Those four words could be expected to spark fear in the heart of any fan of the Seattle Storm. Strangely, though, they do not. We have been comfortable in our status as Lauren's second home after Australia. We have been comfortable in her relationship with Sue. She has said that she will play her WNBA career in Seattle as long as she is able.
The key is that as long as she plays in the WNBA, we believed that she would play in Seattle. After a truly painful olympic loss, and her injury keeping her from playing in the playoffs this season, Lauren is truly a free agent for the first time ever in this league and she is not thinking, yet, about next season.
This isn't the first year that there have been rumblings that Jackson would not return to the WNBA. Up until her last contract, Jackson only signed one year commitments to provide flexibility for herself. When she finally signed a multi-year contract with the Storm three years ago, she said she wanted to remove doubts of her return. Of course, then Howard Schultz sold the team to ownership from Oklahoma City and the uncertainty of that situation made Jackson declare that she would not play in Oklahoma. With the sale of the Storm to Seattle based ownership, Force 10 Hoops, it was clear that the cloud of doubt was removed. There were still rumors that she would skip this 2008 season entirely to prepare for the Olympics.
Here we are again, and while there may be less worry about where in the WNBA Lauren plays (despite her strong Phoenix ties), there is the question of whether she will return to the States at all. She was so dejected on the Olympic podium it moved me, and others, as we shared some aspect of her pain. In the Storm's thank you video to fans, she looked as if she had been crying before the taping and had to hold back tears during her pitch. This simply adds fuel to the speculative fire. I don't have any answers, only questions, but I leave the season with the hopeful feeling that the strong words of Coach Agler and CEO Bryant indicate we have a great chance to bring Jackson back to Seattle once she works through her emotions over these two big losses.
Tuesday, September 30, 2008
Monday, September 29, 2008
Round 1, Game 2: 2008 WNBA Playoffs Storm vs. Sparks
I have been really delinquent getting things posted. I had a crazy week with depositions, my boss taking a new job, and data on game 2 that I simply couldn't get to jive. Fortunately Paul Swanson was able to help me find the bad piece of data and I was able to move on.
Since the Storm have already been eliminated, I will skip to the numbers and avoid useless commentary.
Storm
Most Effective Shooters
It is really amazing how low scoring this game was.
Top Ratings
Looking at these numbers it is now clear to me why LA won Game 3. Defensively all they had to do was put some added focus of Sheryl Swoopes, because no one else was offensively productive.
It is clear that this game was won by the Storm on the defensive end of the floor.
Top Ratings
Normally players don't make this table with offensive ratings below 100, but I had to lower my standards for this game.
Raw Plus Minus
Jessica Moore: +4
Rafaella Masciadri: +1
Marie Ferdinand-Harris: -2
Sidney Spencer: -3
Temecka Johnson: -4
Muriel Page: -4
Candace Parker: -10
Shannon Bobbitt: -11
Kiesha Brown: -12
Delisha Milton-Jones: -13
Lisa Leslie: -16
Most Effective Lineups
Bobbitt-Masciadri-Milton-Parker-Leslie: +5
Johnson-Ferdinand-Milton-Parker-Moore: +4
Johnson-Ferdinand-Parker-Moore-Leslie: +3
Since the Storm have already been eliminated, I will skip to the numbers and avoid useless commentary.
Storm
Most Effective Shooters
Player | True Shooting Percentage | Effective FG% | Floor Percentage | Points |
| Ashley Robinson | 80% | 100% | 91% | 3 |
| Camille Little | 75% | 58% | 38% | 13 |
| Sheryl Swoopes | 68% | 60% | 50% | 16 |
| Katie Gearlds | 50% | 50% | 53% | 2 |
It is really amazing how low scoring this game was.
Top Ratings
| Player | Offensive Rating | Individual Rating |
| Ashley Robinson | 184.71 | 166.48 |
| Sheryl Swoopes | 121.02 | 110.30 |
| Katie Gearlds | 106.13 | 88.10 |
Looking at these numbers it is now clear to me why LA won Game 3. Defensively all they had to do was put some added focus of Sheryl Swoopes, because no one else was offensively productive.
Raw Plus Minus
Tanisha Wright: +22
Sue Bird: +18
Sheryl Swoopes: +15
Yolanda Griffith: +14
Camille Little: +10
Katie Gearlds: +8
Ashley Robinson: +3
Shyra Ely: -1
Kimberly Beck: -6
Swin Cash: -11
Most Effective Lineups
Bird-Wright-Swoopes-Little-Griffith: +19
Bird-Wright-Gearlds-Little-Robinson: +9
Bird-Wright-Cash-Robinson-Griffith: +3
Sparks
Most Effective Shooters
Player | True Shooting Percentage | Effective FG% | Floor Percentage | Points |
| Shannon Bobbitt | 63% | 63% | 27% | 5 |
| Delisha Milton-Jones | 51% | 44% | 37% | 10 |
It is clear that this game was won by the Storm on the defensive end of the floor.
Top Ratings
| Player | Offensive Rating | Individual Rating |
| Candace Parker | 96.94 | 80.42 |
| Marie Ferdinand-Harris | 93.10 | 75.70 |
Normally players don't make this table with offensive ratings below 100, but I had to lower my standards for this game.
Raw Plus Minus
Jessica Moore: +4
Rafaella Masciadri: +1
Marie Ferdinand-Harris: -2
Sidney Spencer: -3
Temecka Johnson: -4
Muriel Page: -4
Candace Parker: -10
Shannon Bobbitt: -11
Kiesha Brown: -12
Delisha Milton-Jones: -13
Lisa Leslie: -16
Most Effective Lineups
Bobbitt-Masciadri-Milton-Parker-Leslie: +5
Johnson-Ferdinand-Milton-Parker-Moore: +4
Johnson-Ferdinand-Parker-Moore-Leslie: +3
Sunday, September 21, 2008
Round 1, Game 1 2008 WNBA Playoffs: Storm @ Sparks
A few questions arose for me while working the numbers for this game.
1) Why was Katie Gearlds sitting on the bench? Her first half performance, as you will see below, was fantastic. She had the top spots in shooting and rating but did not play in the second half until the final 27 seconds of the game. I understand that the Wright/Swoopes tandem was playing well at both ends of the floor in the second half, but Gearlds CANNOT be lost in the rotation with Swoopes and Cash playing again. She is too valuable as a shooter.
2) Can we do away with the big lineup experiment, please? Start Swoopes or Gearlds at the three spot. Ashley played very well, but the big lineup is not working.
3) Where is Kimberly Beck? Her end of season play should have earned her some time. Bird only sat four times all game, the first three replaced at the point by Tanisha Wright. The Storm were +3, -4 and +1 during those three lineups and +2 with Beck in garbage time. With Wright turning the ball over at an alarming rate (about 30% of her possessions resulted in turnovers in this game compared to 10% resulting in an assist) Beck's sure hand is a better choice to rest Bird.
There were good signs. The Storm dominated the second half with only two negative intervals, both at the end of quarters. Bird was fantastic again after a slow start. Swin Cash and Sheryl Swoopes looked pretty good, though Sheryl's shooting was putrid (29% eFG%). The big three were controlled the entire game, and I don't imagine the Sparks guards can replicate their amazing shooting on the road.
