National team coach breaks down Canadian WNBAers
Lisa Thomaidis shares her thoughts on 4 potential Tokyo Games participants
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Catching up on Canada's WNBA players
We're now more than one-third of the way through the shortened, 22-game WNBA season being played in a bubble at the IMG Academy in Bradenton, Fla.
Perhaps the biggest message from the season has come off the court. WNBA players are the most outspoken professional athletes — star player Maya Moore is in her third season sitting out after helping free a wrongfully convicted man — and that's only been taken to the next level in 2020.
Most recently, Atlanta Dream players wore 'Vote Warnock' T-shirts to a game in support of Raphael Warnock, a Democrat running to represent Georgia in the Senate this November. His opponent? Dream owner, Black Lives Matter critic and Rep. Senator Kelly Loeffler. As CBC Sports' Morgan Campbell writes, that kind of stand takes guts.
On the court, the four Canadians in the league have experienced four very different seasons. We reached out to national team head coach Lisa Thomaidis to get her take on the potential Tokyo Games participants:
Kia Nurse, guard, New York Liberty (1-7)
Per-game statistics: 22.7 minutes, 9.1 points, 1.3 assists, 1.1 rebounds, shooting 20.5 per cent
Season to date: Nurse, probably the most heralded Canadian women's player, suffered an ankle injury in the Liberty's season opener, eventually missing one game. The injury may have affected the 24-year-old Hamilton, Ont., native, who hasn't seemed quite like herself since -- the career 38 per cent shooter has seen that number cut nearly in half, including a meagre 3-for-19 performance over the past two games, both losses.
The Liberty entered the season with a WNBA record seven rookies on the team, making third-year player Nurse a "baby vet." To make matters worse, recent No. 1 pick Sabrina Ionescu went down with an ankle injury of her own and isn't expected back until at least September. The loss of Ionescu put even more on Nurse's plate, and the Canadian has fared just okay, with New York's lone win, an eight-point triumph over the scuffling Washington Mystics, serving as her best game. For now, the Liberty can seemingly only go as far as Nurse can take them.
Thomaidis' take: "She is a competitor and she's super tough. She solidified herself in the league as an all-star last year. And so I know she was really looking forward to the season and continuing to develop her game … She's not afraid of pressure. She's not afraid of being the one that has to perform for her team."
Natalie Achonwa, forward, Indiana Fever (3-5)
Per-game statistics: 15 minutes, five points, five rebounds, one assist
Season to date: Achonwa, in her sixth WNBA campaign, has played just four games this season, returning last night from a four-game absence because of a hamstring injury. It was also her first game coming off the bench. The forward has seen her playing time dwindle by about five minutes per game this year, and her total production has dropped along with it.
What's encouraging is that Achonwa's percentages are generally in line with where she was previously, meaning more playing time would bring her closer to her career average of around eight points. The Guelph, Ont., native has attempted more than three shots in a game just once this season.
Thomaidis' take: "She plays such a leadership role on any team that she's on. And I think that's the case for the Fever as well. [She's] super smart. She's a pro, she's experienced, she's a two-time Olympian set to be a three-time Olympian. So there's no doubt that she's going to play a big part in the success of their season as well."
Bridget Carleton, guard/forward, Minnesota Lynx (6-2)
Per-game statistics: 18.4 minutes, 7.1 points, 2.6 rebounds, one steal, 0.8 assists
Season to date: Carleton has been the Canadian breakout star of this season. Lynx injuries thrust the Chatham, Ont., native into a bigger role, and she's made good on the increased responsibility. In her first start of the season, Carleton played 33 minutes and scored 25 points on just 16 field-goal attempts. The 23-year-old has been a mainstay in the Minnesota rotation ever since, with a consistent role featuring increased ball-handling duties even when coming off the bench.
Drafted by the Connecticut Sun just last year, Carleton was cut midway through the season before catching on with the Lynx, though she was never given much opportunity with either team over just eight games. Perhaps this season is the springboard she needs for her career to take off. At this pace, it's likely we see Carleton play a pivotal role for Canada at the Tokyo Olympics.
Thomaidis' take: "Increased opportunity and I think just experience led to some confidence. She is playing a larger role with our national team and played a significant role in February with her Olympic qualification tournament. She was a starter on that team and having been in the league for a season and then played professionally through last winter and then with us in February, I think it's just a lot of things coming together where she can just let her play speak for itself."
"It's really easy to cheer for her and we couldn't be happier for her. I know she's earning more and more playing time and becoming sort of a mainstay in their rotations. We're just really pumped to watch her contribute in that way."
