Storm Bully Fading Fever 103-88

Seattle's offense did whatever it wanted in the impressive win.

(Indianapolis, Indiana) - The Seattle Storm took care of business on their two-game road trip winning both games. First, against the Chicago Sky on Tuesday and then with a 103-88 victory on Thursday against the Indiana Fever. Seattle showed significant improvement from just a week ago when they barely escaped with a win at home over Indiana 85-83. For this game, there was little doubt. The Storm controlled most of the first half keeping the Fever at bay with a modest lead. They blew the game open in the third quarter outscoring Indiana 34-18. Seattle led by 27 points in the fourth quarter before subbing in all of their reserves. Their bench did just enough to allow the team to walk away with a 15-point road win.

Jewell Loyd spoke about the critical third quarter after the game.

“A lot of it was composure. Some of it was us being able to get stops. We got a lot of deflections, some quick runouts to kind of get our offense running. And because we were able to get so many defensive stops, we were able to just flow in actual plays. And that's when we were at our best, is able to just push, set a drag screen, and score. But we were also executing what we were trying to do on offense as well. We understood their defensive play. It kind of baited certain things and got what we wanted. So we were very patient on both ends of the floor, but we kind of just locked in defensively and were able to really use that to get us going on offense.” Loyd told us.

The “Core Four” did it again. Seattle was firing on all cylinders. Jewell Loyd led the team in scoring with 22 points on 57% (8-14) field goal shooting. Loyd also had six assists. Her running mate, Skylar Diggins-Smith added 18 points on an identical 8-14 FG shooting. Diggins-Smith also had a team-high nine assists and committed zero turnovers. Nneka Ogwumike continues to impress scoring 17 points on 73% (8-11) field goal shooting. Nneka also had six rebounds and six assists. Ezi Magbegor added 15 points, a team-high eight rebounds, three assists, four blocks, and three steals.

I spoke with Jewell about the success she and Skylar had in the game.

“Honestly, we were just trying to get into the paint. I think we both have a knack for getting into the paint and creating off that. slowing down a little bit and got a rhythm early. I think when we both kind of get to the rhythm early, kind of open those jump shots and our threes and things like that. But we were just playing with a little more poise and pace to our things and being able to just use great screeners. And our spacing was really good tonight, too. I think that a big factor for us is getting to know each other and knowing where to be for each other. And our spacing allowed us to kind of pick apart the defense when we needed to and create some shots and make some plays.” Loyd replied.

But it wasn’t just those four. Jordan Horston was the 5th player to have double-digit scoring with 12 points off the bench. Mercedes Russell added seven points and five rebounds. Victoria Vivians also contributed with five points and five rebounds. In total, Seattle’s reserves outscored Indiana’s 26-18.

The Storm outshot the Fever 56% (42-75 FG) to 41% (29-70 FG). Seattle’s offense was highly effective against a porous Indiana defense. The Storm had 29 assists and committed just eight total turnovers. Meanwhile, they forced the Fever into 15 turnovers and scored 22 points off of those errors. Seattle had a 17-12 edge in fast break points and dominated inside the paint outscoring Indiana 56-34.

Indiana Fever

The Fever also had five players score in double figures. NaLyssa Smith led the team with a double-double of 23 points and 10 rebounds. Caitlin Clark nearly had a double-double with 20 points and nine assists. However, Clark showed her frustration throughout the game. She committed seven turnovers and picked up a technical foul in the game. Clark made just 6-17 FG attempts.

Kelsey Mitchell added 14 points and Aliyah Boston also had a double-double with 11 points and 12 rebounds. Lastly, Katie Lou Samuelson got hot late and scored all 12 of her points in the second half.

Indiana did do a good job of getting to the free throw line. They made 20-22 FT (91%) and were a +9 against Seattle (11-14 FT) from the foul line. The Fever also out-rebounded the Storm 36-32. They also had the edge in offensive rebounds (10-4) and second-chance points (13-8).

Game Breakdown

NaLyssa Smith was able to get fouled in transition and made both free throws to score the game’s first points. She would score on a layup during Indiana’s next possession.