There were caution flags as well. Camille Little performed horrendously in her first post season game as a starter. She shot a game worst 13% eFG%, being outperformed by the struggling Shannon Bobbitt and with only one rebound in 35 minutes of game time, she was the lowest rated player in the game. Tanisha Wright had 6 turnovers to go with her 4 steals and 2 assists. That is too many turnovers. The good news is that they were all in the first half. I am hoping that both these players are able to shake it off for today and let the Key Arena crowd cheer them on to victory.
Storm
Most Effective Shooters
Katie and Kelly need more minutes to generate offense. Tanisha Wright was only able to make this list because she hit her only three point shot and went 6-8 from the line, she was only 2-8 inside the arc.
Top Ratings
Both coaches got what they wanted here. Parker and Leslie were controlled forcing the ball into the hands of the guards just as Agler wanted. Unfortunately, the guards shot amazingly well exactly as Cooper wanted. Brown sat most of the second half, with their lead allowing Cooper to play with Masciadri, Ferdinand and Spencer. Hopefully that will smash her confidence as she wonders why her coach benched her when she thought she was doing well. Leslie only made this list because of her 4-4 free throw shooting.
Top Ratings
Not a single inside player made the list.
Raw Plus Minus
Delisha Milton-Jones: +18
Temeka Johnson: +8
Lisa Leslie: +7
Candace Parker: +3
Sidney Spencer: +3
Muriel Page: +3
Kiesha Brown: +2
Marie Ferdinand-Harris: +2
Shannon Bobbitt: 0
Jessica Moore: 0
Most Effective Lineups
Bobbitt-Brown-Milton-Parker-Leslie: +4
Johnson-Ferdinand-Milton-Page-Leslie: +4
Johnson-Brown-Milton-Parker-Leslie: +3
Bobbitt-Masciadri-Milton-Parker-Leslie: +3
1) Why was Katie Gearlds sitting on the bench? Her first half performance, as you will see below, was fantastic. She had the top spots in shooting and rating but did not play in the second half until the final 27 seconds of the game. I understand that the Wright/Swoopes tandem was playing well at both ends of the floor in the second half, but Gearlds CANNOT be lost in the rotation with Swoopes and Cash playing again. She is too valuable as a shooter.
2) Can we do away with the big lineup experiment, please? Start Swoopes or Gearlds at the three spot. Ashley played very well, but the big lineup is not working.
3) Where is Kimberly Beck? Her end of season play should have earned her some time. Bird only sat four times all game, the first three replaced at the point by Tanisha Wright. The Storm were +3, -4 and +1 during those three lineups and +2 with Beck in garbage time. With Wright turning the ball over at an alarming rate (about 30% of her possessions resulted in turnovers in this game compared to 10% resulting in an assist) Beck's sure hand is a better choice to rest Bird.
There were good signs. The Storm dominated the second half with only two negative intervals, both at the end of quarters. Bird was fantastic again after a slow start. Swin Cash and Sheryl Swoopes looked pretty good, though Sheryl's shooting was putrid (29% eFG%). The big three were controlled the entire game, and I don't imagine the Sparks guards can replicate their amazing shooting on the road.
There were caution flags as well. Camille Little performed horrendously in her first post season game as a starter. She shot a game worst 13% eFG%, being outperformed by the struggling Shannon Bobbitt and with only one rebound in 35 minutes of game time, she was the lowest rated player in the game. Tanisha Wright had 6 turnovers to go with her 4 steals and 2 assists. That is too many turnovers. The good news is that they were all in the first half. I am hoping that both these players are able to shake it off for today and let the Key Arena crowd cheer them on to victory.
Storm
Most Effective Shooters
Player | True Shooting Percentage | Effective FG% | Floor Percentage | Points |
| Katie Gearlds | 69% | 75% | 69% | 4 |
| Sue Bird | 67% | 60% | 68% | 23 |
| Tanisha Wright | 52% | 39% | 37% | 13 |
| Swin Cash | 50% | 50% | 52% | 4 |
| Kelly Santos | 50% | 50% | 60% | 2 |
| Ashley Robinson | 50% | 50% | 46% | 4 |
Katie and Kelly need more minutes to generate offense. Tanisha Wright was only able to make this list because she hit her only three point shot and went 6-8 from the line, she was only 2-8 inside the arc.
Top Ratings
| Player | Offensive Rating | Individual Rating |
| Katie Gearlds | 162.62 | 153.43 |
| Sue Bird | 142.84 | 127.23 |
| Kelly Santos | 119.86 | 95.73 |
| Swin Cash | 103.23 | 88.15 |
Raw Plus Minus
Sheryl Swoopes: +2
Kimberly Beck: +2
Shyra Ely: +2
Kelly Santos: +2
Katie Gearlds: -1
Swin Cash: -3
Yolanda Griffith: -6
Ashley Robinson: -6
Camille Little: -9
Sue Bird: -10
Tanisha Wright: -13
Most Effective Lineups
Bird-Swoopes-Little-Robinson-Griffith: +4
Wright-Swoopes-Gearlds-Little-Robinson: +3
Bird-Wright-Swoopes-Robinson-Griffith: +3
The experimental starting lineup was a miserable -9.
Sparks
Most Effective Shooters
Player | True Shooting Percentage | Effective FG% | Floor Percentage | Points |
| Marie Ferdinand-Harris | 94% | 100% | 62% | 11 |
| Kiesha Brown | 92% | 90% | 79% | 10 |
| Tamecka Dixon | 80% | 80% | 52% | 8 |
| Raffaella Masciadri | 60% | 60% | 41% | 6 |
| Delisha Milton-Jones | 59% | 50% | 40% | 11 |
| Lisa Leslie | 51% | 38% | 31% | 10 |
Both coaches got what they wanted here. Parker and Leslie were controlled forcing the ball into the hands of the guards just as Agler wanted. Unfortunately, the guards shot amazingly well exactly as Cooper wanted. Brown sat most of the second half, with their lead allowing Cooper to play with Masciadri, Ferdinand and Spencer. Hopefully that will smash her confidence as she wonders why her coach benched her when she thought she was doing well. Leslie only made this list because of her 4-4 free throw shooting.
Top Ratings
| Player | Offensive Rating | Individual Rating |
| Kiesha Brown | 180.01 | 176.87 |
| Marie Ferdinand-Harris | 145.19 | 154.64 |
| Rafaella Masciadri | 121.88 | 110.09 |
| Sidney Spencer | 120.06 | 90.88 |
| Temecka Johnson | 104.42 | 106.41 |
Not a single inside player made the list.
Raw Plus Minus
Delisha Milton-Jones: +18
Temeka Johnson: +8
Lisa Leslie: +7
Candace Parker: +3
Sidney Spencer: +3
Muriel Page: +3
Kiesha Brown: +2
Marie Ferdinand-Harris: +2
Shannon Bobbitt: 0
Jessica Moore: 0
Most Effective Lineups
Bobbitt-Brown-Milton-Parker-Leslie: +4
Johnson-Ferdinand-Milton-Page-Leslie: +4
Johnson-Brown-Milton-Parker-Leslie: +3
Bobbitt-Masciadri-Milton-Parker-Leslie: +3
Friday, September 19, 2008
2008 Season Numbers
I intend to run full plus/minus lineup data for the playoffs, but I have some catchup to do since I just got back from New York at one a.m. today. I booked my trip before the playoffs were decided so rather than getting to sit in MSG last night to watch the first playoff game of the Liberty vs. the Sun, I sat in JFK international airport and watch NBA TV go black when the game came on since it was also aired on the MSG channel which wasn't playing in the terminal.
