Storm face 1-win Tulsa Saturday

Today the Seattle Storm have an opportunity to do two things.

The first: complete their current three-game road trip with a winning record at 2-1. The second: avoid embarrassment.

Today’s opponent, the Tulsa Shock are a dreadful 1-16 on the season, their only victory coming against the not-quite-as-woeful Washington Mystics.

It is the second meeting between the Shock and Storm this season. While the first meeting ended in victory for the Storm, it wasn’t exactly easy, and it certainly wasn’t without cost for the Storm.

The Storm earned an 82-77 victory over the Shock in Tulsa on June 21, but needed a second half comeback to do it. It wasn’t just about wins and losses in Tulsa though, the Storm’s chances of repeating as WNBA champions took a blow in the first half when center Lauren Jackson went down with a torn labral in her left hip. After Jackson opted for surgery, the Storm lost their center for at least eight-to-12 weeks, if not the remainder of the season.

Playing without Jackson though is nothing new for the Storm. In the past four seasons, Jackson has only gotten through one season unscathed — of course, the Storm did win the championship in that season — but the Storm have proven that they can be quite competitive without her.

The Storm come into tonight’s game after suffering a 92-67 setback on Friday in Minnesota. The Lynx improved to 12-4, the best record in the WNBA.

It was the Storm that held the title of “best” last season, but they have been far from it this season.
There is reason for hope though, despite Friday’s setback in Minnesota, recent victories over San Antonio and Phoenix, as well as 10 of 16 games at home in August should give the Storm an opportunity to make a run at the top of the Western Conference as the season winds down.

In order to do it, they will have to get past the one-win Shock. A task that appears easy on paper, but the Shock are desperate for a win, which makes them dangerous.