WNBA Previews (all teams)

by: Andre Gomes

2008 WNBA season starts today:

 

Eastern Conference

Atlanta Dream

Atlanta is the new team in the league and with this new entry both conferences have now again seven teams each. Surprisingly or not the city seems to like the new challenge and in the first preseason game of the team at home against the LA Sparks, 8000 fans watched the game in the crowd. Wow! But the truth is that this team won't be able to do much in their first season in the league than do what their name exactly says: dream! With Atlanta being a new team, they wanted in the expansion draft new players who have potential to help the team in the future and not in the present. So Atlanta won't have any superstar this season who will be able to solve some games on her own and the scenario isn't the best for them in 2008. Just remember that when Chicago entered the league they went 5-29 in their first season.

The only players who are known by the public and have some ability in order to help raising the team to a competitive level are the guards Betty Lennox and the Brazilian Castro Marques, who are coming from good seasons in 2007. With the competitiveness which will exist in this season, it will be hard for Atlanta to even reach 10 wins this season, but they will be a team that with some momentum will be capable of becoming a moneymaker for us.

Washington Mystics

The Mystics were involved in a fight for a playoff spot until the last game of last year's regular season, but they ended up losing the last spot to New York. The team ended the regular season with a record of 16-18, which is quite good as the team began the season with a 0-8 run! Yes, eight straight losses! In the middle of this losing streak, they changed the coach, they traded some players and the team began playing way better. The Mystics have first of all the All-star player Allana Beard, who had a good season in 2007 even while being physically limited, ending the season with a tam high of 18.8 ppg. The center Sanford had also an excellent season after the losing streak, ending the season with career highs of 11 ppg and 7.1 rpg.

The main news for this season is the trade of forwards, with Milton Jones leaving the team and the veteran Taj McWilliams-Franklin joining the Mystics. The main objective of the team for this season is to have more experience in the paint and more defensive abilities. For that it was also important their choice in the draft, which was Crystal Langhorne, who was in China with the US team and who has been impressive in the training camp. She's coming off a senior season in which she averaged 17.3 points and 9.4 rebounds per game and she will be important to make more competitive one of the weakest points of the Mystics last season, the paint. If Beard continues to be at the same level she was last season, then the Mystics will be more competitive this season and they will be able to think in reaching the playoffs. This team last season won 9 games while being the underdog, so they are really a moneymaker team.

Connecticut Sun

If there was a ranking for most changes on a team during this off-season, the Sun would be a real contender for the first place. If last season they were involved in a major trade, this season they have done it again and the objective if to try to change the style of the team. Katie Douglas went to Indiana and Connecticut got the powerful Tamika Whitmore. The team now got more defensive consistence and it will be hard for them to repeat the 19-14-1 O/U they had last season. The Sun last season ended the regular season with a 18-16 record and also 18-16 ATS, but it's curious to see that from their 18 wins, 8 were gotten playing as underdogs, which gives them a respectable 45% of upsets. Besides this trade, Nykesha Sales, Margo Dydek, Kristin Rasmussen, Le'Coe Willingham, Megan Mahoney and Erika DeSousza also left the team or at least won't play for the Sun this season, which represents 45 ppg of the 75 ppg they had last season.

So the challenge will be big for Connecticut this season, but although all these changes they still have a good team and they have in their roster one of the most dominant centers in Europe, Sandrine Gruda. I don't believe the Sun will be capable to fight for the title this season and their season performance will depend from the team chemistry they will be able to get and how quickly they can adapt to the ballclub and to the new style of play. The sooner they can adapt to that, the most wins they will get this season.

Chicago Sky

This will be the 3rd season of the franchise and team once again look ready to evolute in an explosive way. The Sky in their debut season had a record of 5-29 and last season they finished with a 14-20 record, but being one of the moneymakers of the league with an ATS record of 20-13. This season Chicago promises to be even stronger and they have all the conditions for that. The key of the success is the young players of their roster and who were always top picks in the previous drafts. If Candice Dupree was two years ago and last season Armintie Price was considered the rookie of the year, this season it was the center Fowles who was the 2nd choice in the draft and has potential to be a superstar.

It's curious to see the destiny of this franchise to be on the shoulders of very young player and as every young team, there will be good and bad runs, however if they start the season well they can be a serious threat, as with confidence they can go far. The frontcourt of the team is extremely powerful and Fowles will bring lots of aggressiveness in the fight for the boards and she will also free Dupree from the defensive tasks. The weakest point of the team is clearly the backcourt and this will decide the success or not of the team this season. If they can solve this problem, then Chicago will surely reach the playoffs this season.

