Scouting the Comets: Guards

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Kevin Pelton, storm.wnba.com | August 29, 2005

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Reading the player stat lines:
TS% - True Shooting Percentage (points per shooting possession)
Reb% - Estimated percentage of available rebounds grabbed by the player
Pass - Assists per minute squared multiplied by assist-to-turnover ratio
Pos% - The percentage of team possessions used by the player
TO% - The percentage of possessions used by the player (including assists) that ended in turnovers
PER - John Hollinger's Player Efficiency Rating
Numbers in tan boxes are player's rank amongst all qualifying players (minimum 250 minutes) at her position
For more, check out storm.wnba.com's stat primer

PG DOMINIQUE CANTY

G MPG PPG RPG APG TS% Reb% Pass Pos% TO% PER 33 30.2 8.2 3.3 3.1 .471 15 7.8 3 0.77 19 18.4 7 14.7 4 11.7 12

Primarily a backup during her first two seasons in Houston, Canty emerged as the starting point guard early in training camp and has yet to relinquish the position aside from one game she missed because of a knee injury. Not a natural point guard, Canty isn't going to set up her teammates very frequently, but she did an outstanding job of avoiding turnovers. Canty's 5-9 size is valuable at the point; her ability to defend either guard position allows the Comets to mix and match defensively to get their best defenders matched up with the opposition's best scorers on the perimeter. It also made her a threat on the glass compared to other point guards.

The Comets don't make many 3s as a team, and Canty is one of the worst offenders. She did not hit a single 3-pointer in nearly 1,000 minutes this season, making her an ideal option to double-team off of when the Comets get the ball down low.

PG DAWN STALEY

G MPG PPG RPG APG TS% Reb% Pass Pos% TO% PER 33 27.4 5.4 2.1 4.5 .507 11 5.5 15 3.74 1 13.2 18 14.2 2 12.8 8

When the Comets barely beat the trade deadline to acquire Staley from Charlotte in exchange for forwards Adrienne Goodson and Kristen Rasmussen, as well as a first-round pick, we called it "a no-brainer." But while the trade looked positively visionary when Canty missed a game later that week because of her knee, Staley's role has been limited recently. Before playing 31 minutes in Houston's season finale, she played just 40 minutes in the previous three games, combining for six points and four assists. A coach on the floor in the truest sense, seeing as she is also the head coach at Temple (a job she may turn to full-time following the season), Staley led the WNBA in assist-to-turnover ratio and is still perhaps the league's best passer. She's slowed a step, however, making it more difficult for her to get to the basket and lead the fast break (not that there was a lot of high-tempo play in either Charlotte or Houston).

Staley averaged a career-low 5.4 points per game this season, but teams can't sleep on her defensively. She still shot 37.5% from 3-point range and had a stretch when the Sting was in Seattle on July 29 where she hit about three jumpers in a row. She then did something similar in her first game in Houston. When she really puts her mind to it, Staley is still a scorer.

PG EDWIGE LAWSON

G MPG PPG RPG APG TS% Reb% Pass Pos% TO% PER 19 6.6 1.4 0.5 0.2 .441 5.1 0.02 17.6 25.7 2.1

A 26-year-old rookie by way of France, Lawson started the season with the New York Liberty but was waived after two games and hooked on with the Comets. Before the Staley trade, she served as Houston's backup point guard. A star in Europe, where she played for Russian champion Samara last winter, Lawson has yet to translate her game to the WNBA. She shot 33.3% from the field and handed out only four assists in 126 minutes of action this season.

PG KIESHA BROWN

G MPG PPG RPG APG TS% Reb% Pass Pos% TO% PER 6 5.3 0.3 0.2 0.3 .500 2.2 0.10 9.7 50.0 2.9

Yet a third Comets point guard who began the season elsewhere, Brown was Washington's backup point guard the last two seasons but lost her job when the Mystics drafted Temeka Johnson this April. She was waived by Washington in late June and signed by the Comets three weeks later, but played only 32 minutes all season between the two teams. Brown is a pretty good passer for a backup, handing out seven assists (and grabbing six rebounds) in the longest outing of her career (29 minutes) at Los Angeles last July. She's also a 3-point threat who canned 46.4% of her tries from downtown last season.

SG JANETH ARCAIN

G MPG PPG RPG APG TS% Reb% Pass Pos% TO% PER 34 31.7 10.1 2.7 1.6 .495 12 6.2 18 0.11 24 19.3 13 12.3 10 13.4 16

Look up the word "dependable" in the dictionary and you're likely to find a picture of Arcain. The only time in the history of the WNBA that Arcain has missed a game was last season, when she chose to stay in Brazil to prepare for the Athens Olympics. It's probably something less than a coincidence that 2004 was also the first and only time the Comets have missed the postseason. Now one of the WNBA's oldest players at 36, Arcain saw her statistics fall off nearly across the board. However, you can't put a number to the value of her veteran savviness on offense. The Storm knows that Arcain cutting backdoor for a layup is coming at some point during this game, but is basically powerless to stop it.

Like Canty, Arcain boasts good size for her position at 5-11 and is capable of defending Iziane Castro Marques of the Storm. That gives the Comets the option of putting Sheryl Swoopes on Sue Bird defensively, a matchup that has given the Storm some difficulty. Arcain is also similar to Canty in a less positive regard: She made only three 3-pointers this season, a career low, and can't stretch the defense despite being solid from 15-18 feet. Castro Marques, like most young Brazilian basketball players, grew up idolizing the legendary Arcain.

SG RONEEKA HODGES

G MPG PPG RPG APG TS% Reb% Pass Pos% TO% PER 26 7.2 1.3 0.7 0.3 .345 6.5 0.16 14.0 5.2 5.8

Houston's second-round pick out of Florida State, Hodges joined twin Doneeka (who plays for the L.A. Sparks) in the WNBA. They're one of two sets of twins in the league, the Millers being the other. While her sister emerged as a key reserve this season, Hodges had a similarly slow rookie campaign. No one questions Hodges' ability to shoot the basketball, she shot only 5-for-26 (19.2%) from 3-point range. Still, Van Chancellor had enough faith in Hodges to put her on the court when the Comets needed a 3 to tie their game in Seattle on Aug. 9. Hodges proved remarkably adept at taking care of the basketball; she committed just three turnovers in 188 minutes of action.

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