Twelve video games into the 2024 WNBA season, the Seattle Storm are making progress at 8-4 and are presently seeded at No. 4 within the league standings—proper round the place Swish Enchantment employees predicted they’d be within the website’s preseason energy rankings.
One has to marvel what the Storm could be trying like in the event that they didn’t have the Minnesota Lynx on their schedule—Seattle dropped one more recreation to Minnesota final weekend, falling to 0-3 in opposition to the Lynx on the season—however they’ve been in any other case strong since a gradual begin. Seattle is 4-1 in its final 5 video games and is outscoring its opponents by 11.2 factors per 100 possessions throughout that span.
Whereas a number of the WNBA’s different prime groups have needed to overcome harm points early within the season, for Seattle, it’s been extra about establishing chemistry between its star gamers. Although the Storm signed guard Skylar Diggins-Smith and ahead Nneka Ogwumike, two of the most-decorated gamers in league historical past at their respective positions, for 2024, there’s nonetheless been a little bit of an acclimation interval because the franchise shifts gears from long-term participant growth and rebuilding (11-29 file in 2023) again right into a win-now mentality.
:format(webp):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/25488469/2157212816.jpg)
“Because it pertains to an identification, we’ve talked about being aggressive and we’ve talked about being disciplined,” Storm head coach Noelle Quinn mentioned of her workforce previous to its latest win over Los Angeles. “I believe that we’re doing that at a excessive stage.”
In that respect, Ogwumike’s fingerprints are all around the Storm’s ascent. She’s been recognized all through her storied profession for each her management and extremely environment friendly scoring, and although she’s nearing her thirty fourth birthday, Ogwumike is exhibiting no indicators of slowing down, averaging 18.2 factors and seven.7 rebounds per recreation whereas rating No. 5 within the WNBA in true capturing share (64.7 p.c; Basketball Reference). Her steadiness has been an anchor for the Storm as Diggins-Smith adjusts to enjoying alongside fellow star guard Jewell Loyd, and as a veteran chief, her tutelage of middle Ezi Magbegor (13.2 factors, 9.4 rebounds and three blocks per recreation) is difficult to overstate.
“She appears to be like nice in inexperienced,” Quinn mentioned of Ogwumike, and Storm followers absolutely agree.
Can the Storm beat the Lynx when it issues most?
Not counting their video games in opposition to Minnesota, the Storm are 8-1.
Sadly, all regular-season video games depend, and the Lynx have unquestionably had the Storm’s quantity to this point in 2024. After a pair of shut losses to Minnesota to open the season, Seattle dropped one more recreation to the Lynx final weekend, popping out flat within the second half and in the end dropping by 19 factors. Quinn was fast to determine poor offense because the perpetrator, asserting, “We are able to’t rating 11 and 12 factors within the second half and win video games … [We need to] develop from that and be higher in our system because it pertains to offense.”
:format(webp):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/25488660/2152920618.jpg)
Simply as of their first two conferences, the duo of Diggins-Smith and Loyd struggled in opposition to the Lynx, combining to shoot 12-for-39 (30.8 p.c) from the sphere. In three video games in opposition to Minnesota, that quantity is simply 27.2 p.c.
That clearly isn’t a recipe for fulfillment, and the Storm can have only one extra shot on the Lynx in the course of the common season. It should wait till July 12, and whereas Seattle has already misplaced its season collection to Minnesota, that recreation should still be large for playoff seeding. The Lynx (9-3) are one recreation forward of the Storm within the WNBA standings, and it wouldn’t be a shock if the 2 groups stay inside shouting distance of each other because the postseason rolls round. Hopefully for Quinn and her employees, that shall be sufficient time for Seattle’s chemistry to be absolutely established.
