Storm vs. Mercury Game Thread: A contrast in styles
by Nate Parham on Jul 27, 2010 9:13 PM EDT
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PrintWho: Seattle Storm (20-2) vs. Phoenix Mercury (10-12)
Where: KeyArena, Seattle, WA | TV: ESPN2 (or ESPN360.com) | WNBA LiveAccess | Radio: KKNW
What: A battle between first and second place in the West, with the Storm 10 games ahead in the standings but the Mercury on a bit of a roll. Tonight marks their fourth meeting and in their last meeting in Phoenix they went to triple overtime.
When: 6:30 pm PST
The Story:
Pre-game notes:
In his pre-game chat, Mercury coach Corey Gaines said before the game of both newly acquired center Kara Braxton and off-season acquisition Candice Dupree that learning the Mercury system would be like writers (us) learning to write "backwards": eventually you'll get comfortable and you'll get better once you do, but it takes a while to get used to. He said they practice with a 15-18 second clock, try to shoot quickly, gamble on defense, and try to force opponents into taking shots they don't normally take from players who don't normally take them.
Conversely, Gaines called the Storm a more poised team who won't "fall into their trap" of taking quick shots and stepping outside of their game. That doesn't mean they won't continue to create a chaotic situation, but they cannot count on that occurring against the Storm.
Join us in the comments during the game for running commentary and general fun.
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Almost underway...
More fun: there’s a Czech TV station here covering Jana, reporting on the fact that she’s the only Czech player in the league. Good to see her getting more publicity.
Crowd looks pretty good tonight…
SwishAppeal.com for women's basketball...SB Nation Seattle for Seattle sports. Twitter: @QMcCall3.
DeWanna Bonner is HYPED on the bench...
SwishAppeal.com for women's basketball...SB Nation Seattle for Seattle sports. Twitter: @QMcCall3.
The Storm are making no secret of what they're gonna do tonight...
Going right to the paint with drives and post-ups
SwishAppeal.com for women's basketball...SB Nation Seattle for Seattle sports. Twitter: @QMcCall3.
LJ with a lay inside...
…Dupree right back the other way…
Writing…writing backwards…
SwishAppeal.com for women's basketball...SB Nation Seattle for Seattle sports. Twitter: @QMcCall3.
Well, Jesse... lol
Right now, they’re staying with Merc in the paint and hope ain’t a plan anyway…
SwishAppeal.com for women's basketball...SB Nation Seattle for Seattle sports. Twitter: @QMcCall3.
oh you're funny lol
we’ll just see about that! phoenix is out to prove they can hang with seattle and that they’re a lot better than their record.
Meek has that free throw line J ALL. DAY.
No trash talk during our talk earlier – I wished her luck and hoped for a good game…
SwishAppeal.com for women's basketball...SB Nation Seattle for Seattle sports. Twitter: @QMcCall3.
Quency (rep) baited me...
That’s why I am impressed with myself :)
SwishAppeal.com for women's basketball...SB Nation Seattle for Seattle sports. Twitter: @QMcCall3.
Agler going to the bench pulling Wright and Little
SwishAppeal.com for women's basketball...SB Nation Seattle for Seattle sports. Twitter: @QMcCall3.
Freelantz distracted me...
Trying to figure out if Durant is watching ESPN… or just randomly talking about KeyArena…
We on media row figure the latter…
SwishAppeal.com for women's basketball...SB Nation Seattle for Seattle sports. Twitter: @QMcCall3.
I twitter asked for you Seattle folk.
I’ll let ya know if OKC Thunder player, Kevin Durant, responds. Hee hee
by Jessica Lantz on Jul 27, 2010 9:45 PM EDT up reply actions
Do you really wanna start an OKC - Seattle feud tonight?
SwishAppeal.com for women's basketball...SB Nation Seattle for Seattle sports. Twitter: @QMcCall3.
Umm...is that a real question?
I’ve already heard that y’all have better bars. LOL!
by Jessica Lantz on Jul 27, 2010 9:48 PM EDT up reply actions
Is there a points prediction in this un?
Q – what have your numbers folks said about over/under and such? #curious
4:06 left in 1st Storm 10 Merc 17
Big difference in this game so far is the Storm are trying to go inside and not converting…
The Merc are getting up and down the court and converting….
Storm fans should know by now that they can flip the switch at any moment…
But the Merc aren’t necessarily a team that turn off the switch either..
SwishAppeal.com for women's basketball...SB Nation Seattle for Seattle sports. Twitter: @QMcCall3.
There are some male fans in the crowd heckling Taurasi...
