Not a lot noteworthy from Wednesday’s practice, as most of our attention was focused on today’s feature story looking at tomorrow’s preseason game and the fight to make the roster. One thing that is notable for not producing notes: The Storm’s health, which right now gets a clean bill.

“So far, so good,” said Head Coach Brian Agler. “Knock on wood. We’re doing pretty well.”

- Storm forward Swin Cash is not yet back in Seattle, having been delayed in her travel. She’s now expected in Thursday. “Storm fans, I’m trying to get to Seattle, trust me,” Cash said via her Twitter account. The current plan is for Cash to get her physical either Thursday night or Friday, when the Storm will have the day off, and then begin working her way into practice.

“She won’t be full-go when she gets here,” said Agler. “We’re going to ease her in and sort of let her be the barometer of those things.”

- As for guard Tanisha Wright, her expected arrival is now on Saturday night, which would allow her to get on the practice court for Sunday’s session.

- The Storm’s broadcast team of Dick Fain and Adia Barnes were both in attendance, and Fain participated with the Storm’s practice squad. Barnes just returned after a stopover in San Diego, having spent the offseason playing in Italy.

This is actually from yesterday, but check out (amateur) video of a couple of plays from the Storm’s practice resulting in threes for Sue Bird and Katie Gearlds:

Does this look physical to you? Aaron Last/Storm Photos

With the Storm practicing at The Furtado Center and the Sparks at the nearby KeyArena, the media had a chance to get the perspective from both sides going into tomorrow’s Game 2 (6:00 p.m., ESPN2, 1150 AM KKNW, TIX).

One of the major topics of the day was what is acknowledged to be the physical nature of this series, though we haven’t seen anything like Ebony Hoffman’s takedown of Plenette Pierson in Detroit that earned a Flagrant Foul. In fact, no Flagrants have been called in this series, and I don’t think any have been warranted. The media might be making a bit too much of the physicality angle, but both sides have been happy to play along and maybe try to work the officials a little bit.

“It’s just about welcoming it,” said Sparks forward Candace Parker, who compared the way the game was called yesterday to the more physical international style. “That’s the way they feel they can stop the Sparks is to be physical. I guess it’s our job to show them that it doesn’t matter. They were just as physical in Game 1 as they were here.”

“It’s been a physical series,” offered Sue Bird. “I think they’re a very physical team. For them to say we’re more physical is not really accurate. If anything, it’s equal. I think it’s two physical teams going against each other. I don’t know that one is more physical than the other.”

Most of the rest of the players and coaches were of the opinion that both teams are in fact physical.

“I think both teams are physical in two different ways,” said Storm Head Coach Brian Agler. “I’m not going to say how I think they’re physical, but I will say that I think we just try to stay in plays with people. We’re undersized at times and we have to stay in plays, we have to stay in position. At times we have to hold our ground. At times we have to really be mentally tough in how our ballhandlers are being guarded. I think that we have to keep our composure in regard to things that happen after the whistle blows.”

“Both teams are physical,” Tanisha Wright said. “Luckily, yesterday, the refs let us play too.”

Agler emphasized the importance of dealing with the style of the game and adjusting to the way it is refereed as a key to the outcome of Game 3. His counterpart, Michael Cooper, bristled at the suggestion that his team might need to be more physical Tuesday, suggesting that could backfire.

“We just have to be the smarter team,” he said. “Sometimes, physicalness can work against you, because if you’re too physical the officials are going to call it. You can play physical and play smart at the same time and be successful.”

Cooper and Parker also downplayed the importance of adjustments by the Storm in terms of explaining Los Angeles’ 15-point first half during Game 2. As is probably approriate in terms of preparing for the next game, the Sparks looked within to find an explanation to their struggle to score.

“I don’t think they forced anything on us,” said Cooper. “It was our inability to do anything. Their defense was what it was – the same defense they had in Los Angeles. We were just apprehensive about what we wanted to do with the basketball. But we’ll be ready to play tomorrow.

“We had some wide-open shots, the same we were getting in Los Angeles. We didn’t knock them down – we did in Los Angeles. That was the difference. When a team is not shooting well from the perimeter, it makes the defense get bigger and bigger than what it was. They’ve done nothing more than just play harder this last game.”

“If you look at the overall game, it was just us – it really was,” Parker added. “It was that we weren’t able to knock down open shots, we were turning the ball over. It wasn’t anything different that they did.”

Agler didn’t entirely disagree, saying, “I think a lot of it had to do with they missed some shots. I don’t know if you can count on that all the time. I think we saw how they’re capable of shooting down in L.A. Tomorrow’s just hard to say.”

I do think both sides glossed over the role of transition defense in the low-scoring first half. Part of the reason the Sparks guards were able to get going in the first half of Game 1 and have a big game was that the team got out and ran in the first quarter thanks to turnovers and missed shots by the Storm. In Game 2, L.A. had just three fast-break points in the first half and constantly had to play against a set defense. In addition to better ballhandling, the Storm’s decision to eschew the offensive glass in favor of getting back to defensively had a lot to do with that.