I was flying Jet Blue, so I got to watch the Monarchs tip off against the Silver Stars on ESPN2, but the sound was bust on that one station so I couldn't bear to listen to the game. It was a clear blowout early (though the Monarchs valiantly closed the gap at the end) and I moved on to other channels.
Most Effective Shooters
Coach Agler's "equal opportunity offense" is a reality. The Storm have never had more than three players with better than a 100 point per 100 possession offensive rating. Sue and Lauren's individual ratings are down (compared to 2004) but the balance and depth of the team is remarkable. They are being seriously underestimated in the playoffs, though not having Cash in the first round will hurt them a great deal. Lots of players got more minutes in the second half due to injuries and rest, but Kimberly Beck and Katie Gearlds are the ones who have stepped up the most. Yo is the one person of the three veteran additions who has gotten significantly better since the break.
Least Effective Swing Players
Shyra Ely at PF: -47
Tanisha Wright at PG: -27
Most Effective Per40 Lineups (>10 Minutes)
Bird-Swoopes-Gearlds-Cash-Jackson: +68.91
Bird-Wright-Gearlds-Cash-Little: +28.84
Bird-Wright-Cash-Jackson-Griffith: +28.49
Bird-Wright-Swoopes-Cash-Griffith: +23.30
Bird-Wright-Swoopes-Jackson-Griffith: +19.03
Bird-Swoopes-Cash-Jackson-Griffith: +10.99
I was flying Jet Blue, so I got to watch the Monarchs tip off against the Silver Stars on ESPN2, but the sound was bust on that one station so I couldn't bear to listen to the game. It was a clear blowout early (though the Monarchs valiantly closed the gap at the end) and I moved on to other channels.
Most Effective Shooters
Player | True Shooting Percentage | Effective FG% | Floor Percentage | Points/Game |
| Kimberly Beck | 73.02% | 66.67% | 48.23% | 1.0 |
| Camille Little | 57.52% | 54.96% | 48.69% | 9.74 |
| Lauren Jackson | 56.42% | 49.39% | 50.56% | 20.24 |
| Sue Bird | 54.40% | 50.13% | 46.94% | 14.09 |
| Yolanda Griffith | 53.89% | 46.21% | 52.83% | 7.23 |
| Katie Gearlds | 50.86% | 48.73% | 41.67% | 5.03 |
| Swin Cash | 48.41% | 39.08% | 46.99% | 11.32 |
| Tanisha Wright | 48.40% | 44.00% | 43.41% | 7.88 |
| Sheryl Swoopes | 47.03% | 42.71% | 46.89% | 7.07 |
| Kelly Santos | 45.97% | 39.02% | 45.93% | 2.14 |
| Shyra Ely | 45.00% | 42.61% | 42.17% | 3.32 |
| Ashley Robinson | 30.59% | 30.23% | 31.05% | 0.88 |
| Kristin O'Neill | 0% | 0% | 13.04% | 0 |
Top Ratings
| Player | Offensive Rating | Individual Rating |
| Kimberly Beck | 121.40 | 112.34 |
| Lauren Jackson | 112.23 | 97.45 |
| Sue Bird | 105.06 | 95.93 |
| Yolanda Griffith | 104.73 | 87.35 |
| Katie Gearlds | 103.36 | 89.34 |
| Sheryl Swoopes | 99.65 | 84.08 |
| Camille Little | 99.56 | 88.70 |
| Swin Cash | 95.75 | 80.45 |
| Kelly Santos | 90.72 | 74.02 |
| Tanisha Wright | 89.62 | 78.13 |
| Shyra Ely | 86.83 | 69.90 |
| Ashley Robinson | 62.55 | 40.06 |
| Kristin O'Neill | 11.63 | 9.52 |
Coach Agler's "equal opportunity offense" is a reality. The Storm have never had more than three players with better than a 100 point per 100 possession offensive rating. Sue and Lauren's individual ratings are down (compared to 2004) but the balance and depth of the team is remarkable. They are being seriously underestimated in the playoffs, though not having Cash in the first round will hurt them a great deal. Lots of players got more minutes in the second half due to injuries and rest, but Kimberly Beck and Katie Gearlds are the ones who have stepped up the most. Yo is the one person of the three veteran additions who has gotten significantly better since the break.
Plus/Minus
Player | On | Off | Roland Rating | Minutes Played |
| Sue Bird | +149 | -62 | +15.32 | 1111 |
| Lauren Jackson | +171 | -42 | +9.96 | 694 |
+99 | -12 | +6.70 | 658 | |
| Swin Cash | +108 | -21 | +7.29 | 927 |
| Sheryl Swoopes | +83 | +4 | +4.46 | 706 |
| Katie Gearlds | +63 | +24 | +4.30 | 468 |
| Camille Little | +11 | +83 | -2.62 | 442 |
| Tanisha Wright | +10 | +77 | -5.08 | 808 |
| Kelly Santos | -18 | +105 | -8.81 | 134 |
| Shyra Ely | -60 | +147 | -12.23 | 389 |
| Kimberly Beck | -21 | +108 | -12.41 | 93 |
| Ashley Robinson | -95 | +182 | -18.60 | 182 |
| Kristin O'Neill | -30 | +99 | -28.38 | 32 |
Most Effective Lineups
Bird-Swoopes-Cash-Jackson-Griffith: +23
Bird-Swoopes-Gearlds-Cash-Jackson: +23
Bird-Wright-Cash-Jackson-Griffith: +17
Bird-Wright-Swoopes-Gearlds-Jackson: +13
Bird-Swoopes-Gearlds-Jackson-Griffith: +11
Bird-Wright-Gearlds-Cash-Little: +9
Bird-Cash-Ely-Little-Griffith: +9
Bird-Wright-Swoopes-Jackson-Robinson: +9
Bird-Wright-Swoopes-Jackson-Griffith: +8
Bird-Wright-Swoopes-Cash-Griffith: +7
Bird-Wright-Swoopes-Little-Jackson: +6
Bird-Swoopes-Gearlds-Cash-Griffith: +6
Bird-Wright-Swoopes-Little-Santos: +6
Least Effective Lineups
Bird-Swoopes-Cash-Ely-Jackson: -15
Bird-Swoopes-Cash-Ely-Jackson: -14
Bird-Wright-Swoopes-Ely-Robinson: -14
Bird-Wright-Gearlds-Robinson-Griffith: -13
Wright-Swoopes-Gearlds-Robinson-Griffith: -8
O'Neill-Gearlds-Ely-Santos-Robinson: -7
Bird-Swoopes-Cash-Jackson-Robinson: -6
Bird-Wright-Gearlds-Cash-Ely: -6
Bird-Wright-Cash-Robinson-Griffith: -6
Bird-Wright-Cash-Little-Santos: -6
Top Player Pairs
Bird-Jackson: +137
Bird Cash: +127
Bird-Swoopes: +112
Griffith-Jackson: +104
Bird-Griffith: +103
Cash-Jackson: +87
Bird-Gearlds: +86
Cash-Griffith: +84
Cash-Gearlds: +80
Swoopes-Jackson: +71
Most Effective Swing Players
Bird at PG: +149
Jackson at PF: +78
Cash at PF: +71
Swoopes at SF: +55
Jackson at C: +51
Wright at SG: +42
Gearlds at SF: +30
Swoopes at SG: +26
Least Effective Swing Players
Shyra Ely at PF: -47
Tanisha Wright at PG: -27
Most Effective Per40 Lineups (>10 Minutes)
Bird-Swoopes-Gearlds-Cash-Jackson: +68.91
Bird-Wright-Gearlds-Cash-Little: +28.84
Bird-Wright-Cash-Jackson-Griffith: +28.49
Bird-Wright-Swoopes-Cash-Griffith: +23.30
Bird-Wright-Swoopes-Jackson-Griffith: +19.03
Bird-Swoopes-Cash-Jackson-Griffith: +10.99
Tuesday, September 16, 2008
Game Thirty-Four: Storm @ Sparks 14 September, 2008
This was perhaps the worst WNBA game I have sat through in years. It was precisely the sort of nationally televised game that fans the fires of those who enjoy making fun of the league. While the game didn't really count for either team (other than Seattle losing potential home court against Detroit in the Finals due to Detroit's better conference record)it was still a splotch on the WNBA given that this was a nationally televised game.
