Storm

From the WNBA: WNBA PRESIDENT LAUREL J. RICHIE     MODERATOR: Welcome everyone to the WNBA Finals 2014 presented by Boost Mobile. We’ll begin with WNBA President Laurel J. Richie, who will make opening remarks and we’ll proceed to questions. Laurel J. RICHIE: Good afternoon, everyone. It’s kind of exciting, the moment we have all been waiting for is…

From the WNBA: RECORD-SETTING GAME ACTION DRIVES WNBA TO VIEWERSHIP, ATTENDANCE AND DIGITAL GAINS   NEW YORK, Aug. 20, 2014 – With record-setting game action on the court this season, including the Phoenix Mercury setting the record for most regular-season wins in league history, Maya Moore’s 30-plus points in a record 12 games, and eye catching rookie…

Kristi Toliver saved a drama-filled Los Angeles season by nailing five three-pointers to help the Sparks clinch a playoff berth on Tuesday. LA won at Minnesota, 71-63, to seal the spot and effectively eliminate Tulsa (12-20). “We’re a playoff team and we wanted to do our own work,” said Toliver, who tied a career-high in scoring…

Due to a computer glitch, my WNBA power rankings for the week of July 22 didn’t and won’t post on the main Sports site. I’ve posted them here and, in case you missed it, the accompanying “WNBA Talk” was with women’s basketball Hall of Fame inductee Gail Goestenkors. She resigned last weekend from her…

Technically Storm PG Sue Bird has already missed her first All-Star start. She didn’t play the 2013 WNBA season due to offseason knee surgery. Bird remained on the roster and was paid, however, so her not being selected to the All-Star game in Connecticut last year broke her streak of seven consecutive appearances as…

From the WNBA: YOUNG STARS, VETERAN STALWARTS LEADING THE WAY AS 2014 WNBA ALL-STAR BALLOTING PRESENTED BY BOOST MOBILE EARLY RETURNS ANNOUNCED – Second-Year Standout Delle Donne, Rookie Schimmel Pacing East – – Veteran Mainstays Moore, Parker, Taurasi Atop West –     NEW YORK, June 24, 2014 – The Chicago Sky’s Elena Delle Donne, who last year became the…

The WNBA announced its collective bargaining agreement with the players’ union was ratified by the Board of Governors on Friday. Los Angeles All-Star Nneka Ogwumike, who was seated among the KeyArena’s Stanford crowd for the Pac-12 tournament, was relieved. “At first we were like, ‘What’s going to happen?’” Ogwumike said of talk among WNBA players…

From the Storm: Seattle Storm Announces 2014 Schedule Home slate features 10 weekend games SEATTLE – The Storm will tip off its 2014 campaign versus Los Angeles at KeyArena on May 16. The 2014 Seattle Storm schedule, announced by the WNBA on Thursday, features three home games against the Sparks and two trips from both the reigning…

UPDATE: Atlanta showed more fight in Game 3. But the Dream also made some curious decisions late in the fourth quarter, costing them a chance to avoid elimination in the WNBA Finals. Instead it was posts Janel McCarville (10 points and three assists) and Rebekkah Brunson (15 points and 12 rebounds) making repeated highlight plays to assure Minnesota its second championship in three years with an 86-77 road win on Thursday. Lynx F Maya Moore was named Finals MVP, “We were just too much for them,” she said. The victory parade is Monday. Washington connections in rookie PG Lindsey Moore, a former Kentwood HS star, and Lynx assistant coach Shelley Patterson, a standout PG at Washington State, were key pieces to the title run. Congrats at all…

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I’m really disappointed in this WNBA Finals matchup between Minnesota and Atlanta. Not because I bought into any false hype. The pieces are there for Atlanta to avoid a sweep but it’s so disappointing to watch All-Star Angel McCoughtry attempt to do everything herself and the Dream as a whole ditch what got it to the WNBA Finals anyway.

The Storm’s one-bucket loss to the Lynx in Game 2 of the opening-round series has me convinced the only way to defeat Minnesota is to never think about scoring. Seriously. The objective should completely be on stopping the Lynx defensively. Not that it’ll be easy, but Seattle kept All-Star Seimone Augustus to 2-for-10 shooting through three quarters before she hit a killer jumper to regain the lead en route to Minnesota’s win. In fact, it was F Rebekkah Brunson who had to win Game 2 late for the Lynx. Seattle’s entire game plan was defense-first and it almost worked, holding Minnesota to 58 points. The 58-55 win remains the only competitive game Minnesota has played this postseason.

McCoughtry and crew have that capability, already forcing 20 turnovers in Game 2 on Tuesday. Instead, the lack of focus on defense is naturally allowing the Lynx to put on a show offensively — and what a jaw-dropping show they’ve displayed. The shoot-first mentality the Dream appear to have is McCoughtry going solo early in the shot clock that just creates a turnover or missed opportunity. I give you Air Maya (Moore) as an example.

Minnesota F Maya Moore shoots a jumper PHOTO: Bettina Hansen/The Seattle Times

Now that the kids have been dismissed, the WNBA’s proven stars can prepare for an intriguing WNBA Finals matchup. Two of the league’s top-5 scorers in Maya Moore (Minnesota) and Angel McCoughtry (Atlanta) will lead their teams in a best-of-five Finals that tips Sunday at 5:30 pm (PT) on ESPN.

If I had trusted my gut, the Western side would have been my preseason pick to make it this far. Instead, I was one of many sucked into the WNBA’s “Three to See” hype in draft picks Brittney Griner, Elena Delle Donne, and Skylar Diggins. While Delle Donne did lead Chicago to the regular-season Eastern Conference title (my prediction), Diggins’ Tulsa didn’t even advance to the postseason and Griner’s Phoenix was swept by Minnesota.

The Lynx (4-0) were ticked at the early predictions, using its own “Three to See” campaign for Moore, G Seimone Augustus and PG Lindsay Whalen. Win the 2013 title and the trio can dust off that dynasty talk it tried to self-proclaim in 2011 when the Lynx won its first championship.

The definition of a dynasty in sports is to win multiple, successive championships and the Lynx fell 3-1 to Indiana for the 2012 WNBA title. But Minnesota has won three consecutive conference championships to join luminaries Detroit (2006-08), Los Angeles (2001-03) and Houston (1997-2000).

A possible “dynasty” just in time for legend Tina Thompson’s exit, the last member of the WNBA’s original dynasty. Her Comets won the league’s inaugural four championships — a feat untouched. Competition has improved so much, modern teams can’t even manage back-to-back titles. The Sparks were the last to do so in 2001-02. McCoughtry’s Dream (4-1) swept the defending champion Fever to advance to the Finals.

Successive trips to the Finals isn’t bad for a Minnesota team once just a trivia answer to what team was Seattle playing when PG Sue Bird broke her nose (bonus points if you can name the player). Whalen had experience, losing to the 2004 Storm team for the WNBA championship and making five trips to the Finals overall in her 10-year career. The difference-maker for the Lynx is Moore.