SB Nation Seattle - Seattle Storm Vs. Minnesota Lynx: Storm Get Another Win Without Lauren Jacksonhttps://cdn.vox-cdn.com/community_logos/48997/seattle-fave.png2011-06-24T21:30:44-07:00http://seattle.sbnation.com/rss/stream/20068542011-06-24T21:30:44-07:002011-06-24T21:30:44-07:00Seattle Storm Vs. Minnesota Lynx Final Score: Storm Start 'Getting Through Kinks' In Their Offense In 65-55 Win
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<p>After the Seattle Storm got smashed in the first half against the Minnesota Lynx in their first meeting at KeyArena this season, <a target="_blank" href="http://www.wnba.com/games/20110624/MINSEA/gameinfo.html?ls=gt2hp1021100040">tonight's 65-55 win</a> is obviously a sign of progress of some sort.</p>
<p>"We lacked a lot of energy, I think they jumped out early," Lynx wing Seimone Augustus said. "It is the tale of two games - the last game, we jumped out early and got the lead, and the roles were switched. They jumped out early, had the fans behind them, and they played with a lot of energy and we never did quite get going." <font size="2"><br></font></p>
<p>In addition to much-improved energy, one of the biggest signs of improvement occurred on offense with just under seven minutes in the game when the Minnesota Lynx were playing an extended zone.</p>
<p>Thus far this season, any time the Storm have been confronted with a zone defense - against the Indiana Fever, Los Angeles Sparks (especially) or the Phoenix Mercury - their offense has come to almost a complete standstill. Tonight against the zone, they patiently kept their spacing, moved the ball and got a layup, a jumper, and free throw attempts that forced the Lynx out of the zone.</p>
<p>Although it might not show up in the final score, it was among the most impressive stretches of play we've seen from the Storm this season against a formidable opponent that has looked much better than anyone else in the early season.</p>
<p>Moreover, they did it with Lauren Jackson injured.</p>
<p>And Sue Bird didn't even have to completely take over the game, instead picking up a game-high eight assists to go with a quiet seven points, all of which came in the first quarter.</p>
<p>Camille Little led the Storm with 16 points and five rebounds, while Swin Cash had a team-high nine rebounds and 13 points.</p>
<p>The Storm's defense has been strong all season. But that their offense stepped up without Bird having to take over in Jackson's absence is a refreshing sign for a team that has looked nothing like the dominant champion they were last season.</p>
<p>"There is no making up for Lauren's absence - no one can be Lauren," Bird said. "They can just play the way they know how, and I think they did that. Of course you're going to miss a player of Lauren's caliber, but what Camille (Little) and Le'coe (Willingham) bring is different. They were able to play to their strengths and show what they can do."</p>
<p>A lot of the offensive improvement was indeed shots just starting to fall for the Storm after being one of the poorest shooting teams in the league prior to this game - the Storm shot 46 percent from the field and had four assists on six made baskets in the decisive fourth quarter, which is a good sign of ball movement.</p>
<p>But the intangible factor is exactly what we saw in their handling of the Lynx's zone defense: patience, faith in their teammates, and looking much more confident in taking what the defense gave them.</p>
<p>The improved shooting efficiency helped them take advantage of a strong fourth quarter defensive effort.</p>
<p><font size="2">"I think they picked up the defensive intensity and we kind of struggled with that a little bit," said Augustus, whose team only shot 25 percent in the fourth quarter. "We started to miss shots I think we shot 25% tonight, very low percentage. And hats off to their defense because they really picked it up." <br> </font></p>
<p>Although Seimone Augustus led the Lynx with 17 points and six rebounds, the Storm's ability to hold rookie Maya Moore to only four points, point guard Lindsay Whalen to only three assists and four turnovers and most of all Rebekkah Brunson well below her double-double average with two points and seven rebounds speaks volumes about their defensive ability this season.</p>