New York Liberty

The Liberty were a big surprise last season, as not only they managed to reach the playoffs, as they almost caused an upset in the first round of the playoffs against the reigning champions Detroit Shock. The team was the youngest team in the league and they showed exactly that by winning the first five games of the seasons, just to have a mid season losing streak of 7 games. For this season there weren't major changes in the roster, barring the fact that Wauters left the team. New York to continue with the same roster from last season and expect that the team can be more experienced this season. One of the main problems of the team last season was that the offense of the Liberty couldn't score, especially in the paint (last in the league in points per game and in points in the paint). The fact that they don't have a go to player maybe explain this struggle, especially at the end of the games.

However the experience that the team got by reaching the playoffs last season makes everybody expect the Liberty to reach the post season once again. At least they have a starting advantage over the other teams, as the roster is basically the same from last season.

Indiana Fever

Can a team depend so much from one player? If the answer is yes, then that team has to be Indiana. Tamika Catchings leaded the Fever last season in scoring (16.6), rebounding (9.0), assists (4.7) and steals (3.1), until she got injured and screwed all chances of Indiana to win the title. The worst is that Catchings is still injured and she will miss the first 5/10 games of the season. Only with Catchings is that Indiana can think about something ambitious for this season.

The major news for this season was Katie Douglas joined the team, coming from Connecticut. Douglas averaged 17 ppg, 4.6 rpg and 3.7 apg last season and she will give a big help to Indiana in the attack and also in the defense. Actually Indiana with Douglas, Catchings and Bevilaqua have a great role of excellent defensive players. But just like last season, the major problem of this team will be the attack, as in the defense Indiana was one of the best teams of the league last season. The team will struggle at the beginning of this season, at least until Catchings won't be able to play. Also six players of their roster played in Europe during the off-season and the team didn't have time to develop a chemistry between the probable starting team, as not even a single probable starter has played at least one game during the pre-season. Catchings will be the key of this team and if she can comeback at 100% soon, then Indiana can be a top contender in the Eastern conference.

Detroit Shock

Detroit wasn't able to conquer two back to back titles, as they lost in the final against the new champions Phoenix Mercury. Even though the team managed to make a good season, even having the best regular season record with 24-10. However they didn't have the click they needed to become champions again and that click has a name: Cheryl Ford. She had a very tough season with a lot of injuries and if she was at 100% in the playoffs, then Detroit would have other arguments to face Phoenix, as it's good to remember that Detroit went 13-2 last season with Ford in the lineup.

The major news this season was the fact that Swin Cash went to Seattle, after some arguments with the coach. The team hired two young players that if they are capable of playing well, they will help Detroit in continuing to be one of the best teams in the league. A curious fact last season was even though Detroit went 12-5 at home, they were only 4-12-1 ATS in those games, all because of huge spreads to cover. With the injury of Ford, Nolan and the swingwoman Pierce had to step it up and they had amazing seasons. The doubt this season has to go with the ability of Ford to keep herself healthy and if she manages that, then we will have Detroit fighting for the title once again, especially as they are part of the Eastern conference, easily the weakest of the two conferences this season

 

Western Conference

 

Sacramento Monarchs

Sacramento was used to be in the later stages of the league in the previous seasons, but now this seems unlikely to happen this season. The team is now on a rebuilding phase and even though they have players who are capable of doing interesting things, they aren't already on their prime and especially their rivals in the West are stronger than ever. Team's legend Yolanda Griffith went to Seattle and this leaves Sacramento with Brunson and Powell for the frontcourt and it's asking too much to them to replace Yolanda. Both players had amazing seasons in 2007 (Brunson 11.5 ppg and 8.9 rpg / Powell 12.8 ppg and 5.6 rpg), but the problem is that in the West the frontcourt of the teams is very powerful and without Yolanda, Sacramento will struggle in this point. This problem got even worse when Yolanda's natural replacement DeMya Walker got injured and she's out for the season.

Last season Sacramento was extremely strong at home, posting a 12-5 record and this season with them not having the top team status they used to have, some great opportunities to bet on them at home may happen. The team has still a slight chance to reach the playoffs, but ask the team to do it is too much, mainly thanks to the other teams in the West, especially Phoenix, Los Angeles, Seattle and San Antonio.

