Two Distinctly Different Storms at KeyArena

I used to be a basketball chauvinist, claiming that I'd rather watch a videotape of myself shooting alone in my back yard than take in a full 40 minutes of WNBA action. I thought the women's game was too slow, too soft, and too gravity-bound. Forced professional exposure to the sport several years ago changed my mind: these gals not only can play, but they play a fundamentally sound, motion-oriented brand of basketball that I'd love to see more guys play.

But for the first three quarters at KeyArena Tuesday night, the Storm were awful to the point where I considered reverting to my erstwhile sexist opinion. A nine-point second quarter can do that to a fella. So can a 25-9 halftime rebounding deficit and sub-30% shooting from the field. For three quarters, the Storm shot like girls and played like they had cement in their shoes, especially key off-sesaon free agent acquisitions Sheryl Swoopes and Yolanda Griffith. And all-world center Lauren Jackson had but one rebound. Ugh.

Down 45-39 at the start of the fourth to the Sacramento Monarchs, a team which has historically owned the Storm, something clicked. That something was reserve sharpshooter Katie Gearlds, whose three 3's in the first few minutes of the quarter pulled the Storm into the lead. Suddenly, LoJack woke up, Griffith and Swin Cash started working a wicked two-woman game in the paint, and Sue Bird morphed into Chris Paul (Bird, Jackson, and Cash led the team with 17 points apiece). By the time the dust cleared, the Storm had outscored the Monarchs 35-17 in the quarter, leading to a decisive 74-62 win that did nothing to diminish Seattle's stature as a favorite to win its second WNBA title.

But all is not perfect on the Storm's front. While Cash is money (ha!), both the 37-year-old Swoopes and the 38-year-old Griffith really look their age -- especially Griffith, whose mobility is reminiscent of Dikembe Mutombo, and whose hops are reminiscent of Stephen Hawking. Griffith's plenty tough, and is a peculiarly dexterous passer for a woman of her size, but something tells me the Storm are really going to miss Janell Burse (out with a season-ending injury) this year. The up-and-coming 6'5" center's absence means the deteriorating 6'3" Griffith will have to log heavy minutes in the paint this year for the Storm to rise to the top of the league before their short window slams shut. And that's a murky forecast, Doppler.