Skylar Diggins-Smith was able to get to the rim for two. Then Jewell Loyd and Victoria Vivians knocked down back-to-back three-pointers. Nneka Ogwumike was able to hook in a short shot. Diggins-Smith got a nice reverse layup to cap off a 10-0 run for the Storm. That put Seattle up 12-4.

NaLyssa Smith was able to grab an offensive rebound and end the Storm’s run. Kelsey Mitchell then blew right past Vivians for two more. Mitchell got another easy layup from a Vivians’ turnover. Then Caitlin Clark was able to drive past Ogwumike for two more to cut Seattle’s lead down to just five at 17-12.

Jordan Horston was able to score with an assist from Jewell Loyd. But Seattle did not get back in transition defense and Smith finished for another two.

Loyd was able to back down Caitlin Clark and easily knocked the shot down after Clark flopped trying to draw the offensive foul. Clark was able to facilitate and found NaLyssa Smith slipping to the rim. Caitlin then hit Kelsey Mitchell for a three-pointer. Mercedes Russell scored on a nice feed inside from Nneka in the final minute of the opening quarter.

Seattle led 27-20 after the first period. Jewell Loyd led all scorers with 11 points. NaLyssa Smith led the Fever with 10 through the first 10.

Caitlin Clark buried a long-distance three-ball to begin the scoring in the second quarter. Skylar Diggins-Smith responded with a triple on the other end. Clark was able to get to the rim and then got a big block on Skylar to force a 24-second shot clock violation. Horston responded getting a steal against Clark and found Skylar up ahead for two.

Nneka was able to finish in mid-air to put the Storm up nine but Caitlin Clark immediately responded with another deep three. Seattle got an offensive rebound and found Diggins-Smith for the counter-three.

They swapped out game balls and all of a sudden the Storm couldn’t score. Meanwhile, Grace Berger was able to knock down a midrange jumper, and then NaLyssa Smith hit a three-pointer to cut Seattle’s lead down to four at 41-37.

Vivians was able to muscle her way down the lane for two. Clark was able to get past Skylar at the rim for the layup. Ezi Magbegor connected on a deep jumper just inside the three-point line. Aliyah Boston was fouled with just four seconds to go in the half and made both free throws. However, Diggins-Smith was able to catch the inbound pass and hurl the ball up to Loyd who sank the off-balanced jumper as time expired.

Seattle led 47-41 at the midway point. Loyd and Diggins-Smith had combined for 27 of the team’s 47 points in the first half. NaLyssa Smith and Caitlin Clark also combined for 27 points for the Fever through the first 20 minutes.

The Storm got off to a strong start to begin the third period as Magbegor was fouled for two. Then Ogwumike knocked down a three. After an Aliyah Boston score inside the paint, Nneka scored at the rim on two consecutive possessions. Seattle opened up the quarter on a 9-2 run to open up a 13-point lead at 56-43.

Their lead continued to grow. Ezi scored inside the paint and was fouled for the AND1. Boston and Ogwumike swapped baskets. Clark hit a three-pointer but Loyd countered on the other end. Loyd scored seven straight with a pair of free throws and another three-ball to put Seattle up 18 at 70-52.

Seattle’s lead ballooned above twenty after Magbegor knocked down a pair of free throws with around two minutes to play in the third. Jordan Horston got a layup and another basket inside the paint.

Katie Lou Samuelson knocked down back-to-back three-pointers to help give Indiana some life late in the quarter.

The home team Fever trailed by 22 points entering the 4th quarter at 81-59.

Samuelson hit two more triples early on in the fourth as the sharpshooter started getting into a rhythm. Interestingly, Coach Christie Sides quickly pulled Samuelson out of the game shortly after she made her fourth three-point attempt of the second half.

Diggins-Smith continued to attack the rim scoring multiple baskets inside the lane. Seattle also got easy layups from Loyd, Magbegor, and Sami Whitcomb. Ezi then hit a three from the top of the arch to give Seattle their largest lead of the game up 27 points at 94-67.

