Storm, Fever, WNBA trying to get Celtics to rub off

Typical.

A team wins a championship, and everyone tries to lay claim to a piece of the crown.

The Boston Celtics are the latest to fall victim, with folks grasping at their 17th NBA title, the WNBA leaving finger smudges on the trophy everywhere you look.

Online polls have the Los Angeles Sparks leading as the league's female version of the championship team. Storm guard Sue Bird is plucking a lucky clover, too, as a way to get her team out of its three-game slump.

"We're kind of the Celtics of the WNBA, so maybe that's a good omen for us," Bird said of the Storm's veteran offseason pickups of All-Stars Swin Cash, Yolanda Griffith and Sheryl Swoopes.

The trio, combined with Bird and Lauren Jackson, represents all but three of the WNBA's 11 championships. The Celtics' "Big Three" of Ray Allen, Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett had never won a title after years of struggling on aimless NBA teams until this year.

Griffith isn't buying into the Celtics comparisons.

"The teams that have been saying they're the Celtics of the WNBA are the ones with the worst records, so we aren't going to claim that," Griffith said. "We dug a hole for ourselves being 7-6, and we're fourth in our conference."

Enter the Indiana Fever.

Seattle's sister expansion team from 2000 probably has better claim to the comparison because, like the Storm, the Fever stacked veteran players on its roster during the offseason.

But unlike Seattle and more like Boston, the three players the Fever has in its lineup — Tamika Catchings, Katie Douglas and Ebony Hoffman — have never reached the WNBA Finals. And the Fever (6-4) truly stresses defense, holding opponents to a league-best 67.2 points on 39.3 percent shooting from the field.

"We want to be like the Boston Celtics, that's our role model," said coach Lin Dunn, who stepped down from coaching the Storm in 2002. "Philosophically, over the last three, four years, we've really emphasized defense. And I thought it was exciting when the Celtics won the championship, the first thing every one of the players said was, 'We all bought into defense, rebounding and sharing the basketball.' Teams that do that have a great chance at being successful."

The Storm began the season with that mentality, buoyed by the offensive boost from Cash, who averaged 16.1 points in the opening six games. But small defensive lapses in the past three games, plus an injury to Griffith, led to a three-game losing streak.

Indiana will be a formidable test for the Storm because Catchings and Douglas are known for their defense, and Douglas ranks seventh in the WNBA, averaging 18.4 points per game.

"Katie's not the quickest player, but she figures out ways to get her shot off and to help her teammates as well," Bird said. "And she's a very good defender. She's going to be a very tough matchup. But it's not just one player, it's the team. We've got to help each other out."

Catchings is playing in just her third game since returning from a torn right Achilles suffered in the Eastern Conference finals last season. She's limited to 15 minutes of play, according to Dunn.

Yet, the playing constraints didn't stop Catchings from believing her team will end up like the Celtics in the end.

"The Storm got different players from teams to make it a dynasty and L.A. got Candace [Parker] and has Lisa [Leslie], but I wouldn't count us out," said Catchings, who's averaging 6.5 points and three rebounds in her return. "The talent doesn't go down when our bench comes in and we definitely have the potential."

Injury update

Griffith practiced while wearing a left knee brace and two ankle braces. She's a game-time decision tonight.

"The ankle is more of a concern than anything right now because it's still real tender," she said. "That's the first thing I hurt against San Antonio, the ankle and then a knee tweak.

"But we'll be all right. I'm a warrior, and I've dealt with worse."

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