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Archive for July, 2008

Surprise: Another Seven-Day Deal for O'Neill

Wednesday, July 16th, 2008

Tuesday was expected to bring a decision on Kristen O’Neill’s future with the Seattle Storm. Would O’Neill be re-signed for the remainder of the season or leave the team with the expiration of her second seven-day contract? The answer, as it turned out, was neither. After a conversation with the WNBA league office, the Storm found out that teams are not limited to two seven-day contracts for a given player but can sign them to as many seven-day deals as they want. With that knowledge, the Storm opted to give O’Neill another seven-day contract, keeping her on the roster but maintaining flexibility for the future.

“It has nothing really to do with anything negative towards Kristen,” said Storm Head Coach Brian Agler, explaining why the team would continue with seven-day contracts instead of signing Agler for the remainder of the season. “Everything’s real positive. We like her on our team. Just in case something could happen where we would need to go out and get a specific type of player, it gives us that insurance policy.”

Both the Storm and the media had been working under the assumption that players were limited to two seven-day contracts. Last year, the team signed Doneeka Lewis for the remainder of the season after her second seven-day contract came to an end. While the NBA specifically places a limit on 10-day contracts, their equivalent of the WNBA’s seven-day contracts, neither the previous WNBA Collective Bargaining Agreement nor the current one that took effect this season contains such language.

The way the rules were previously interpreted, O’Neill would have gotten a decision on her long-term fate today. She admitted some nervousness about the news last night, before she found out about the possibility of further seven-day contracts.

“To feel like I was finally going to have an answer either way was of course on my mind,” she said. “But I came in here today and had a good talk with coach and the staff and I’m here to help the team. I’m happy to still be here.”

Even had O’Neill gotten a guarantee for the remainder of the season, she surely would have continued the hard work that has made her so valuable to the Storm’s coaching staff. Still, the short-term nature of her status only reinforces the importance of that work.

“It has been a challenge,” O’Neil said, “but it has been making me stronger because every day you have to bring it. Every day you have to come ready to compete as hard as you can and you can’t let up.”

During her two weeks with the Storm, O’Neill has played 13 minutes over four games, three of them at KeyArena. Her every move during home games has drawn huge applause from fans who fell in love with O’Neill during her time at the University of Washington or even before that at Edmonds High School.

“It’s been a pretty incredible feeling,” said O’Neill. “There’s nothing like playing in front of your home crowd, but I’ve been so moved by the way that the community has supported my dream. This is what I’ve wanted for so long and a lot of people have helped me achieve that, whether through coaching or by being a fan and really getting behind me. That’s meant so much, so to see the support from the community has been incredible.”

Posted in o'neill, practice notes | 2 Comments »

O'Neill Will Sign Third Seven-Day Contract

Tuesday, July 15th, 2008

Quickly after practice. The release hasn’t yet gone out, but the Storm will sign guard Kristen O’Neill to another seven-day contract after finding out from the league office today that there is no limit to the number of seven-day contracts for a player.

In the NBA, players are limited to two 10-day contracts, and that had been the assumption in the WNBA as well. I’m looking into whether this is a change with this year’s new Collective Bargaining Agreement.

Posted in o'neill, practice notes | 2 Comments »

Monday Practice Report

Tuesday, July 15th, 2008

In the first of four practices this week, three in Seattle, the Storm scrimmaged extrensively against its mostly-male practice squad. It was the most action the media has seen in a while. Some highlights:

- Katie Gearlds was on fire, as you can read about in today’s feature story.
- Tanisha Wright and Camille Little ran a pick-and-roll to perfection, resulting in a layup for Little.
- Little drew some laughs when a pass bounced off her back on defense when she was faceguarding her opposing number and not looking at the ball. “Nice defense, Camille,” yelled one teammate. (In fact, it was.)

Swin Cash and Yolanda Griffith took the practice off to rest, and we did not see Sue Bird on the floor either.

According to Storm Head Coach Brian Agler, with the Storm defense clicking, it’s the offense that will be more of a focal point this week.