Whitcomb accidentally fouled Clark on a three-point attempt and Caitlin made all three free throws. With a little over four minutes left in the game, Coach Quinn started subbing in all her reserves including putting Nika Mühl into the game for the first time.

NaLyssa Smith was able to convert an AND1 when Sami Whitcomb got switched onto her down low. Indiana got another stop and then Aliyah Boston knocked in a three-ball from the top of the arc. The Fever went on an 11-0 run in less than 90 seconds to cut Seattle’s lead down to 14.

Jordan Horston finally scored on a nice inside move to stop the bleeding. Jordan scored again and then got a steal and led a fast break where she found Kiana Williams open for three to calm the Fever’s late-game run. Seattle pushed their lead back up to 19 points with about a minute left to play. Smith and Clark each converted two free throws apiece to end the game with a final score of 103-88.

Final Box Score

Additional Analysis

First Month Review

The Seattle Storm finished the month of May with a 5-3 record. They currently sit in 5th place in the WNBA league standings behind the Connecticut Sun (6-0), Las Vegas Aces (4-1), New York Liberty (5-2), and Minnesota Lynx (4-2).

After their 0-2 start to the season against the Lynx, they finished the month winning five of six games including four in a row. The team has currently seen quite a bit of improvement in just the first month which is a great sign moving forward. With a brand new team, most people figured there was the potential for a slow start. And that’s exactly what happened as the team was 1-3 after their first week and had one of the worst records in the league. That has quickly been erased with the team now sitting two games above a .500 record.

It certainly doesn’t hurt that the team has played both the Washington Mystics (0-7) and the Indiana Fever (1-8) two times each. Four of Seattle’s five victories have come against the two worst teams in the WNBA. But that doesn’t necessarily tell the whole story. Even looking at their two games against each opponent. The first time Seattle faced the Washington Mystics they beat D.C. by nine points (84-75). The second time they played them, they won by 32 (101-69). The Storm barely beat the Indiana Fever at home 85-83 but beat them handily 103-88 on the road a week later.

Seattle also took down the Chicago Sky (3-3) on the road by nine points. If the season ended today, the Sky would be in the playoffs as the 8th seed. Chicago has played significantly better than most expected including picking up a win against the New York Liberty at Barclays Center. The Storm’s victory at Chicago legitimizes their place in the standings.

I spoke with both Coach Noelle Quinn and Nneka Ogwumike after the game about what they’ve seen and learned from their team through this first month.

“Well, we are a resilient bunch. We started off the season with a very tough schedule, knowing that we didn't have a lot of prep time, but you have to get better in games, in film. And I feel like we have a professional locked-in group, very mature, want to be better every single day. And that's what you're seeing. We're not there yet, but we're showing signs of a lot of growth in a lot of areas. Not trying to pay attention to the record at all. Just want to get better every single day.” Quinn stated.

Ogwumike echoed those statements.

“I learned that we're tough. I learned that we're kind of coming together in a cohesive way, but in a way that gives each other the confidence that we need to come out here and stick to the game plan, face the opponent that's, you know, directly in front of us. And it feels really good to have all of that manifest into, as you can see, just such a widespread on the score sheet tonight. I think that's something that's through this kind of win streak or through these last few games, that's something that we're seeing. There's a lot of consistency from many people and we want to continue to build off of that.” Nneka added.

There is a lot that stands out to me. Most notable is the team’s improved rebounding and ability to score inside the paint. I wrote about that previously in a recent recap as they have been significantly better than that compared to 2023. The additions of Nneka Ogwumike and Skylar Diggins-Smith have played a large role in the team’s ability to score inside.

Seattle’s defense is a bit ahead of its offense right now. The stats back that up as the Storm currently rank 3rd overall in DEF RTG at 94.4. That means they give up 94 points for every 100 possessions they play on defense. Their OFF RTG isn’t quite as good as it ranks 6th in the WNBA at 99.6. However, those numbers are going up. There has been a noticeable difference from how the team was playing on offense during the first week compared to this week.

