Alysha Clark

Seattle Storm 2018 WNBA Season Preview

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A little over eight months after their 2017 season ended at the hands of the Phoenix Mercury, the Seattle Storm will open their 2018 campaign at home May 20 against Phoenix.

Before that, the Storm and Mercury will meet twice for a pair of preseason games in May.

To some extent, Seattle’s disappointing first-round playoff exit may benefit the team this year. The Storm could be the biggest post-hype sleeper in the WNBA.

Mechelle Voepel of espnW.com and Brian Martin of WNBA.com both listed Seattle at No. 5 in their preseason power rankings in 2017. Expectations were high, and the Storm got fans even more excited with a 4-1 start to the regular season. Then came a humbling 100-77 defeat to the Minnesota Lynx at KeyArena, and things were never the same for Seattle.

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The Biggest Offseason Questions Ahead for the Seattle Storm

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No WNBA team may face more pressure to upgrade this offseason than the Seattle Storm. There are no more excuses should the Storm fail to at least earn a home game in the opening round of the playoffs.

Heading into the 2017 campaign, both espnW.com’s Mechelle Voepel and WNBA.com’s Brian Martin ranked Seattle fifth in their preseason power rankings.

But the 2017 season was nothing short of a disaster. Firing Jenny Boucek in the middle of the year provided momentary relief, but it couldn’t prevent the seemingly inevitable first-round exit—this time at the hands of the Phoenix Mercury.

It was a fitting coda to a disappointing year. Brittney Griner had 23 points, 11 rebounds and three blocks, while the Storm scored 19 points outside of their big three (Breanna Stewart, Jewell Loyd and Sue Bird). All season long, Seattle struggled to guard elite post scorers, and the team’s lack of depth behind Stewart, Loyd and Bird was glaring.

More of the same in 2018 would mean wasting another year of Stewart and Loyd’s development—as well as what’s left of Bird’s playing career. It shouldn’t be a stretch to say general manager/team president Alisha Valavanis should also be out of a job. At some point, the front office has to point to more than just selecting Loyd and Stewart first overall in 2015 and 2016.

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Alysha Clark Will Be the Seattle Storm’s Most Important Player in 2018 (Non-Breanna Stewart Division)

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Alysha ClarkThe Seattle Storm will be counting on improvement from Breanna Stewart and Jewell Loyd in order to become a top-four contender in the WNBA in 2018. However, no player will be a better indicator of the Storm’s progress than Alysha Clark.

Were basketball a three-player game, the Storm could stack up with almost any team in the WNBA. Stewart, Loyd and Sue Bird aren’t the league’s best trio, but there are few better. Look beyond that three and things get a little more dicey.

That’s why new Storm head coach Dan Hughes had me stop dead in my tracks as I was walking my dogs after I heard this on the Locked On Women’s Basketball podcast last month:

If you’re gonna take on a respect for the defensive end and a respect for the rebounding, then I think it’s gotta encompass a little bit of the decisions you make to add to the team. I think it’s gotta encompass a little bit of focus and buy-in. Alysha Clark is very important to me, because I kind of need…she is the type of defender that I want to influence her teammates to be, and I want to add some of the pieces to this group. Because if you want true consistency in professional basketball—and I’d include the NBA—you’ve got to have buy-in.

In particular, Hughes hit the nail on the head about Clark. Continue reading →

These are the Four Most Important Days of the Storm’s 2017 Season

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When you’re trying to make sense of the Storm’s last few days.

The Seattle Storm’s hopes of turning things around in the second half of the season may rest largely on the decision-making of Alisha Valavanis.

The 2017 season hasn’t gone according to plan at all for Seattle. The Storm are ninth in the WNBA with a 9-12 record, and many of the team’s biggest problems from last year have carried over to this season.

Still, few expected Thursday’s bombshell from The Summitt’s Howard Megdal that cast serious doubt on Jenny Boucek’s future with the team.

A vote of confidence from ownership and the front office is often an empty gesture that is eventually undercut by the team’s actions at a later point. With that said, Valavanis didn’t even bother to offer the bare minimum regarding whether management was behind Boucek.

“I would say that I am working closely with our head coach on how we can recalibrate, how we can do everything possible to make a playoff run,” she said to Megdal. “That’s how I feel, and that’s where we’re at. I’m actively working with Jenny to see if we can make any adjustments to calibrate this for a playoff run, which has been set as a very clear goal.”

Short of having security physically carry Boucek out of the office, it’s hard to imagine a more damning response from Valavanis. Continue reading →

Seattle Storm Weekend Review: Found Money

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A big question around the Seattle Storm this season was whether they could succeed when any combination of Sue Bird, Jewell Loyd and Breanna Stewart have an off night.

Last Friday against the New York Liberty, the trio combined to shoot 10-of-33 from the field, and 18 of their 45 collective points came from the charity stripe. Two days later against the Indiana Fever, they were more efficient (12-of-26) but scored 31 points.

Both of those games ended in victory for Seattle, in large part because of contributions they received from unlikely sources.

Sami Whitcomb came off the bench to drop 22 points on the Liberty, while Alysha Clark made her first nine field goals—a team record—en route to a 22-point day against the Fever. Continue reading →