“We’d like to tighten up our offense a little bit if we could,” he said. “Hopefully stay with our same rhythm defensively, keep focusing on the rebounding side of things, blocking out. We’ll work against the press this week. We’re playing against some teams that will press us the next few games.”

Today is the last day of Kristen O’Neill’s second seven-day contract, meaning the Storm will have to make a decision tomorrow whether to sign O’Neill for the remainder of the season or allow her contract to expire and fill the open roster spot with another player. Agler said the team hadn’t made any decisions yet on O’Neill’s future.

Posted in practice notes | 5 Comments »

WNBA Numbers Update Shows Storm's Strength

Monday, July 14th, 2008

I skipped out on last week’s WNBA numbers in favor of a midseason Storm analysis. This week, we’re back, and the numbers reveal just how well the Storm has played during its six-game winning streak. The Storm now has the best point differential in the league at +4.3 points per game. To reflect that, let’s start our analysis with expected wins based on point differential projected to a full 34-game season.

Team          ExpW    Team          ExpW------------------    ------------------Seattle       21.8    Detroit       20.8San Antonio   20.5    Connecticut   20.4Minnesota     19.4    Indiana       18.5Los Angeles   19.1    New York      18.4Phoenix       15.5    Chicago       15.8Houston       15.3    Washington    12.7Sacramento    15.0    Atlanta        5.0

While the top of the West has pulled away a bit, the battle for the fourth and final playoff spot is still tight. 1.5 games separate Minnesota and last-place Houston. In terms of differential, the Lynx are way, way ahead of the back. The other three teams have slipped over the last week or two. The Silver Stars are on pace for 24 or 25 wins and continue to outplay their differential, as they did last year. Interesting. A good differential bodes well for postseason success, but I’d rather have the wins and home-court advantage.

Alright, to the leaders in Offensive and Defensive Rating on a per-possession basis.

Team          ORating     Team          DRating---------------------     ---------------------Phoenix         107.0     Indiana          89.8Minnesota       102.9     Seattle          93.3New York        102.0     San Antonio      93.5Connecticut     101.8     Los Angeles      94.4Detroit         101.4     Detroit          96.4Seattle         100.8     Washington       97.6Chicago          99.4     Houston          98.0          AVERAGE          98.6San Antonio      98.1     Connecticut      98.7Los Angeles      97.9     Minnesota        99.7Sacramento       97.8     Chicago         100.7Houston          94.3     New York        100.7Atlanta          93.1     Sacramento      100.9Indiana          92.0     Atlanta         107.2Washington       91.9     Phoenix         108.9

The Storm’s stifling defense on Saturday has moved the team into second in the WNBA in Defensive Rating. Wha’s interesting about these rankings is how little balance there is in the WNBA this season. The best offensive teams are not good on defense and vice versa. The Storm and Detroit are the only two teams who have been above-average at both ends of the floor so far this season.

Two really bad units on teams that dominate the other end: The Indiana offense and, of course, the Phoenix defense. Tamika Catchings‘ return hasn’t helped the Fever the way everyone figured it would. Clearly, Catchings is not 100 percent. After a nice run in early July, last week she combined for nine points on 3-of-17 shooting in two games. As for the Mercury, it’s not too early for me to put looking up the worst defenses in WNBA history on my to-do list.

To the individual stats. Here are the leaders by Player Efficiency Rating, minimum 250 minutes.

Player              Tm   PER----------------------------Diana Taurasi      PHO  28.1Lauren Jackson     SEA  27.4Lindsay Whalen     CON  27.0Candace Parker     LAS  26.7Sancho Lyttle      HOU  26.2Sophia Young       SAS  25.9Cappie Pondexter   PHO  25.4Janel McCarville   NYL  25.2Candice Dupree     CHI  24.6Candice Wiggins    MIN  23.7

Jackson’s run recently has her in position to potentially lead the WNBA in PER for the third straight season. Don’t forget Whalen in that race. She was brilliant yesterday against Washington even in a Sun loss; I don’t see how you could watch that game and come to the conclusion that anyone but Whalen is Connecticut’s MVP. While we’re talking MVP, don’t leave Young out of that discussion. Not only is her PER sixth in the league, she’s edged past Jackson and Storm teammate Sue Bird for the best net plus-minus rating in the league (as tracked by the indispensable Paul Swanson).

