Storm
Storm can secure West's No. 2 seed with win tonight

By Jayda Evans
Seattle Times staff reporter

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Backing it up may be a popular hip-hop verse, but when it comes to playoff berths and seeding, the Storm would rather not play musical chairs with the Western Conference standings.

So, once again to prevent giving life to challenges by Minnesota and Phoenix, Seattle (19-13) needs to win tonight against the Mercury to secure second place, which would give the team home-court advantage in the opening round. Minnesota is 17-15, Phoenix 16-15.

The WNBA's first round is a best-of-three series, sending the higher seed on the road for the first game and back home for the final two. The Storm is 12-3 this season at KeyArena.

A loss would send Seattle through the spin cycle, spitting the team out at any of the remaining three spots — including fourth, if all three teams finish 19-15. According to league tiebreakers that combine the head-to-head matchups, in that scenario, the Lynx (4-3 combined) would grab the second seed, the Mercury (4-4) third and the Storm (3-4) fourth.

But that's only if Seattle loses its final two home games — tonight against Phoenix and Saturday against the Los Angeles Sparks, who own the league's best record and clinched the conference regular-season title last weekend.

It's a position the Storm doesn't plan to be in.

"We are fighting for home court, trying to finish second," Storm guard Sue Bird told reporters after Seattle defeated Indiana on Monday. "Just trying to do whatever it takes to win."

Give credit to the rookie class for all the craziness in the 13-team league as the WNBA nears a regular-season close. Led by Mercury guard Diana Taurasi, who turned an eight-win team into a playoff contender, the improved talent is why only two teams (Seattle and Los Angeles) have clinched playoff berths. The rest, including the entire Eastern Conference, are in an NCAA tournament-like vacuum where every game is critical.

And Taurasi has had plenty of NCAA success to pull from.

Winner of three consecutive college championships at Connecticut, she averaged 19.8 points in her team's first five post-Olympic games. The Mercury lost 73-60 last night to the Sparks, but Taurasi causes problems for the Storm.
 
It was her late scoring that helped the Mercury pull out a 63-55 win at America West Arena earlier this month, giving Phoenix a 2-1 edge in the season series. The Storm is 8-8 all-time against the Mercury.

While Phoenix has been able to win behind youthful exuberance, the Storm has won only two of seven games since returning from the Olympics break.

Forward Lauren Jackson, the league's scoring leader (20.2), missed three games with an injured foot and Seattle lost each game. But style of play could also be a factor in the continued drop upon her return.

Jackson starred for Australia in the Olympics, leading her country to a silver medal. In those games, she played a more traditional center's role.

But with the Storm, she's a versatile power forward, ranking second in the league in three-point percentage (45.5).

"The Americans, they have it easy because they play the same type of game," Jackson said after Seattle lost to Connecticut on Sunday. "They don't have to change. Me, I play a totally different game when I'm away. I feel like I'm just getting comfortable."

Jackson averaged 13.5 points on 44 percent shooting in her first two games back. In the past two, her numbers mirrored her reigning MVP form, averaging 22 points on 57 percent shooting.

As the Storm won seven of eight leading into the Olympics break, the team spoke of not riding Jackson's ability and of finding someone else to contribute offensively.

Bird did in the Indiana win. Who will it be tonight?

Jayda Evans: 206-464-2067 or jevans@seattletimes.com