I wouldn’t consider that smart…especially after that last shot…
The unintended negative consequence of bringing in male fans..
SwishAppeal.com for women's basketball...SB Nation Seattle for Seattle sports. Twitter: @QMcCall3.
2:18 Wright in for Bird
Scores a bucket immediately..
Kara Braxton in as well for Dupree…comes up with a big block that leads to a DT layup…
SwishAppeal.com for women's basketball...SB Nation Seattle for Seattle sports. Twitter: @QMcCall3.
Talked to Braxton before the game about Tulsa...
She was very polite, but said that she’s glad they’re (Detroit players) all in better places…
SwishAppeal.com for women's basketball...SB Nation Seattle for Seattle sports. Twitter: @QMcCall3.
Say it with me now...
“We have Dee and _______ "
SwishAppeal.com for women's basketball...SB Nation Seattle for Seattle sports. Twitter: @QMcCall3.
The one advantage of going so hard inside is that you get to the line
A free throw line march is not ideal for a national tv game….but will win games.
SwishAppeal.com for women's basketball...SB Nation Seattle for Seattle sports. Twitter: @QMcCall3.
End 1: Storm 20 Merc 25
Well, Gaines said before the game he wanted to control the pace, but as he also said, the Storm are not going to be taken out of their game and that’s what you’re seeing: they’re missing shots but sticking with the strategy of going right to the post…
SwishAppeal.com for women's basketball...SB Nation Seattle for Seattle sports. Twitter: @QMcCall3.
Corey Gaines is kinda funny!
Seems uber relaxed…was asked about LJ, said he doesn’t mind her going inside because the Merc are up (then he did a weird eyebrow thing).
lol
SwishAppeal.com for women's basketball...SB Nation Seattle for Seattle sports. Twitter: @QMcCall3.
by Nate Parham on Jul 27, 2010 10:00 PM EDT up reply actions
I'm stealing this from another media member...
“There’s no defensive intensity”
SwishAppeal.com for women's basketball...SB Nation Seattle for Seattle sports. Twitter: @QMcCall3.
8:42 Merc 29 Storm 22
They are doing bowling for Doppler and he was being slung in into Merc faced pins…
Anyway, big statistical diff in first quarter was field goal , particularly their 2pt, which Phx won approx 66%-41%…
SwishAppeal.com for women's basketball...SB Nation Seattle for Seattle sports. Twitter: @QMcCall3.
750 Bird with a J...
Good sign…
SwishAppeal.com for women's basketball...SB Nation Seattle for Seattle sports. Twitter: @QMcCall3.
When asked about Braxton in the running game, Gaines said
that’s her game… rim to rim…
But it looks right now like it might be more important is rebounding on both ends of the floor – defensive rebounding and the orebs & putback..
SwishAppeal.com for women's basketball...SB Nation Seattle for Seattle sports. Twitter: @QMcCall3.
He also said...
Braxton would play in spots of a few mins at a time rather than long spurts…
SwishAppeal.com for women's basketball...SB Nation Seattle for Seattle sports. Twitter: @QMcCall3.
by Nate Parham on Jul 27, 2010 10:06 PM EDT up reply actions
Wow... Bonner is killing them cutting to the basket...
SwishAppeal.com for women's basketball...SB Nation Seattle for Seattle sports. Twitter: @QMcCall3.
It's obvious that the blowout here was just a weird anomaly...
But this an entirely different game… Phx is killing them on the breaks and quick hitters in the half court…
SwishAppeal.com for women's basketball...SB Nation Seattle for Seattle sports. Twitter: @QMcCall3.
Def playing Phoenix' game...
and not Seattle’s.
by Jessica Lantz on Jul 27, 2010 10:10 PM EDT up reply actions
Well, I don't think they're forcing Seattle into their game..
They’re just executing their game better than Seattle is there…
SwishAppeal.com for women's basketball...SB Nation Seattle for Seattle sports. Twitter: @QMcCall3.
by Nate Parham on Jul 27, 2010 10:12 PM EDT up reply actions
This is not a novel situation...
They’ve been down in the first half before to Washington and Minnesota have done it before…
and we obviously know the outcome…
People aren’t trying to ban 3rd qtrs here
SwishAppeal.com for women's basketball...SB Nation Seattle for Seattle sports. Twitter: @QMcCall3.
by Nate Parham on Jul 27, 2010 10:17 PM EDT up reply actions
OK...they have DB ... and you dont
SwishAppeal.com for women's basketball...SB Nation Seattle for Seattle sports. Twitter: @QMcCall3.
