Scouting the Phoenix Perimeter Players

Kevin Pelton, storm.wnba.com | August 24, 2007

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PG KELLY MILLER

G MPG PPG RPG APG TS% Reb% Pass Pos% TO% PER 34 30.6 9.6 4.9 4.6 .581 2 8.6 3 2.04 7 14.6 17 23.8 15 15.1 7

STATS KEY

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 that ended in turnovers PER - John Hollinger's Player Efficiency Rating Numbers in red 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

Drafted by Anne Donovan with the second overall pick in 2001, Miller never was able to crack the starting lineup in Charlotte, playing behind veterans Dawn Staley and Andrea Stinson. A 2004 trade sent her to Indiana, where Miller shared Most Improved honors with Storm center Wendy Palmer (third in the voting? Storm guard Betty Lennox). With the Fever and now for two seasons in Phoenix, Miller has developed into one of the league's better role players. PaulBall couldn't run without Miller's unselfish play, rebounding and defense from the point-guard position.

Miller is the Mercury's lowest-scoring starter, averaging 9.4 points per game, but she does nearly everything else well besides create her own shot. Miller averaged a career-best 4.6 assists per game to rank fifth in the WNBA and ranked second amongst guards with 4.9 rebounds per game. She was one of five players in the league - Diana Taurasi was another - to average at least four rebounds and four assists per game. On defense, Miller's size allows her to defend either guard position. She's also an excellent perimeter shooter, knocking down 38.6% of her three-point attempts - right at her career mark of 38.8%.

PG JEN DEREVJANIK

G MPG PPG RPG APG TS% Reb% Pass Pos% TO% PER 23 8.7 1.6 1.0 1.0 .517 - 6.2 - 1.08 - 10.7 - 31.5 - 7.9 -

A key reserve in 2006, her first season in Phoenix, Derevjanik saw only spot action in 2007 and is unlikely to be part of Paul Westhead's rotation during the postseason. A lack of scoring punch has always limited Derevjanik's role, but she can come in off the bench and run the team as a reserve point guard, with a solid 1.90 career assist-to-turnover ratio. Derevjanik is a quality defensive player; like Miller, her size is an asset at the point and allows her to defend some shooting guards.

SG CAPPIE PONDEXTER

G MPG PPG RPG APG TS% Reb% Pass Pos% TO% PER 31 31.2 17.2 3.6 4.0 .524 11 6.2 19 1.45 2 25.1 7 12.0 5 19.4 3

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There was a strong argument to be made that Pondexter, not Seimone Augustus, should have been the 2006 Rookie of the Year - and Storm fan Patrick Sheehy recently made that argument in his blog. Pondexter was so brilliant that it was perhaps inevitable she take a step back this season. In particular, Pondexter couldn't sustain her ridiculously low turnover rate. She turned the ball over on just 7.4% of her possessions as a rookie, the league's best mark. This year, Pondexter's turnover rate went up to 12.0%. Pondexter's three-point shooting also dropped from 37.3% to 33.3%.

Numbers aside, Pondexter is one of the league's most entertaining players to watch. She has incredible one-on-one skills, including a jaw-dropping crossover pull-up jumper. Pondexter has had a lot of success against the Storm over the last two seasons, including a pair of 30-point outings. Bizarrely, however, she has played much better in Phoenix's losses to the Storm. In the Mercury's lone win in the season series, Pondexter scored nine points on 3-of-13 shooting.

SG KELLY MAZZANTE

G MPG PPG RPG APG TS% Reb% Pass Pos% TO% PER 34 14.4 5.4 1.6 1.1 .530 7 6.1 20 0.58 8 16.5 20 10.4 1 15.0 13

A prediction: At some point during ESPN2's coverage of this series, you will hear that Mazzante is the leading scorer in the history of the Big 10 Conference, male or female. Playing on the perimeter with Storm guard Tanisha Wright, Mazzante piled up the points. It took her three years to find her WNBA niche, but Mazzante developed into a top reserve in 2006 before coming to Phoenix in the Dispersal Draft. More scorer than shooter, Mazzante hit 34.2% from three-point range this season. She did hit a pair of three-pointers in five of Phoenix's seven August games, which means the Storm needs to be aware of her coming off the bench. Mazzante's underrated best attribute is her ability to play the passing lanes - she averaged 2.1 steals per 40 minutes.

SF DIANA TAURASI

G MPG PPG RPG APG TS% Reb% Pass Pos% TO% PER 32 32.0 19.2 4.2 4.3 .585 1 7.0 21 1.46 4 24.9 2 13.8 6 23.3 2

Like Pondexter, Taurasi was due for something of a drop-off after setting a WNBA record by scoring 25.3 points per game in 2006. After using an incredible 30.5% of the Mercury's possessions during her record-setting season, Taurasi was at a more reasonable 24.9% this year as Phoenix had a more balanced offense. Pondexter was actually a slightly larger part of the Mercury's offense on a per-minute basis. Taurasi was hardly a bystander in the Phoenix offense; her 19.2 points per game still ranked third in the WNBA.

As good as Pondexter is at scoring one-on-one, Taurasi is almost her equal. Nobody in the league hits more difficult shots, fading away from the basket, through contact, whatever. Taurasi does not post up as much as she did when she played point guard and faced smaller defenders more regularly, though she still has a strength advantage on many defenders, including in this series. Taurasi will play a key role in Phoenix's zone defenses. When the Mercury play a 3-2 zone, Taurasi is in the middle as a "rover" with the ability to follow players around. Taurasi also plays the "one" in Phoenix's box-and-one defense, shadowing Storm All-Star Lauren Jackson - though Mercury Head Coach Paul Westhead said during the WNBA's conference call for playoff coaches that he does not like that matchup for extended stretches.

SF BELINDA SNELL

G MPG PPG RPG APG TS% Reb% Pass Pos% TO% PER 30 11.4 3.6 1.5 1.5 .483 16 7.2 19 2.01 1 15.8 20 20.0 8 14.0 7

A star in the WNBL in her native Australia before coming to the WNBA with the Mercury in 2005, Snell has been unable to seize a major role in Phoenix. She has seen consistent minutes off the bench and is part of Phoenix's eight-player rotation this season. Noted for her shooting touch in Australia, Snell is just a 31.8% career three-point shooter in the WNBA but is capable of getting hot from downtown. Snell will occasionally defend Jackson in the Mercury's box-and-one defense, but is at a significant physical disadvantage in this matchup. At 5-9, Snell gives up eight inches to Jackson.

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