The WNBA's First Week

It's been a long time since I last updated, partly because I was so busy with student teaching. Now that I've finally graduated college, I have a lot of free time on my hands. So, I'm going to go back a few months and comment on some big changes that happened in the league.

The Seattle Storm's starting lineup consists of Sue Bird, Lauren Jackson, Swin Cash, Sheryl Swoopes, and Yolanda Griffith. That's a lot of All-Star appearances, Olympic medals, and championships. The team started off 3-0 (more on that later) before dropping a game to San Antonio.

Candace Parker went first in the draft, to the surprise of no one, and is now a member of the Los Angeles Sparks. I can't stand the Sparks, but it's impossible to deny Parker's talent. She smashed the record for most points scored in a WNBA debut by racking up 34 quick ones in a match against the Mercury. The Sparks ended up winning the game 99-94.

The Mercury started off 0-3. The Liberty aren't doing much better. I'm going to the Mercury @ Liberty game in June. Let's hope they both get their act together before then. Otherwise, I'm going to wear a generic WNBA shirt to the game and not tell anyone who I'm rooting for. Technically, I'm really not even sure who I'm rooting for. I was thinking about going to another game, in which case I would root for the Mercury in June and the Liberty at the second game. However, I may just go to one game. It's hard to tell. Liberty attendance is still pitiful, so I shouldn't have a problem getting tickets.

Comments on the Seattle Storm

The Storm started off strong in terms of actually winning. However, they had to come back from huge deficits (as much as 21 against the Mercury) in order to do so. On paper, the team is amazing. On the court, they seem to flounder a bit. I think part of the problem (or possibly most of the problem) has to do with the fact that they still haven't figured out everyone's role. Should Swoopes try for 15 points a night, or should she focus on forcing a few turnovers and getting a couple of crucial steals? What should Yo be doing out on the floor? The only one who seems to have a defined role is Swin. She shoots; she scores. Bird has been averaging about 13 points a game, which is fantastic. LJ has been all over the place, but it really isn't her fault. As soon as roles are defined, she should settle into about 20-25 points a game.

Tanisha Wright shouldn't be handling the ball. She can hit important shots, but she has no ball control. This isn't a huge problem against a team like Atlanta or even Chicago, but it will get you nowhere against a more established opponent like Detroit, San Antonio, or Los Angeles. Gearlds had a few awesome games and then produced absolutely nothing in the loss against the Silver Stars. She needs to be hitting a few treys each game. Almost everyone has been getting minutes, thanks to Coach Agler's willingness to actually play newbies. This should help them if LJ gets into foul trouble or if one of the vets needs to sit for an extended period of time.

Here is what I would like to see, in terms of points, from each player.

Jackson: 20-25
Bird: 10-15
Cash: 15-20
Swoopes: 10
Griffith: 10
Gearlds: 6-10
Wright: 8-10
Robinson: 5-10
Ely: 5

That would give us a minimum of 89 points. These numbers are probably unrealistic, but they aren't unreachable. In fact, I think Gearlds is capable of scoring 15-20 on a given night, which would take some of the pressure off of Swoopes and Griffith. Somehow, this team needs to figure out where it's going.

Coming Up: Comments on Becky Hammon's decision to play for Russia