Most points Seattle's given up in a half...
Wow. 18 point margin at half wasn’t what I was anticipating!
Halftime: Merc 56 Storm 38
Whoa… so the Merc have the Storm by the biggest deficit of the year. The previous worst? Friday’s opponent Chicago Sky had them down by 13 in Chicago en route to a loss…
In a way that Seattle fans certainly won’t like, this is what you want with a nat’l TV game — the seemingly unbeatable-in-Key-Arena Storm getting a challenge from the team 10 games behind.
The championship isn’t inevitable….
SwishAppeal.com for women's basketball...SB Nation Seattle for Seattle sports. Twitter: @QMcCall3.
Some stats..
Arguably the Storm’s worst 1st half at home this season…
The most glaring thing is that the Storm had 0 assists….
The next most glaring thing is that they went 0-7 from three..
The next most glaring thing is that they were outshot 57.1% – 33.33%, mostly because of that three point percentage…
In a fast breaking game, one might expect the Merc to commit a few turnovers as well. Not so: they won the turnover battle against a normally sure-handed Storm team 5%-10%
SwishAppeal.com for women's basketball...SB Nation Seattle for Seattle sports. Twitter: @QMcCall3.
by Nate Parham on Jul 27, 2010 10:30 PM EDT up reply actions
I'll have to type up the pre-game with Gaines...
I don’t think I’ve seen a team yet this season come in do EXACTLY what the coach intended to do…
SwishAppeal.com for women's basketball...SB Nation Seattle for Seattle sports. Twitter: @QMcCall3.
by Nate Parham on Jul 27, 2010 10:31 PM EDT up reply actions
Maybe that’s why Gaines did the weird eyebrow waggle, eh? This was his plan…
by Jessica Lantz on Jul 27, 2010 10:35 PM EDT up reply actions
Correction: those stats were all 2nd quarter, not 1st half...
SwishAppeal.com for women's basketball...SB Nation Seattle for Seattle sports. Twitter: @QMcCall3.
by Nate Parham on Jul 27, 2010 10:46 PM EDT up reply actions
I don't wanna know...
And won’t be the one to ask…
SwishAppeal.com for women's basketball...SB Nation Seattle for Seattle sports. Twitter: @QMcCall3.
by Nate Parham on Jul 27, 2010 10:31 PM EDT up reply actions
Ok...back ....
Listened to Dick Fain on the TV in the media room – he spent sometime cleansing himself: washing his hands drinking some water and wanted an 8-0 run to start the half…he may be getting his wish..
SwishAppeal.com for women's basketball...SB Nation Seattle for Seattle sports. Twitter: @QMcCall3.
So...pretty interesting game in the 1st half
I was watching w/ my daughter who cheers “de-fense” at pretty much everything. I don’t have a lot of confidence in the Phx lead though. They hit a ton of shots and Tangela is still (technically) playing.
Raising Arizona Sports at SB Nation Arizona twitter: @sethpo
They have not found an answer for Bonner AT ALL though...
SwishAppeal.com for women's basketball...SB Nation Seattle for Seattle sports. Twitter: @QMcCall3.
by Nate Parham on Jul 27, 2010 10:45 PM EDT up reply actions
We will never know...
He can’t stick with that long…
SwishAppeal.com for women's basketball...SB Nation Seattle for Seattle sports. Twitter: @QMcCall3.
by Nate Parham on Jul 27, 2010 10:49 PM EDT up reply actions
Who else do you propose?
A touch of foul trouble for the purples…
by Jessica Lantz on Jul 27, 2010 10:50 PM EDT up reply actions
They've gone small with Taylor...
…or they could try big with Braxton as they are now…
SwishAppeal.com for women's basketball...SB Nation Seattle for Seattle sports. Twitter: @QMcCall3.
by Nate Parham on Jul 27, 2010 10:51 PM EDT up reply actions
Oh yeah. The new wunderkind.
Good luck to her! Hope she can hang…
by Jessica Lantz on Jul 27, 2010 10:52 PM EDT up reply actions
Wow... Kara Braxton is a BIG target in the post...
She just comes down in the post and throws herself into LJ to get herself in position…
SwishAppeal.com for women's basketball...SB Nation Seattle for Seattle sports. Twitter: @QMcCall3.
So demanding you are!
SwishAppeal.com for women's basketball...SB Nation Seattle for Seattle sports. Twitter: @QMcCall3.
by Nate Parham on Jul 27, 2010 10:59 PM EDT up reply actions
Dick Fain wanted an 8-0 run...
