EYE ON THE BALL IN THE EYE OF THE STORM
Bird and Toliver Fight for Loose Ball
in Season Opener
The first week of WNBA games has gone by and because this year's season started earlier than usual due to the Olympics, it would be unfair to expect fluid, cohesive play even among the league's most sure-handed veterans. We saw major wheels turning right from the beginning when Seattle Storm coughed up TOs in their season opener to the Los Angeles Sparks - a game the home team Storm had full control of until the fourth quarter. Turnovers would also hoist a cloud over teams like the Chicago Sky and the New York Liberty, who have gone 0-4 -- their worst start in six years.
The Liberty's winless start kind of caught me off guard. True, I did not expect them to have an outstanding season. But despite decent play from Kia Vaughn, Kara Braxton, and Plenette Pierson, it seems as though they've been playing with four women on the court at times. Cappie Pondexter remains their brightest star and even she appears flustered due to the occasional lethargic performance of a few of her teammates. Their front office inexpicably did not make any major moves during the off season. Center Janel McCarville has sat out the season for the second straight year. Moreover, their draft pick, 6'6" Kelley Cain hasn't been able to put together a good set of quality minutes. Nicole Powell has not been playing up to snuff and her days in the Big Apple may be numbered. Add to that Coach Whisenant's personal crisis with his wife's diagnosis of ovarian cancer. Some are already suspecting that the team may get Baylor sensation Britney Griner in next year's draft. Already suspecting. If they do get her, great. But that's a long way off and no one likes long losing seasons -- least of all New Yorkers.
THE SUN IS THE BIGGEST STAR
Montgomery Fights Johnson to The Hole
The Connecticut Sun's 3-0 start also surprised me somewhat. I thought they would lose to the San Antonio Stars in Friday's contest and although the Stars did make a last minute comeback, the Sun controlled the tempo for most of the game en route to a 83-79 victory. Connecticut look very good. They are playing well aware of each player's strengths, thinking two and three steps ahead, moving smoothly in the half court. Tina Charles and Asjha Jones have especially performed well and Coach Thibault seems to be galvanizing the offense around that tandem. Smart. Also smart was his decision to make point guard Renee Montgomery a role player off the bench. Montgomery is a player with loads of potential who can run with the best of them and is capable of making some unbelievable highlight worthy plays. But she also tends to get erratic at the wrong times. The move has paid off so far. In Friday's game she sunk 23 points, and her 5 turnovers didn't negatively impact the Sun's fate. No telling how many TOs she would have had if she had started.
On the Silver Stars side I've been pleasantly surprised with small forward Shameka Christon who's dropping 15 points a game -- the majority of her damage from downtown. If used effectively, she has the potential to win some big games that could very well propel San Antonio into the playoffs and possibly beyond.
The Atlanta Dream looks to have made up for the loss of Izi Marques with contributions from UConn alum Tiffany Hayes and ex-Merc Ketia Swanier. Sancho Lyttle is running up the court and doing damage averaging 13.5 points and 8.5 boards a game. And like franchise player Angel McCoughtery, she can steal too. What was unexpected? Ten points on 5 for 5 shooting with 7 boards from Russian center Yelena Leuchanka vs the Liberty. She may not be able to fill Erika DeSouza's shoes all the way, but she may come close enough.
MIGHT AS WELL JUMP
Johnson Looks Past Adams for a Deuce
Due to technical difficulties WNBA LiveAccess was not able to broadcast a tight game between the Phoenix Mercury and the Tulsa Shock. It was expected that WNBA Live Access would have issues as they did last year. What was not expected is the $4.99 price for the season long pass. Cheap -- but expensive if the video is shoddy or you can't see games at all. And we've already witnessed cases of both in Week One. (Ssssigh). On the player side was the unexpected but superb work of Tulsa's Temeka Johnson. I say unexpected only because her point totals have decreased in recent years. Her 18.5 pts and 8 dishes a game makes it appear as though she's been set free from the Mercury after a mediocre 2011. She's been nothing short of wonderful, playing ten feet tall.
Then there is Charde Houston. The Smooth Scalp One knocked down threes from the Virgin Islands in a 24 pt performance against her former team, the Lynx, this past Sunday. While still flawed (she collected multiple TOs in the game against Tulsa), her main adversary will be endurance, especially in the fourth quarter.
KRISTI IN MINNY
Toliver Squeezes Through For A Tough Basket
Which brings me to the Los Angeles Spark point guard Kristi Toliver. The twenty two point per game Kristi Toliver. Yes, all the talk about Nneka Ogwumike (who had a great breakout game against the Lynx) has made us temporarily forget LA's backcourt. Shooting 55% from the floor and a whopping 60% from behind the arc, Kristi could certainly make WNBA's first Player of the Week of the 2012 season. Her biggest challenge? With backup point Sharnee Zoll out for the year with a torn ACL, Kristi will have to be amazing all season long.
Those have been the surprises that have leaped out at me thus far. The Lynx going 3-0 is obviously no surprise at all. In fact I wouldn't be surprised if they have an even better season this year, perhaps besting the 2000 Los Angeles Sparks record of 28-4. They play together as though they've been at it for ten years. They remind me of the San Antonio Spurs -- the perfect mix of stellar veterans and eager-to-win youth.
- WNBA Jones
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