And the scary part is that this dynasty shows no signs of letting up. Detroit is still uber-talented, with a healthy mix of all-world veterans and dynamic youngsters, and enters this season as a heavy favorite to make its fourth straight appearance in the Finals. Much of the credit for that has to go to GM and head coach Bill Laimbeer, who has seemingly made every right move over the past few years and developed a culture of winning in Detroit that reverberates throughout its roster, no matter who graces it.
The Shock take the court in 2009 stacked once again, perhaps even more so than last year. That’s mainly because of a trade Detroit made toward the latter stages of the 2008 regular season when it acquired center Taj McWilliams to fill the void up front left by Cheryl Ford, who suffered a season-ending knee injury midway through the season.
Although Ford has yet to see action in the preseason, she has been cleared to play. Of course, injury issues have plagued Ford in recent years, but when healthy she’s one of the best rebounders in the game. And if the Shock can get her services for the majority of the regular season, they’ll have one of the most imposing frontcourts in the league in Ford, McWilliams, Kara Braxton and Plenette Pierson.
Pierson will no doubt return to her role as sixth woman extraordinaire, but how Laimbeer and his coaching staff use the rest of his talented bigs should be interesting. Laimbeer has never been one go with an oversized small forward in the starting lineup, which means either Braxton, McWilliams or Ford will come off the bench.
Braxton has been in and out of the starting lineup the last couple years mainly because of her inability to play well consistently. But the Shock did show faith in her by matching an offer sheet from the Sparks after she averaged a career-best 8.9 points per game to go along with 5.1 rebounds in 2008.
And McWilliams, who has played in six WNBA All-Star games, can always be relied upon to produce offensively, defensively and on the boards. The only issue with McWilliams at this point is her age and the amount of miles she has logged throughout her basketball career. The 38-year-old is a veteran of 10 WNBA seasons and also played two seasons in the ABL as well as many overseas.
Experience is definitely not something the Shock lack. Like McWilliams, guard Katie Smith has racked up a lot of basketball miles during her illustrious career. And like McWilliams, Smith, who turns 35 on June 4, shows no signs of slowing down thanks to her unparalleled work ethic. Last season Smith started all 34 games for the Shock and averaged 14.7 points and 4.0 assists, but her main contribution came in the Finals, in which she hit nearly every big shot and was named series MVP.
Smith’s backcourt mate will once again be Deanna Nolan, arguably the most underrated superstar in the WNBA – a paradox that perfectly suits Detroit’s most lethal weapon. While other players in the league may get more recognition in terms of awards and media attention, Nolan simply leads her team to victory year in and year out through her superior athleticism, drive and high basketball IQ.
Unlike in years past, Smith and Nolan will have a lot of help coming off the bench in 2009, and in fact Detroit’s backcourt is so deep this year, Laimbeer may choose to start three guards. Alexis Hornbuckle is set to embark on her sophomore campaign after a sensational rookie season in which she established herself as a defensive stopper, leading the entire league in steals.
The Shock selected Hornbuckle with their top pick in the 2008 Draft and also went for a guard with their first round selection in this year’s draft, nabbing Pittsburgh’s Shavonte Zellous. Zellous is an offensive force who can score from anywhere on the court, and has been doing just that in the preseason, which bodes well for her receiving minutes. So in Hornbuckle and Zellous, not only have the Shock replenished their backcourt for the next generation, they’ve also added guards capable of stepping in and producing on a team that is designed to win now.
Detroit also added a pure point guard in Kristin Haynie, who signed on after playing last season with the expansion Dream.
Youth isn't necessarily served up front, although second-year center Olayinka Sanni is a decent big that can come off the bench and hold down the fort. The team also added Kristen Rasmussen, Barbara Farris and rookie Britany Miller, but it’s unlikely any will play significant roles in 2009 because of the talent ahead of them.
As deadly as Detroit is heading into 2009, a trip back to the WNBA Finals – never mind another title – is anything but a lock. In a 13-team league with 11 roster spots per team the level of competition is going to be high. Laimbeer articulated as much recently.
“Every team can win now on any given night and every team thinks they have a chance to get in the playoffs,” said Laimbeer. “It hasn’t always been that way. I think if you poll every team out there, they believe they can make the playoffs and that’s very dangerous for a team like us that come in as the defending champion.”
On top of the increasing talent level across the league, the Shock have to worry about injury concerns, most notably with Ford, and the realization that two of their major components – Smith and McWilliams – are nearing the end of their careers.
For a typical champion hunger might also be an issue a year after winning a title, especially when you factor in that a team may feature a slew of players that have achieved personal and team success at many levels.
But the Shock aren’t your typical champions.
And what’s strange is that the Detroit Shock don’t seem to need Ford to be at 100 percent to succeed. That’s mostly because of the contingency plans the team usually executes with her out of action, like the McWilliams trade. But they proved it last year when they won the title despite Ford missing 10 regular season games and the entire playoffs. They also proved it during the 2007 regular season when they posted the league’s best record despite having Ford for only 15 games.
As mentioned above, Ford has been cleared to play, but there will always be concerns about her durability given her history and it remains to be seen if she can ever reclaim the form that made her a perennial All-Star.
But a healthy Ford would make Detroit’s frontline a matchup nightmare for opponents and the Shock would be that much more of a dominant team. McWilliams wouldn’t be asked to play heavy minutes, Pierson could focus on offense instead of rebounding and Braxton wouldn’t need to carry a bigger burden than she’s capable of.
Detroit ultimately may not need Ford to win the title in 2009, but if she can avoid another major setback and give the Shock around 30 regular season games they’ll be nearly impossible to oust from their perch.
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