Sunday, August 26, 2007

Can the Storm Add Another Game 3?

PHOENIX - Since the WNBA went to its current eight-team Playoff system in 2000, there have never been a full four Game 3s in the First Round. Just last year, the Seattle Storm participated in the only Game 3 of the four series. This afternoon, however, the Storm has a chance to make four Game 3s in two days by beating the Phoenix Mercury.

The first four days of the WNBA postseason have been competitive to the extent that all three series thus far have gone the distance, but the individual games have been surprisingly uncompetitive. Thursday's triple-OT clash between Indiana and Connecticut was an instant classic and Detroit and New York went down to the wire today, but every other game has been lopsided. That's a surprising outcome, and one I don't think that will continue with the Game 3s starting tomorrow.

The other surprise - one the Storm hopes does not continue today - has been the dominance of home teams, which are 6-1 so far, with Phoenix earning the lone road victory to date.

The Storm traveled to Phoenix yesterday afternoon after practicing in Seattle, then held a shootaround at the US Airways Center this morning. I got in about 11 a.m. this morning and, after a quick lunch with some co-workers, now it's killing time until we head to the arena. Once again, make sure to check out our inaugural road Live From Press Row.

You can pass the time by reading about this series, starting with our Insider Preview. Diana Taurasi blogged about Game 1 in her blog with Sue Bird, while the Mercury Web site has behind-the-scenes video from Game 1, including Bill Russell's visit to the Phoenix locker room after the game.

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