Storm
Most Effective Shooters
Yuck. No one else even got to 30%.
Top Ratings
No one else even made it to a 75.
Top Ratings
Raw Plus Minus
Kiesha Brown: +14
Candace Parker: +13
Lisa Leslie: +11
Delisha Milton-Jones: +11
Shannon Bobbitt: +9
Jessica Moore: +9
Temeka Johnson: +8
Muriel Page: +8
Sidney Spencer: +3
Marie Ferdinand-Harris: +3
Most Effective Lineups
Bobbitt-Brown-Milton-Parker-Leslie: +11
Johnson-Ferdinand-Spencer-Page-Moore: +10
Storm
Most Effective Shooters
Player | True Shooting Percentage | Effective FG% | Floor Percentage | Points |
| Kimberly Beck | 90% | 100% | 57% | 7 |
| Shyra Ely | 73% | 73% | 52% | 16 |
| Camille Little | 57% | 57% | 36% | 8 |
Yuck. No one else even got to 30%.
Top Ratings
| Player | Offensive Rating | Individual Rating |
| Kimberly Beck | 143.58 | 146.08 |
| Shyra Ely | 119.42 | 112.83 |
No one else even made it to a 75.
Raw Plus Minus
Kristin O'Neill: +1
Sue Bird: -6
Yolanda Griffith: -6
Ashley Robinson: -7
Kelly Santos: -7
Shyra Ely: -10
Tanisha Wrightl: -12
Katie Gearlds: -13
Camille Little: -14
Most Effective Lineups
Wright-Gearlds-Ely-Santos-Robinson: +4
Beck-Gearlds-Ely-Little-Santos: +2
Sparks
Most Effective Shooters
Player | True Shooting Percentage | Effective FG% | Floor Percentage | Points |
| Delisha Milton-Jones | 75% | 75% | 62% | 12 |
| Sidney Spencer | 69% | 69% | 65% | 11 |
| Candace Parker | 60% | 57% | 48% | 9 |
Top Ratings
| Player | Offensive Rating | Individual Rating |
| Sidney Spencer | 140.66 | 128.23 |
| Delisha Milton-Jones | 124.31 | 117.44 |
Raw Plus Minus
Kiesha Brown: +14
Candace Parker: +13
Lisa Leslie: +11
Delisha Milton-Jones: +11
Shannon Bobbitt: +9
Jessica Moore: +9
Temeka Johnson: +8
Muriel Page: +8
Sidney Spencer: +3
Marie Ferdinand-Harris: +3
Most Effective Lineups
Bobbitt-Brown-Milton-Parker-Leslie: +11
Johnson-Ferdinand-Spencer-Page-Moore: +10
LA really didn't play that well either, and they only had two lineups do serious damage to the Storm. That won't get it done in the playoffs either. It should be an interesting first round match up.
I will start posting season numbers on Friday since I hit the road this week for the first time in quite a while. If I have a chance, I will post earlier.
Saturday, September 13, 2008
Game Thirty-Three: Storm vs. Dream 12 September, 2008
It was just like the old days, watching Sue and Lauren cheering their team on to a win from the bench at the end of the game...except it was the beginning middle AND the end of the game last night. It did make me a little sad for the Dream to have them lose to a team that didn't play a single starter from the beginning of the season. It was great to see Camille, Tanisha, Ashley and Katie succeed on their own. That has to be a huge boost to their personal confidence and can only help the team on the playoff push.
I was so happy to see Betty and Izi, but it was disappointing for everyone, Betty included, that she was unable to play more of the game.
Fan appreciation night was pretty tame...maybe they are saving up for a championship celebration.
Storm
Most Effective Shooters
Heck, Camille even had a three point basket, her 5th of the season.
Top Ratings
Beck only played a few minutes but scored off two free throws, had an assist, a steal and a block.
Top Ratings
Raw Plus Minus
Kasha Terry: +7
Tamera Young: +5
Katie Feenstra: 0
Kristin Haynie: -2
Erica DeSouza: -3
Betty Lennox: -3
Ivory Latta: -3
Jennifer Lacy: -5
Iziane Castro Marques: -6
Alison Bales: -11
Most Effective Lineups
Haynie-Lennox-Young-Terry-Feenstra: +6
Latta-Castro-Young-Terry-Feenstra: +4
I was so happy to see Betty and Izi, but it was disappointing for everyone, Betty included, that she was unable to play more of the game.
Fan appreciation night was pretty tame...maybe they are saving up for a championship celebration.
Storm
Most Effective Shooters
Player | True Shooting Percentage | Effective FG% | Floor Percentage | Points |
| Kimberly Beck | 114% | 0% | 100% | 2 |
| Camille Little | 67% | 61% | 63% | 21 |
| Kelly Santos | 57% | 57% | 49% | 8 |
| Katie Gearlds | 57% | 47% | 49% | 20 |
| Tanisha Wright | 51% | 50% | 44% | 14 |
Heck, Camille even had a three point basket, her 5th of the season.
Top Ratings
| Player | Offensive Rating | Individual Rating |
| Kimberly Beck | 240.56 | 221.24 |
| Camille Little | 136.83 | 123.76 |
| Katie Gearlds | 116.27 | 99.03 |
| Tanisha Wright | 110.31 | 96.68 |
Beck only played a few minutes but scored off two free throws, had an assist, a steal and a block.
Raw Plus Minus
Katie Gearlds: +7
Shyra Ely: +6
Kelly Santos: +6
Tanisha Wright: +6
Ashley Robinson: +1
Camille Little: 0
Kristin O'Neill: -2
Most Effective Lineups
Wright-Gearlds-Ely-Little-Santos: +4
Beck-Wright-Gearlds-Ely-Robinson: +3
Dream
Most Effective Shooters
Player | True Shooting Percentage | Effective FG% | Floor Percentage | Points |
| Erica DeSouza | 87% | 100% | 47% | 5 |
| Katie Feenstra | 82% | 75% | 64% | 16 |
| Tamera Young | 67% | 64% | 61% | 20 |
Top Ratings
| Player | Offensive Rating | Individual Rating |
| Tamera Young | 138.27 | 122.87 |
| Katie Feenstra | 137.21 | 128.03 |
| Kasha Terry | 104.27 | 79.42 |
Raw Plus Minus
Kasha Terry: +7
Tamera Young: +5
Katie Feenstra: 0
Kristin Haynie: -2
Erica DeSouza: -3
Betty Lennox: -3
Ivory Latta: -3
Jennifer Lacy: -5
Iziane Castro Marques: -6
Alison Bales: -11
Most Effective Lineups
Haynie-Lennox-Young-Terry-Feenstra: +6
Latta-Castro-Young-Terry-Feenstra: +4
Thursday, September 11, 2008
Game Thirty-two: Storm @ Monarchs 9 September, 2008
This was a win I wanted, and that the team needed if it really wanted to maintain first place. Unfortunately, the Monarchs wanted to win this game more in this case than the Storm.