Houston Comets

Far away are the years where the Comets used to dominate the league and it looks like they will continue far from this scenario this season. If last season the Comets had a record of 13-21, beginning the league with 10 defeats in a row and losing their best player Swoopes in the 3rd game of the season! However, on the side of the bettor we can say it was an excellent year for them, as they were the moneymookers of the league with 20-13-1 ATS and from their 13 wins, 9 were as the underdog.

For this season Houston ended up losing Swoopes, who joined Seattle and so the team has now just two players capable of deciding a game: the all-star Tina Thompson who had a good season in 2007 with 18.8 ppg, 6.7 rpg and 2.8 apg and also the center Snow who finished last season with 10.8 ppg and 6.8 rpg. It's curious to see that the players who joined Houston this season were almost all veteran players. So we won't see the team not struggling at the beginning of the season, due to the high experience of their players and also we might be looking to a team who will play on a slower pace this season. Probably this team can develop into an under machine. About their chances this season, I think it's better to forget it. The Western conference is too strong for them to think about reaching the playoffs in 2008.

Los Angeles Sparks

From hell to heaven in just one season, it seems to be the sentence which describes better what happened with the Sparks last season, where they had one of the worst records in the league, and this season where they are one of the major favorites to win the league. The explanation is simple and it has to go with the players who didn't play last season and the actual roster of the Sparks. Lisa Leslie was out last season due to pregnancy and the Sparks also saw one of the top players of the league, Chamique Holdsclaw, to decide to retire early in the season. But to make things worse, Temeka Johnson was also out for most of the season. That's why the team finished with a weak 10-24 record last season.

But for this season everything has changed, not only because they had the top pick in the draft, Candice Parker, who seems to be a true superstar, as also Lisa Leslie has comeback, with Milton-Jones also returning to Los Angeles, after a period in Washington. This team begins this season with an extremely strong roster and surely they will have one of the best records at the end of the regular season. The form of Leslie can make the Sparks be the top pick to win the title or just be one of the contenders to get the ring. Anyway together with Seattle, the Sparks are the team which most people expect to see in the WNBA final.

Minnesota Lynx

Minnesota has again one of the youngest teams in the league and that last season had consequences, as the Lynx lost 11 games by seven points or fewer. They simply couldn't finish the games well. On the other side Minnesota was the moneymakers on the over last season, with an impressive record of 23-10-1! The biggest weapon of the team was Augustus, who had an average of 22.6 ppg and who is preparing for this season to have identical numbers.

The team looks to have more talent this season, with the inclusion of the free agent and All-star player Anna DeForge, who came from Indiana, but the injury of the PG Harding will make things hard for the Lynx. Harding was preparing to be the rookie of year last season, until she got injured. Minny can be capable of doing interesting things, as they have a superstar like Augustus and she can solve a game alone in a moment of inspiration, however we can't forget Minnesota is part of the Western conference and the level of their opponents is too high for Minnesota think about reaching the playoffs this season.

Seattle Storm

If we were in 2004 and Seattle had this roster, I would say that they would have the starting team of the Western All-Star team. Bird, Swoopes, Cash, Jackson and Griffith are all all-star teams. But we are in 2008 and not in 2004. The major difference is that there are some doubts about the physical shape of some players and naturally being Seattle a team with a short roster, they will depend from how much time can these five players stay healthy. The team last season just had a record of 17-17 and I said just as they had the best player of the league and the soon to be named MVP Lauren Jackson, who averaged 23.8 ppg, 9.7 rpg and 2.0 bpg! But the team was extremely short, with few options in the bench and it's only necessary to see that from the 80.4 ppg they had last season (2nd best in the league), 68.7 ppg came from their starters.

For this season there are a lot of expectations for this team and they are clearly a team for the present and not for the future, with so many veteran players. Lauren Jackson comes from a great season in Europe and she was considered the best player who was playing on that continent and it's secure to say that she is the best player in the world right now. In a conference so competitive like the West this season, if this team of Seattle is capable of preserve the health of their starters, then they are a serious contender to win the conference.
 

San Antonio Silver Stars

With the trade of Becky Hammon last season, nobody in the Silver Stars staff was expecting the team to improve so fast. But the truth is that Becky was one of the strongest contenders to the MVP title and the Silver Stars finished the regular season with a record of 20-14 and they were in the Western conference final, where they were eliminated by the future champions, the Mercury.

