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As the 2004 WNBA season kicks into gear, some teams feature new lineups and coaches while others are looking to continue building on some of the successes of last season. Perhaps no one knows the keys to a team's success than the players themselves. First, some of the top players in the Eastern Conference broke down their teams' overall strengths and weaknesses and shares their thoughts on what is needed for a successful season. Now it is the Western Conference players' turn.
 Adrian Williams Phoenix Mercury |
Strengths: Out of the
four years that I have played with the Phoenix Mercury, this was the team
that I loved the most. We were together in practice everyday, working hard,
trying to improve every game. We never gave up whether we were down or not.
Our record does not reflect it, but it was a passionate team. When you bring
in the right players, those one or two missing players, we will start to
click and things will change. We have brought in new, big-time players and
thinking about what the Detroit Shock did, going from last place to the
championship. That is something that we are looking at, but even if we don�t
win the championship, we are going to be a great team. Weaknesses: Everyone is thinking about the Shock and their worst-to-first turnaround. But it�s different because they had their coach already in place. We are bringing in a new coach with a new system. A lot of people don�t realize how stressful that is and how big that is for a team to have a whole new coaching staff that it must get to know what they want. |
 Shannon Johnson San Antonio Silver Stars |
Strengths: Depth is
our greatest strength. We have players on the team that can play two or
three different positions. We have veteran players mixed in with young stars.
Training camp has been a joy because everyone is very positive and encouraging
each other. Defensively, we will be able to shut teams down over a period
of time. Weaknesses: I think that one of our weaknesses is learning a new offensive and defensive system. With five new players it�s difficult to learn player�s tendencies during camp. Everyone is trying hard, but we are not patient enough to wait for thing to develop. Players not arriving to camp at the same time makes it hard to adjust. |
 Tamika Williams Minnesota Lynx |
Strengths: We have a
good chance of making the playoffs again this year. It is going to be a
challenge because the competitive talent of the league has grown significantly.
The rookies will be great and there have been trades that will definitely
make things interesting. The league has gotten a lot better, so it will
be difficult. Weaknesses: I think our weakness is our youth. We lost some of the experienced veterans that have been around this team, but are bringing in some new talent. But that can also be a strength. We are younger and more vibrant, and the players that we have in those positions are very, very, very talented, which is what we needed. |
 Sue Bird Seattle Storm |
Strengths: We had the
MVP of the league, so that was a big strength. As the season went on, we
came together and did a lot of things well. I�d say that our chemistry is
our biggest strength. One of the things that sets us apart from other teams
is that we are a close-knit group. Weaknesses: We were not able to handle the adversity that came with injuries. We had Adia Barnes tear her ACL, Kamila Vodichkova messed up her ankle at the end of the season and we didn�t have her for the remainder. That really hurt us and we never really knew how to overcome that. We probably would have figured it out, but unfortunately, it came so late in the season and we never got a chance to backtrack. |
 Tina Thompason Houston Comets |
Strengths: We were very
strong defensively, we are a very good running team and we shoot the ball
well. Mentally, we had lapses at times last year, but I was very happy with
our overall production. Weaknesses: I think that we just have to be more consistent, to constantly have a high level of intensity. We had lapses mentally throughout some games and that was out weakness but we are a young team. We are kind of meshing the old core of veterans with a lot of new players. The familiarity of having a season together under our belts will definitely help us. |
 Kara Lawson Sacramento Monarchs |
Strengths: I think we had everything.
Our strength is that we have great post play � Yolanda, Tangela, DeMya.
And then we have great guard play, a lot of veterans. Our main strength
was the depth of our team. For the team, our goal is to win the championship
this year. |
 Nikki Teasley Los Angeles Sparks |
Strengths: Our player
personnel is our strength, the veterans that we have. This will be my third
year, and I�m excited to be back. Of course, we have some new additions
to our team, and I think that�s going to add another dimension to our team.
Especially with Teresa Weatherspoon coming in. I�m going to learn a lot
from her and I�m excited about it. Weaknesses: We are addressing the weaknesses, because that�s what you do when you lose. Our group, as a whole, we kind of ran out of gas at the end. Our starters played so many minutes that it kind of caught up with us. That�s something we are definitely going to address this year, starting with training camp. We are going to work extremely hard in the preseason and do a lot of training to get us ready for the end of the season. |