Seattle Storm vs. Detroit Shock

Storm- 81
Shock- 79

I'm too tired to write anything of substance tonight but I'm afraid I'll forget some important stuff to write tomorrow.

This game was very strange from all different aspects. It wore me out, definitely.

1.) This win sealed it for us. We are now in the playoffs! Yes!!! GO STORM!!! In other news, Houston lost tonight so we are now in third place.....hmmm....Sacramento in the first round? Phoenix is still clinging on though because they're handily beating the Lynx as I write this. Doesn't matter to me anymore. Storm are in! Storm are in!

2.) I said in my other blog that I doubted the Storm could win over the Shock. I apologize profusely to the Storm players and staff.

The Storm took a huge lead into the half (22 points) on the shoulders of excellent play by Sue Bird (20 points and 6 three pointers). There were some awesome passes by everyone, which was excellent to see. I was thrilled at the end of the half but I was also praying that the Storm can keep it together against a very offensively dangerous Detroit team.

I guess it was a self-fulfilling prophecy because the Storm played like crap in the third quarter. The Shock beat us by 14 points in that quarter. What made it even worse was that it was just a neverending barrage of points. We couldn't do anything right and the Shock were doing everything right. The refs were also on the Shock's side, which didn't make me a happy camper. Seriously, crappy reffing at times in that game.

In the fourth quarter, the Shock take a one point lead on a three pointer by Katie Smith. By this time, I was practically tearing my hair out. Luckily, in a game saving move, Sue Bird takes a free-throw line jumper and hits, giving us the slim one point lead again.

Back and forth basketball, back and forth basketball. In the end, we were tied with about 21 seconds left. The shot clock was down to 17 seconds and the Storm had possession. Things seriously didn't look good offensively. I give credit to the Shock on this possession. They played solid defense that had me cringing because I couldn't see how we could get a shot up. Lauren Jackson gets the ball, turns to face the basket. Ruth Riley is on her like a blanket. Lauren goes up, does some crazy kind of acrobatic thing in the air, puts it up....AND THE BASKET COUNTS!!!! Holy ****!!!! Lauren Jackson!!! Most amazing shot I've seen. LJ is just too good. Can this Storm fan love her any more than she does right now? I don't think so. There was this cute moment when LJ made that shot, she kinda jogged towards the halfcourt line and Sue just jumps on her and hugs her. Cute, but I was just wondering if that was a good idea with LJ's shins and feet and everything basically injured. Nevertheless, it's a Storm highlight in my mind.

Ten seconds left, Shock take a shot, someone rebounds (can't remember, too ecstatic) and the clock runs out.

Whew...whew...whew...

Okay, this game can be seen from a positive or a negative perspective.

Positive: Hell, we weren't supposed to win this game and we did. Detroit is a tough team. We also won another close game. This is extremely important down the line. Confidence is key to winning those big playoff games.

Negative: How the f**k did the Storm let a 22 point lead dwindle like that. They need better focus. If they had taken care of business in the third quarter (and I mean little things like quality shots and less turnovers), their starters could have gotten a rest and the bench could have gotten quality time. LJ had to play 31.30 minutes in this game just for us to win. I can just see Jan Stirling steaming up over this.

Since we won, I guess I really can't question Anne Donovan's coaching. There was just this point in the third quarter where Detroit had so much momentum going their way. AD never called a timeout. I firmly believed a time out at any time during that run (17-1 according to someone on stormfans.org), would have helped us out. I wonder why she didn't take it. Obviously, I would have angrily been wondering if we had lost that game. I also wondered for a bit why LJ was sitting during a crucial stretch in the fourth quarter, but I found out that she had played too muc already. Kudos to Anne for not overplaying LJ and playing her when it mattered most. 31 and a half minutes is more than the required 30 but it wasn't too much.

Stat time

Sue Bird-- 24 points, 5 steals, 3 assists, 5 rebounds
Betty Lennox-- 12 points, 5 assists, 3 rebounds
Lauren Jackson-- 18 points, 5 blocks, 3 rebounds
Iziane Castro-Marques-- 9 points, 3 rebounds
Janell Burse-- 5 points, 2 blocks, 5 rebounds, 3 assists
Tiffani Johnson-- 6 points, 5 rebounds
Tanisha Wright--5 points
Barb Turner-- 2 points, 2 assists, 2 rebounds

Now we can finally rest LJ before the playoffs and allow her to get healthy again.

Again, THE STORM ARE IN! THE STORM ARE IN!

Next game is against San Antonio. I can't even remember when right now...the game made me too exhausted.

Edit---The San Antonio game is Thursday at 8:00 PM Eastern. You can listen to it online at kjram.com

GO STORM!