2008 Detroit Shock season

Last updated

2008 Detroit Shock season
Coach Bill Laimbeer
Arena The Palace of Auburn Hills
Attendance9,569 per game
Results
Record2212 (.647)
Place1st (Eastern)
Playoff finishWon WNBA Finals
Team Leaders
Points Deanna Nolan (15.8)
Rebounds Cheryl Ford (8.7)
Assists Deanna Nolan (4.4)

The 2008 WNBA season was the 11th for the Detroit Shock, an American women's professional basketball team. The Shock returned to the WNBA Finals for the third consecutive year, winning their second WNBA Championship in three seasons, and their third in six years.

Contents

During the Finals, Katie Smith averaged a team high 21.7 points per game to be named WNBA Finals MVP. [1] Similar to Kevin Garnett with the 2008 Boston Celtics, Taj McWilliams-Franklin won her first championship after 10 years in the league. [2]

Offseason

The following player was lost in the Atlanta Dream expansion draft:

[3]

WNBA draft

RoundPickPlayerNationalitySchool/Team/Country
14 (from Atl. via Sea.) Alexis Hornbuckle Flag of the United States.svg  United States Tennessee
11 (from SA) Tasha Humphrey Flag of the United States.svg  United States Georgia
218 (from Atl.) Olayinka Sanni Flag of the United States.svg  United States West Virginia
342Valeriya BerezhynskaFlag of the United States.svg  United States Rice

Transactions

[4]

Trades

DateTrade
February 6, 2008To Detroit Shock To Atlanta Dream
LaToya Thomas and the 18th pick in the 2008 WNBA draft Ivory Latta
February 19, 2008To Detroit Shock To Seattle Storm
The 4th pick in the 2008 WNBA draft Swin Cash
June 22, 2008To Detroit Shock To Minnesota Lynx
Eshaya Murphy LaToya Thomas
August 12, 2008To Detroit Shock To Washington Mystics
Taj McWilliams-Franklin Tasha Humphrey, Eshaya Murphy, and a second-round pick in the 2009 WNBA draft

Free agents

Season Highlights

The Shock season opener resulted in a record-breaking debut for rookie guard Alexis Hornbuckle. Hornbuckle set a Shock record with seven steals to help the Shock beat the Houston Comets on May 17. Deanna Nolan scored a franchise-record 44 points (28 in the fourth quarter and overtime) in a 98-93 victory over the Minnesota Lynx on June 20.

Malice at the Palace

Nancy Lieberman

In July, the Detroit Shock signed Nancy Lieberman, the franchise's first head coach and general manager, to a 7-day contract. The 50-year-old Lieberman broke her own record for being the oldest player in the WNBA. [5] Lieberman, a Hall of Famer since 1999, was 39 years old when she played with Phoenix during the league's first year in 1997.

The 50-year-old Lieberman played nine minutes and had two assists. [6] One of the assists included a no-look pass in the closing minutes of the Detroit Shock's 79-61 loss to the Houston Comets on July 24.

Lieberman made an appearance in the Shock's first game against the Los Angeles Sparks on July 22 due to the bench-clearing brawl. Five Shock players were suspended and Cheryl Ford suffered a season-ending injury, prompting coach Bill Laimbeer to offer Lieberman the seven-day contract.

