Insider Preview - Storm vs. Phoenix

Any team that pairs Cappie Pondexter and Diana Taurasi is always going to be difficult to defend. The duo ranks second (Taurasi, 20.7) and third (Pondexter, 19.5) in the league in scoring. What makes the combination so dangerous is that teams with a single perimeter defensive stopper must choose to have her defend either Pondexter or Taurasi, often leaving the other with a favorable matchup. Since both Pondexter and Taurasi are so skilled at creating their own offense, the notion of shutting one player down, let alone both, is almost unthinkable.

This season, Pondexter has added to her game by dramatically improving her ability to set up teammates in addition to creating shots for herself. Her assist average has gone from 4.2 per game last season to 5.3 this year, second in the WNBA behind the Storm's Sue Bird. The corresponding development has been improved shot selection from Pondexter, who is hitting a career-best 44.7 percent of her shots. Pondexter's 4.5 rebounds per game are also a career high; she and Connecticut's Lindsay Whalen are the only players in the league averaging at least four rebounds and four assists a night.

The Mercury has also supported Pondexter and Taurasi better this year. Temeka Johnson, acquired from Los Angeles for a future first-round pick, has been an upgrade over Kelly Miller at the point. Bouncing back from a rough finish to her Sparks career, Johnson has proven a good fit for Phoenix's up-tempo offense and ranks just behind Pondexter with 5.1 assists per game. First-round pick DeWanna Bonner is the favorite for Rookie of the Year, leading rookies in both points (11.5) and rebounds (6.1) per game. Bonner has played multiple positions off the bench, giving Phoenix a quicker alternative behind starting power forward Le'Coe Willingham.

Now, the offense is getting even more dangerous. When the 2007 Mercury won the championship, no player was more vital than forward Penny Taylor. The Aussie successfully defended much bigger players at power forward while opening up the floor with her shooting range. Taylor is as efficient a scorer as anyone in the league. She took off the 2008 season to focus on the Olympics, then missed the first half of this year after ankle surgery. Taylor re-signed with Phoenix just before the All-Star break and made her 2009 debut on Saturday, playing 10 minutes off the bench. The Mercury has the luxury of working Taylor in slowly as she shakes off post-surgery rust, but by the time the playoffs roll around she could be a huge weapon either moving back into the starting lineup or coming off the bench.

Already, Phoenix is atop the Western Conference at 15-6. The Mercury is well ahead of the team's pace from the championship season, when Phoenix was just 12-9, and that team won 23 games while this year's squad is on track for 24 wins. After a strong start at home, the Mercury has shown the ability to win on the road, including going 3-1 on a five-game road trip that wraps up tonight at KeyArena. Phoenix is two games ahead of the Storm for first place in the West.

As potent as the Mercury's offense may be, it may ultimately be the strength of the team's defense that determines its success. While Phoenix has always won much more with offense than defense, the 2007 incarnation of the Mercury was actually slightly weaker on offense than either this year's team or the 2006 squad. However, that year Phoenix's Defensive Rating was just 2.6 percent worse than league average. That slipped to 7.6 percent below average a year ago, which was why the Mercury had a disappointing season. This year, Phoenix has improved but remains 4.9 percent below league average.

The Storm and Mercury have met twice this season, both at US Airways Center. The Storm handed Phoenix its first home loss on June 21 before falling 10 days later. Now, the last two matchups will be played at KeyArena - tonight and Sept. 10, the Storm's regular-season home finale. If the Storm can win both games, it will claim the season series and head-to-head tiebreaker as well as making up ground on the Mercury in the standings.

"You think about season series with teams from day one," said Storm point guard Sue Bird. "That's been something that Brian (Agler)'s talked about from the very beginning. We definitely want to have the tie-breaker no matter what."

Right now, though, the focus is at least as much on the Storm's level of play and making improvement.

"It is a series and for tie-breaker purposes, you want to win each series and we have an opportunity to that," said Agler, "but I think we're more focused on how we're playing and our ability to try to bring the best out of ourselves."

When the two teams get together, it's the league's biggest possible mismatch in terms of pace of play. The Mercury averages nearly 13 more possessions per game than the Storm - an 18.0 percent difference. When the teams have played the last two seasons, they've enjoyed good, competitive matchups. Playing faster has not been a problem for the Storm, but getting back defensively in transition and avoiding quick shots is key. In the last matchup, Phoenix had some success by playing against type and employing a physical style of defense against the Storm.

KEY MATCHUP
	As mentioned earlier, many teams struggle to defend both of the Mercury's high-scoring wings. Not so the Storm, which has Tanisha Wright and Swin Cash, both quality defenders. For the most part, Cash has matched up with former UConn teammate Taurasi, who has a history of hot shooting against the Storm, including 11 three-pointers in two games this season. Cash has kept Taurasi largely off the free throw line and limited her to 2-of-7 shooting inside the arc. Cash has had two good games down in Phoenix, averaging 19.5 points, 9.0 rebounds and 4.0 assists.

A pair of big runs proved the undoing of the Storm in a 93-81 road loss to Phoenix on July 1. The Storm led much of a back-and-forth first half, and three free throws from Shannon Johnson just before the halftime buzzer gave them the lead at the midway point. The Mercury came back from the locker room inspired, starting the third quarter with an 11-0 run, holding the Storm scoreless more than four minutes. Phoenix would go on to outscore a rattled Storm squad 25-11 in the period, but the visitors used a 12-0 surge of their own to get as close as two in the final period. From there, the Mercury responded with an 11-0 run that all but put the Storm away.

Despite the Storm's point total, the team's offense suffered a letdown, scoring just 31 points after halftime. The Storm shot 41.4 percent from the field. Meanwhile, Phoenix hit 48.5 percent of its shots and was red-hot from beyond the arc, making 12 three-pointers in 24 attempts - nine of them from Pondexter and Taurasi, who combined for 44 points. All five Storm starters scored double-figures, including 17 apiece for Cash and Lauren Jackson. Wright had 12 points and six assists.

INJURIES

Storm - Forward Ashley Walker (right big toe) is out.

Phoenix - Center Nicole Ohlde (fractured scaphoid bone, left wrist.) is out.