Clearly the Storm wanted a win. They fought valiantly in the face of a gimpy Sue Bird and the abscence of three starters to injury. Despite all of the adversity, the Storm almost walked away with another win because of the scoring of Tanisha Wright, Katie Gearlds and Yolanda Griffith. In the end, though, the lack of a healthy, star player in the game in the waning moments secured the loss.
I can't blame the loss on Tanisha Wright's 8 turnovers as Wright clearly is blaming herself or many fans are blaming her in the forums. Yes she made the turnovers, but Sacramento has historically played amazing perimeter defense, especially in Arco Arena, and Wright is simply not a fantastic ball handler. She is a capable ball handler, but this defense gives great ball handlers fits, it is expected to be deadly to those less than great. Tanisha was great at what you needed her to be great at. Sue Bird, a player many consider the best point guard in the league, had four turnovers in this game. A few of Tanisha's turnovers came at inopportune times, but this is really the first time T has had to play this role in game of this magnitude against an opponent of this caliber. She put up points, something sorely needed when you are essentially down three and a half starters. I admire her personal commitment, but I hope she walks away from the game viewing it as a challenge to attack in her game, not a failure in what has been a spectacular season for her. She should take it as a challenge to improve and a learning experience to make her stronger the next time she is in this situation.
Storm
Most Effective Shooters
Katie Gearlds played extraordinarily well, shooting 50% overall and hitting 5 of 6 three point shots with nary a turnover in the game.
Top Ratings
For the third straight game the Storm were lit up by opposing shooting guards. I say again that this is how important a healthy Swoopes is to the team's perimeter defense.
Raw Plus Minus
Chelsea Newton: +8
Nicole Powell: +6
Laura Harper: +4
Adrian Williams-Strong: +3
Crystal Kelly: +2
Aquonesia Franklin: +2
Ticha Penicheiro: 0
Rebecca Brunson: -3
Scholanda Robinson: -4
Kara Lawson: -5
It is impressive to me that the Franklin led lineup sparked their run against the Storm starters, with Ely thrown in. The Storm had three lineups during that span, the starters, the starters without Wright and the starters without Gearlds. It was spurred by two bad passes (Wright and Ely) picked off by the excellent Monarchs defense.
Clearly the Storm wanted a win. They fought valiantly in the face of a gimpy Sue Bird and the abscence of three starters to injury. Despite all of the adversity, the Storm almost walked away with another win because of the scoring of Tanisha Wright, Katie Gearlds and Yolanda Griffith. In the end, though, the lack of a healthy, star player in the game in the waning moments secured the loss.
I can't blame the loss on Tanisha Wright's 8 turnovers as Wright clearly is blaming herself or many fans are blaming her in the forums. Yes she made the turnovers, but Sacramento has historically played amazing perimeter defense, especially in Arco Arena, and Wright is simply not a fantastic ball handler. She is a capable ball handler, but this defense gives great ball handlers fits, it is expected to be deadly to those less than great. Tanisha was great at what you needed her to be great at. Sue Bird, a player many consider the best point guard in the league, had four turnovers in this game. A few of Tanisha's turnovers came at inopportune times, but this is really the first time T has had to play this role in game of this magnitude against an opponent of this caliber. She put up points, something sorely needed when you are essentially down three and a half starters. I admire her personal commitment, but I hope she walks away from the game viewing it as a challenge to attack in her game, not a failure in what has been a spectacular season for her. She should take it as a challenge to improve and a learning experience to make her stronger the next time she is in this situation.
Storm
Most Effective Shooters
Player | True Shooting Percentage | Effective FG% | Floor Percentage | Points |
| Ashley Robinson | 100% | 100% | 100% | 4 |
| Katie Gearlds | 78% | 75% | 55% | 17 |
| Yolanda Griffith | 69% | 63% | 63% | 16 |
| Camille Little | 55% | 55% | 37% | 12 |
Katie Gearlds played extraordinarily well, shooting 50% overall and hitting 5 of 6 three point shots with nary a turnover in the game.
Top Ratings
| Player | Offensive Rating | Individual Rating |
| Ashley Robinson | 200.00 | 181.22 |
| Katie Gearlds | 154.17 | 152.12 |
| Yolanda Griffith | 128.52 | 122.39 |
Raw Plus Minus
Katie Gearlds: +2
Camille Little: +2
Yolanda Griffith: +2
Kelly Santos: +1
Tanisha Wright: 0
Kristin O'Neill: -1
Shyra Ely: -4
Sue Bird: -8
Ashley Robinson: -9
Most Effective Lineups
Bird-Wright-Gearlds-Little-Griffith: +11
Wright-Gearlds-Ely-Robinson-Griffith: +2
Wright-Gearlds-Ely-Little-Griffith: +2
Monarchs
Most Effective Shooters
Player | True Shooting Percentage | Effective FG% | Floor Percentage | Points |
| Aquonesia Franklin | 83% | 83% | 62% | 5 |
| Nicole Powell | 75% | 71% | 48% | 20 |
| Kara Lawson | 67% | 58% | 60% | 19 |
| Rebecca Brunson | 55% | 60% | 50% | 12 |
For the third straight game the Storm were lit up by opposing shooting guards. I say again that this is how important a healthy Swoopes is to the team's perimeter defense.
Top Ratings
| Player | Offensive Rating | Individual Rating |
| Aquonesia Franklin | 147.68 | 142.97 |
| Kara Lawson | 141.56 | 121.62 |
| Nicole Powell | 117.61 | 108.99 |
| Ticha Penicheiro | 102.79 | 82.82 |
| Rebecca Brunson | 100.10 | 89.15 |
Raw Plus Minus
Chelsea Newton: +8
Nicole Powell: +6
Laura Harper: +4
Adrian Williams-Strong: +3
Crystal Kelly: +2
Aquonesia Franklin: +2
Ticha Penicheiro: 0
Rebecca Brunson: -3
Scholanda Robinson: -4
Kara Lawson: -5
Most Effective Lineups
Franklin-Newton-Powell-Harper-Williams: +9
Penicheiro-Lawson-Kelly-Powell-Brunson: +5
It is impressive to me that the Franklin led lineup sparked their run against the Storm starters, with Ely thrown in. The Storm had three lineups during that span, the starters, the starters without Wright and the starters without Gearlds. It was spurred by two bad passes (Wright and Ely) picked off by the excellent Monarchs defense.
Sunday, September 07, 2008
Game Thirty-one: Storm vs. Lynx 6 September, 2008
Crazy night. The crowd was large and revved up from the get go. Of course, my four year old was asleep right after tip off, not that it is surprising to me by this point in the season.
The Storm took an awful long time to get into rhythm, and once again it was MVP candidate Sue Bird who took charge and brought the team back with 21 second half points. Wow.
It was a truly scary moment when Sheryl went down, topped off by seeing Jordan being escorted down the tunnel by one of the older girls, her arm around his shoulders. I am glad to hear that she is doing fine.