Roster

Detroit Shock roster
PlayersCoaches
Pos.#Nat.NameHeightWeightDOBFromYrs
C 45 Flag of the United States.svg Braxton, Kara 6' 6" (1.98m)210 lb (95kg) Georgia
PF 35 Flag of the United States.svg Ford, Cheryl   Cruz Roja.svg 6' 3" (1.91m)198 lb (90kg) Louisiana Tech
SG 22 Flag of the United States.svg Hornbuckle, Alexis 5' 11" (1.8m)155 lb (70kg) Tennessee
PF 44 Flag of the United States.svg McWilliams-Franklin, Taj 6' 2" (1.88m)184 lb (83kg) St. Edward's University
SG 14 Flag of the United States.svg Nolan, Deanna  (C)5' 11" (1.8m)144 lb (65kg) Georgia
SF 23 Flag of the United States.svg Pierson, Plenette 6' 2" (1.88m)181 lb (82kg) Texas Tech
PG 5 Flag of the United States.svg Powell, Elaine 5' 8" (1.73m)150 lb (68kg) LSU
G/F 55 Flag of the United States.svg Sam, Sheri 6' 0" (1.83m)160 lb (73kg) Vanderbilt
C 24 Flag of the United States.svg Sanni, Olayinka 6' 2" (1.88m)205 lb (93kg) West Virginia
C 11 Flag of the United States.svg Schumacher, Kelly 6' 5" (1.96m)183 lb (83kg) Connecticut
SG 3 Flag of the United States.svg Shields, Ashley 5' 10" (1.78m)155 lb (70kg) Southwest Tennessee Community College
G/F 30 Flag of the United States.svg Smith, Katie  (C)5' 11" (1.8m)174 lb (79kg) Ohio State
Head coach
Assistant coaches
Athletic trainer
Strength and conditioning coach

Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (FA) Free agent
  • (IN) Inactive
  • (S) Suspended
  • Cruz Roja.svg Injured

Season standings

Eastern Conference W L PCT GB Home Road Conf.
Detroit Shock x2212.64714–38–916–4
Connecticut Sun x2113.6181.013–48–913–7
New York Liberty x1915.5593.011–68–911–9
Indiana Fever x1717.5005.011–66–1112–8
Chicago Sky o1222.35310.08–94–1310–10
Washington Mystics o1024.29412.06–114–136–14
Atlanta Dream o430.11818.01–163–142–18

