The 2015 WNBA Playoffs begin on Thursday, and so that means it’s time for WNBA Playoff Previews. We have a lot of good stuff for each series, including highlights, multiple written sections and a podcast. Yes, the section titles are Rihanna lyrics. Shout out Rihanna. Let’s get into it.
New York Liberty (1)
#10WordRecap
Charles, Prince lead Liberty to playoffs with best ever record.
Emoji Recap
Three Most Important Highlights
Washington Mystics (4)
#10WordRecap
Meesseman, Dolson, and Latta lead “no-name” Mystics to playoffs.
Emoji Recap
Three Most Important Highlights
Preview Podcast with special guest David Vertsberger
“Don’t act like you forgot, I call the shots, shots, shots”
Player who will control/define this series
When we recorded our WNBA MVP podcast a few weeks back, we inexplicably left Tina Charles out of our top five. The real voters, however, were not so foolish. When the vote was announced, there was the New York Liberty forward, sitting in third place behind Elena Delle Donne and Maya Moore. She finished the season with averages of 17.1 points, and 8.5 rebounds, good enough for fourth and second in the league, respectively. But more importantly, she lead the New York Liberty to the best record in the league, and the best record in franchise history, at 23-11, clinching home-court advantage for their first postseason trip since 2012.
The New York Liberty like to employ a very traditional lineup with two bigs on the court at almost all times. Charles, of course, is the anchor of that rotation, starting in all 34 games and playing 31 minutes a night. On the offensive end she’s a savant in the post, scoring at will in and around the basket. Her success starts with the work she does early, as she often gets great position, and is strong enough to seal opposing defenders once she gets them on her hip. And once the Liberty get her the ball down low, it’s all over, as she shoots 63 percent inside of 5 feet.
In addition, Charles is a reliable mid-range shooter, which is important for the Liberty’s spacing, especially considering they have two bigs on the floor most of the time. She can pop to the elbow or wing after setting screens and knock down the shot with regularity. Plus, her ability to operate in the mid-range opens up space for Epiphanny Prince to get into the lane and create.
While Charles is an incredible talent on the offensive end, the other end of the court is where the Liberty make their money. They sport the league’s best defense, allowing just 92.25 points per 100 possessions. And Charles is no slouch defensively. She has good size at 6’4”, and as head coach Bill Laimbeer told the New York Times, “Tina’s defense this year is vastly improved from a team perspective.” She plays mostly power forward now, and is quite capable moving her feet and staying in front of opposing guards coming off the pick-and-roll.
The Liberty have had some trouble with the Mystics this year, going just 1-3 against them in the regular season. Still, the Liberty should be favorites to advance to the Eastern Conference Finals, and Tina Charles is the biggest reason why.
“Now that it’s raining more than ever, know that we still have each other. You can stand under my umbrella”
Unheralded player that will prove vital in this series
The whole Washington Mystics team could be the answer for this category, as they lack a super star or household name. Kara Lawson would probably be the player casual fans are most familiar with, but she’s been struggling with injuries and hasn’t played in almost a month. Still, while they might not have a superstar, they do have some All-Stars in Emma Meesseman and Stefanie Dolson. Then there’s Ivory Latta, who’s a professional bucket getter, and has come on strong in Lawson’s absence.
That’s why today we’re going to talk about Tierra Ruffin-Pratt. Who is that you might ask? Well she’s a third-year guard out of North Carolina, and one of the best defenders in the league. Although she posted the best offensive season of her career, averaging 7.4 points per game, scoring is not what TRP is focused on. The Mystics have Meesseman and Dolson and Latta to take care of that end. TRP is focused on locking up the other team’s best offensive player. And more often than not, she does just that.
The Mystics come into the playoffs sporting the league’s fourth best defense, allowing opponents just 98.43 points per 100 possessions, and TRP is a big reason why. During the Mystics’ two huge back-to-back wins over the Minnesota Lynx earlier this year, TRP held Maya Moore to a combined 6-25 shooting over the two matchups. Whether it’s Moore, or Elena Delle Donne, or Epiphanny Prince, as it will be in this series, TRP is tasked with the unenviable duty of stopping the other team’s best scorer.
Along with being a difficult and demanding job, it’s also an unheralded one. It’s fun and easy to talk about sweet passes and clutch jumpers. Fighting through screens and using good footwork to stay in front of opponents? Not so much. But TRP’s success in doing that against Epiphanny Prince, who averaged 15 points a game this season, will go along way in the Mystics’ quest to upset the top-seeded Liberty.