Kevin Pelton, storm.wnba.com | Sep. 24, 2004
STARTING 5
PG HELEN DARLING
The Lynx, needing a backup point guard with
Kristi Harrower headed back to Australia for this summer's Olympics, were ecstatic when Darling was left on the board when their pick came up in this January's Dispersal Draft. Darling came off the bench for the first 12 games of the season before the Lynx went small, playing her alongside former starting backcourt
Teresa Edwards and
Katie Smith. The move sparked Minnesota defensively and the team won eight of its first 10 games with Darling as a starter. At 5-6, Darling is one of the league's shortest players, but she's well-built - check out her biceps - and an aggressive, in-your-face defender. On offense, Darling's shooting is a liability. She connected on only 33.1% of her shots this season, 21.8% from long range, and is a reluctant shooter. As a result, the Storm will likely bring double-teams off of Darling unless or until she makes them pay by hitting some threes. Darling is a good playmaker who finished fourth in the league in assists per 40 minutes despite playing on a weak offensive team, but she, like the team as a whole, can be prone to turning the ball over.
SG TERESA EDWARDS
At 40, Edwards is the oldest player in the WNBA, but she's still one of the Lynx's most dangerous players. Edwards came up with 17- and 18-point efforts against the Storm this season, the two best of her two-year WNBA career, so the Storm and
Anne Donovan, Edwards' one-time teammate and coach, know that better than anyone. Edwards moved off the ball with Darling's move into the starting lineup, and Donovan feels that shooting guard is Edwards' natural position. No one doubts Edwards' ability to step her game up now that it's playoff team, and that means Storm counterpart
Betty Lennox needs to be prepared for a one-on-one battle. At 5-11, Edwards has the size advantage in that battle. While she doesn't post up, Edwards still uses that size to her advantage when taking the ball to the basket. Generally, opponents prefer that Edwards lives on the perimeter, where she was a 29.4% three-point shooter this season, but she canned a cool 57.1% against the Storm from downtown. Turnovers are a problem for Edwards, who averaged six a game in the three meetings with the Storm. Edwards is Minnesota's unquestioned leader and, in the words of the Storm's
Sheri Sam, "has enough experience for the entire team."
SF SVETLANA ABROSIMOVA
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A key reason doom and gloom was predicted for the Lynx before the season was that nobody expected Abrosimova to play this season before the Olympics, if at all. Initially, Abrosimova stayed in Russia to play for the national team, but, frustrated with the treatment of a back injury, she returned to Minnesota (and ended up getting snubbed from the Olympics). Abrosimova finally got healthy at the perfect time for the Lynx, right when Smith went down with a knee injury. Abrosimova stepped into the starting lineup and has provided Minnesota the scoring it has needed in Smith's absence. Abrosimova's line as a starter - 10.9 ppg, 3.7 rpg, 3.0 apg, 1.9 spg, 39.6% shooting, 42.9% on threes - says a lot more about what she can be expected to do in this series than her overall season line. Abrosimova's mix of skills come in handy in Smith's absence, as she's the Lynx player best suited to creating her own offense and also capable of creating for others. At the same time, Abrosimova turns the ball over a lot (in case you haven't noticed, turnovers are a weakness for the Lynx) and is occasionally guilty of trying to do too much. Abrosimova can be beaten defensively, though she's good at playing the passing lanes - a role she'll be asked to do when the Lynx double-teams
Lauren Jackson off of small forward Sam.
PF TAMIKA WILLIAMS
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A year ago, Williams made the biggest shot in Lynx history, stealing a Los Angeles inbound pass and taking it the length of the court for the game-winning layup with 7.4 seconds left as Minnesota beat the Sparks 74-72 to win the first playoff game in franchise history. That wasn't the only shot Williams hit; she shattered the WNBA record by shooting 68.8% from the field. Williams led the league in field-goal percentage again this year, but was not nearly so accurate, shooting 54.0%. Equally a concern is that instead of playing a larger role in the offense as she nears her prime, Williams has seen her scoring average go down every year she's been in the WNBA (though less minutes were largely responsible this season). Because Williams doesn't have much range outside the paint, the Lynx have been unable to take bigger advantage of her ability to make shots. Though just 6-2, Williams is a load in the paint, especially on the offensive glass, where she creates many of her easy shot attempts. The Storm will have to make sure she is boxed out on every possession. Defensively, Williams' height is more of an issue, as opposing players have the ability to shoot over her. She's also not particularly mobile.
