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Phoenixs Brittney Griner said. We know what we need to do now; everybody has to go up another level.Phoenix got important offens

in Team 15.11.2019 02:30
von jcy123 | 7.049 Beiträge

Jessica Ennis-Hill on Saturday attempted to play down the favourite tag bestowed upon her by rivals for Olympic heptathlon gold including fellow Briton Katarina Johnson-Thompson.Johnson-Thompson won the long jump on day two of the Anniversary Games in London with a seasons best 6.84 metres as Ennis-Hill finished seventh with 6.19m.Ennis-Hill, who less than a month ago set a long jump personal best of 6.63, was the poster girl of London 2012, where she won heptathlon gold.But the 30-year-old from Sheffield, whose personal best over seven disciplines is the 6955 set en route to Olympic gold, sought to temper expectations.People like to put pressure on. I dont see myself as the favourite, Ennis-Hill said. I havent got the world lead and I didnt compete in Gotzis when everyone else did.There are quite a few girls who have upped their game this year. I dont feel like the favourite, no. Its really tough competition.Brianne Theisen-Eaton is the world leader in the heptathlon this year with 6765 points.But Ennis-Hill won the 2015 world title in Beijing ahead of the Canadian and showed with a seasons best in the 100m hurdles on Friday that she is very nearly back to her best, two years after giving birth to her son Reggie and despite an Achilles problem earlier in the season.Ennis-Hill was not able to back-up her hurdles run in the final, when she clattered a hurdle and Kendra Harrison bettered a 28-year-old world record to win in 12.20 seconds.That race is going to be played forever and Im going to be coming last. But it was a great race to be in, Ennis-Hill added.Despite playing down her chances, she is optimistic for Rio. She added: I love championships, thats when I want to be at my best. I love those environments. It brings the best out of me.Last year was just up and down with injuries. To have improved on last year and feeling the way I am now, I feel good, I feel healthy. Id have taken this.The long jump performance was something of a reminder that there is plenty of work still to be done.Having jumped 6.60 a few weeks ago Id hoped to jump that again, she added.Ive got a couple more weeks to get everything right. I hope to bring it all together in Rio. Thats when it matters.Johnson-Thompson was satisfied in winning the long jump, following an outdoor personal best in Fridays high jump of 1.95m.There was additional satisfaction for Johnson-Thompson, who failed to record a legal jump at last years World Championships in Beijing, ending her medal bid there.The 23-year-old from Liverpool said: Im happy. No no-jumps. My lowest one was 6.60, so Im pleased. Got a consistent set of good jumps out there.Its a long way better than what Ive done this season. I just have to back myself now.I feel like when Im 100 percent healthy I can do anything. 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There are many more players in contention for the awards than just the three that Ive named, and a good or bad week can easily alter the landscape, but through the first 20 or so games of the NHL season, this is how the awards races look to me. Phoenix spent most of the summer trying to play like everyone -- including the Mercury themselves -- expected this team to play. It didnt really happen with any consistency during the regular season -- but its not too late. The Mercury are a victory away from advancing to the best-of-five semifinals but will have to win in New York on Saturday to do so.Meanwhile, Atlanta got one of the best individual performances in playoff history from Angel McCoughtry in the first round. On Sunday, the Dream head to Chicago, where they hope to avenge a painful playoff series loss to the Sky two years ago.Awaiting the winners are No. 1 seed Minnesota and No. 2 Los Angeles.No. 8 Phoenix vs. No. 3 New York (NBA TV, ESPN3, 7 p.m. ET Saturday)Heres the deal with the Mercury: No one would have been stunned to see them lose in the first round at Indiana. But no one will be stunned to see them move on to the semifinals. Thats how hard it has been to predict what Phoenix might do.It has been an up-and-down season for the Mercury because they couldnt count on their defense, which is the very thing that was a rock for them when they won the WNBA championship in 2014.During the 2016 regular season, Phoenix allowed foes an average of 83.3 points per game. The Mercurys effort in their 89-78 victory over the Fever on Wednesday was much closer to what theyll need to beat the Liberty. The Mercury held the Fever to 37.2 percent shooting while shooting 54.5 percent themselves.Any night we play good team defense, we pack the paint around the ball and get on shooters, the results come out in our favor, Phoenixs Brittney Griner said. We know what we need to do now; everybody has to go up another level.Phoenix got important offensive contributions from several players on Wednesday, with Diana Taurasi leading the way with 20 points. Griner and DeWanna Bonner each had 18, and Candice Dupree and Penny Taylor each scored 12.Bonner has been