Can we hear enough about the Storm setting franchise records for home wins, and wins in a season? Are we tired of hearing the words "first in the west" or "best record in the league?" I don't think so. I called six of the last eight games winnable, feeling doubtful only about the road games in Connecticut and LA. So far the Storm have fulfilled that prediction with wins in four of the five games so far, losing only to the Sun. It would be nice to say that everything else is gravy for the remainder of the season, but I can't say that. Without Lauren Jackson, first round, home court advantage is a must, and it will take one more win to seal that reality. Even more important will be home court advantage throughout the playoffs. The best that LA can do is win out over Atlanta and Seattle to end the season with 21 wins. San Antonio, on the other hand, has 20 wins with four remaining games. Unfortunately for the Storm two of them are against the Sun. While the Sun winning those games would mean the Silverstars can't do better than 22 wins, (if they can hold off surging New York and Sacramento) but San Antonio owns the tie breaker with the Storm. If Connecticut does win both, they could walk away with 24 wins and the tie breaker in a finals matchup. The Storm would have to hope that Detroit upsets the Sun in the Eastern Conference.
There will be a lot of games to watch in the next weeks.
Storm
Most Effective Shooters
Top Ratings
For the second straight game the Storm were lit up by opposing shooting guards. This is how important a healthy Swoopes is to the team's perimeter defense.
Raw Plus Minus
Novonda Moore: +3
The Storm took an awful long time to get into rhythm, and once again it was MVP candidate Sue Bird who took charge and brought the team back with 21 second half points. Wow.
It was a truly scary moment when Sheryl went down, topped off by seeing Jordan being escorted down the tunnel by one of the older girls, her arm around his shoulders. I am glad to hear that she is doing fine.
Can we hear enough about the Storm setting franchise records for home wins, and wins in a season? Are we tired of hearing the words "first in the west" or "best record in the league?" I don't think so. I called six of the last eight games winnable, feeling doubtful only about the road games in Connecticut and LA. So far the Storm have fulfilled that prediction with wins in four of the five games so far, losing only to the Sun. It would be nice to say that everything else is gravy for the remainder of the season, but I can't say that. Without Lauren Jackson, first round, home court advantage is a must, and it will take one more win to seal that reality. Even more important will be home court advantage throughout the playoffs. The best that LA can do is win out over Atlanta and Seattle to end the season with 21 wins. San Antonio, on the other hand, has 20 wins with four remaining games. Unfortunately for the Storm two of them are against the Sun. While the Sun winning those games would mean the Silverstars can't do better than 22 wins, (if they can hold off surging New York and Sacramento) but San Antonio owns the tie breaker with the Storm. If Connecticut does win both, they could walk away with 24 wins and the tie breaker in a finals matchup. The Storm would have to hope that Detroit upsets the Sun in the Eastern Conference.
There will be a lot of games to watch in the next weeks.
Storm
Most Effective Shooters
Player | True Shooting Percentage | Effective FG% | Floor Percentage | Points |
| Yolanda Griffith | 94% | 100% | 79% | 11 |
| Katie Gearlds | 83% | 83% | 61% | 5 |
| Sheryl Swoopes | 72% | 75% | 39% | 7 |
| Sue Bird | 67% | 50% | 59% | 23 |
| Tanisha Wright | 62% | 55% | 59% | 17 |
| Camille Little | 60% | 44% | 63% | 16 |
| Swin Cash | 54% | 45% | 59% | 17 |
Top Ratings
| Player | Offensive Rating | Individual Rating |
| Yolanda Griffith | 156.56 | 153.70 |
| Katie Gearlds | 152.81 | 153.32 |
| Camille Little | 129.42 | 112.27 |
| Sue Bird | 125.69 | 113.45 |
| Tanisha Wright | 120.84 | 108.37 |
| Swin Cash | 114.47 | 100.16 |
| Ashley Robinson | 110.81 | 0.0 |
Raw Plus Minus
Swin Cash: +13
Ashley Robinson: +9
Camille Little: +9
Katie Gearlds: +8
Sue Bird:+4
Tanisha Wright: +4
Kelly Santos: 0
Yolanda Griffith: -1
Sheryl Swoopes: -3
Shyra Ely: -3
Most Effective Lineups
Bird-Wright-Cash-Little-Griffith: +9
Bird-Wright-Swoopes-Little-Robinson: +6
Bird-Gearlds-Cash-Little-Robinson: +4
Wright-Gearlds-Cash-Robinson-Griffith: +4
Lynx
Most Effective Shooters
Player | True Shooting Percentage | Effective FG% | Floor Percentage | Points |
| Novonda Moore | 150% | 150% | 100% | 3 |
| Anna DeForge | 85% | 85% | 57% | 17 |
| Vannessa Hayden | 61% | 50% | 68% | 6 |
| Seimone Augustus | 59% | 59% | 52% | 26 |
| Candice Wiggins | 55% | 50% | 49% | 16 |
| Lindsey Harding | 53% | 56% | 55% | 11 |
| Nicole Ohlde | 52% | 67% | 38% | 4 |
For the second straight game the Storm were lit up by opposing shooting guards. This is how important a healthy Swoopes is to the team's perimeter defense.
Top Ratings
| Player | Offensive Rating | Individual Rating |
| Novonda Moore | 300.00 | 307.08 |
| Vanessa Hayden | 147.25 | 116.99 |
| Anna DeForge | 137.09 | 136.79 |
| Seimone Augustus | 112.46 | 97.39 |
| Lindsey Harding | 110.73 | 101.16 |
Raw Plus Minus
Novonda Moore: +3
Vanessa Hayden: 0
Nicole Ohlde: -1
Kristen Rasmussen: -1
Seimone Augustus: -3
Candice Wiggins: -4
Charde Houston: -6
Lindsey Harding: -8
Anna DeForge: -10
Nikki Anosike: -10
Nicole Ohlde: -1
Kristen Rasmussen: -1
Seimone Augustus: -3
Candice Wiggins: -4
Charde Houston: -6
Lindsey Harding: -8
Anna DeForge: -10
Nikki Anosike: -10
Most Effective Lineups
Harding-Wiggins-Augustus-Ohlde-Anosike: +5
Wiggins-DeForge-Augustus-Hayden-Anosike: +4
Moore-DeForge-Wiggins-Augustus-Anosike: +3
Saturday, September 06, 2008
These two are funny.
Ok, maybe it is just me, but I love the "real" quality of these two ladies. They are a pair of Storm fans that are talking about the whole WNBA. It is a couple days old, but I must say I have a little fan crush on this pair just because they are who they are from start to finish, even though there is a Parker hater and a Pierson defender in the clip.
They represent what I love about the fans of this league, regardless of race, gender, age or orientation they are passionate and funny. I get cranky at time about the bickering and wasteful posts over at Rebkell, but all of those people love the game in their own way.
They are informed and opinionated, two of my favorite charateristics.
The segment is way long, but I hope that their audience isn't as segmented as it could be. They are too much fun to be ignored.
They represent what I love about the fans of this league, regardless of race, gender, age or orientation they are passionate and funny. I get cranky at time about the bickering and wasteful posts over at Rebkell, but all of those people love the game in their own way.
They are informed and opinionated, two of my favorite charateristics.
The segment is way long, but I hope that their audience isn't as segmented as it could be. They are too much fun to be ignored.
Friday, September 05, 2008
Game Thirty: Storm @ Sky 4 September, 2008
The Storm have, with four games left in the season, tied their franchise record for season wins.
They are the first WNBA team this season to 20 wins.
