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Dana Squires blogs the 2009 Seattle
Storm season with photos by Toni Holm.
(Click
here for additional Storm & Mixx 96.1 pictures)
June
27, 2009
Let's Talk about Betty
There is no doubt that Betty Lennox has a place on the
Storm's 10-Year Anniversary Team. She has earned a place in the starting
lineup.
When Betty came to Seattle she was considered a "difficult"
player but Anne Donovan "believed in Betty." Always full of
tough-girl personality barely concealing her emotions, with Donovan's
support Betty matured. Her personality shone through on the court, and
she became a fan favorite during her four-year tenure in a Storm uniform.
Betty was a huge part of the 2004 championship team and was MVP of the
Championship series.
She often referred to the love she could feel in KeyArena and told Seattle
that she had found her home.
Last season Lennox was not protected in the expansion draft by new coach Brain Agler and was taken from her adopted home by the Atlanta Dream franchise. New team, new teammates, new system. Life on an expansion club is difficult enough, and Lennox had some injury problems. At the end of the season, Lennox and the Dream made their only Seattle appearance. She was introduced to an exuberantly welcoming crowd; the emotion came to the surface. In the pre-game Dream huddle Betty stood crying. Seattle's love for Betty was still alive.
This season Betty is playing for the Los Angeles Sparks, the only team routinely booed by the Seattle fans. It may be difficult for some to reconcile their love for Betty with the animosity for rival L.A. She understands. "I have a target on my back now as part of the Sparks and all that, but I am happy to be part of the Sparks and if my team gets booed, I guess I do too."
Betty did not get booed in Seattle. Once again, her pre-game introduction was drowned out by the roar of the crowd. This year, Betty was a bit more prepared. She acknowledged "the love." No tears were shed but the feeling was still there.
The Sparks' appearance in Friday night's game at KeyArena was only Betty's second visit back to Seattle. "It is still very emotional and still very new to come back…it is still a personal thing, personal and emotional as well."
However, her new situation with Los Angeles seems to be working well for both Betty and the Sparks. "It is good for me. The situation is so much easier for me [than in Atlanta]. I play with ease now. I play with fun, joy, happiness. You can see a smile on my face out there on the court. I like the [Sparks] system; I like my teammates. I fit right in. I am very happy."
I am happy for her. Betty is still a crowd favorite - albeit in the uniform of the devil. She understands. "That's basketball," she says. "The Storm are now my opponent. The fans aren't my opponent."
As for living in Los Angeles, that may not be the best part. "It is too big for me!" she laughes. "I am just a little down-to-earth person and ..uh…it's big!" But as Betty also said several times, "It is what it is." And that is Betty.
June
22, 2009
On the Road to Greatness
I watched the Seattle/Phoenix game last night on TV. Watching televised Storm games always makes me nervous. I don't know if statistics support this, but it seems that the Storm play their worst games on TV for the world to see. (Is it because I only see the away games on TV?)
All my worries this time were for naught. The Storm played
a good game and gave Phoenix their first home loss of the season. Lauren
Jackson did what Jackson does - scored without effort, blocked a few shots,
and generally looked awesome (a word I am not fond of, but it does describe
her so well). Sue Bird ran the show and took over scoring when needed.
It is hard to find fault with Bird's game at this point. In the last two
games she's handed out 19 assists and had no turnovers. Swin Cash played
one of the best games she has had in a Seattle uniform. All three players
scored in the 20s. Tanisha Wright was also in double figures. Speaking
of the on-the-road team woes before traveling to Phoenix for this game,
Wright said, "We just need to put some more consistency [to the effort
and] … to string a few [winning] games together." It looks like
they're on the road (groan) to doing just that. And this time they did
it on TV. Yes!
June
21, 2009
Starting Anew each Season
Despite the impressive-sounding 28-point win Friday night over Minnesota, the Storm are still in the process of adjusting/readjusting, connecting/reconnecting for this season. I forget each year that there is a time at the beginning of the season when the team has to start over before coming together. It is always a little frustrating to watch considering how together they were when we last saw them the previous summer. These players play overseas much of the year with different teammates and different systems and coming back to Seattle does necessitate changes.
The first few weeks of Storm games aren't usually the best basketball, and Friday's game was no exception. There were, however, some nice moments and glimpses of what might be.
My favorite move of the game was the surprising dance across the key by Ashley Robinson ("Sky-Rob" as Jayda Evans of The Seattle Times dubbed her in this case), with the bank sky hook. It was one of those "No, no, no, don't shoot….WOW!" moments. "The bank was definitely new," Robinson laughs after the game, "That is my favorite shot, going across the key with my right hand. You can't block it, you can only miss." Or not miss. And it is all the more fun when it rolls into the basket.
