free their game up. “Man, you’re telling me something I’ve thought about since I came to the WNBA,” Carter said in a Zoom press conference last week. But if you keep watching the footage, all we can do is wonder what could have been if he went pro in 1995.Electric combo guard Chennedy Carter, newly added to the Los Angeles Sparks in a busy offseason for Derek Fisher’s crew, smiled widely when asked about what it would mean to play alongside a dominant big like Liz Cambage, something Carter’s never really done at any level. Of course, we will never know that answer. With hops like that as a teenager, one could wonder if Carter would have made a good transition from high school to the pros. Whether Carter plays for the Hawks until next season or until he’s 60, it’s a marvel that he’s retained some of his explosion to the point he can still get worth minutes. “Whatever minutes are there, I want (them).” “I still want to play the game,” Carter, the oldest player in the NBA said. (It’s) just not for me,” Carter, 41, said Thursday on a conference call for the Jr. ![]() And I don’t have any problem with how it’s done now. “I come from an era where that’s not how it was. But interestingly enough, Carter’s inspiration to continue to play, though? Not to chasing championships, strictly for the love of the game. Last season for the Sacramento Kings, Carter only averaged 5.4 points per game but gave the Kings just under 18 minutes per game. While Carter’s leaping ability may not be what it once was, he still has enough spring in his legs to continue to play basketball at the age of 41. Vince Carter could have won the NBA Dunk Contest as a High Schooler!ĭon’t believe me? Here’s Vince Carter’s UNSEEN High School Mixtape
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