Lastly, I want to take a look at a miscellaneous statistic each week. We’ll start with rebound percentage, the estimated percentage of all available rebounds that a player grabs while on the floor. Here are the league leaders this season.

Player              Tm  Reb%----------------------------Sancho Lyttle      HOU  19.1Cheryl Ford        DET  18.9Yolanda Griffith   SEA  18.3Tiffany Jackson    NYL  17.7Katie Feenstra     ATL  16.9Michelle Snow      HOU  16.8Crystal Langhorne  WAS  16.8Rebekkah Brunson   SAC  16.8Lisa Leslie        LAS  16.1Nakia Sanford      WAS  16.0

Lyttle has averaged 9.1 rebounds per game as a starter. The Comets wisely have gone back to the big lineup with Lyttle, Snow and Tina Thompson in the frontcourt that was so successful for them a year ago.

I don’t think Griffith’s rebounding has gotten enough credit this season, especially from the people who like fixate on her age. What’s really impressive is that Griffith has changed her game to become a much better defensive rebounder because of the Storm’s need on the defensive glass. (Alternatively, maybe the white-line defense was keeping Griffith from establishing good defensive position.)

The one name on this list that was a surprise to me was Langhorne, who has been a force in the glass and an effective finisher in the paint as a rookie. Langhorne has been overshadowed by the depth of the rookie class, but she’s got a bright future in Washington.

Now the Storm by rebound percentage:

Player              Tm  Reb%----------------------------Yolanda Griffith   SEA  18.3Shyra Ely          SEA  12.8Lauren Jackson     SEA  12.4Ashley Robinson    SEA  11.7Sheryl Swoopes     SEA  10.7Swin Cash          SEA  10.6Camille Little     SEA   9.9Tanisha Wright     SEA   8.1Katie Gearlds      SEA   6.5Sue Bird           SEA   5.7

By definition, league average for rebound percentage is 10 percent (because there’s 10 players on the court at any time); six Storm players clear that mark with Little essentially at it. When the Storm rebounds well, as it has lately, it’s by committee. In particular, when Swoopes is at shooting guard her rebounding is a major asset for the Storm.

Posted in WNBA, stats | 1 Comment »

Storm on NBA Access

Saturday, July 12th, 2008

Make sure to tune in Saturday as NBA Access with Ahmad Rashad devotes an entire show to the Storm. NBA Access airs Saturday at 1 p.m. Eastern and 3 p.m. Pacific on ABC (KOMO 4 in the Seattle area), and if you understand why it’s earlier in the East than the West, you’re ahead of me.

Anyways, here’s what you’ll see:

This week, NBA Access with Ahmad Rashad takes a behind the scenes look at the WNBA’s Seattle Storm and its newly-assembled all-star lineup. The show takes a ride to practice with 3-time WNBA MVP Sheryl Swoopes as she talks about making a change in her career after a legendary run as a member of the Houston Comets. Cameras also catch up with 1999 MVP Yolanda Griffith, who adds experience to the Storm frontline and gives viewers an all-access look at Storm practice. Two-time WNBA champion Swin Cash left the Detroit Shock for the Storm, and she visits a scenic overlook in Seattle to talk about her career transition. The heart and soul of the team remains the inside-out tandem of point guard Sue Bird and two-time MVP Lauren Jackson, and viewers will see how they’ve accepted all the new players into the fold. The show combines newly-shot all-access footage with a trip back through the NBA Entertainment archives for a rare look at this group of star players looking to make a run at the WNBA title.

Posted in in the media | 6 Comments »

CP3 by the Numbers

Saturday, July 12th, 2008

With the Los Angeles Sparks and Candace Parker coming to KeyArena tomorrow (7:00 p.m., FSN, 1150 AM KKNW, TIX), I was curious whether Parker’s strong start has her on pace to post the best rookie season of all time. This is the kind of question my WARP rating system is well-equipped to answer, estimating how valuable a player is to their team in terms of the wins they offer as compared to a replacement-level player.