Then there was the time Sue Bird dribbled around the top of the key until she was open for her signature stop and pop. She stopped but didn't pop. This time everyone was thinking "Shoot it!" but instead, Janell Burse appeared out of nowhere under the basket. Bird zipped the ball between defenders to Burse for the easy layup. Two points. Assist. Just Sue Bird being Sue Bird.
The best sign that the Storm are on their way to becoming the team that they will be was the fourth quarter. The starters sat on the bench and watched the bench play. "You know the team is playing well when the coach doesn't play you in the last quarter," Lauren Jackson says of her bench time. Obviously it is great for the team to be able to have all the players get significant game time, "give the other girls a run" as Jackson says. But does Jackson mind sitting out? Nope. "LOVE it," she says, "Wish it could happen allll-llll the time." Here's to that!
June 16, 2009
The Long Road Home
The Storm return home today after a long road trip. It seems that every year there is some crazy scheduling. This year the Storm start the season with back-to-back games against the same team - Sacramento. After that one game at home, they go on the road for a week plus. As Coach Brian Agler says with raised eyebrows, "[The Storm] have 100 days to play 38 games, and we are playing five in the first eight days - and four of those on the road. To me, that is just unfortunate. It is a tough deal." The Storm had good outings two of the four away games (Sacramento, Minnesota) but lacked energy in the other two (Indiana, Chicago). I think it is fair to attribute at least some of that flat play to the scheduling. Tough, but that is the way of the WNBA scheduling guru. And now that road trip is in the past. Home (deep breath), the team gets a chance to regroup before the game Friday. One thing they need to work out is the rotation. The Storm have played much of these first games without a true Big inside. Suzy Batkovic-Brown joined the Storm late because of her wedding in Australia, and there hasn't been practice time to get her up to speed on the plays. Agler also wants to tweak Janell Burse's game a bit. He mentions working with her on her multiple pump-fake habit. Having at least the option of a true Big inside will help the team, as will having all six players on the bench ready to fit into the Agler flowing rotation.
Note: She was only a part of the Storm for one season, but I am a huge fan of Yolanda Griffith. She went to play in Indiana this season announcing in advance that this was to be her final year in the WNBA. Unfortunately, retirement came a few months earlier than expected when in last week's game against Seattle she tore her Achilles tendon. I am sorry to see her go. She is absolutely one of the best.
BONUS AUDIO: Sue Bird talks about this year's Storm multiple-guard offense.
June 8, 2009
Storm
Whirlwind Begins Again
While the WNBA hypes the goodbye tour of retiring Lisa Leslie of the LA Sparks, Seattle has their own season-long celebration in store - the 10th anniversary of the Storm franchise. And how else better to celebrate than with the return of MVP, All-Star, wonder-woman Lauren Jackson?
"Lauren is one of the best, if the not the best," said Storm coach Brian Agler. Watching her turn-around, fade-away jumper, no one could argue that. Seattle is privileged to have gotten to watch Jackson grow from a tremendously talented teenager to the most captivating player in the league.
Seattle came close to losing Jackson in the off-season, however. Jackson, a free agent, considered leaving Seattle for Phoenix. Through emails, cards, and letters, Storm fans let Jackson know just how much she meant to them, and she realized that yes, this was home. I know would have had a difficult time watching LJ play for another WNBA team, and I am not alone.
And if LJ hadn't been convinced, the sellout crowd in KeyArena made it clear once again at the Storm home opener. The fans, cheering enthusiastically for every player, were especially demonstrative (read - several decibels louder) when the 6'5" forward from Austraaaliiiia - Laaaauuurrrren Jackson!!!!" was announced and made her way into KeyArena.
"I didn't expect to get that kind of reception from everybody," Jackson said later. "I didn't think it was going to be any different [from other years.] When I was walking down the stairs … it was pretty emotional." The emotion showed on her face - a shy smile, and was that a blush?
LJ, along with the rest of the team, had their game faces ready by tipoff and the anniversary season began.
I suspect that as this, the 10th Storm season rolls on, and they roll out old film clips and former players, I will be moved to reminisce myself. For now, I will just say, once again I had tears in my eyes during opening ceremonies. We have come a long way since that 6' tall athletic girl that was me in 1975 did not play high school basketball. I did not play because … well, because no one cared about girls and sports.
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With LJ welcomed back, the Storm got down to business early and won the first two games of the season, back-to-back games against the Sacramento Monarchs. The team had some defensive lapses and there are some kinks to work out. Sacramento was allowed to waltz in the back door for easy layups all too often. On the other hand, the Storm had moments of last year's smothering defense. "We won both, so that's a good thing," said Bird in the locker room. LJ proved her worth, started the game by putting up the first 8 points of the game, and ending it with 25 of the Storm's 80 points. She had four blocks along the way, a handful of rebounds, and several 3's. I read recently that LJ's efficiency rating is higher that Michael Jordan's. I am not surprised. I don't think Sue Bird would be surprised either.