by Ethan Johnson
July 24, 2008

I really wasn't going to watch this game, and if I relented, certainly not "live". But then the infamous LA/DET "brawl" and subsequent suspensions happened, which prompted me to delete tonight's LA/CON game from the "to record" queue since I figured LA would get blown out by Connecticut. That was correct. 61-87 CON. I really don't like the Detroit Shock anyway, but what altered my viewing habits accordingly was the announcement that not only was Hall of Famer Nancy Lieberman signed to a 7-day contract by Detroit, but she was going to play for absolute sure tonight. I was so there. Let's go live to the videotape:

Lieberman's last WNBA game was in 1997. As the ESPN2 announcers pointed out a few times, she was the oldest player then, and at 50 (!), she's cemented her legend as the oldest WNBA player EVER. Not sure if Lieberman really wants to go out remembered like that, but here she was, and I jumped at the chance to see "Lady Magic" do it one more time. More on that story later.

Detroit came on strong in the early going, fired up after the whole fight aftermath and coming in to Houston with an 8-player bench. Due to the player shortage, Detroit let it be known that zone defense was really all that could be done all night, but that worked well in the early going as Houston couldn't get their perimeter shooting on target. nancy Lieberman came in with 1:02 remaining in the first quarter, and left shortly after the start of the second. Notbhing further to report there. Roneeka Hodges nailed a three-pointer at the buzzer to close the quarter 19-18 (Detroit leading). Detroit's weakness was 0 bench points in the quarter. Not good, when down so many players. Heck, not good, ever.

Detroit went on something of a scoring rampage in the second quarter. With 3:04 remaining, Detroit outshot Houston 52/30%. 35-28 Detroit at the half.

ESPN2 has the annoying habit of "wiring" the coaches so we can hear them when the ball is played at either end, which in this case meant a whole lot of Bill Laimbeer barking orders. But I heard a lot of "good job" and "please" (which is the Laimbeer version of "with all due respect" to set up the insults) out of Laimbeer, culminating in the halftime pep talk being prefaced with "I'm really proud of you" or "good job so far." Either way, who put the Nice Pills in Laimbeer's dinner? I wonder if the league compelled Laimbeer to put a happy face on for the game (for as long as that lasted) in the wake of the big fight.

ESPN flashed a stat in the third quarter (6:40 remaining) that said Houston scored 3/20 3-point shots. That's ridiculous. The number of 3-point attempts, that is. In spite of that, Houston rallied to tie the game at 37 apiece, and pulled ahead 43-45 with 3:37 remaining. Detroit was held scoreless for nearly 5 minutes, resulting in a 44-58 close to the quarter. Houston outscored Detroit 9-30. There's the rampage.

It wasn't looking like Nancy Lieberman would re-enter the game, especially as the score continued to split the teams apart more and more. She did come back with about 6:42 remaining. Houston increased their field goal shooting to 72% in the half with about 5:10 remaining. Despite Detroit's better efforts, including a game high 23 points from "Tweety" Nolan, Detroit took the bath I was expecting 61-79.

Now, regarding Lieberman.

I had a lump in my throat when she took the floor for the first time. I'm squishily sentimental that way. I never saw her play back when she was "happening", so the mix of Hall of Fame player and Woman Aged 50 really had me pulling for her despite playing for the damned Shock. But she used to coach the team, so it's not like she had zero association with the team prior to today. I was cringing during her first on-court performance, such as it was. Detroit practically had 4 players on the court, and Houston tried to take advantage of that. But like them or not, Detroit has Katie Smith, and while Lieberman was something of a sideshow the Detroit regulars had to take on a heavier load.

Lieberman's second appearance was more inspired and inspiring, bagging 2 assists and coming up short with some last minute scoring attempts. She played for 9:14, earning the Murray Hewitt distinction of "present." But Detroit still ended the game with 2, yes, 2 points off of the bench. None from Lieberman. And I hope beyond hope that this puts an end to the infernal nattering about the WNBA and how it stacks up to "your rec league team." They're pros. They should beat the crap out of your rec league team. Seeing Lieberman grind out her minutes on the court was all the proof anyone will ever need of that fact. While I am amazed that Lieberman was still in reasonable game shape for tonight at 50, which 39 year-olds like me like to see, she's not in Katie Smith shape. Or Tweety Nolan shape. Or Tina Thompson shape. Lieberman is a Hall of Famer, and she performed about as well as one would hope a 50 year-old might muster against today's top talent. The circus has left the building.

Anyway, it was fun to indulge a little nostalgia, even if I didn't have much to fall back on personally. I figure it was the best Detroit could hope for while they wait for their frontcourt to return from suspensions and try to sign a player to fill in for the injured Cheryl Ford.

Next: Detroit returns home to face San Antonio in a battle for first place (July 27), while Houston stays home to host the Chicago Sky (July 26). Check your local listings. <EM>

(The full WNBA archive may be found here.)