Other notes:
- After attempting to practice Saturday, as reported by the Seattle Times, Lauren Jackson was not dressed for Monday’s very light workout and film session.

“She was in here earlier than I got here,” reported Agler. “I think she just had a typical workout in the weight room.”

Bird was impressed by the fact that her teammate and friend would even attempt to come back early, saying, “It’s great. It just shows how competitive she is. It’s one thing to be sitting at home in Australia rehabbing, but I think when she’s here seeing this, it’s hard for her not to want to be on the court. I think after seeing Game 1, I’m sure she’s thinking to herself how much she could help, how much she wants to be out there. I think it’s great that she’s trying. I would never ever want to push her. I wouldn’t expect her to be able to play. It’s just way too soon. She hasn’t tested herself out enough.”

“I guess Willis Reed is the guy that’s been named a lot lately,” Bird later joked. “One shot – that’s all we’re asking. Make one and you can sit the rest of the game.”

- While the Storm’s rotation players were finished after doing some brief shooting, reserves Kimberly Beck, Shyra Ely, Katie Gearlds, Kristen O’Neill and Kelly Santos played 4-on-4 against the team’s practice squad to get some extra work and stay sharp. Agler used all 11 of his active players in Game 2 and said he expects to use a large rotation again in Game 3.

- Storm forward Swin Cash celebrated her 29th birthday at practice, saying a win tomorrow would make an ideal present.

PRACTICE AUDIO

- A one-one with Cash
- Agler
- Bird
- Wright
- Cooper
- Parker

LOS ANGELES – Hello from the STAPLES Center, where we’re less than eight hours away from Game 1 of the Storm’s first-round playoff series with the Los Angeles Sparks (7:30 p.m., NBA TV, FSN delayed at 11:00 p.m., 1150 AM KKNW). Everything is in place, including the WNBA Playoffs logos, as the Storm goes through its shootaround.

Before that started, Storm Head Coach Brian Agler chatted with the media, reporting there is nothing new with the condition of forward Swin Cash.

“Same status as yesterday,” said Agler. “I know you can’t say day-to-day anymore because we’re on the day, but hour-by-hour.”

The team is also still “up in the air” as far as a starting lineup.

After the Storm practiced yesterday, Agler had a chance to watch the first two playoff series kick off, including his former Silver Stars squad going into ARCO Arena to win Game 1 of their series with the Monarchs.

“I think San Antonio played very well,” said Agler. “I think Sacramento played great defense in the second half to get themselves back in the game. I think they really competed – they did that all year long. That’s why they got in the playoffs, because they play as hard as anyone in the league. San Antonio’s just very, very solid in team defense and then they put a lot of people on the floor who can score and play well together.”

- While we were talking to Coach Agler, Sue Bird was taping an interview with KOMO 1000 AM’s Matt Pitman (aka the Storm’s PA announcer). You’ll be able to hear that interview in the 3:00 p.m. hour on KOMO. (UPDATE: Pitman says to tune in at 3:45 p.m., while you can hear the interview in its entirety online.)

- Lauren Jackson was preparing to jump on an exercise bike while her teammates go through shootaround. Jackson continues to rehabilitate her right ankle.

- This is a battle of time-related slogans. The Storm’s playoff theme is “It’s Time,” while Los Angeles continues to use “It’s Showtime,” a nod to the Lakers Head Coach Michael Cooper played for in the ’80s. (UPDATE: I guess I was wrong about this. It looks like they’re going with “There Can Only Be One,” the NBA’s most recent playoff slogan. So it is, in fact, the Storm’s time.)

- I’m pleased to report that, despite not making any of my own shots, I managed to best play-by-play broadcaster Dick Fain and Ryan Williams from PR in H-O-R-S-E on the STAPLES court while the Storm watched film by virtue of them both having an H and me having nothing when film was complete. Earlier, Fain beat Williams in a spirited Around the World matchup of two former high-school stars.

UPDATE: Kristen O’Neill was the big winner in the half-court shooting contest that is a post-shootaround tradition. O’Neill ended up making two out of four attempts to win a shootout against Bird, who also initially hit from half-court.

Swin Cash talks to media after practice.
Aaron Last/Storm Photos

As the Seattle Storm took the floor at The Furtado Center for the team’s first practice in preparation for the playoffs, there was a welcome sight: starters Swin Cash and Sheryl Swoopes, dressed and on the floor.

“They did a little bit,” said Storm Head Coach Brian Agler. “Not necessarily full go, but they were out in uniform and active. We didn’t do a whole lot of up-and-down. It was mostly half-court things. Sheryl was in and out, not in for the whole time. Swin was more limited.”