<p>"I just think our team made a better effort of boxing the entire team out," said Little about the team's defense of Brunson. "They are a great rebounding team, and she is the main reason for that. A lot of times, it wasn't just the post players boxing her out - it was one of us and a guard or two guards. That's something we tried to really focus on and make sure she didn't get too many o boards. I think we did a pretty good job tonight.</p>
<p>The question is whether they can keep making progress offensively without Jackson.</p>
<p>Tonight was definitely an encouraging step toward proving that they can, to their fans and themselves.</p>
<p>"We have a lot of people in her who can put up points and score," Bird said. "I think we're just getting through the kinks in our offense, but it's nice to have that defense to anchor us. It's always going to give us a shot in games, no matter what our shooting percentage is."</p>
https://seattle.sbnation.com/seattle-storm/2011/6/24/2243202/seattle-storm-vs-minnesota-lynx-final-score-storm-find-offensiveNate P.2011-06-24T20:15:42-07:002011-06-24T20:15:42-07:00Seattle Storm Vs. Minnesota Lynx Halftime Score: Strong First Quarter Earns Storm 35-25 Lead
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<p>Going into a game without a player like center Lauren Jackson is much different than losing her during the game.</p>
<p>The team has a well-defined plan of attack and the opponents have the advantage of scouting the team under those circumstances. </p>
<p>But the Seattle Storm responded, as we've come to expect, building a 35-25 halftime lead on the Minnesota Lynx tonight at KeyArena, with Le'coe Willingham starting in place of Jackson.</p>
<p>And they didn't just respond, but did so with one of their better defensive performances of the season in the first quarter.</p>
<p>The Storm held the Lynx to 13.3% shooting in the first quarter and zero assists to mount a 21-8 lead with the Lynx looking completely out of sync and star forward Rebekkah Brunson getting into early foul trouble. The Lynx recovered in the second quarter due to improved rebounding and forcing the Storm into turnovers on nearly 30 percent of their possessions.</p>
<p>Willingham filled in admirably for Jackson with eight points and five rebounds, about the same production Jackson had been giving the team this season. Camille Little continued her solid play this season with a team-high 10 points and three rebounds.</p>
<p>Seimone Augustus led the Lynx with nine points while rookie Maya Moore had none, which you can't expect to continue.</p>
https://seattle.sbnation.com/seattle-storm/2011/6/24/2243085/seattle-storm-vs-minnesota-lynx-halftime-score-strong-first-quarterNate P.2011-06-24T18:54:47-07:002011-06-24T18:54:47-07:00Three Keys For The Seattle Storm Vs. The Minnesota Lynx
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<p>The obvious place to look for keys to the Seattle Storm exacting revenge on the Minnesota Lynx for ending their KeyArena winning streak is their 35-17 fourth quarter of their last game in which they closed a lead that was over 20 to single digits.</p>
<p>That begins with rebounding.</p>
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<p><a href="http://www.swishappeal.com/2011/6/16/2216580/wnba-minnesota-lynx-start-los-angeles-sparks" target="_blank">Just How Good Are The 3-1 Minnesota Lynx? - Swish Appeal</a><br>...the Storm beat the Lynx on the offensive boards 29% - 14% in their 35-17 fourth quarter comeback attempt against the Lynx, with Brunson accounting for 4 of the team's 6 rebounds.</p>
<p>So as of right now, if the Lynx have a weakness, it's in the rebounding department - even in situations where Brunson continues to be dominant on the boards, teams can badly outrebound (and thus outplay) the Lynx by containing everyone else. So where will the help come from?</p>
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<p><b>1. Containing Brunson:</b> As of right now, Brunson is doing the vast majority of the Lynx's rebounding and when the Storm contained her, they were able to regain their footing in the game after being stunned in the first half.</p>
<p><b>2. Someone hitting shots:</b> But the primary struggle in the early season has just been hitting shots and something that was quite noticeable after center Lauren Jackson went down against the Tulsa Shock is that the team was moving the ball much better. As a result, they hit shots, outshooting the Shock 62.5 percent to 32.1 percent in that game. Sue Bird will likely have to lead the way again, but she's at her best when she can pass to someone that might knock a shot down every now and then.</p>
