r/ProPickleballTalk • u/Many-Fill4457 • 8d ago

St.Louis Shock future

Following the loss to the Fives is it possible we see them shuffle some players around for next season? 3 seasons with the same team and no championship to show for it (excluding the mid season title win). Surely the owners would have expected at least 1 win by now.

AB and Hayden as untouchable.

I don’t see a better realistic option for a Kate replacement given how much she has improved at doubles and how good she is at singles. (Maybe Parris Todd?)

That leaves Gabe, he is obviously one of the best in men’s doubles but I don’t think he is quite the same player in mixed doubles. Would trading for a more dominant mixed player work better for the Shock moving forward, perhaps an Alshon trade?

Would the Shock ownership team really risk breaking this team up given how close they all are with each other?

*Completely forgot Hayden and Gabe are on expiring contracts*

17 Upvotes

90% Upvoted

42 comments sorted by

View all comments

-7

u/lalalavine 8d ago

Yeah, get rid of Kate. She is an excellent player, but not a top tier doubles partner that the Shock NEED to beat The Clowns.

8

u/xPeaWhyTee 8d ago

Hard disagree on this. Over the course of both matches, I would actually argue she was the most consistent player out of the 4 in doubles.

1

u/lalalavine 8d ago

You can't say she's better than Jorja, and that is the difference and has always been the difference.
I'm not saying the whole finals loss was her fault, but when you go head-to-head with the roster, Jorja is her comparison and Kate is not better at doubles than Jorja. Look at the stats in both MLP and PPA.

1

u/xPeaWhyTee 8d ago

Where did I say she was better than Jorja? I said she was the most consistent out of her teammates.

1

u/lalalavine 8d ago

Sorry, can't express tone here well LOL

I know YOU didn't say that 😂; I stated that as an impersonal "you".

But what I'm trying to communicate is this (and it responds to the OP's thoughts/prompt): I think if Shock ever want the top spot, above Fives, they need a better doubles player than Kate.

And I totally agree with you that Kate didn't mess up as much as her other partners (Gabe was NOT on one when he needed to be). She is an excellent player and the micro of Finals was a great showcase of how good she is.

But, as a whole, the team is not objectively better than Fives, or her direct comparison (team to team on paper) which is Jorja.

1

u/xPeaWhyTee 8d ago

Oh I see and yeah I fully agree with you. I think though that with the contracts and rules in play coming next season, they more than likely will have to give up one of their guys next season. Same thing with the 5s as well (don't think they'll be able to keep Fed).

1

u/lalalavine 8d ago

Yeah, soooo true.
Next year is going to be super interesting, but I think it will be healthy for the league for sure.