Schedule

Regular season

2008 Game Log: Regular Season
May
GameDateOpponentScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation/AttendanceRecord
1May 17 Houston 85-66 Smith (21) Ford (11) Ford (4) Palace of Auburn Hills
13,824
1-0
2May 18@ Minnesota 70-84 Smith (17) Ford (9) Nolan (6) Target Center
9,972
1-1
3May 21 Indiana 76-71 Braxton (22) Ford (10) Nolan (8) Palace of Auburn Hills
6,842
2-1
4May 23@ Atlanta 88-76 Nolan (33) Ford (13) Nolan (8) Philips Arena
11,609
3-1
5May 25 New York 72-62 Pierson (25) Braxton, Powell (7) Nolan (7) Palace of Auburn Hills
8,068
4-1
6May 31@ Indiana 74-65 Smith (19) Ford (8) Nolan, Powell (3) Conseco Fieldhouse
9,219
5-1
June
GameDateOpponentScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation/AttendanceRecord
7June 4 Seattle 77-67 Smith (33) Ford (11) Nolan (8) Palace of Auburn Hills
8,108
6-1
8June 6@ Sacramento 84-70 Smith (30) Braxton, Ford, Nolan (6) Nolan (9) ARCO Arena
6,663
7-1
9June 7@ Seattle 67-75 Smith (18) Pierson (10) Hornbuckle, Pierson (3) KeyArena
7,105
7-2
10June 11@ Los Angeles 73-80 Smith (16) Pierson, Smith (7) Smith (4) STAPLES Center
8,520
7-3
11June 14@ Phoenix 89-79 Humphrey (28) Hornbuckle (15) Nolan (8) US Airways Center
7,696
8-3
12June 20 Minnesota 98-93 (OT) Nolan (44) Ford (14) Pierson (4) Palace of Auburn Hills
8,916
9-3
13June 22@ Atlanta 97-76 Ford (20) Ford (12) Nolan (7) Philips Arena
7,865
10-3
14June 24@ Connecticut 68-85 Nolan (17) Ford (11) Smith (4) Mohegan Sun Arena
7,501
10-4
15June 26 Connecticut 70-61 Nolan (13) Ford (9) Smith (4) Palace of Auburn Hills
8,636
11-4
16June 28@ Chicago 59-76 Murphy (13) Ford (8) Hornbuckle, Sam (4) UIC Pavilion
3,407
11-5
17June 29 Atlanta 100-92 Braxton (26) Braxton (9) Nolan (11) Palace of Auburn Hills
8,798
12-5
July
GameDateOpponentScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation/AttendanceRecord
18July 1@ San Antonio 72-79 (OT) Smith (17) Ford, Sam (8) Smith (9) AT&T Center
5,656
12-6
19July 8 Connecticut 88-82 Pierson (23) Braxton (8) Nolan (8) Palace of Auburn Hills
7,623
13-6
20July 11 Washington 79-66 Smith (23) Braxton, Ford (7) Nolan (4) Palace of Auburn Hills
8,596
14-6
21July 12@ New York 64-74 Smith, Pierson (13) Ford (12) Nolan (4) Madison Square Garden
8,661
14-7
22July 16 Chicago 66-63 Ford (14) Pierson (8) Nolan, Smith (4) Palace of Auburn Hills
15,210
15-7
23July 18@ Washington 99-62 Nolan (26) Braxton, Hornbuckle (6) Sam (8) Verizon Center
6,834
16-7
24July 20 Sacramento 85-88 Nolan (27) Ford (10) Smith (6) Palace of Auburn Hills
9,138
16-8
25July 22 Los Angeles 81-84 Smith (20) Ford (9) Hornbuckle, Smith (5) Palace of Auburn Hills
12,930
16-9
26July 24@ Houston 61-79 Nolan (23) Nolan, Sam (9) Nolan (4) Reliant Arena
7,261
16-10
27July 27 San Antonio 64-76 Nolan (25) Braxton (9) Smith (6) Palace of Auburn Hills
9,537
16-11
August
GameDateOpponentScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation/AttendanceRecord
Summer Olympic break
28August 29 New York 83-69 Nolan (26) Braxton, McWilliams-Franklin (7) Smith (6) Palace of Auburn Hills
11,516
17-11
29August 31@ Chicago 81-82 (OT) Smith (23) McWilliams-Franklin (11) Nolan (6) UIC Pavilion
4,197
17-12
September
GameDateOpponentScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation/AttendanceRecord
30September 5 Indiana 90-68 Pierson (20) Pierson (6) McWilliams-Franklin, Pierson (4) Palace of Auburn Hills
9,287
18-12
31September 6@ Washington 84-69 McWilliams-Franklin (21) Nolan (10) Smith (8) Verizon Center
9,976
19-12
32September 9 Phoenix 89-78 Nolan (18) Braxton, Hornbuckle, McWilliams-Franklin (8) Pierson, Smith (5) Palace of Auburn Hills
7,495
20-12
33September 11 Washington 78-66 Nolan (17) McWilliams-Franklin (8) Smith (6) Palace of Auburn Hills
8,145
21-12
34September 14@ New York 61-59 Nolan, Pierson (11) Hornbuckle, Nolan (7) Powell (4) Madison Square Garden
10,042
22-12

Postseason

2008 Game Log: Postseason
Eastern Conference Semifinals
GameDateOpponentScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation/AttendanceSeries
1September 19@ Indiana 81-72 Nolan (22) Braxton, McWilliams-Franklin (7) Powell, Smith (3) Conseco Fieldhouse
7,613
1-0
2September 21 Indiana 82-89 Nolan, Pierson (16) Pierson, Powell (7) Pierson (5) Palace of Auburn Hills
8,219
1-1
3September 23 Indiana 80-61 Nolan (21) Hornbuckle (8) Hornbuckle, McWilliams-Franklin (4) Palace of Auburn Hills
8,296
2-1
Eastern Conference Finals
GameDateOpponentScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation/AttendanceSeries
1September 26@ New York 56-60 Nolan (22) Hornbuckle, McWilliams-Franklin (7)4 players (2) Madison Square Garden
14,711
1-0
2September 28 New York 64-55 Nolan (22) Taj McWilliams-Franklin (11)4 players (2) EMU Convocation Center
7,965
1-1
3September 29 New York 75-73 Nolan (21) Taj McWilliams-Franklin (8) Nolan, Smith (3) EMU Convocation Center
7,429
2-1
WNBA Finals
GameDateOpponentScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation/AttendanceSeries
1October 1@ San Antonio 77-69 Smith (25) Smith (9) Nolan (4) AT&T Center
9,380
1-0
2October 3@ San Antonio 69-61 Smith (22) Nolan (7) Smith (6) AT&T Center
16,012
2-0
3October 5 San Antonio 76-60 Smith (18) Braxton, Hornbuckle (9) Hornbuckle, Nolan (5) EMU Convocation Center
8,952
3-0