Overall, the team’s NET RTG ranks 5th at 5.1. That matches their ranking in the league’s standings as well. The Connecticut Sun, the only WNBA team that’s remained undefeated leads the league with a 12.8 NET RTG. That is a pretty accurate way to judge a team as over the past several years, the team that wins the WNBA Championship is always ranked either #1 or #2 in NET RTG at the end of the season.

The Storm currently rank 4th in points per game as they average 84.5 PPG. They are second in the WNBA in rebounding at 37.5 RPG. They’re third in steals (10.3 SPG) and third in blocks (6.0 BPG). Due to some really bad games early in the season, they ranked 8th in assists at 19.0 APG.

It’ll be interesting to see where these numbers are at the end of June.

Halftime Adjustments

Another noticeable trend recently has been the team’s positive halftime adjustments. Over the past three games, all Seattle Storm wins, the team has outscored their opponents in the third quarter. On Thursday night, they were able to outscore the Fever by 16 points (34-18). During their game against the Chicago Sky, they turned a tight game into a double-digit lead heading into the fourth quarter after they outscored the Sky by 11 (26-15). Lastly, the game before that against Washington was similar. They turned that game from a nine-point lead into a blowout, going up by 17 points entering the last quarter of that game.

I spoke with Coach Noelle Quinn about what she was seeing from those second-half adjustments.

“I like that they're talking and figuring out with each other. It's not just coaches talking to players. Players are talking with each other there too. You know, the bench talking to those who are on the floor and vice versa to see where our adjustments need to be made and a lot of times I'm coming into the huddle or into the locker room they've already talked about it because they see it and what it is is. There's not a panic in our group at all. Whether it's if we're down, whether it's we're playing well and teams go on runs, there's a poise about the leadership, whether it's coming from those three, Jewell, Nneka, Skylar, or from our senior advisor in Sami. There's always a poise about us that kind of gets us on track and just seeing resilience and seeing the patience with the growth in this journey.” Quinn answered.

This was not something the team was doing early in the season, especially during their 1-3 start. It is a positive sign of team progression compared to the first week of the season.

Jordan Horston’s Improvement

Jordan scored a season-high 12 points against Indiana. Scoring six of those points in the final period and 10 of her 12 in the second half. More notable is how she was able to get her points.

While I watched Horston play last season, I wrote about how I thought she could best be utilized. I see similarities between Horston to the Aces’ Jackie Young. We have to acknowledge that Young was not the elite player she is today during her first two seasons in the WNBA. Especially, during her rookie season where she struggled. Young averaged just 6.6 PPG on 32% FG shooting in her rookie year in 2019. Horston put up very similar numbers in her rookie year where she averaged 6.9 PPG on 37% FG shooting.

But it’s not just their rookie season stats that were similar. Before Jackie Young became one of the WNBA’s best three-point shooters in 2022 and again in 2023, she scored the majority of her points inside the paint. And she did it by being taller, stronger, and more athletic than the guards that would normally defend her. Young is listed as 6’0” and 165 lbs. She would score inside the paint by pulling up for short and midrange shots over her smaller defenders. Jackie got really good at this and you saw her continue to improve her game year after year as she got more comfortable taking advantage of her gifts.

Young saw notable improvement from her rookie season to her sophomore year in the WNBA improving from 6.6 PPG to 11.0 PPG. More notably, her field goal shooting percentage increased from 32% to 49%. Young had another significant growth in her 4th season (2022) where she increased her scoring to 15.9 PPG and started shooting over 40% from the three-point line.

Ideally, Horston can follow a similar pattern. Horston is 6’2” and 165 lbs. The points aren’t there yet this season as Jordan is averaging 5.4 PPG this year down from a year ago. But I believe that has more to do with the fact that she isn’t starting and, up to this point, is playing fewer minutes than she did in 2023. However, what I’m interested in seeing, is the growth and development when she’s on the court and trying to score. And I think that is becoming more noticeable. This Fever game was a great example of that. Jordan shot 67% and made 6-9 FG attempts.

This season, Horston has improved her shooting from just under 37% to over 44%. She is more consistently knocking down her short and midrange shots. And she is using her size and athleticism to score over or past her defenders.