The team this season is even stronger and they have everything to give for the title. With the return of Erin Buescher, who was injured most of last season, San Antonio gains more consistence and more options in the attack. However the big news of San Antonio this season is the return of Ann Wauters to the WNBA. The huge Belgian center had amazing numbers in Europe this season, averaging 17.7 ppg and 9.1 rpg for Russian power CSKA Moscow this past winter. Together with Young, they make the Silver Stars frontcourt extremely strong. However the season hasn't started well for the team, as guard Crossley suffered a season-ending knee injury and she was extremely important for the team last season, coming out of the bench and averaging double digits points. Still this team is extremely strong and combines youth and experience very well, something that can make the Silver Stars one of the strongest contenders to win the title this season.

Phoenix Mercury

The Mercury are the defending champions and so they are the team to beat in the league, however the Mercury won't have the conditions they had last season, as not only their opponents are now stronger, as they also won't be as strong as they were last season. The most important fact is that the most decisive player of the team last season won't play this season in Phoenix, at least until the Olympic Games are over. I'm talking about Penny Taylor. Which team can replace a player with these numbers (17.8 ppg, 6.3 rpg, 49.9% shooting, 37.8% from three, 88.4% at the line, 1.5 spg, 2.9 apg)? That's almost impossible, so Phoenix will have a tough task this season.

The positive side of the team is that they are already adapted from last season to their up tempo system. The coach of the team isn't Paul Westhead anymore, who joined the Sonics, but Corey Gaines who was one of Westhead's assistants last season and who should maintain the same style of play from last season. I remember that the Mercury until the All-star break last season had a record of just 11-9, to then finish the regular season with a record of 23-11. So there will be a margin to think the same for this season, with the eventual return of Taylor after the Olympic Games. The team with their high paced tempo was the team with most points in the league, managing an amazing 95.8 ppg in the post season. This season their task will be harder without Taylor, but the Mercury have a deep roster and players like Pondexter and Taurasi who are in great form and make the most dynamic duo in the league. It will be on their shoulders that the offensive game of Phoenix will be carried. With Taylor back after the Olympics, then the Mercury will have the chance to try to defend the title with more confidence.

Andre Gomes Past Articles

MLB Daily Preview
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MLB Baseball

St. Louis Cardinals @ Arizona Diamondbacks Tuesday September 2, 2008 9:40 pm
Yesterday the D-Backs and the Cardinals opened the series in an authentic high scoring affair game, with the home team winning by 8-6, in a game where he had 4 HR and 24 hits. Honestly I think the bats are still hot right now, but curiously today I think we're gonna have a good chance ... read more

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WNBA Basketball

New York Liberty @ Houston Comets Tuesday September 2, 2008 8:35 pm
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Andre Gomes Bio and Picks | Articles By Andre Gomes

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New York Mets @ Milwaukee Brewers Tuesday September 2, 2008 8:05 pm
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MLB Baseball

Minnesota Twins @ Toronto Blue Jays Tuesday September 2, 2008 7:07 pm
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MLB Baseball

San Diego Padres @ Los Angeles Dodgers Monday September 1, 2008 8:10 pm
I have to confess that the totals for this game have capted my interest since the beginning. The Padres played yesterday against the Rockies, in a Peavy vs Francis duel and the total posted was 7. The Dodgers played yesterday against the D-Backs (Lowe vs Webb) and the total posted ... read more

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MLB Baseball

Baltimore Orioles @ Boston Red Sox Monday September 1, 2008 7:05 pm
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MLB Baseball

Philadelphia Phillies @ Washington Nationals Monday September 1, 2008 3:05 pm
In this game I like the possibility of this game being an high scoring affair. For that we need to have two things: good momentum for the teams and pitchers not offering security and I think we have both things in here. The Nationals are in their best moment of the season, as after ... read more

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San Francisco Giants @ Colorado Rockies Monday September 1, 2008 3:05 pm
We have arrived September, last month of the regular season and if there is a team which may be motivated with this, it's surely the Rockies. Everybody remember their amazing streak that the team had last season and this may be a motivation for the team, after all they enter September, ... read more

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WNBA Basketball

Seattle Storm @ Connecticut Sun Sunday August 31, 2008 1:00 pm
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WNBA Basketball

Houston Comets @ Sacramento Monarchs Saturday August 30, 2008 10:05 pm
The total for this game is at the 146,5 points which is the same line from the previous two games between these two teams. However the oddmakers are forgetting a really important fact for today: how important this game is for both teams. Sacramento is 4th with a 15-13 record and ... read more

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