Final
score: Storm 94 – Sky 76 (W) (7-6)
Attendance
|
6752
Anthem
Watch | So many things to say. I hesitate
to fully unload only because she seemed so earnest in her...
rendition. I will say that I'm pretty sure several sections
of the Patriot Act directly prohibit what we heard tonight.
Fan
Psyche | Just give LJ the damn ball.
Game
Highlight | That fastbreak Sue drive and kick-out
to Betty who touch passed it to LJ for a corner three. That
was freakin' beautiful.
Halftime
| The Dunking Ushers — always a good
halftime.
SF.O
Keyword of the Game | LJ for MVP!
Game
Photos
| Scott
L | Scott
E
So
much for the 30-point game every three games.
LJ
did the domination thing tonight. It helped that Chicago had
no one who could guard her. Heck, they had multiple no ones
who could guard her. She was doing whatever she wanted against
double- and triple-teams.
If
that wasn't good enough, our bench finally showed up from
training camp and put some real numbers on the board. Shyra
Ely finally showed us what she showed the Coach in practice
— she can actually hit a shot or two, get some rebounds
and play a little defense.
The
bench got most of the 4th quarter on the court. LJ went out
with about 7:30 left on the clock and the score was 82-62.
The bench scored 12 while allowing 14 and got 12 rebounds,
and this was with the Sky big guns in the game until the last
couple minutes. The only player to not score was Fluker. On
the other hand, the bench also had 7 turnovers during that
stretch along with 4 fouls. The Storm had only 6 turnovers
before that 7:30. Improvement? Yes — after all, we've
seen the end of games when the bench was in for 4-5 minutes
and was unable to score at all. Enough to quit riding them
about their production? No.
A
little about the Chicago Sky. To be honest, I'm a little irritated
by this team. They are a decent bunch and fun to watch. Candice
Dupree is going to be one of those LJ/Yolanda/Diva type of
dominating players very soon. Her shot is almost so easy and
natural that I was left wondering why the Sky didn't just
give it to her on every play and do a clear out so she could
go to work one-on-one. With Perkins and Price, the Sky have
a solid future core of players. For a second-year expansion
team, they are poised to be competitive and will probably
make a playoff run this season.
That's
the irritating part. Chicago got it easy. Too damn easy. Yes,
their first year was 5-29. Ours was 6-26. Okay, they had it
rough for a season. But, they haven't earned anything yet.
They haven't felt the pain of the cellar enough yet. It sucks
that they are 6-8 and a danger to beat anyone. Sucks.
Anyway,
the Storm looked sharp and together. They looked like they
are getting along just fine, and if that fastbreak pass, touch
pass, three isn't a sign of on-court chemistry, I don't know
what is. Jayda's article about tension on the team stirred
things up and looks like it had a positive effect on the team.
Those kinds of articles can go a couple of ways — forcing
everyone into defensive mode and causing more dissent or forcing
it all out into the open and causing them to deal with their
issues. It seems that there is a little dealing going on.
One
last note. LJ is playing like a true MVP and is on track to
have her best season ever. She is injury-free and is managing
the chronic pain she'll always have. The Storm can't count
on all of that every season. Now is the time to strike, take
advantage of having the best player on the planet playing
healthy and start winning some damn games. Tonight was a good
win. Let's not waste LJ's effort and health by playing .500
basketball.
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