More MVP talk for Big Syl at Swish Appeal

Q McCall of Swish Appeal list Sylvia Fowles, Temeka Catchings and Lauren Jackson as his primary candidates for Most Valulable Player in the WNBA this season...here is what he has to say about Big Syl:

The argument for Sylvia Fowles is simple: nobody in the league has assumed a larger responsibility for their team's success than Fowles, who sits at 30.94%. Her vastly improved free throw shooting - which was over 90% early in the season and has plummeted to 80.6% -- has made her the second most efficient scorer in the league by true shooting percentage, at 65.83%.

It's just that when trying to select one of these three players have particularly dominant season, the low plus/minus is a hindrance for Fowles. There are at least two potential reasons - first, the Sky can go through long stretches of time where they Fowles doesn't touch the ball on offense. Although she has definitely improved the range on her shot, she's still limited compared to Catchings and Jackson so on those plays where they put Fowles out on the wing or high post to spread the defense she essentially becomes a non-factor.

Second, Fowles is more effective when the team is shooting the three well...or the team shoots the three well when Fowles is more effective. The point is that if opposing defenses know that they can sag off of Sky shooters, it becomes much easier to defend Fowles on the block. That was essentially the story of the Sky's 4-0 win streak after their 0-4 start - they shot nearly 14% better from the three point line.

A third reason is that Fowles plays 32 minutes a game on an 11-11 team, meaning that her team probably experiences being down a bit more often with their starters on the floor and Fowles bears the brunt of that. Granted, the supporting cast members for Catchings and Jackson are playing very well this season, arguably better than the roster of the Sky - if Fowles was playing with point guard Sue Bird, perhaps we'd see a different outcome.

Looking forward, if the Sky don't make the playoffs and the Storm continue at their pace and the Fever stay on track as an Eastern Conference contender, it would be very hard to choose Fowles over the Catchings and Jackson given how much they are doing for their teams. Nevertheless, none of this should take away from the fact that Fowles is having an absolutely outstanding season.

Read the entire article: http://bit.ly/dmQ4QN

Sylvia_fowles800

Posted by Bob Starkey