04 September 2011
Catching Up
Back-to-back games this weekend! But now we have a breather before next weekend's Friday/Sunday game duo -- the last games of the regular season! (Where did the time go?)
Over at Swish Appeal, Nate Parham discusses the Seattle@San Antonio game: How The Seattle Storm Beat The San Antonio Silver Stars In The First Four Minutes Of The Fourth Quarter
"The Seattle Storm did not play that well in their 70-60 win over the San Antonio Silver Stars last night. In fact, the Silver Stars arguably outplayed their guests through three quarters despite being down by three points. Through three quarters, the Storm turned the ball over 17 times (30.58% of their possessions). They allowed the Silver Stars an above average free throw rate of 44.8% in the first half. The Storm didn't have an assist in a first quarter during which they shot only 33.33%. But what the Storm did do was play outstanding basketball for about four minutes in the fourth quarter."
Richard Cohen at WNBAlien discusses the Seattle@Tulsa game: Who Wants it More?
"Seattle started pushing the ball a little in the early minutes of the second half, remembering that you’re allowed to run back down the floor instead of walk if you happen to feel like it."
"Lauren Jackson had enjoyed going to her turnaround jump shot from about 10-feet all night, but she tried it twice to open the fourth quarter and both came up short. That’s usually a sign of tiredness, which would be understandable considering she’s still building her fitness back up after the injury. When Lacy flashed back to the first quarter with another three, the gap was down to four with seven minutes left. Then Seattle remembered that they have one of the best players in the World on their team, and that she’s 6’6” – tiredness be damned. Two feeds from Bird to Jackson for layups, both after she’d established strong position deep in the paint before even calling for the ball, reasserted Seattle’s position as the favourites to win this game."
"Seattle ball with 50 seconds left. Huge turnover [by Tulsa]. The game was dead and gone seconds later. You’d expect a veteran team like Seattle to run at least 22 seconds off the clock on a late possession like that, but Bird brought the ball down, used a Lauren Jackson screen to break open at the three-point line, and put the shot in the air with 14 still on the shot clock. That was a horrible decision for half a second, then the ball went through the hoop. "
And Richard Cohen on the Seattle@San Antonio game: Western battles roll into final week
"It was all about the West in the WNBA last night, with the battles for second and fourth in the conference played out across two games. In the end, everyone survived to fight another day. Which is a slightly more generous way of saying that absolutely nothing changed. But at least there was some reasonably entertaining basketball along the way."
"Currently holding a half-game edge on Phoenix for second place in the West, if Seattle can cling on to that spot they’ll host games 1 and 3 (if necessary) in the first round of the playoffs. Game three in Key Arena, versus game three anywhere else on the planet, makes a huge difference to Seattle’s chances of advancing."
"The scoring for the half finished on a veteran play from Tanisha Wright, exploiting the physical advantage she has over Silver Stars rookie Danielle Robinson. Holding Robinson off with her body, hauling the lob pass in with her other arm and converting the layup, Wright’s basket gave Seattle a 30-29 lead at the break. It hadn’t exactly been an offensive showcase, but then anyone who came to a Seattle-San Antonio game expecting that was sorely misguided."
"The third quarter was a painful illustration of the positives and negatives about the Seattle Storm. Sometimes the precise and deliberate offense that runs through option after option to find the best shot available just ends up slow and ugly. They wander around looking fairly aimless, while the shot clock ticks inexorably down towards zero. But with Jackson nailing a three from deep beyond the line when she was forced to put it in the air to beat the clock, and Cash banking in a jumper she had to take for the exact same reason, Seattle somehow led 42-36."
"With [Sue] Bird at the helm Seattle held [San Antonio] at bay. It wasn’t always her scoring, but Bird took over in the fourth quarter and imposed a level of composure that the Storm had lacked earlier in the game. She still committed her sixth and seventh turnovers of the game in the course of the period – her highest total of the season, which makes this a strange game to be waxing lyrical about her qualities – but her leadership and control were key in Seattle clinging on to their lead."