Both Cash and Swoopes were getting their first work in with the team since the Sept. 6 win over the Minnesota Lynx, 10 days ago. In that game, Swoopes suffered a concussion in a scary fall, while Cash had the back injury that she has dealt with throughout the last two seasons flare up. They missed the Storm’s last three games of the season to rest.

Now, the question is their availability for the Storm’s series against the Los Angeles Sparks, starting Friday at the STAPLES Center (7:30 p.m., NBA TV, 1150 AM KKNW). Will they be ready?

“I think Sheryl’s moving that direction,” said Agler. “I think Swin, we need another 24 hours on that. She’s still talking to some physicians.”

“That just kind of depends on the powers that be,” added Cash, who is consulting with doctors, her agents and her family. “I go day-to-day with my body and the powers that be make a decision and we go from there.”

For Cash, it was important to get back on the floor after the extended absence. Swoopes, meanwhile, has been feeling better and is no longer troubled by lingering headaches after the concussion.

Agler said that even if both players were able to go, he doesn’t anticipate returning Tanisha Wright to the bench, which would leave one of them as reserves. Wright has started every game since the Olympic break after starting just three of the Storm’s first 23 games.

Even in her first practice back, Cash could tell the playoffs are coming.

“That’s the one thing that I noticed even about today’s practice – intensity has to go up,” she said. “Your practices, how hard you cut, you rebound, box out – all those things have to go up come playoff time because everyone is just going to be on the top of their game. You have to expect that.”

After taking the last two days off, the Storm returned to the practice court Friday. At the end of practice open to the media, the team was working on applying and playing against full-court pressure with a very interesting drill: Three offensive and defensive players on each side of the court, none of them allowed to change sides. It was sort of like the old 6-on-6 game that women used to play in many parts of the Midwest.

Following practice, Storm Head Coach Brian Agler offered an update on the team investigating potential options to help add depth in the frontcourt with Lauren Jackson out for the next 4-6 weeks after ankle surgery. Yesterday’s trade deadline came and went without a move from the Storm (or any other WNBA team). Agler walked reporters through the team’s thought process with regard to a potential deal.

Having dealt a second-round pick to Atlanta for Camille Little in June, the Storm still has its first-round pick available, but Agler emphasized that the big picture has to be taken into account, especially making a deal this late in the season.

“Obviously, everybody’s always interested in first-round draft picks,” he said, “but what you consider trading a first-round draft pick, you want somebody who can come in and make an immediate impact for you. Then you have to evaluate that person and what the status of their contract is. If we were going to trade a first-round pick for somebody who was an unrestricted free agent, we would basically have them for eight games and, if we’re fortunate enough to get into the playoffs, the playoffs. Then you have no more rights. Now, you can get them and get them extended into a contract to keep them out of that free agency [as Detroit did with Taj McWilliams-Franklin last week].

“There’s just a lot of things to consider and we didn’t have a lot of time to put all those pieces into place.”

The Storm still has the opportunity to add a free-agent post player to the roster, and Agler said the team continues to explore those options. Immediately, many fans considered the possibility of signing a player who is currently playing in the Olympics but will be freed up at their conclusion. The Storm has looked into that, but Agler noted (specifically in regards to the Russian team) that visa issues could make adding an international player difficult.

“Unless they’ve got great contacts in the U.S. embassy,” he said, “to get something turned around to get a visa, it’s going to take weeks.”

Jackson’s Aussie teammate and former Storm center Suzy Batkovic might be a good fit, but she is getting married this fall and is not available.

The name of Russian center Maria Stepanova entered the rumor mill when Phoenix Mercury GM Ann Meyers Drysdale, offering color commentary for the U.S.-Russia semifinal, said Stepanova could sign with San Antonio after the break. A standout internationally who has played for the Mercury in the WNBA, Stepanova is now a free agent. However, it doesn’t appear she will be coming to the league.

“I know there were rumors out there of her going to San Antonio,” Agler said. “That was sort of the talk over there (in Beijing). Her agent said that’s not going to happen.

“It’s been a stretch to get her to come over for a max salary. Now we’re talking about a short period of time, getting a visa, people not having big dollars to throw at her to do it, because most people are stretching their cap as it is. I think that people looked into it, obviously, but when it’s all said and done it would have been real hard to do that.”

Just a couple of quick notes from today’s practice. The Storm focused on offense during the session of about an hour.

“We scrimmaged quite a bit today – six-minute sessions,” said Head Coach Brian Agler. “We talked quite a bit about our offense today, some different actions we’re trying to incorporate. We tried to bring those out in a live setting, so we got out our guys that we’re working against.

“Tomorrow, we’ll break down our defense a little bit more.”

Sheryl Swoopes was on the floor after missing Tuesday’s practice with a bruised left heel. Agler really thinks this extended time to practice will help Swoopes.

“Everybody’s going to benefit,” he said. “It’s been very, very good for Sheryl. Sheryl was banged up physically before the break. She’s obviously physically looking a lot better. She’s got a heel bruise, but she is practicing through it and doing well.”