Insider Preview - Storm vs. Houston (Game 3)

After the Storm went into Houston to steal a 75-67 victory on Tuesday, Seattle was in control of this series. There was no quit from the Comets, however, and they rallied from an early double-digits deficit and a late three-point deficit to pull out a 67-64 win Thursday at KeyArena. The game wasn't really representative for either team, as they combined for 33 turnovers and executed poorly down the stretch, both committing turnovers in the last 30 seconds. But the Storm can point to a 25-5 advantage in points from the free-throw line as something that is unlikely to be repeated in this game.

What does history tell us about this game? There have been 24 deciding Game 3s in WNBA history (based on my own possibly inaccurate research), and home teams are 18-6 in those games. Counter-intuitively, home teams that lost Game 2 have actually been more successful (5-1) than home teams that go in off a Game 2 loss (13-5).

The Storm's success in this game will probably have little to do with strategic adjustments. The key is the Storm's mindset and execution. The Storm wants to be more aggressive to narrow the free-throw gap. If the game is close down the stretch, as it likely will be, the Storm needs to execute better.

As Sue Bird said Friday, "I never want to take anything away from the opponent, because they smelled blood and they went for it in those last four minutes. They're playing for their lives and they went for it. But I really believe that it was things we did and it was things we can correct. I don't think they played their best game, but neither did we. Hopefully we can put a good one together tomorrow."

G U A R D S
	Bird continues to look for her outside stroke in this series. Fourth in the WNBA in 3-point percentage during the regular season (43.7%), Bird is only 2-for-11 from downtown in the first two games. Bird has gotten some good looks, but they just aren't falling for her right now. Comets guard Dominique Canty, not the bigger stars she plays with, led the team's parade to the free-throw line. Canty took eight foul shots and scored eight points with only one field goal.
	After a quiet Game 1, the usual Janeth Arcain was back in the lineup for the Comets Thursday. She scored 12 points and pulled down five key rebounds to finish second on the team. Arcain's ability to move without the basketball makes her tough to guard. Betty Lennox led the Storm with 16 points, but might have been a bit quick to shoot at times. Look for Big-Game Betty to perform better.
F O R W A R D S
	After three halves of keeping Sheryl Swoopes in check, the Comets star finally got on a roll after halftime Thursday, scoring 14 points. She shot 50% from the field and hit some impossibly difficult shots. Swoopes, six points away from passing Cynthia Cooper to become the all-time leading scorer in Comets playoff history, had 28 points in Houston's Game 3 loss to Utah in 2002. Iziane Castro Marques has her work cut out for her on the defensive end tonight.
	Thursday's win improved the Comets to 7-2 this season when Tina Thompson scores at least 10 points. They're 1-7 when she fails to reach that mark. Think Thompson might be the key to this game? Thompson shot 5-for-8 from the field, a dramatic improvement from her 4-for-13 performance in Game 1. Lauren Jackson was an unstoppable 7-for-9 from the field inside the 3-point line, but her attempts were limited by Houston's aggressive double-teaming and the Storm's impatient offense. Look for the Storm to pound the ball down low more often in this game.
C E N T E R
	It's looking like the pre-series thinking that the center position would be the key matchup was wrong. The Storm won Game 1 despite surrendering 21 points to Michelle Snow, then lost Game 2 despite holding her to 10 points (albeit on 4-for-5 shooting and with six rebound) and getting 12 points (on 6-for-6 shooting) and eight boards from Janell Burse. Still, the Storm will make every effort to close down the lane from Snow's post moves.
B E N C H
	Houston Coach Van Chancellor tightened up his rotation Thursday, playing only seven players for more than one minute. Dawn Staley (right) again played starter's minutes (32) off the bench, and her four steals - including one in the final seconds to atone for a bad turnover - were key for the Comets. Tari Phillips scored two points. The Storm got only eight points and three rebounds from the bench, though Tanisha Wright (left) also handed out four assists. Francesca Zara did give the Storm a couple of outside jumpers in the first half, and Suzy Batkovic also scored four points.

TEAM LEADERS LENNOX SWOOPES Lennox 17.0 PPG Swoopes 17.5 Jackson 10.0 RPG Snow 6.5 Bird 5.0 APG Canty 4.0 Jackson 2.0 SPG Staley 2.5 Jackson 1.5 BPG Thompson 0.5 Bird 34.5 MPG Snow/Swoopes 35.0