Kayla Alexander, centre, Lynx
Per-game statistics: 4.7 minutes, 0.9 points, 0.9 rebounds, shooting 50 per cent
Season to date: At the other end of the Minnesota spectrum sits the 29-year-old Alexander. Now in her eighth season, but first with the Lynx, the Milton, Ont., native is experiencing the least playing time of her career. Still, Alexander is looked upon as a reliable role player off the bench — someone who will show up and do what's asked in any given game.
Alexander played nine minutes, the second most of her season, as the Lynx blew out the Mystics Tuesday night.
Thomaidis' take: "Kayla's a pro. She's been in the league now a number of years. She did very well with us, played a key role in our Olympic qualifier … She's always learning. She's very cerebral. I'm sure getting accustomed to the new system and a new team takes a little bit of time and I wouldn't be surprised to see her play a continuously increasing role as the season goes on for them."
Don't call it a marathon: Lightning top Blue Jackets in 5OT
It takes the average runner between four and five hours to complete a marathon, and so it would be a disservice to the Lightning and Blue Jackets to use the sports cliché to describe their six-hour 13-minute, five-overtime Game 1 thriller from Tuesday night. Eventually, 10:27 into the eighth period, Tampa Bay's Brayden Point flicked a wrister from the slot that solved sudden star goalie Joonas Korpisalo and won the game for the Lightning. Korpisalo, by the way, posted an NHL-record 85 saves in the loss. Read more about the Lightning's wild win here.
Some other notable stats: 150 minutes, 27 seconds of gametime is the fourth most in NHL history. Blue Jackets defenceman Seth Jones set an individual time-on-ice record at 65:06. There were a combined 151 shots on net, with the Lightning's Andrei Vasilevskiy stopping 61 himself, and the Blue Jackets blocking another 62.
When the game ended at 9:27 p.m. ET (following its 3:09 p.m. ET start), it was nearly 90 minutes past the scheduled start of Hurricanes-Bruins Game 1. And remember: because of the bubble setup, the game was to be played on the same surface at Scotiabank Arena in Toronto. With the NHL requiring 88 minutes between games to prepare the rink for a new game, Carolina and Boston's Game 1 was pushed to this morning. The Bruins won 4-3 in double overtime. Because of course.
The length of the game sparked some debate: should the NHL change the rules to ensure games don't go this long? NBC commentator Mike Milbury said yes, suggesting a shootout at some point to determine playoff OT games. He repeated the sentiment in a tweet, complete with a picture of the CN Tower — which he referred to as the Space Needle. The Space Needle is in Seattle. And considering the last 5OT game came in 2003, most disagreed with Milbury that any change is necessary anyway.
Now, we'll see how the Tampa victory sets up the rest of the series. It's tough for either team to lose that late, but it would've been especially disheartening for the Lightning to drop a fifth straight in the playoffs against the Jackets after being swept last season. Meanwhile, in the Edmonton hub, the Calgary Flames jumped to an early series lead over the Dallas Stars and the No. 1 Vegas Golden Knights cruised past Chicago in their first game.
WATCH | CBC Sports' Rob Pizzo recaps Blue Jackets-Lightning 5OT thriller:
Quickly...
Leylah Annie Fernandez pulled it off. The 17-year-old Canadian ousted former U.S. Open champion and seventh seed Sloane Stephens with a commanding 6-3, 6-3 victory at the Top Seed Open. The Canadian qualifier from Montreal will now face unseeded American Shelby Rogers on Thursday. The marquee matchup that day pits the Williams sisters against one another for the 31st time. Serena's won 18, but she's also coming off a gruelling first-round match that lasted more than two hours. Read more about the Top Seed Open here.
Portland won the MLS is Back Tournament, and once again the MLS is back. To clarify: the soccer league (aptly) titled its return tournament in Disney "MLS is Back," and the Timbers took home that championship Tuesday night with a 2-1 win over Orlando City. The tournament was somewhat gimmicky: round-robin games counted towards regular standings, but nothing beyond was meaningful for the season. Tonight, that season resumes mostly in home markets, with Dallas and Nashville — the two teams forced to pull out of the Disney tournament due to coronavirus outbreaks — kicking things off. Toronto, Vancouver and Montreal, meanwhile, still don't know where their home games will take place, though one report suggested the latter will set up at the home of the New York Red Bulls in Harrison, NJ. Read more about the Timbers' title here.
And finally...
NBA players might be forced into some awkward conversations. The league established guidelines for players to bring guests into the bubble on Wednesday. The policy begins in the second round, where players can bring up to four people. Here's where it gets interesting: those people can only be family members or "longtime personal friends." No doubt the pressure will be on for some players, and rejections ("Sorry, we're not close enough") could sting. Read more about the NBA's guest policy here.
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