The WNBA’s first month: the obvious and the weird are finally separating

The WNBA’s first month: the obvious and the weird are finally separating

The league’s 30th season is already up and running, and the early chaos has mostly settled into something closer to the shape people expected. There were surprise teams early — especially the expansion franchises and the Chicago Sky — but now, approaching the one-third mark, the standings are netting out about where expected. With two notable exceptions: the Minnesota Lynx and Phoenix Mercury. The Mercury were supposed to be in the title mix after returning most of their Finals roster, and they announced themselves by crushing the Aces 99-66 on opening night. Since then, that game looks more like a fever dream than a trend, because the Mercury have slid to the bottom of the standings alongside the tanking Sun and youth-development Storm. Their opponents are also making 39% of their threes, which is wildly annoying if you enjoy pretending basketball is fully under human control.

Gobble's Take: Early-season basketball loves a fake clue, and the Mercury’s 99-66 statement game is now wearing a disguise.

Source: Perplexity Search

The NBA’s latest whisper-fest includes coaching-carousel season

The latest NBA chatter is doing the usual summer thing: trade, free agency, and coaching-carousel updates are all in the mix, because, yeah, it’s that time of year. The notebook roundup says it’s built from recent Intel compilations from Jake Fischer, and the whole thing is framed as a fresh pass over what’s been collected on those fronts, with a little draft material sprinkled in too. Not a scoreboard story, but absolutely the kind of story that can turn into one once the carousel starts spinning for real.

Gobble's Take: This is the part of the calendar where half the league becomes a rumor and the other half becomes leverage.

Source: Perplexity Search

In Case You Missed It

Yesterday's top stories:

• Brunson didn't just win the Finals — he consumed them
• 53 years, 16-3, and a parade that became a national event