coming off the bench the past five games, with Marta Xargay starting instead, and that worked well for the Mercury on Wednesday. Bonner was fresh and very effective in the fourth quarter, scoring 11 of her points to hold off the Fever.It was an emotional night, as Indianas Tamika Catchings played her last game, but it could also have been the last for Australias Taylor. Now Saturdays game will be the end for either Taylor or New Yorks Swin Cash, who is also retiring at seasons end.Neither the Mercury nor the Liberty played much defense in their first meeting this season, a 104-97 Phoenix victory in New York on June 26. Dupree had a season-high 26 points in that game, going 11-of-13 from the field. Tina Charles had 26 for New York but took 27 shots to do it. And the Liberty went 12-of-15 from the line compared with the Mercurys 27-of-33.The second meeting, in Phoenix on July 1, was more the type of game that defined the Mercury much of the season: They scored a lot, but they gave up a lot more. New York won 99-88, led by Charles 31. This time, the Liberty were able to match -- actually, slightly exceed -- the Mercury going to the line, with New York at 25-of-29 and Phoenix 23-of-26.The last game, though, was a Liberty blowout: 92-70 on Sept. 3 in New York. Phoenix shot just 32.8 percent from the field, and Griner had her lowest output of the season with two points. The Liberty held Griners offense down without center Kiah Stokes, a defensive specialist who has been out since Aug. 26.Were a bit of a toss-up, Taurasi said of the Mercury this season. But since the Olympic break, we kind of know who we are. Everyone is healthy. We see ourselves playing differently and feeliing differently.ddddddddddddEven so, Phoenix was 6-4 after the Rio Games going into the postseason, so toss-up really is probably the best way to put it. However, as they showed at Indiana, the Mercury are especially hard to beat when they face elimination. Thats the Taurasi factor as much as anything. New York will have to find a way to limit her, which Indiana could not do.No. 6 Atlanta at No. 4 Chicago (ESPN2, 1 p.m. ET Sunday)Wednesday, the Dream didnt have their second-leading scorer, Tiffany Hayes, who was out because of a suspension after her seventh technical foul in the regular-season finale. They didnt have inside veteran presence Sancho Lyttle, who is injured.But they had McCoughtry, who knew she had to put the Dream on her back. She did just that in a 94-85 victory over Seattle, scoring 37 points to go with seven assists and three rebounds. She shot 66.7 percent from the field (14-of-21), which also was critical. During the regular season, she shot 43.4 percent.It was one of McCoughtrys finest performances, and it couldnt have come at a better time. But rookie Bria Holmes also had a very timely big game, playing all 40 minutes and finishing with a season-high 21 points, plus seven rebounds and three assists.Seattle No. 1 pick Breanna Stewart, whos sure to win rookie of the year, had 19 points, seven rebounds and three assists. But her first WNBA season came to a close, while Holmes, who was drafted No. 11 out of West Virginia, moves on.The Dream prevailed 2-1 in the regular-season series with the Sky, winning the first two games in Atlanta, 87-81 on May 22 and 101-97 on June 17. In the teams first game back after the Olympics, the Sky won 90-82 in Chicago on Aug. 26.The big difference is that Elena Delle Donne, last seasons MVP, had 34 points in that victory over Atlanta, but now shes out after thumb surgery. And although the Sky actually played surprisingly well in five games without her -- winning three, including against Minnesota -- theres no getting around the big void it leaves for Chicago.Defense is going to be key for the Sky, which is a worrisome proposition. That hasnt been the Skys strength, not this season or in recent ones. And no team is more successful getting to the line than the Dream, who went there a league-high 909 times in the regular season. However, they made just 75.1 percent (683); only Connecticut was worse at the stripe (71.5.) So against the Sky, the Dream not only have to draw fouls, they also must convert the free throws.Few are better at that skill than Delle Donne, who shot 93.5 percent from the line this year and is at 93.8 percent for her career. But with her out, the Sky have been led by veteran Cappie Pondexter, who averaged 22.3 points in four games after Delle Donnes injury. Neither Pondexter nor Courtney Vandersloot played in the Skys regular-season finale at Seattle, as that had no impact on their seeding.In 2014, the Dream and the Sky met in the Eastern Conference semifinals (in the WNBAs old playoff format), with Atlanta as the No. 1 seed and presumed favorite. But Chicago won the series 2-1, rallying from 16 down after three quarters in Game 3 in Atlanta. Delle Donne had 34 points in that 81-80 victory, and the Sky then went on to beat Indiana in the East finals before losing to Phoenix in the WNBA Finals.That tough defeat at home to end 2014 sat irritatingly with Atlanta through last year, as the Dream didnt make the playoffs. Now they hope to end the Skys season at home this year. ' ' '

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