They have clinched a playoff spot.
They are in sole possession of first place in the Western Conference.
They have the best record in the WNBA.
Not bad for a bunch of old ladies and role players.
Storm
Most Effective Shooters
It takes fantastic shooting and stellar bench play to recover from 20 team turnovers. Sue Bird has been unreal over the past month of play.
Top Ratings
I can't state how critical it is for key bench players like Swoopes and Gearlds to come in and perform or how important it is that bit players like Ely, Santos and Robinson come in and perform their roles so perfectly. Things are really coming together. Ashley comes in to rebound, block shots, and clog the middle. Kelly comes in to score or draw a foul. Shyra comes in to rebound, defend and score easy buckets off double teams aimed at the starters.
Jia Perkins was ridiculously good. I stand by what I said at the start of the year, Sylvia Fowles is going to be GREAT in this league.
Perkins put up superstar numbers in this game against decent defenders.
Raw Plus Minus
Dominique Canty: +4
Brooke Wyckoff: +4
Jia Perkins: +3
Candice Dupree: +1
Sylvia Fowles: -1
Ty'esha Fluker: -6
Chastity Melvin: -10
Quianna Chaney: -11
Arimintie Price: -12
They are the first WNBA team this season to 20 wins.
They have clinched a playoff spot.
They are in sole possession of first place in the Western Conference.
They have the best record in the WNBA.
Not bad for a bunch of old ladies and role players.
Storm
Most Effective Shooters
Player | True Shooting Percentage | Effective FG% | Floor Percentage | Points |
| Ashley Robinson | 100% | 100% | 34% | 2 |
| Sue Bird | 79% | 79% | 57% | 19 |
| Yolanda Griffith | 73% | 67% | 44% | 10 |
| Camille Little | 69% | 67% | 56% | 13 |
| Katie Gearlds | 64% | 50% | 74% | 9 |
| Kelly Santos | 57% | 0% | 74% | 1 |
| Swin Cash | 54% | 50% | 32% | 7 |
| Shyra Ely | 50% | 50% | 61% | 2 |
It takes fantastic shooting and stellar bench play to recover from 20 team turnovers. Sue Bird has been unreal over the past month of play.
Top Ratings
| Player | Offensive Rating | Individual Rating |
| Katie Gearlds | 146.31 | 129.28 |
| Sue Bird | 132.06 | 130.88 |
| Shyra Ely | 123.08 | 95.50 |
| Kelly Santos | 122.95 | 113.64 |
| Camille Little | 114.00 | 105.97 |
Raw Plus Minus
Sheryl Swoops: +11
Kelly Santos: +9
Ashley Robinson: +9
Katie Gearlds: +9
Sue Bird:+5
Tanisha Wright: +3
Camille Little: +2
Swin Cash: 0
Shyra Ely: -3
Yolanda Griffith: -5
Most Effective Lineups
Bird-Wright-Swoopes-Cash-Griffith: +6
Bird-Wright-Swoopes-Little-Santos: +6
Bird-Gearlds-Cash-Little-Robinsons: +5
Wright-Swoopes-Gearlds-Little-Santos: +3
Can you say BENCH?!
Sky
Most Effective Shooters
Player | True Shooting Percentage | Effective FG% | Floor Percentage | Points |
| K.B. Sharp | 100% | 100% | 100% | 2 |
| Jia Perkins | 76% | 79% | 83% | 22 |
| Sylvia Fowles | 67% | 67% | 43% | 12 |
| Dominique Canty | 56% | 60% | 46% | 8 |
Jia Perkins was ridiculously good. I stand by what I said at the start of the year, Sylvia Fowles is going to be GREAT in this league.
Top Ratings
| Player | Offensive Rating | Individual Rating |
| K.B. Sharp | 200.00 | 177.35 |
| Jia Perkins | 164.41 | 152.80 |
| Brooke Wyckoff | 127.95 | 87.55 |
Raw Plus Minus
Dominique Canty: +4
Brooke Wyckoff: +4
Jia Perkins: +3
Candice Dupree: +1
Sylvia Fowles: -1
Ty'esha Fluker: -6
Chastity Melvin: -10
Quianna Chaney: -11
Arimintie Price: -12
K.B. Sharp: -12
Most Effective Lineups
Canty-Perkins-Dupree-Wyckoff-Fowles: +10
The bench killed the Sky's chances. They just need a little more oomph for the bench. They are going to be scary good in the next two years.
Wednesday, September 03, 2008
Game Twenty-Nine: Storm @ Dream 2 September, 2008
This win was expected, but it took a long time for the Storm to pull away. Atlanta's weaker than expected bench was not able to hold the game together. They game was won for Seattle via a +10 run from the 0:54 mark of the second quarter to the 4:31 mark of the third quarter. The Storm were +5 in the final minute of the second and +5 in the first 5 minutes of the third. A couple of other strong runs put the Dream away.
Questions about Atlanta for me are:
What is up with Feenstra? She looked like a strong prospect and played adequately in Detroit last season, yet is a non-factor now.
What happended to the Strother and Bales forward combo in the second half? There were a couple of successful lineups used in the first half that we never saw again since Strother didn't play and Bales only played at center for about 3.5 minutes.
Storm
Most Effective Shooters
Swin is playing well considering her injury. She is playing like she did to start the season. The rest has done both she and Yo well. I wish we could say the same for Sheryl.
Top Ratings
A big difference appears even more obvious when you look at playing a top vs. a bottom team. People need to get off Betty's case, her percentages are not that bad when you look at the real numbers, not just the FG%. She is their best offensive player and the defense focuses on her. The point is whether she can score which the numbers say she did, and whether she can get open shots for her team, which I can't tell from the numbers. Kerry's big second half play shows why Strother didn't make it back in the lineup.
Raw Plus Minus
Tamera Young: -1
Ann Strother: -2
Ivory Latta: -5
Kasha Terry: -5
Jennifer Lacy: -6
Allison Bales: -7
Kristin Haynie: -9
Betty Lennox: -12
Iziane Castro Marques: -13
Questions about Atlanta for me are:
What is up with Feenstra? She looked like a strong prospect and played adequately in Detroit last season, yet is a non-factor now.
What happended to the Strother and Bales forward combo in the second half? There were a couple of successful lineups used in the first half that we never saw again since Strother didn't play and Bales only played at center for about 3.5 minutes.
Storm
Most Effective Shooters
Player | True Shooting Percentage | Effective FG% | Floor Percentage | Points |
| Sue Bird | 71% | 68% | 56% | 21 |
| Yolanda Griffith | 70% | 43% | 59% | 16 |
| Swin Cash | 65% | 60% | 41% | 11 |
| Camille Little | 54% | 54% | 49% | 16 |
| Shyra Ely | 50% | 50% | 61% | 4 |
Swin is playing well considering her injury. She is playing like she did to start the season. The rest has done both she and Yo well. I wish we could say the same for Sheryl.