The Storm are now within 8…
And I don’t believe I’ve heard it this loud this season…
SwishAppeal.com for women's basketball...SB Nation Seattle for Seattle sports. Twitter: @QMcCall3.
We're trying to figure out how it is that Taurasi got those FTs...weird..
SwishAppeal.com for women's basketball...SB Nation Seattle for Seattle sports. Twitter: @QMcCall3.
You know
I might have to join the ‘ban the 3rd qtr’ movement
Jealous…
SwishAppeal.com for women's basketball...SB Nation Seattle for Seattle sports. Twitter: @QMcCall3.
by Nate Parham on Jul 27, 2010 11:02 PM EDT up reply actions
To anyone who says, "nobody cares" about the WNBA....
I’d suggest coming to Key Arena sometime…
It’s LOUD right now… and as the game gets closer, it’s getting louder…
SwishAppeal.com for women's basketball...SB Nation Seattle for Seattle sports. Twitter: @QMcCall3.
It sounds loud and looks good on TV too, Q :)
by Jessica Lantz on Jul 27, 2010 10:59 PM EDT up reply actions
Crowd goes NUTS with Cash block at 120 and then Cash 3 at 105...
Wow…
SwishAppeal.com for women's basketball...SB Nation Seattle for Seattle sports. Twitter: @QMcCall3.
Phoenix is ice cold...
What a difference from the first half. Hey!! Maybe the bad third quarters in Tulsa were due to Kara? Because today, we played a pretty good third and fourth. Hmmmm. Watch out Pheonix. The bad third quarter thing is. not. fun.
Storm defense
much better; not nearly as many uncontested/poorly contested shots for the Merc; also Penny is VERY quiet tonight
"We've got a ball game TONIGHT"
END 3: Merc 64 Sea 62
Again, this is a battle of styles, but the Storm picked up the defensive intensity a notch or two as well… and it helps in stopping the fast break when you’re forcing the other team to inbound the ball instead of trying to keep up with them in transition…
Seattle has gotten their challenge. It’s a playoff atmosphere (swear it has not been this loud here since last year’s playoffs). And now we have a fourth quarter that is made for TV.
SwishAppeal.com for women's basketball...SB Nation Seattle for Seattle sports. Twitter: @QMcCall3.
3rd qtr stats...
24-8 run for the Storm …
Phx shot 2-22 in the 3rd.. (Tulsa curse, freelantz?)
Storm 14-2 in points in the paint…
SwishAppeal.com for women's basketball...SB Nation Seattle for Seattle sports. Twitter: @QMcCall3.
by Nate Parham on Jul 27, 2010 11:08 PM EDT up reply actions
I’m not even kidding. It might be Kara. Though she didn’t play in Sunday’s game against Seattle, she was there….so the curse was still intact. But today, no Kara no problems in the 3rd. lol
by Jessica Lantz on Jul 27, 2010 11:11 PM EDT up reply actions
OK...
So then problems in the entire 1st half…
Which would you rather have?
SwishAppeal.com for women's basketball...SB Nation Seattle for Seattle sports. Twitter: @QMcCall3.
by Nate Parham on Jul 27, 2010 11:12 PM EDT up reply actions
Hey.
We were talking about the 3rd quarter dude ;) (don’t go bringing the first two into the equation now. haha)
by Jessica Lantz on Jul 27, 2010 11:13 PM EDT up reply actions
We've seen this happen to teams in KeyArena...
And they don’t recover…
This is a real test of resilience for the Mercury and they’re looking awfully unhappy on the bench
SwishAppeal.com for women's basketball...SB Nation Seattle for Seattle sports. Twitter: @QMcCall3.
642 Steal by Bird...
633 LJ three from Bird…
619 LJ fastbreak layup…
Pattern..?
SwishAppeal.com for women's basketball...SB Nation Seattle for Seattle sports. Twitter: @QMcCall3.
so Seattle
They’re pretty good huh?
Raising Arizona Sports at SB Nation Arizona twitter: @sethpo
by Seth Pollack on Jul 27, 2010 11:17 PM EDT via mobile reply actions
We've been told by Brian Agler to maintain the narrow view...
They’re not good until they’ve won it all apparently. :)
SwishAppeal.com for women's basketball...SB Nation Seattle for Seattle sports. Twitter: @QMcCall3.
by Nate Parham on Jul 27, 2010 11:18 PM EDT up reply actions
Maybe he’ll be a bit more excitable after tonight if they hold on…
by Jessica Lantz on Jul 27, 2010 11:20 PM EDT up reply actions
Do you know this man?
