 After Vodichkova was injured, the Storm lost five straight games. Rocky Widner/NBAE/Getty |
"It's hard to describe. ... It hurts right here," said Storm center Kamila Vodichkova, whose season had already been ended by a sprained left foot, pointing to her heart. "I can't do anything but sit and ... it hurts. With Adia (Barnes) we had time to adjust. My injury came at the wrong time, and we're suffering and I can't do anything to help my team."
No one would say it at the time, but that short-term disappointment might have been the best thing that could have happened for the Storm this year and beyond.
When Seattle made the playoffs in 2002, it all seemed just a little bit too easy. One day, the Storm was a third-year expansion franchise, still searching for its identity and the right combination of players around stars Sue Bird and Lauren Jackson. The next, the Storm was winning seven out of eight games and had clinched a playoff spot. Finishing the season so well might have kept the Storm's young players from developing a sense of urgency.
Speaking with the media to wrap up the season, Storm Coach Anne Donovan spoke to the role 2002's success played in 2003's disappointment.
"I think with that (lack of urgency), last year (2002) played into the hand of the youth," said Donovan. "To turn it on, seven of nine games, and win, and be unexpected winners in all seven of those games – nobody expected them to win. I think that just played into the youth of this team. Now, it’s a maturity that’s required to be a good team and to play that way every night, prepare that way every day."
Much of the talk entering the 2004 season has been focused on the Storm's new acquisitions, new starters Betty Lennox and Sheri Sam and new reserve post Janell Burse. However, this very much remains Bird's and Jackson's team, and it is their development that will continue to key the Storm's success. Bird and Jackson could have done little more than they did last season on the court (at least given Bird's knee injury), but Donovan is still working on turning her youngsters into leaders.
In that pursuit, there was a telling moment during Sunday's season ticket-holder event after the Storm defeated Phoenix 82-72 in its final preseason game. Someone asked what the Storm needed to do to become a championship team, and instead of answering herself, Donovan directed Bird and Jackson to give their answers. Their reply - bringing it in practice and maintaining a championship level of intensity every day - echoed Donovan's comment at the end of 2003, probably something less than a coincidence. But by having her players themselves voice the message, Donovan is giving them ownership, and eventually responsibility, of the need to work hard in training camp in April to be successful in October.
Because of their age, Bird and Jackson, both 23, will never have the same urgency to win a championship this season that Donovan's former leader in Charlotte, Dawn Staley, who is 34, has. There is no reason, however, that they can't match the desire the Detroit Shock had last season in claiming the WNBA Championship with four starters 24 or younger.
At the same time, Bird and Jackson do not have the same vocal personalities as a Staley (who was voted the best locker-room leader in a recent WNBA.com survey of the league's GMs). Their veteran personalities, and willingness to occasionally be confrontational if necessary, was a big reason Donovan brought Lennox and particularly Sam on board.
 Donovan wants Bird and Jackson to step up as leaders this season. Bill Baptist/NBAE/Getty |
In some ways, what happened with the Storm last season was similar. Objectively, the Storm was a good team. Only four WNBA teams had a better record than Seattle's 18-16, and only the Shock had a better point differential, with the Storm outscoring its opponents by 3.4 points per game, a mark that should have translated to more than 18 wins. The Storm was the league's best offensive team on a per-possession basis, and above-average defensively and on the boards.
Subjectively, none of those facts can change the painful feeling that missing the playoffs produced amongst the Storm, a feeling that should keep them motivated throughout 2004.
On the court, the buzzword is athleticism. There is no question that, in adding Sam and Lennox, Donovan has made the Storm a quicker team without sacrificing size at either position. That will translate into a Storm team that will try to push the ball when fast-break opportunities are available, but remains equally lethal in terms of half-court execution when those chances do not materialize.
The hope is also that Lennox and Sam will make the decision to double-team Jackson more difficult for opponents. While Amanda Lassiter and Sandy Brondello were both capable outside shooters, they were often hesitant to pull the trigger. Where Brondello and Lassiter combined for 13.3 points per game last season, Lennox and Sam averaged 18.6 despite Lennox coming off the bench. Without taking too many looks away from Jackson and Bird, Lennox and Sam can take some defensive pressure off of the Storm's stars with their mere presence and ability.
That did not materialize during the preseason, with Lennox and Sam shooting 20.0% and 32.0%, respectively, but the Storm is not concerned. Lennox has shot lights-out during practice, regularly burying the 15-foot jumper, and both players have proven track records of being able to score.
The Storm's bench has also shown signs of being far more potent than last season. Burse might be one of the WNBA's ten best starters, but the presence of Jackson and Vodichkova up front makes her one of the league's top reserves this season. Burse's performance during training camp and preseason has demonstrated that her strong finish in 2003 was no fluke, and she might be the best center the Storm has ever had (not counting Jackson) at finishing in traffic, an especially valuable skill playing alongside Bird.
In her second season in Seattle, Tully Bevilaqua has not hesitated to let fly from the perimeter during camp or the preseason. Bevilaqua canned three triples during the preseason, nearly half as many as she made throughout 2003 (eight). Barnes is still working her way into her 2003 shape following her ACL surgery, but should improve as the season goes along, and rookie Michelle Greco has provided another sparkplug off the bench, playing with tremendous energy to make the team as a training-camp invitee.
There is little doubt that this is the best roster the Storm has assembled during its five years of existence. What that translates into remains to be seen over the course of the next four months, as the Storm traverses obstacles like its star players playing in the Olympics, potential injuries, and a Western Conference that is as loaded as it has ever been.
Rest assured that throughout that course, the Storm will be working its hardest to make sure the feelings of last August never return again.