Top Ratings
| Player | Offensive Rating | Individual Rating |
| Yolanda Griffith | 134.15 | 121.11 |
| Sue Bird | 127.70 | 127.39 |
| Shyra Ely | 124.77 | 98.06 |
Raw Plus Minus
Sue Bird: +24
Camille Litle: +21
Yolanda Griffith: +13
Swin Cash: +10
Shyra Ely:+10
Tanisha Wright: +7
Ashley Robinson: +4
Kristin O'Neil: -2
Katie Gearlds: -5
Kelly Santos: -12
Most Effective Lineups
Bird-Wright-Ely-Little-Griffith: +12
Bird-Wright-Cash-Little-Robinson: +7
Bird-Cash-Ely-Little-Griffith: +7
Dream
Most Effective Shooters
Player | True Shooting Percentage | Effective FG% | Floor Percentage | Points |
| Kasha Terry | 82% | 75% | 65% | 8 |
| Betty Lennox | 54% | 42% | 48% | 25 |
| Erika DeSouza | 50% | 50% | 33% | 8 |
A big difference appears even more obvious when you look at playing a top vs. a bottom team. People need to get off Betty's case, her percentages are not that bad when you look at the real numbers, not just the FG%. She is their best offensive player and the defense focuses on her. The point is whether she can score which the numbers say she did, and whether she can get open shots for her team, which I can't tell from the numbers. Kerry's big second half play shows why Strother didn't make it back in the lineup.
Top Ratings
| Player | Offensive Rating | Individual Rating |
| Kasha Terry | 141.14 | 142.92 |
| Betty Lennox | 113.82 | 96.64 |
Raw Plus Minus
Tamera Young: -1
Ann Strother: -2
Ivory Latta: -5
Kasha Terry: -5
Jennifer Lacy: -6
Allison Bales: -7
Kristin Haynie: -9
Betty Lennox: -12
Iziane Castro Marques: -13
Most Effective Lineups
Latta-Lennox-Young-Lacy-DeSouza: +5
Haynie-Lennox-Strother-Bales-DeSouza: +2
Latta-Haynie-Castro-Bales-DeSouza: +2
Latta-Castro-Young-Lacy-DeSouza: +2
Latta-Lennox-Castro-Terry-DeSouza: +2
Monday, September 01, 2008
Game Twenty-Eight: Storm @ Sun 31 August, 2008
A tough loss. It was the kind of loss that you want to point at specific plays of the game when really it was bigger than that. For me the third quarter was the time where the game was lost. The Storm let themselves get into a hole and used their last run to even things back up.
Storm
Most Effective Shooters
The veterans really stepped up in LJ's absence, though it would have helped if Sheryl had been able to play for more than six minutes. After how well Sue played, I was surprised to see how far she was down this list.
Top Ratings
Sue was not nearly as efficient as she appeared. I believe that the Storm could have won this game if Sheryl had remained healthy or if the Coach had given Kelly Santos some of the PF minutes that A-Rob played. We needed Santos' offense more with Griffith on the floor than we did A-Rob's defense.
Yolanda Griffith: +1
Ashley Robinson: 0
Shyra Ely: -1
Kelly Santos: -2
Tanisha Wright: -2
Sheryl Swoopes: -3
Sue Bird: -5
Katie Gearlds: -6
Camille Little: -6
Most Effective Lineups
Bird-Gearlds-Cash-Robinson-Griffith: +6
Bird-Wright-Cash-Little-Griffith: +2
Bird-Wright-Cash-Little-Robinson: +2
No, I am not kidding. The only Sun players without a DNP-CD next to their name in the boxscore with less than a 50% true shooting percentage wereTamika Whitmore who had 46% and Sandrine Gruda with a 0%. From the Sun side you have to applaud their team play and balance, particularly with the spectacular play from the second and third option point guards running the offense. From the Storm side, you have to be ticked that you let them feel that confident shooting and scoring the basketball from the top to the bottom of the lineup. If one player had been shut down, the Storm would have won this game.
Raw Plus Minus
Amber Holt: +11
Kerri Gardin: +10
Tamika Whitmore: +5
Asjha Jones: +4
Jamie Carey: +4
Tamika Raymond: 0
Svetlana Abrosimova: -1
Sandrine Gruda: -1
Erin Phillips: -2
Barbara Turner: -10
Storm
Most Effective Shooters
Player | True Shooting Percentage | Effective FG% | Floor Percentage | Points |
| Sheryl Swoopes | 100% | 100% | 100% | 2 |
| Katie Gearlds | 70% | 70% | 60% | 7 |
| Swin Cash | 68% | 65% | 61% | 16 |
| Yolanda Griffith | 62% | 43% | 62% | 12 |
| Kelly Santos | 57% | 0% | 74% | 2 |
| Sue Bird | 56% | 53% | 51% | 24 |
The veterans really stepped up in LJ's absence, though it would have helped if Sheryl had been able to play for more than six minutes. After how well Sue played, I was surprised to see how far she was down this list.
Top Ratings
| Player | Offensive Rating | Individual Rating |
| Shyra Ely | 214.29 | 200.00 |
| Sheryl Swoopes | 200.00 | 186.43 |
| Katie Gearlds | 139.28 | 127.88 |
| Yolanda Griffith | 136.22 | 117.41 |
| Swin Cash | 130.72 | 123.10 |
| Kelly Santos | 123.00 | 113.64 |
| Sue Bird | 108.71 | 98.71 |
Raw Plus Minus
Swin Cash: +4Yolanda Griffith: +1
Ashley Robinson: 0
Shyra Ely: -1
Kelly Santos: -2
Tanisha Wright: -2
Sheryl Swoopes: -3
Sue Bird: -5
Katie Gearlds: -6
Camille Little: -6
Most Effective Lineups
Bird-Gearlds-Cash-Robinson-Griffith: +6
Bird-Wright-Cash-Little-Griffith: +2
Bird-Wright-Cash-Little-Robinson: +2
Sun
Most Effective Shooters
Player | True Shooting Percentage | Effective FG% | Floor Percentage | Points |
| Tamika Raymond | 100% | 100% | 100% | 2 |
| Erin Phillips | 90% | 75% | 58% | 6 |
| Jamie Carey | 87% | 83% | 57% | 12 |
| Amber Holt | 84% | 81% | 70% | 15 |
| Kerri Gardin | 77% | 100% | 40% | 6 |
| Svetlana Abrosimova | 67% | 67% | 35% | 4 |
| Asjha Jones | 50% | 41% | 54% | 20 |
| Barbara Turner | 50% | 50% | 26% | 5 |
No, I am not kidding. The only Sun players without a DNP-CD next to their name in the boxscore with less than a 50% true shooting percentage wereTamika Whitmore who had 46% and Sandrine Gruda with a 0%. From the Sun side you have to applaud their team play and balance, particularly with the spectacular play from the second and third option point guards running the offense. From the Storm side, you have to be ticked that you let them feel that confident shooting and scoring the basketball from the top to the bottom of the lineup. If one player had been shut down, the Storm would have won this game.
Top Ratings
| Player | Offensive Rating | Individual Rating |
| Tamika Raymond | 200.00 | 181.74 |
| Amber Holt | 154.77 | 144.99 |
| Erin Phillips | 151.53 | 144.76 |
| Jamie Carey | 139.38 | 132.80 |
| Asjha Jones | 112.59 | 93.42 |
| Kerri Gardin | 108.24 | 113.50 |
Raw Plus Minus
Amber Holt: +11
Kerri Gardin: +10
Tamika Whitmore: +5
Asjha Jones: +4
Jamie Carey: +4
Tamika Raymond: 0
Svetlana Abrosimova: -1
Sandrine Gruda: -1
Erin Phillips: -2
Barbara Turner: -10
Most Effective Lineups
Carey-Holt-Gardin-Jones-Whitmore: +7
Carey-Holt-Gardin-Jones-Whitmore: +4
Phillips-Holt-Abrosimova-Raymond-Gruda: +3
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