Insider Preview - Storm at Houston (Game 1)

"All four games were close," said Storm Coach Anne Donovan back then. "We were down big here the first game, came back. Up big in game three and let them come back, but all games came down to the last couple of minutes. Great series with two very talented teams."

Indeed, with one notable exception - the speed at which they like to play - these teams are virtually identical. In terms of Offensive Rating, the Storm ranks third, Houston fourth. In terms of Defensive Rating, the Storm is fifth, Houston sixth. Their records were separated by one game. The teams feature the top two candidates for MVP ( Sheryl Swoopes for Houston, Lauren Jackson for the Storm).

It is Jackson that is the main concern in advance of tonight's Game 1. During Saturday's season finale, she landed funny and suffered a muscle strain in her lower back. Jackson did not return to the game for precautionary reasons, but the injury became more of a concern when she was unable to complete Monday's practice in Houston. Jackson is a game-time decision tonight.

G U A R D S
	Sue Bird goes into the playoffs on a roll, having won her first WNBA Player of the Week award for the last week of the regular season after averaging 13.7 points and 6.3 assists per game as the Storm went 3-0. Against the Comets, Bird frequently faces a difficult matchup with Swoopes, and she shot just 37.8% against the Comets this year. Dominique Canty is nominally Houston's point guard, though Swoopes will defend the point much of this series and initiates the offense.
	Storm guard Betty Lennox returned to the starting lineup in Saturday's regular-season finale and will start against the Comets. After missing six games with a partially torn ligament in her left wrist, she showed few signs of rust and scored double-figures in two of the three games she played to end the season. Houston guard Janeth Arcain was Houston's third-leading scorer against the Storm at 10.5 points per game but shot only 35.7% against the Storm defense.
F O R W A R D S
	Despite Swoopes' success against the Storm during the regular season - 23.5 points per game on 50% shooting, including a career-high 34 points at KeyArena on Aug. 9 - Donovan doesn't plan anything special to stop her. How much Donovan can do is limited by the fact that Swoopes gets most of her offense from the perimeter and is a terrific passer, neutralizing double-teams. Storm forward Iziane Castro Marques' task is to hold Swoopes in check and make her have to work hard for the points she gets.
	In her return from giving birth just before the start of the season, Comets forward Tina Thompson has been very inconsistent. On Aug. 9 in Seattle, she was off her game, scoring two points on 1-for-7 shooting. Two games later in Houston, Thompson was much more effective, scoring 11 points on 5-for-11 shooting. The former Thompson bodes much better for the Storm's chances of winning. Though Jackson didn't put up a ton of points against the Comets (17.0 ppg), she shot 57.1% from the field against them. That makes her potential loss even more difficult. In Jackson's absence, rookie Suzy Batkovic started the second half against Phoenix.
C E N T E R
	While they are not their teams' star players, this series might turn on the performances of centers Janell Burse and Michelle Snow. Snow was outstanding against the Storm, boosting her league-leading shooting percentage all the way to 64.1% and averaging 15.3 points and 6.8 rebounds per game. Burse played well - 11.8 points and 7.5 rebounds per game - but still lost the matchup to Snow. The Storm's post defense needs to do a better job of containing the first-time All-Star.
B E N C H
	After playing tremendous ball as a starter in Lennox's absence, Tanisha Wright (left) has emerged as the Storm's top reserve. She scored a career-high 17 points on 6-for-7 shooting in Saturday's win over Phoenix. Batkovic also goes into her first postseason playing well. Alicia Thompson will look to duplicate the spark role she played during last year's postseason. The Comets bench is anchored by veteran Dawn Staley (right), who provides unparalleled veteran leadership and savvy off the bench. Up front, veteran Tari Philips and rookie Sancho Lyttle will split minutes.

TEAM LEADERS JACKSON SWOOPES Jackson 17.6 PPG Swoopes 18.6 Jackson 9.2 RPG Snow 6.8 Bird 5.9 APG Swoopes 4.3 Lennox 1.3 SPG Swoopes 2.0 Jackson 2.0 BPG Snow 1.2 Jackson 34.6 MPG Swoopes 37.1

The Storm is 2-0 when Swoopes sets her career high against them.

INJURIES

Storm - Forward Lauren Jackson (sore lower back) is a game-time decision.

Houston - None. Guard Felicia Ragland is not on the playoff roster.