The Seattle Storm just stunned the WNBA realm. Facing off against the Minnesota Lynx, the team pulled off a big upset defeating the championship contender 93-79. Well, while the victory got controversial as Courtney Williams’ father criticized Skylar Diggins-Smith for her mock dancing. Yet, the fact that the Storm outplayed Minnesota could not be overlooked. Now then, as the team pushes for the playoffs, there is one major flaw that they need to address.
Storm has been dealing with inconsistencies within its team for a long time. The team had a six-game slump at the beginning of August. And it almost knocked them out of the playoff contention. Thankfully, in the next eight games, they bounced back to have a 6-2 record and clinched the seventh spot on the table. But there is one thing that coach Noelle Quinn would need to fix.
Seattle Storm Must Fix Their Defensive Flaws Ahead Of WNBA Playoffs
The team is looking in line to qualify for the playoffs. However, their defense once again, has become a prominent headache for Noelle Quinn. In order to tackle the issue, the team roped in the likes of Nneka Ogwumike and Ezi Magbegor. Unfortunately, despite the big names marshalling the defense, the lapses have been prominent. And if not addressed immediately, the team might perish as the postseason will get underway.
Now, the defensive struggles of the team have been quite puzzling. Throughout the season, the Storm has remained a top five defensive team. They have allowed only 79.9 points per game on an average. But on the contrary, their defending in paint has been pretty sluggish. As August drew to a close, Seattle has given away 38.0 points in paint. And that is the third-most in the league.
EZI EZI EZI OI OI OI 🔥@ezimagbegor is FIRST TEAM All-Defense 👏 pic.twitter.com/6OmuA4pqDh
— Seattle Storm (@seattlestorm) September 29, 2024
Thus, it is pretty much a tough ask for Quinn to address the situation as her team is struggling internally with the defense. Even the inclusion of Dominique Malonga, who staked claims for elite WNBA honor, has failed to address the defensive lapse.
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Breaking Down Seattle Storm’s Defensive Woes
Breaking down the defensive numbers further, a surprising trend could be spotted. When it comes to defending the opposing guards, the team is conceding the second-fewest points. However, the statistics are getting drastically reversed when it comes down to defending opposing guards. In such a scenario, the Storm defenders are giving away fourth-most points to their opponents.
Surely, this concludes the fact that the issue lies in defending against the perimeter-oriented forwards. And surely, the team is in dire straits at the moment. Adding to their woes, Storm is also having some significant struggles on the glass. The team has, so far, conceded the most rebounds to their opponents while scoring the fewest. Surely, all of this might pile up and bite the team in their back. However, with Quinn renowned for having an impeccable coaching IQ, fans are now waiting to see how things pan out for the Storm next.