|
|||||||||||||||||||||
The 2007 season for the Seattle Storm was a mixture of joy and frustration. As the team witnessed one of the greatest seasons by an individual player in the history of the WNBA, that individual performance did not equate to team success. Lauren Jackson was named the WNBA�s Most Valuable Player and Defensive Player of the Year, but her team finished with a 17-17 record and made only a brief appearance in the WNBA Playoffs, losing to eventual champion Phoenix in two games.
WHAT WENT RIGHT
 Jackson |
There was not much that Jackson did not do in 2007 for Seattle. She led the league in both scoring (23.8 points per game) and rebounding (9.7) and was second in the league in blocked shots (2.0) as she collected nearly every major individual award the league could offer. Jackson also tied the WNBA record for points scored in a single game with 47 against the Mystics on July 24.
The Storm also received solid play from point guard Sue Bird (10.4 points, 4.9 assists per game) and guards Betty Lennox (13.4 points, 4.7 rebounds) and Iziane Castro Marques (12.3 points, 2.8 rebounds and assists). Center Janell Burse contributed 8.8 points and 5.3 rebounds in limited minutes due to shoulder and wrist injuries that plagued her throughout the year.
With Jackson leading the way, the Storm finished as the second highest scoring team in the league, averaging 80.4 points a night.
WHAT WENT WRONG
 Burse |
Seattle was hurt by injuries throughout the year as Bird missed four games due to knee surgery and Burse was hampered with a partially torn left shoulder labrum all season and missed the final two regular season games and the playoffs after undergoing surgery to repair three torn ligaments in her left wrist.
The injuries exposed another Storm weakness in 2007, which was lack of production from their bench. Seattle�s starters accounted for 68.7 of their 80.4 points each night, leaving just 11.7 points coming from the reserves. The Storm did not have a legitimate scoring threat coming off the bench, as their top reserves � Wendy Palmer, Tanisha Wright and Katie Gearlds � each averaged just over four points per game.
The Storm also had a tendency to rely too much on Jackson, who led the team in scoring in 20 of their 34 regular season games. At times her teammates would watch her put on a show rather than being a part of the production. A case in point was Jackson�s record-tying 47-point performance against Washington, a game the Storm lost 97-96 in overtime.
LOOKING AHEAD
 Cash |
Seattle has been busy this offseason, overhauling its roster, coaching staff and ownership in preparation for the 2008 season. Anne Donovan resigned as the team�s head coach and director of player personnel and was replaced in both roles by former San Antonio assistant coach Brian Agler.
While they re-signed Bird and Burse, the Storm lost Lennox and Castro Marques to the Atlanta Dream, the WNBA�s newest franchise. Lennox was selected by Atlanta in the expansion draft on the same day that Seattle completed a trade with the Dream to send Castro Marques and the No. 8 pick in the Draft to Atlanta in exchange for the No. 4 pick and guard Roneeka Hodges.
 Swoopes |
Seattle did not hold onto the No. 4 pick for long as they traded it to Detroit in exchange for veteran forward Swin Cash, who is reunited with Bird, her collegiate teammate at the University of Connecticut. Cash, a two time WNBA champion in Detroit, was not the only player with jewelry that the Storm added this offseason.
The Storm also signed WNBA legend Sheryl Swoopes on March 3. Swoopes, who missed all but three games last year for Houston, brings three MVP awards and four championship rings to Seattle. She will be joined by 1999 MVP and WNBA champion Yolanda Griffith, who signed with Seattle on April 8.
 Griffith |
The Storm are no doubt glad they bolstered their roster in the way they did as it was announced this week that Burse will miss the entire 2008 season due to injury.
With the amount of turnover that has taken place, there will be a very different Storm team on the KeyArena floor this season. Seattle has tagged this team as "The Perfect Storm," boasting the team's combined 25 WNBA All-Star appearances, nine Olympic Medals and 10 WNBA championship rings. With the veteran team that has been put together, the time to win is now for Seattle.