Good article. One big issue with any statistical analysis is that defensive ability is simply impossible to measure. Blocks and steals are pretty meaningless, and really the only way to determine defensive effectiveness is to watch every game with a coach from the team so you can know if, say, the player was supposed to switch that screen or not, or was supposed to force the player right, or was supposed to be helping to the strong-side corner. Defense is not me vs. you, it's us vs. them, and you just can't rate a player without knowing what the overall strategy was.
In my opinion: 1. People who follow women's basketball & the WNBA for years know that Caitlin Clark does not earn a spot over any on these players, has not practiced with the team and does not have Int'l experience. 2. People who never heard of or followed the WNBA until this year because of Caitlin Clark would be quite vocal if she was on the team and tied to the bench - which would likely be the reality. The team is stacked, ratings will be high and Caitlin Clark will likely have 3 Team USA Olympic experiences in her future.
Yes. But you opined as to facts, specifically that CC has no international experience (she does - not olympic, but international) and that people who watch and know the WNBA don’t support her being on the team (there are plenty of those people who do - a lot of them have popular podcasts).
A good example of someone who no longer belongs on the team is DT. She’s got her 5 golds and she’s mid now. Many others deserve over her at this point.
The issue isn’t deserve or merit, though. The reason for including CC is the audience she brings. But, if everyone wants to be about who merits it, then both CC and DT should be left at home.
I think there's a ton of talent in the WNBA - and many of these players are interchangeable . That said, they had workouts & tryouts over the last couple of years - plus the coaching staff may be looking for a mix of players that fit into their strategies, and ultimately there was a committee that decided. CC could have been deserving, as Angel Reese could have been as well. Many thought Arike (I personally despise her game). As for DT, I wouldn't have cared either way. The focus of my original statement is that if CC was selected but sat on the bench, people would be screaming and having fits on social media.
You’re right - people would scream on social media. BUT people always scream on social media. The WNBA has put out a product that people have had very little interest in watching. CC’s mere presence increases the audience as much as 5-6x in some markets and at least 2-3x overall. The US Olympic team has not lost a game in over 3 decades. It was an incredibly bad business decision to leave her off the team.
You’re assuming, incorrectly, that your model that still applies. Much like decision-optimizing regular season baseball model leading to sub-optimal decisions in the post-season, your model does not account for how Caitlin Clark has changed the game.
Related query: In 1986, how do you quantify the effect on the win value of the Celtic bench players when they were on the court knowing there was a healthy Larry Bird on the bench waiting to come back in?
Good article. One big issue with any statistical analysis is that defensive ability is simply impossible to measure. Blocks and steals are pretty meaningless, and really the only way to determine defensive effectiveness is to watch every game with a coach from the team so you can know if, say, the player was supposed to switch that screen or not, or was supposed to force the player right, or was supposed to be helping to the strong-side corner. Defense is not me vs. you, it's us vs. them, and you just can't rate a player without knowing what the overall strategy was.
In my opinion: 1. People who follow women's basketball & the WNBA for years know that Caitlin Clark does not earn a spot over any on these players, has not practiced with the team and does not have Int'l experience. 2. People who never heard of or followed the WNBA until this year because of Caitlin Clark would be quite vocal if she was on the team and tied to the bench - which would likely be the reality. The team is stacked, ratings will be high and Caitlin Clark will likely have 3 Team USA Olympic experiences in her future.
So…an argument from authority. And if that authority had concluded differently from you?
I don't understand what you are saying here. I offered an opinion.
Yes. But you opined as to facts, specifically that CC has no international experience (she does - not olympic, but international) and that people who watch and know the WNBA don’t support her being on the team (there are plenty of those people who do - a lot of them have popular podcasts).
A good example of someone who no longer belongs on the team is DT. She’s got her 5 golds and she’s mid now. Many others deserve over her at this point.
The issue isn’t deserve or merit, though. The reason for including CC is the audience she brings. But, if everyone wants to be about who merits it, then both CC and DT should be left at home.
I think there's a ton of talent in the WNBA - and many of these players are interchangeable . That said, they had workouts & tryouts over the last couple of years - plus the coaching staff may be looking for a mix of players that fit into their strategies, and ultimately there was a committee that decided. CC could have been deserving, as Angel Reese could have been as well. Many thought Arike (I personally despise her game). As for DT, I wouldn't have cared either way. The focus of my original statement is that if CC was selected but sat on the bench, people would be screaming and having fits on social media.
You’re right - people would scream on social media. BUT people always scream on social media. The WNBA has put out a product that people have had very little interest in watching. CC’s mere presence increases the audience as much as 5-6x in some markets and at least 2-3x overall. The US Olympic team has not lost a game in over 3 decades. It was an incredibly bad business decision to leave her off the team.
Peace.
You’re assuming, incorrectly, that your model that still applies. Much like decision-optimizing regular season baseball model leading to sub-optimal decisions in the post-season, your model does not account for how Caitlin Clark has changed the game.
Related query: In 1986, how do you quantify the effect on the win value of the Celtic bench players when they were on the court knowing there was a healthy Larry Bird on the bench waiting to come back in?