C NICOLE OHLDE
Throughout the season, Donovan has said that Ohlde was the player the Storm would have drafted had the trade with Minnesota for Sam and
Janell Burse not been completed and that Ohlde was a "Baby Lauren Jackson". That might be a bit strong, given Jackson is less than a year older than Ohlde, but Ohlde has lived up to the hype during their rookie campaign. In Smith's absence, Ohlde has been Minnesota's leading scorer, coming up with 14.9 points per game on 50.6% shooting during the month of September. Ohlde has gotten a surprising amount of respect from the zebras, fouling out only once all season - opening night against the Storm. She was also fifth in the league in free-throw attempts, averaging over five per game. A good offensive rebounder, Ohlde has not been as effective on the defensive glass despite recording three double-doubles - as many as Jackson. The surprise has been her effective defense. Ohlde was seventh in the WNBA in blocks per game and helped anchor the Lynx's league-best defense with her interior presence.
BENCH
PG AMBER JACOBS
One of just three third-round picks to even make a team this season, Jacobs has gotten progressively more comfortable as the season went on. That's been particularly true in September, as Jacobs averaged 13 minutes after the break, scoring 3.8 points per game and knocking down 6-for-13 from three-point range. Precisely 60% of Jacobs' attempts this season have come from downtown, and she's actually shot slightly better on threes (31.7%) than on twos (30.0%). If she gets hot, she can make the Storm pay for double-teaming. Jacobs is a good passer, but has, like most rookie point guards, struggled with turnovers.
SF AMANDA LASSITER
Former Storm wing Lassiter opened the season as Minnesota's starting small forward, but went to the bench when the Lynx went small. Lassiter's best skill is her defense; at a lanky 6-1 with long arms, she's one of the best shot-blocking perimeter players in the league, ranking in the top 20 in blocks per minute. Lassiter's wiry frame, however, presents issues in the post, and it would not be a surprise to see the Storm post up Sam when Lassiter is on her. Offensively, Lassiter is not particularly aggressive and is usually content to spot up for three-pointers; nearly two-thirds of her shots were from downtown. After hitting 32.9% from three in her last year in Seattle, Lassiter was down to 30.3% this year. Amazingly, she tried just nine free-throw attempts all season.
F/G TASHA BUTTS
Stop me if you've heard this one before: Butts is a good defensive perimeter player who mostly shoots three on offense (nearly half of her attempts). Butts opened the year as Minnesota's top reserve and played 24 minutes in the season opener against the Storm, scoring 13 points (the only time she hit double-digits all season) and knocking down three triples. Butts' role has diminished, both because the similarly-skilled Lassiter is on the bench and because of her inability to make shots (30.0% from the field, 27.0% from downtown). Butts is more skilled than her bench counterparts at getting to the line. Defensively, she doesn't have the height that Lassiter does, but is a much more physical defender who had success working against Sue Bird in the opener.
F STACEY LOVELACE-TOLBERT
Lovelace-Tolbert spent the first two years of the Storm's existence as a reserve forward before taking two years off to get married and have a baby. Back in shape, she made the Lynx roster in training camp and was a completely different player in the opener than Storm fans remembered, coming off the bench to score 12 points in 14 minutes. Lovelace-Tolbert hasn't been that good the rest of the season, but she's had a nice campaign, averaging 3.6 points and 1.9 rebounds per game. A thin 6-4, Lovelace-Tolbert has played both forward spots this season and lately
Suzie McConnell Serio has been using her more on the perimeter, where she has a size advantage and is a good enough shooter to get by. Over Minnesota's last four games, Lovelace-Tolbert averaged 5.0 points and 3.8 rebounds.
C VANESSA HAYDEN
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Taken with the Lynx's own first-round selection, a pick after Ohlde, Hayden has been the interior counterweight to the rest of Minnesota's perimeter-favoring reserves. Listed generously at 6-4, 224, Hayden is a load down low who uses her size to her advantage. Despite her girth, she's still a decent athlete, which makes her dangerous. Hayden hasn't seen a ton of playing time behind and alongside Ohlde, but she's always put up crooked numbers when she's played, leading her to rank amongst the WNBA's per-minute leaders in rebounds (9.6), blocks (3.3) and points (17.5), but also field-goal attempts (18.2) and turnovers (3.9). The offensive-starved Lynx has happily taken the bad with the good, and Hayden has had some monster games, none bigger than her 16 points and career-high nine rebounds in 17 minutes (she took an incredible 18 shots) in Minnesota's upset win at Los Angeles last Friday. When the bench is in the game, Hayden is clearly the first option on offense for the Lynx, who love to establish her in the post. Hayden sometimes settles for shots even when she doesn't have great position, leading to a subpar 41.5% shooting percentage that could be much higher. Keeping her from establishing low-post position is the key to defending her. Given the size, however, that's easier said than done. On defense, Hayden is a terrific natural shot-blocker who trailed only
Lisa Leslie in blocks per minute. She can be foul-prone, averaging a foul every five and a half minutes. Hayden and Ohlde haven't played together a ton this season, but look for the Lynx to get that monster lineup more action in this series. Hayden will test the Storm's skinny reserve posts, Burse and
Simone Edwards.