Before 2008, these were the top 10 rookie seasons in WNBA history.

Player              Year  Team  WARP------------------------------------Tamika Catchings    2002   IND  11.2Lauren Jackson      2001   SEA   6.4Diana Taurasi       2004   PHO   6.2Betty Lennox        2000   MIN   5.5Sue Bird            2002   SEA   5.2Alana Beard         2004   WAS   5.1Chamique Holdsclaw  1999   WAS   5.1Swin Cash           2002   DET   5.0Tamika Williams     2002   MIN   4.4Cappie Pondexter    2006   PHO   4.4

Considering the Storm has two of the top five rookie seasons ever, it’s strange that the team has never had a Rookie of the Year. Sue Bird had the misfortune of going up against the best debut season the league has ever seen, when Tamika Catchings finished as the runner-up for MVP as a rookie. As for Lauren Jackson, well, there’s no way to sugercoat it. She was robbed. Portland’s Jackie Stiles won the award with 1.8 WARP, a figure dwarfed by Jackson’s 6.4 WARP. Ah, well – LJ’s never been in it for the awards.

Anyways, how do this year’s top rookies compare? Here’s the top six, projected to a full 34-game season.

Player              Team  WARP------------------------------Candace Parker       LAS   9.4Candice Wiggins      MIN   6.0Nicky Anosike        MIN   4.7Alexis Hornbuckle    DET   2.9Crystal Kelly        SAC   2.2Sylvia Fowles        CHI   1.8

It’s unlikely Parker will quite catch her fellow Tennessee alumna, but her rookie season has certainly been outstanding. Wiggins has been great in her own right and would have a chance for the second-best rookie season in league history were it not for Parker. Anosike has been legitimately outstanding and is having the best rookie season ever for a non-first-round pick (a title previously held by Michelle Brogan or, if you want to limit to college players, Tammy Sutton-Brown).

As for Fowles, on a per-minute basis she rates better than Wiggins, but her knee injury has naturally limited her total value.

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Swoopes Battles Sore Left Knee

Thursday, July 10th, 2008

Storm guard Sheryl Swoopes came off the bench during Tuesday’s win at Sacramento, the first time this season she has not been in the starting lineup. After injuring her right knee in practice last week, Swoopes has been dealing lately with swelling and soreness in the other knee.

“It feels a little better, but it’s bothering me,” Swoopes said after working out Wednesday following practice. “It’s just one of those things. I tried to warm up and it wasn’t feeling very good. If I can’t go out there and give 100 percent where I feel like I’m going to help the team, it’s better for me to sit and be the best cheerleader I can be – which is what I kind of had to do last night. Taking yesterday off and coming back and doing a little bit of stuff today, it feels better than it’s felt in a couple of days. Hopefully I’ll be able to go tomorrow.”

There’s no structural damage to Swoopes’ knee. Her suspicion is that it’s simply fatigued a little over halfway through the season. Only playing 10 minutes against the Monarchs should help, and after Saturday’s game the Storm will have five days off. Swoopes will get far more rest when the WNBA breaks for the Olympics at the end of the month.

“I said the other day that the break can’t get here soon enough for me personally,” she said. “I think it’s tired and to be able to take a couple of days off is probably what my whole body needs.”

Tanisha Wright stepped in to make her third start of the season, each in place of a different player. Wright had 11 points, a season-high six assists and five rebounds in a season-long 34-minute outing. She was one of five Storm players to score double-figures.

“She’s played exceptionally well this season,” said Swoopes, “regardless of whether she’s starting or coming off the bench, how many minutes she’s playing. Offensively and defensively, she’s played really well. It’s not like I felt like we were losing anything with her starting.”

While Storm Head Coach Brian Agler would prefer to have Swoopes available, he’s comfortable going with Wright if Swoopes is unable to play Thursday when the Storm hosts Phoenix on Kids Day (12:00 p.m., 1150 AM KKNW, TIX).