Over at Swish Appeal, Nate Parham discusses the Seattle@San Antonio game: How The Seattle Storm Beat The San Antonio Silver Stars In The First Four Minutes Of The Fourth Quarter
"The Seattle Storm did not play that well in their 70-60 win over the San Antonio Silver Stars last night. In fact, the Silver Stars arguably outplayed their guests through three quarters despite being down by three points. Through three quarters, the Storm turned the ball over 17 times (30.58% of their possessions). They allowed the Silver Stars an above average free throw rate of 44.8% in the first half. The Storm didn't have an assist in a first quarter during which they shot only 33.33%. But what the Storm did do was play outstanding basketball for about four minutes in the fourth quarter."
Richard Cohen at WNBAlien discusses the Seattle@Tulsa game: Who Wants it More?
"Seattle started pushing the ball a little in the early minutes of the second half, remembering that you’re allowed to run back down the floor instead of walk if you happen to feel like it."
"Lauren Jackson had enjoyed going to her turnaround jump shot from about 10-feet all night, but she tried it twice to open the fourth quarter and both came up short. That’s usually a sign of tiredness, which would be understandable considering she’s still building her fitness back up after the injury. When Lacy flashed back to the first quarter with another three, the gap was down to four with seven minutes left. Then Seattle remembered that they have one of the best players in the World on their team, and that she’s 6’6” – tiredness be damned. Two feeds from Bird to Jackson for layups, both after she’d established strong position deep in the paint before even calling for the ball, reasserted Seattle’s position as the favourites to win this game."
"Seattle ball with 50 seconds left. Huge turnover [by Tulsa]. The game was dead and gone seconds later. You’d expect a veteran team like Seattle to run at least 22 seconds off the clock on a late possession like that, but Bird brought the ball down, used a Lauren Jackson screen to break open at the three-point line, and put the shot in the air with 14 still on the shot clock. That was a horrible decision for half a second, then the ball went through the hoop. "
And Richard Cohen on the Seattle@San Antonio game: Western battles roll into final week
"It was all about the West in the WNBA last night, with the battles for second and fourth in the conference played out across two games. In the end, everyone survived to fight another day. Which is a slightly more generous way of saying that absolutely nothing changed. But at least there was some reasonably entertaining basketball along the way."
"Currently holding a half-game edge on Phoenix for second place in the West, if Seattle can cling on to that spot they’ll host games 1 and 3 (if necessary) in the first round of the playoffs. Game three in Key Arena, versus game three anywhere else on the planet, makes a huge difference to Seattle’s chances of advancing."
"The scoring for the half finished on a veteran play from Tanisha Wright, exploiting the physical advantage she has over Silver Stars rookie Danielle Robinson. Holding Robinson off with her body, hauling the lob pass in with her other arm and converting the layup, Wright’s basket gave Seattle a 30-29 lead at the break. It hadn’t exactly been an offensive showcase, but then anyone who came to a Seattle-San Antonio game expecting that was sorely misguided."
"The third quarter was a painful illustration of the positives and negatives about the Seattle Storm. Sometimes the precise and deliberate offense that runs through option after option to find the best shot available just ends up slow and ugly. They wander around looking fairly aimless, while the shot clock ticks inexorably down towards zero. But with Jackson nailing a three from deep beyond the line when she was forced to put it in the air to beat the clock, and Cash banking in a jumper she had to take for the exact same reason, Seattle somehow led 42-36."
"With [Sue] Bird at the helm Seattle held [San Antonio] at bay. It wasn’t always her scoring, but Bird took over in the fourth quarter and imposed a level of composure that the Storm had lacked earlier in the game. She still committed her sixth and seventh turnovers of the game in the course of the period – her highest total of the season, which makes this a strange game to be waxing lyrical about her qualities – but her leadership and control were key in Seattle clinging on to their lead."
Labels: Seattle Storm
# posted by mamurd @ 11:08 PM 