Jordan is also healthy this season and no longer dealing with her injured shoulder. That also certainly plays a factor and has, most likely, allowed her to feel more comfortable being more physical at or near the rim.

After the game, I spoke with Coach Quinn about the improvement in offense that she’s seen.

“That's what she's worked on in the offseason are those things exactly. Being more efficient around the rim. She couldn't use her right shoulder for a long time. So she was working on her left hand. She's tweaked her jump shot a little bit. Her three-point shots. She's been working at a tremendous rate. She's very serious about wanting to improve and be a great player in this league. In those moments, I saw aggressiveness. She knew that she could attack her matchup and really dominate her matchup. Defensively, she was using her athleticism and her speed to get her hands on balls, and that's what she can do for us consistently.” Quinn said.

Indiana is in Trouble

The Indiana Fever have played significantly worse than I expected they would this season. Indiana has not made the playoffs since Tamika Catchings retired after the 2016 WNBA season. But heading into this year, after landing back-to-back number one overall picks and taking Aliyah Boston and Caitlin Clark, I thought for certain they were gonna become a playoff team this year. Or at a minimum, competing for that 7th or 8th seed.

And sure, maybe they still will by the end of the season. But things are not looking good right now. This Fever team has been completely out of sorts almost all season long. They are really struggling.

I don’t think the Fever were given any favors from the WNBA Schedule Makers as Indiana has had to play more games than any other team in the month of May. They’ve played nine games already whereas some other teams like the Las Vegas Aces, Atlanta Dream, and Dallas Wings have only had to play five games and have been given extra days of rest in between each of their games. For what it’s worth, the Storm have played the second-most games so far with eight, only trailing the Fever’s nine.

It isn’t just that they’ve had to play their nine games in 17 days but it’s also the opponents the WNBA has given them. Instead of giving the Fever some easier games to help Caitlin Clark and the rest of her team get adjusted to one another and the league, they put them through murderer’s row. A gauntlet of games including four games against the Connecticut Sun and New York Liberty within their first week of the season. Since then, they’ve also had to play against Seattle’s loaded roster twice. Oh, and they also played the Aces in Las Vegas for good measure.

Now the way they are currently playing, they might not be getting a ton of wins no matter who they face. But they could have at least been given a few easier games to start their season.

And while the league will find success no matter what. The last thing it needs is to have all these new groups of fans, that have tuned in to watch Caitlin Clark, quickly start tuning games out because the Fever haven’t been a competitive basketball team through their first month of games.

Team chemistry has been off. Caitlin Clark is putting up pretty good numbers overall. She is averaging 17.6 PPG, 6.6 APG, and 5.1 RPG. However, Clark also leads the WNBA in turnovers at 5.7 per game. Clark and her teammates aren’t fully aligned.

They have had problems getting both Clark and Aliyah Boston going in the same games. Boston has struggled early on this season but has had some better games lately. Aliyah is averaging 11.0 PPG on 45% FG shooting this season compared to 14.5 PPG on 58% FG shooting during her Rookie of the Year campaign. NaLyssa Smith’s numbers are also down as she scored 15.5 PPG a year ago to 10.8 PPG this season.

Coach Christie Sides has been unable to find a rotation that works for the team. They are not playing as a cohesive unit. Players appear more and more frustrated as the games and losses pile up. Defensively, the team has also been abysmal. They have a league-worst DEF RTG of 112.6. That means the Fever are giving up 112 points for every 100 possessions the opposing team has.

I have long been a proponent of building through the draft. But there comes a time when teams need to just move forward with their progression. They can’t be in the lottery for seven consecutive years. Over the past three years, the Fever have drafted #1, #1, and #2 overall. They’ve been able to draft three quality, potential All-Star-level players with those three selections. It’s time to stop the losing and get out of the lottery. But for now, that doesn’t appear to be the case for Indiana.

Up Next

After a successful road trip, the Storm return home for a game against the Phoenix Mercury on June 4th at 7:00 PM PDT.

Notes:
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