SwishAppeal.com for women's basketball...SB Nation Seattle for Seattle sports. Twitter: @QMcCall3.
by Nate Parham on Jul 27, 2010 11:22 PM EDT up reply actions
To steal a line from Seth...
a girl can dream. lol
by Jessica Lantz on Jul 27, 2010 11:24 PM EDT up reply actions
In the 4th quarter...
Storm 14-Merc 4…
Wow…
This game completely turned…
SwishAppeal.com for women's basketball...SB Nation Seattle for Seattle sports. Twitter: @QMcCall3.
OK KARA...
SwishAppeal.com for women's basketball...SB Nation Seattle for Seattle sports. Twitter: @QMcCall3.
Of course it would also be nice if the game was called consistently
Raising Arizona Sports at SB Nation Arizona twitter: @sethpo
by Seth Pollack on Jul 27, 2010 11:20 PM EDT via mobile reply actions
Ummm.
Are any W games called consistently? Haha
by Jessica Lantz on Jul 27, 2010 11:21 PM EDT up reply actions
A boy can dream…
Raising Arizona Sports at SB Nation Arizona twitter: @sethpo
by Seth Pollack on Jul 27, 2010 11:23 PM EDT via mobile up reply actions
These calls
Against Dupree are getting ridiculous
It's hard to notice in the arena...
But the Storm are not actually up 20 despite demolishing the Mercury in the 2nd…
5 point game with 4:26 left…
The Mercury look totally out of sync…but mounting a little run…
SwishAppeal.com for women's basketball...SB Nation Seattle for Seattle sports. Twitter: @QMcCall3.
Q
Which team and/or player does the best job on Lauren?
Raising Arizona Sports at SB Nation Arizona twitter: @sethpo
by Seth Pollack on Jul 27, 2010 11:25 PM EDT via mobile reply actions
Nicole Ohlde... ;)
j/k
Chicago – Sylvia Fowles does alright…
Indiana came in her and bodied her up…
But nobody can stop her for 4 qtrs..
SwishAppeal.com for women's basketball...SB Nation Seattle for Seattle sports. Twitter: @QMcCall3.
by Nate Parham on Jul 27, 2010 11:27 PM EDT up reply actions
San Antonio also attempted to body her...
and I think some teams want to just take her out of the game mentally….
But it never works
SwishAppeal.com for women's basketball...SB Nation Seattle for Seattle sports. Twitter: @QMcCall3.
by Nate Parham on Jul 27, 2010 11:31 PM EDT up reply actions
I told my wife I wanted to adopt DeWanna Bonner. She agreed
Raising Arizona Sports at SB Nation Arizona twitter: @sethpo
by Seth Pollack on Jul 27, 2010 11:27 PM EDT via mobile reply actions
Your food budget might need to increase.
SwishAppeal.com for women's basketball...SB Nation Seattle for Seattle sports. Twitter: @QMcCall3.
by Nate Parham on Jul 27, 2010 11:29 PM EDT up reply actions
Oh, no, no, no!
BearBloke and I have already volunteered to take DeWanna in. Once she has eaten enough whole-wheat pasta and healthy proteins, she will stop looking like a refugee child.
(Might calm down a bit, too. My, DWB is fierce—I just love watching her, even when she misses wide-open shots.)
So... MVP for the Storm?
Any doubt about LJ?
SwishAppeal.com for women's basketball...SB Nation Seattle for Seattle sports. Twitter: @QMcCall3.
Kara Braxton simply can't stay with LJ on that play...
SwishAppeal.com for women's basketball...SB Nation Seattle for Seattle sports. Twitter: @QMcCall3.
they either couldn't get her the ball
or when they did, she missed
It’s going to take some time to incorporate her. I would rather see a more athletic, long big but we’ll see
Raising Arizona Sports at SB Nation Arizona twitter: @sethpo
by Seth Pollack on Jul 28, 2010 12:02 AM EDT up reply actions
I hope
They figure out what all the problems were in the 3rd—it wasn’t just Dupree on the bench and getting no calls in the post; a timeout might have been nice
Playing the another one bites the dust...
SwishAppeal.com for women's basketball...SB Nation Seattle for Seattle sports. Twitter: @QMcCall3.
but 10.8 secs left…
SwishAppeal.com for women's basketball...SB Nation Seattle for Seattle sports. Twitter: @QMcCall3.
by Nate Parham on Jul 27, 2010 11:35 PM EDT up reply actions
What an unbelievable game...
Wow…
Storm game of the season by far…
SwishAppeal.com for women's basketball...SB Nation Seattle for Seattle sports. Twitter: @QMcCall3.
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