My daughter and I were at the game last night. Between the large crowd, the fast action, and exciting performances by Jewell, Nneka, Sami, and Jordan, it really felt like the great Storm games that we've all enjoyed in the past. I love, love, love Jordan's energy and passion right now. I don't watch nearly as much college ball so I don't know as much about how she did at Tennessee. But, you can definitely see a jump in confidence from last year. And it's so good to have Nneka back as a reliable, go-to scorer. Sami was also a joy to watch with her relentless defense.
I noticed the great Matt Pitman was back doing the PA announcing. Such a fun atmosphere. Though it looks as if he was just standing in for the night.
Anyway, the game was much closer than most of us would have hoped. But, hard fought victories like this can really boost a team. And, it certainly made for a memorable time.
Terrific game and analysis, Jeff! I confess to not being an adherent to all things Caitlin Clark, but watching last night, I was left with a gnawing wonder if she might be better served by being utilized differently – maybe less time as the primary initiator of the offense. Her passing skills are obvious, but it looks like she expends a lot of (too much?) energy as the initiator, especially given how defenses are just plastering her for 40 minutes. Add in that she actually now also has to defend, she could wear down fairly quickly. Diverting from the CC lovefest for a moment, I’m glad you mentioned Aliyah Boston. I didn’t even recognize the player inhabiting her body these days. She seemed incredibly disconnected and just looked lost. I was also struck by who was (and wasn’t) on the floor for the Storm at winning time. Diggins-Smith seemingly defended Clark well, at least early on, but then vanished. I know there have been calls for “grace,” but again, as with Boston, something seems amiss with Diggins-Smith. All-in-all, though, a fantastic, and much needed, win.
Eric, I haven't been able to watch all of the Fever games this season but have seen some. What I do know is that fans (Fever fans, Iowa fans), have been upset with some of the early games where Clark wasn't the primary ball-handler. They believe she is best in that role because she can create for others but also has the ball and can attack and score. I think one or two of the earlier games they had Erica Wheeler handling the ball more and the team didn't play as well. Despite the fact that the Fever are still winless, they've lost their last two games by a combined 6 points, so they do seem to be headed in the correct direction.
I'd say give it time. We've seen how difficult it's been for a lot of guards to adjust to the WNBA like with Kelsey Plum and Jackie Young. Even Jewell only averaged about 10 PPG her rookie season.
With Skylar, I wouldn't be surprised if she's just tired. The team has played what, 4 games in about 6 days in four different cities. She couldn't buy a basket yesterday but I'd be a lot more concerned if this was her performance in every game this year. But going into that Indiana Fever game, Sky was still averaging around 15 PPG and 5 APG. It'll be interesting to see how she plays on Saturday, with two days rest and being back home in Seattle where they can get full recovery treatment, etc.
I think Nika Mühl will likely start seeing more playing time as long as she's able to be a positive on the court. Skylar realistically should be playing under 30 MPG, ideally probably 25-30.
And lastly, yeah the Aliyah Boston story will be interesting to watch. I really hope she can figure out what's wrong and get back to her normal self. I've never thought Boston was the next A'ja Wilson but she absolutely can be an above average, borderline All-Star post. And with the help of Caitlin Clark and NaLyssa Smith, Boston shouldn't have to be A'ja Wilson.
I wasn't aware of Boston's performance issues so far this season. I'll admit I was happy at the time that she spent most of the game in foul trouble. But, it would be unfortunate if there's some bigger issue going on.
As for Diggins-Smith, I'm still in "grace" mode. We know she has the ability to be great. Hopefully something will click soon.
Hey Corey... Boston has struggled all season, but one thing that stood out to me was a brief interaction with Coach Sides where it seemed like Boston looked either dismissive or frustrated or something. And on the court, I just didn't see the kind of fight she normally shows under adversity. She didn't seem to strike fear into anyone. It was very strange...
I believe Coach Quinn wanted to get her some playing time, especially since the huge crowd was so excited to see her. But I also think that Quinn wanted to keep her rotations short for this game. You'll notice Dulcy didn't play, Kiana Williams didn't play, and Nika barely played. Even Mercedes played less than 10 minutes. It's silly to call this game a must-win so early into the season. But just imagine the optics if Seattle would have lost this game to the 0-4 Indiana Fever WITH having Jewell, Nneka, Skylar, and Ezi all playing. That would be a horrible look for the Storm and Coach Quinn and frankly people might start calling for Quinn's job if that had happened. So I don't fault Noelle for limiting the play of a rookie in that situation.
If she could have done it any differently, maybe she would have played her earlier in the first half but unlikely then in the 2nd half with the game on the line where she needs to trust veterans like Loyd and Whitcomb to take care of the ball.
I can't say for certain, but I'd guess that they just wanted to get her feet wet last night. Saturday should provide a clearer sense of how they want to use her.
Excellent article. We kind of lucked out in this one but we almost shot ourselves in the foot. Jewell Lloyd finally had a good game - actually a great game including her shooting which had really been off. She got after the rebounds in a very impressive fashion and had several assists, too. Nneka also came through again. Too bad Nika didn't get to play more.
