Storm Deals With Injuries
 Burse's knee is a concern for the Storm. Jeff Reinking/NBAE/Getty |
There was good news and bad news for the Storm on the Jackson front. The bad news is that the pain in Jackson's shins has been so bad recently that the team decided to have them x-rayed. The good news is that those X-rays turned up negative; Jackson does not currently have a stress fracture in her shins. Still, that won't make playing through pain any easier for Jackson.
"She had this pain last year, but it wasn't so strong so early, it was more of a case of as the season drug on," said Coach Anne Donovan. "That's why we got the exams."
With the help of anti-inflammatories, Jackson has been able to continue playing 30-plus minutes a night, but the pain - along with a recent cold - has certainly been a factor as Jackson has scored 28 points on 9-for-28 shooting over her last two games.
Lennox's broken nose won't keep her out of the lineup, but it has been an incredible nuisance. After using a generic facemask supplied by the Storm at practice on Friday, Lennox used the facemask of teammate Michelle Greco (who has broken her nose three times, including during training camp this year) on Saturday. That one wasn't a perfect fit either, and Lennox will be getting her own mask made in time for the Storm's return to the court Thursday against San Antonio.
"Any time it's something different as a shooter, it bothers you," explained Lennox, who shot 6-for-18 with the mask against the Liberty. "I don't like to have anything on my hands either. But it's something I've got to get used to."
Lennox expects to wear the mask a couple more weeks, but even with it, it remains painful for her to be hit in the nose, as she was "several times" on Saturday.
Burse's injury could be more serious, though just how serious remains to be seen pending the results of Burse's examination.
The good news for the Storm in terms of injuries is that rookie forward Trina Frierson continues to work her way back towards full health. Frierson has recently been participating in some full-court action during scrimmages.
On the court, the Storm worked on its offensive execution after being held to 119 points by the Houston Comets and the Liberty in its two recent losses. On Saturday, Seattle was particularly bothered when New York unexpectedly started the game with a 2-3 zone, the back line featuring three posts - Elena Baranova, Tari Phillips and Ann Wauters. Donovan couldn't recall a time her team had similar problems against the zone, a big reason being outside shooting. The Storm, who came into the game knocking down 38.3% of their threes this season, hit just 3-for-17 (17.6%) in the unfamiliar confines of Spokane Arena.
"The minute they went man, what happened?" pointed out Sue Bird. "We killed them."
Donovan pointed out that her team was frustrated because of its inability to execute against the zone, a product of a slow start that saw the Storm trail 24-11 score just 11 points in the first 10 minutes of the game before Tully Bevilaqua came off the bench to spark Seattle to a 14-5 run to end the first half. After some success at the start of the second half, when, as Bird alluded, the Liberty briefly returned to a man-to-man defense, the Storm struggled to score again down the stretch.
"It's how they ran the zone," added Donovan, referring to the big lineup that allowed New York to dominate the boards as well as clog the lane defensively. "We paid for it."
Donovan also called the Storm's defense "a letdown" after New York scored 67 points on 71 offensive possessions, a rate above both the Liberty's 92.1 points per 100 possessions this season and the Storm's 93.1 points per 100 possessions allowed on defense.
Still, Donovan remains confident that her team can bounce back. The last time the Storm strung together two straight losses, it responded by winning six games in a row to move atop the WNBA. A similar bounceback could start Thursday, as the Storm looks to establish its home-court advantage at KeyArena once again against the 5-9 San Antonio Silver Stars.