Anyone with insight into possible starting 5 and rotations?

[MJ271]

I agree with most everyone else that the starters will likely be Ryan, Donarski, Joens, Diew, and Soares. Like a couple recent posters, I'm high on Fritz. But with the way that Diew played especially at the end of the season and the defensive versatility she brings, I expect her to start.

For the bench, I still expect Kane and Jordao to both get minutes. In limited minutes, they'll be able to play even harder than they did last year. Against certain opponents, I could see a lineup with 2 of the 3 of Soares, Kane, and Jordao, but that might depend on whether Soares (or anyone else) is able to provide increased offensive versatility compared to the post group last year. I doubt that Dawkins will contribute much, if at all, this year since Fritz and MEM will probably take nearly all of the backup guard minutes.

 

[Jnecker4cy]

With this team having a bunch of scorers, I would like to see Joens pass out of the double team more often than in past years. Sure, sometimes those wild shots fall and sometimes she gets a trip to the FT line but there’s plenty of talent around her to can an open look.

She may not need to be down low as much. And because of the other scorers teams might not be able to as much...

 

[CloneSt8]

With this team having a bunch of scorers, I would like to see Joens pass out of the double team more often than in past years. Sure, sometimes those wild shots fall and sometimes she gets a trip to the FT line but there’s plenty of talent around her to can an open look.

Last year Joens did pass more out of the double team. Wrap around assists to Kane and Jordao in the post out of those double teams. And assists to open 3 point shooters, too.

 

[CloneSt8]

In the South America FIBA games Soares showed that she has 3 point range. She was playing the power forward position for Brazil as they had a 6'-8" center that plays for South Carolina.

 

[mred]

She may not need to be down low as much. And because of the other scorers teams might not be able to as much...

To succeed in the WNBA, she'll have to be a bit more of a backcourt player than she currently is. She definitely made some strides in that direction last year, and I expect that trajectory to continue. The emergence of Diew late last season helped with that, and I'd think adding Soares will allow her to be even more of a perimeter player.

 

[MJ271]

Bumping this thread...
There's a media day quote at the end of this story in reference to Fritz: "If we had a game (Tuesday night), there's a good chance she'd be starting."

So maybe she will end up starting instead of Diew. I did like Fritz a lot in her few games last season and think she can complement the other guards well. She doesn't need the ball in her hands to contribute, but can still handle it and pass well. But Diew certainly brings more defensive versatility and length to the table. Maybe it's something that will depend on matchups. You could also argue that Diew's best minutes came as a small-ball 5, rather than playing at the 4, which might affect how she's used.

No matter what the starting lineup is, it's certainly nice to have this amount of depth.

 

[Royalclone]

Since this may be our best chance ever for a Final Four team, we’ll probably end up in South Carolina’s regional.

 

[Bipolarcy]

Here is my guess at the starters/rotational players.

Ryan/Lexi
Lexi/Fritz/Maggie
Joens/Fritz/Maggie
Diew/Joens
Soares/Kane/Jordao

I wouldn't count Shantavia Dawkins out as the backup to Ryan. She's looking pretty good in the limited glimpses I've seen of her.

 

[Bipolarcy]

Last year Joens did pass more out of the double team. Wrap around assists to Kane and Jordao in the post out of those double teams. And assists to open 3 point shooters, too.

Joens also said during media day that one of the things she was working on during the off-season was getting the ball to her teammates more and handling the ball better to spell Ryan from having to bring it upcourt all the time.