Player stats

Legend
  GPGames played  GS Games started MPG Minutes per game RPG  Rebounds per game
 APG  Assists per game SPG  Steals per game BPG  Blocks per game PPG Points per game
 FG%  Field-goal percentage 3P%  3-point field-goal percentage FT%  Free-throw percentage TO  Turnovers per game
 PF  Fouls per gameTeam leaderLeague leader

Regular season

PlayerGPGSMPGFG%3P%FT%RPGAPGSPGBPGPPG
Deanna Nolan 343433.6.465.374.8633.94.41.20.315.8
Katie Smith 343433.9.383.360.8872.84.00.90.114.7
Plenette Pierson 28023.2.457.000.7524.92.30.91.211.9
Taj McWilliams-Franklin 7726.2.4221.000.9096.71.90.40.710.7
Cheryl Ford 242426.5.481.000.5608.70.91.00.410.1
Kara Braxton 331017.9.415.000.7435.10.80.40.78.9
Tasha Humphrey 221613.5.500.385.9552.91.00.60.37.3
Alexis Hornbuckle 34022.0.354.356.6364.12.12.30.35.4
Elaine Powell 161619.6.490.500.7503.12.20.40.73.6
Olayinka Sanni 31910.5.500.000.6492.10.20.40.23.4
Ashley Shields 706.3.364.333.7500.40.30.10.03.1
Sheri Sam 321514.9.309.286.6922.81.20.60.12.9
Eshaya Murphy 1339.4.300.263.6671.60.50.50.22.5
Kelly Schumacher 7012.7.375.0001.0002.90.70.30.42.0
Stacey Lovelace 726.3.286.400.6671.00.10.10.01.4
LaToya Thomas 705.7.267.000.0000.70.10.10.11.1
Chrissy Givens 303.3.000.0001.0000.00.70.00.00.7
Wanisha Smith 100.0.000.000.0000.00.00.00.00.0
Nancy Lieberman 109.0.000.000.0000.02.00.00.00.0

Detroit Shock Regular Season Stats

Postseason

PlayerGPGSMPGFG%3P%FT%RPGAPGSPGBPGPPG
Deanna Nolan 9938.8.359.341.9394.62.92.10.317.6
Katie Smith 9934.3.410.354.7584.02.40.40.115.3
Taj McWilliams-Franklin 9932.6.490.500.8647.02.11.01.312.9
Kara Braxton 9920.0.500.000.6505.31.00.40.68.6
Plenette Pierson 6017.8.474.000.8463.01.70.70.37.8
Alexis Hornbuckle 9024.4.429.375.7504.92.11.20.86.3
Elaine Powell 9919.0.588.000.8182.32.00.70.03.2
Olayinka Sanni 907.3.438.000.5001.80.30.30.01.8
Kelly Schumacher 8011.9.438.000.0003.00.40.10.41.8
Sheri Sam 605.0.286.0001.0000.50.00.20.01.0
Ashley Shields 301.3.200.000.0000.00.30.30.00.7

Detroit Shock Playoff Stats

Awards and honors

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References

  1. Smith's Sheer Dominance Earns Her MVP Honors
  2. "My Kevin Garnett Moment in WNBA Blogs in Fan Voice". Archived from the original on July 18, 2011. Retrieved August 24, 2009.
  3. "WNBA.com: Atlanta Dream Expansion Draft". Archived from the original on August 20, 2009. Retrieved April 24, 2008.
  4. http://www.wnba.com/transactions/WNBA_2008.html2008 WNBA Transactions. Accessed 2009-08-07. 2009-08-11.
  5. "Nancy Lieberman to play in WNBA at age of 50". Archived from the original on October 12, 2008. Retrieved October 12, 2008.
  6. Lieberman's Shows Flash of Past in Shock Loss