My daughter and I were at the game last night. Between the large crowd, the fast action, and exciting performances by Jewell, Nneka, Sami, and Jordan, it really felt like the great Storm games that we've all enjoyed in the past. I love, love, love Jordan's energy and passion right now. I don't watch nearly as much college ball so I don't know as much about how she did at Tennessee. But, you can definitely see a jump in confidence from last year. And it's so good to have Nneka back as a reliable, go-to scorer. Sami was also a joy to watch with her relentless defense.
I noticed the great Matt Pitman was back doing the PA announcing. Such a fun atmosphere. Though it looks as if he was just standing in for the night.
Anyway, the game was much closer than most of us would have hoped. But, hard fought victories like this can really boost a team. And, it certainly made for a memorable time.
Great article! Love the detail.
Terrific game and analysis, Jeff! I confess to not being an adherent to all things Caitlin Clark, but watching last night, I was left with a gnawing wonder if she might be better served by being utilized differently – maybe less time as the primary initiator of the offense. Her passing skills are obvious, but it looks like she expends a lot of (too much?) energy as the initiator, especially given how defenses are just plastering her for 40 minutes. Add in that she actually now also has to defend, she could wear down fairly quickly. Diverting from the CC lovefest for a moment, I’m glad you mentioned Aliyah Boston. I didn’t even recognize the player inhabiting her body these days. She seemed incredibly disconnected and just looked lost. I was also struck by who was (and wasn’t) on the floor for the Storm at winning time. Diggins-Smith seemingly defended Clark well, at least early on, but then vanished. I know there have been calls for “grace,” but again, as with Boston, something seems amiss with Diggins-Smith. All-in-all, though, a fantastic, and much needed, win.
Eric, I haven't been able to watch all of the Fever games this season but have seen some. What I do know is that fans (Fever fans, Iowa fans), have been upset with some of the early games where Clark wasn't the primary ball-handler. They believe she is best in that role because she can create for others but also has the ball and can attack and score. I think one or two of the earlier games they had Erica Wheeler handling the ball more and the team didn't play as well. Despite the fact that the Fever are still winless, they've lost their last two games by a combined 6 points, so they do seem to be headed in the correct direction.
I'd say give it time. We've seen how difficult it's been for a lot of guards to adjust to the WNBA like with Kelsey Plum and Jackie Young. Even Jewell only averaged about 10 PPG her rookie season.
With Skylar, I wouldn't be surprised if she's just tired. The team has played what, 4 games in about 6 days in four different cities. She couldn't buy a basket yesterday but I'd be a lot more concerned if this was her performance in every game this year. But going into that Indiana Fever game, Sky was still averaging around 15 PPG and 5 APG. It'll be interesting to see how she plays on Saturday, with two days rest and being back home in Seattle where they can get full recovery treatment, etc.
I think Nika Mühl will likely start seeing more playing time as long as she's able to be a positive on the court. Skylar realistically should be playing under 30 MPG, ideally probably 25-30.
And lastly, yeah the Aliyah Boston story will be interesting to watch. I really hope she can figure out what's wrong and get back to her normal self. I've never thought Boston was the next A'ja Wilson but she absolutely can be an above average, borderline All-Star post. And with the help of Caitlin Clark and NaLyssa Smith, Boston shouldn't have to be A'ja Wilson.
I wasn't aware of Boston's performance issues so far this season. I'll admit I was happy at the time that she spent most of the game in foul trouble. But, it would be unfortunate if there's some bigger issue going on.
As for Diggins-Smith, I'm still in "grace" mode. We know she has the ability to be great. Hopefully something will click soon.
Hey Corey... Boston has struggled all season, but one thing that stood out to me was a brief interaction with Coach Sides where it seemed like Boston looked either dismissive or frustrated or something. And on the court, I just didn't see the kind of fight she normally shows under adversity. She didn't seem to strike fear into anyone. It was very strange...
Really don’t know what they’re doing with Nika.
I believe Coach Quinn wanted to get her some playing time, especially since the huge crowd was so excited to see her. But I also think that Quinn wanted to keep her rotations short for this game. You'll notice Dulcy didn't play, Kiana Williams didn't play, and Nika barely played. Even Mercedes played less than 10 minutes. It's silly to call this game a must-win so early into the season. But just imagine the optics if Seattle would have lost this game to the 0-4 Indiana Fever WITH having Jewell, Nneka, Skylar, and Ezi all playing. That would be a horrible look for the Storm and Coach Quinn and frankly people might start calling for Quinn's job if that had happened. So I don't fault Noelle for limiting the play of a rookie in that situation.
If she could have done it any differently, maybe she would have played her earlier in the first half but unlikely then in the 2nd half with the game on the line where she needs to trust veterans like Loyd and Whitcomb to take care of the ball.
I can't say for certain, but I'd guess that they just wanted to get her feet wet last night. Saturday should provide a clearer sense of how they want to use her.
Excellent article. We kind of lucked out in this one but we almost shot ourselves in the foot. Jewell Lloyd finally had a good game - actually a great game including her shooting which had really been off. She got after the rebounds in a very impressive fashion and had several assists, too. Nneka also came through again. Too bad Nika didn't get to play more.