<p><b>3. Bench production:</b> In the Storm's two losses, their bench has not been very productive: they were outscored 40-7 in their <a target="_blank" href="http://www.swishappeal.com/2011/6/20/2233509/kristi-toliver-los-angeles-sparks-bench-seattle-storm">24-point loss to the Sparks</a> and only produced four points in<a target="_blank" href="http://www.swishappeal.com/2011/6/10/2216913/minnesota-lynx-defense-storm-offense-keyarena"> the Lynx's dominant win in KeyArena</a>. With Jackson out, bench support becomes even more critical.</p>
https://seattle.sbnation.com/seattle-storm/2011/6/24/2242965/three-keys-for-the-seattle-storm-vs-the-minnesota-lynxNate P.2011-06-24T18:00:20-07:002011-06-24T18:00:20-07:00Seattle Storm Vs. Minnesota Lynx: Storm Try To Avenge First Home Loss Without Lauren Jackson
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<p>Seattle Storm fans can probably remember times when center Lauren Jackson went out due to injury leaving point guard Sue Bird to step up an d carry the bulk of the scoring load.</p>
<p>Each time it happens, Bird shows us just how dominant a player she can be when she's focused on creating shots for herself a bit more often than normal.</p>
<p>In tonight's rematch against the Minnesota Lynx, Bird is likely to once again be looked to as the focal point for the Storm as<a target="_blank" href="http://seattle.sbnation.com/seattle-storm/2011/6/21/2236496/seattle-storm-forward-lauren-jackson-mri-injury-hip"> Lauren Jackson is out after a hip injury during Tuesday's road win</a> against the Tulsa Shock.</p>
<p>Yet with or without Jackson, carrying the bulk of the scoring load is something Bird has been doing all season. She currently leads the team with a career-high 17 points per game on 49.3 percent shooting as well as a team-high 5.3 assists. Even in their worse games this season - such as their first meeting against the Lynx or<a target="_blank" href="http://www.swishappeal.com/2011/6/20/2233509/kristi-toliver-los-angeles-sparks-bench-seattle-storm"> their Father's Day loss against the Sparks</a> - Bird has often been a bright spot.</p>
<p>Despite the hype around rookie phenom Maya Moore, the Lynx come into the game with a few veterans of their own leading the way, which could create some problems for the Storm tonight without Jackson. Forward Rebekkah Brunson is averaging career-highs in points and rebounds with 14.5 points and 13.3 rebound while shooting a career-high 61.4 percent from the field.</p>
<p><a href="http://fullcourt.ehclients.com/index.php/news_articles/view/the_lucky_lynx_-_part_ii_maya_mania_infuses_minnesota/" target="_blank">Bob Corwin of Full Court Court Press</a> mentioned Brunson's outstanding season in a recent article about the Lynx's early-season success.</p>
<blockquote>
<p><a href="http://fullcourt.ehclients.com/index.php/news_articles/view/the_lucky_lynx_-_part_ii_maya_mania_infuses_minnesota/" target="_blank">The "Lucky Lynx?" - Part II: Maya Mania Infuses Minnesota — Full Court Press</a><br>Rebekkah Brunson has been one of the better power players in the league for a number of years. Her shot can be flat at times but she is a powerful leaper willing to be very physical at grabbing rebounds though she is not as great an initial defensive presence in the lane. The Georgetown product had her best WNBA rebounding year (10.3 rebounds per game) in 2010. So far she is off to another strong start averaging double digit boards in 2011.</p>
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<p>In addition to Brunson, Lindsay Whalen is off to an outstanding start of her own in 2011, dishing out a career-high 6.5 assist to her talented Lynx teammates as well as averaging 13.2 points per game, her most since 2007. But most of what she brings is the intangibles - perfectly controlling the tempo of the Lynx's high-powered attack, choosing when to fly up and down the court and when to settle down in the halfcourt.</p>
<p>If the Storm are to even challenge the Lynx tonight, it will begin with containing Brunson, something they did in the second half of their first meeting after they got down by 26 points at halftime.</p>
<p>But if they're going to win, it will be up to Bird to win that matchup with Whalen on both ends of the floor, which will be no less difficult a task.</p>
https://seattle.sbnation.com/2011/6/24/2337028/seattle-storm-vs-minnesota-lynx-storm-try-to-avenge-first-home-lossNate P.