“If (Sheryl’s) able to go, then she’ll start,” said Agler. “If not, we’ll go with Tanisha.”

Tomorrow’s Noon start will present a change from the Storm’s usual routine.

“I think they’re good for the league,” Agler said of kids days around the WNBA. “You get a different demographic – I’m sure we’ll have a lot of kids in there tomorrow and exposed maybe to their first WNBA game. That’s good. I think it’s good from a player and coach standpoint that you don’t have to sit around all day worrying about the game. It just hits you right off the bat. It’s different and you’re always concerned about how you prepare.”

That’s the downside for the Storm, which got to The Furtado Center at 1:30 p.m. Wednesday afternoon after flying in from Sacramento. That left time only for some film and a walkthrough. The early start means no opportunity for a pregame shootaround.

“If we didn’t play yesterday and had yesterday and today (to practice) and then played at Noon on Thursday,” said Agler, “that would be great.”

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Robinson Returns to Practice

Monday, July 7th, 2008

Storm center Ashley Robinson returned to practice Monday after rolling her right ankle last Thursday and missing Saturday’s win over Minnesota. She was on the floor for the brief live action we saw at the end of practice.

“I feel fine,” said Robinson. “A little achy, but it’s normal. It’s still a little bit (swollen), but it’s under control and it goes down a lot every day.”

Robinson and the Storm’s training staff have been working hard to get her ankle ready to go over the last few days.

“Ice, stim treatment,” she said. “Compression boot, exercises for it – I’m trying a little bit of everything.”

The Storm should have Robinson available for tomorrow’s game in Sacramento (7:00 p.m., 1150 AM KKNW).

Posted in practice notes, robinson | 5 Comments »

Swoopes Interview

Monday, July 7th, 2008

Check out SlamOnline.com’s interview with Sheryl Swoopes, in which Swoopes touches on coming back from her back injury, her future and the fact that she’s not ready yet to begin that post-playing future.

“Sitting here, talking to you today and being able to just move and do things and not hurt, oh my gosh, I feel so good. I can’t sit here and say, ‘Yeah, next year I see myself coaching or in a front office.’ I don’t know that because I feel really good right now and I just want to continue to work hard, get better and take it one day at a time. Just kind of wait and see what happens.

“Let me just say this. If everything goes well and, God willing, this is definitely where I want to come back and play next year.”

Posted in in the media, swoopes | 1 Comment »

LJ Officially an Olympian

Saturday, July 5th, 2008

On Thursday, Basketball Australia announced the roster for the Opals for next month’s Beijing Olympics. And, in news that comes as something less than a surprise, Lauren Jackson headlines that roster.

More noteworthy is that former Storm guard Tully Bevilaqua was chosen for the roster despite choosing to play with the Indiana Fever this season. In 2004, Bevilaqua’s decision to play for the Storm instead of staying in Australia played a role in costing her an Olympic bid. This time around, a roster spot was likely but no sure thing.

“I’m just playing it as 50-50,” Bevilaqua said last month. “I’m supposed to find out towards the end of this month whether I am included or not. I’m trying not to think about it because I don’t want it to affect how I play here. I’m just trying to stay loose, not worry about things. That’s how I’m playing at the moment. When the time comes to get the call, hopefully it will be good.”

Former Storm center Suzy Batkovic is also on the roster after not taking part in the 2006 FIBA World Championships, won by Australia.

Locally, the bigger news has been Storm forward Swin Cash receiving word from USA Basketball that she will not fill one of the last thee spots on the U.S. roster for Beijing, which have yet to be announced.

When Storm rookie Kristen O’Neill made her WNBA debut on Thursday, her college coach June Daugherty was in the KeyArena crowd. Daugherty, now coaching Washington State University, chatted with Dick Fain and Adia Barnes on the 1150 AM KKNW broadcast on Thursday. If you were there yourself or just missed it, here’s the audio from that interview.

Posted in former Storm updates, jackson, olympics | Comments Off