Finals Matchup Halfway Complete

Congrats to the San Antonio Silver Stars, your 2008 Western Conference champions. The Silver Stars rallied down the stretch at the AT&T Center yesterday to defeat Los Angeles for the second time in 28 hours and advance to the WNBA Finals for the first time. One of the observers who was happiest for San Antonio was Storm Head Coach Brian Agler, who spent the last three years as an assistant with the Silver Stars.

"I've got a lot of friends in San Antonio and I know those players and I know there are some players there that have had great careers that haven't won a championship. I know how much that would mean to them," Agler said last Friday. "It's obvious that because of my friendships with them, I would like to see them achieve their goals. But I also have a lot of respect for the other three teams too."

Even though the Sparks were eliminated, I gained a lot of respect for their ability as a team during their postseason run. I really thought L.A.'s guard play and inconsistency would be a major problem, but at no point during the playoffs did the Sparks beat themselves. They simply lost to a better team on the road, with a couple of tough calls going against them.

Los Angeles figures to be even more dangerous next year. With Shannon Bobbitt having a year of experience and Temeka Johnson further removed from microfracture knee surgery (she looked a lot healthier post-Olympics), the point-guard spot should be more stable. Really, the Sparks' offseason priority ought to be shooting guard, where Marie Ferdinand-Harris isn't the floor-spacer the team needs and Raffaella Masciadri is too limited for heavy minutes. I'm not sure if Spaniard Marta Fernandez, very effective at times during her rookie season in 2007, could be in the mix next year.

As for the Finals, our matchup will be complete tonight. Detroit and New York play a winner-take-all Game 3 back at Eastern Michigan University tonight at 4:00 p.m. on ESPN2. If the game comes down to the closing minutes again, the Liberty needs to do a better job of executing on offense. It was also baffling how Janel McCarville could be on the bench at key points of the game. The Shock figures to be tough to beat in a deciding game.

Either winner will have a quick turnaround with Game 3 scheduled for Wednesday in San Antonio. The extra day of rest will come in handy for a Silver Stars team that could really use a healthy Helen Darling and/or Edwige Lawson-Wade to add depth and allow Becky Hammon some quick breathers.

What a Finish in San Antonio

In the NBA, the Los Angeles-San Antonio rivalry has Derek Fisher's shot with 0.4 seconds left to win a key game in the 2004 Western Conference Semifinals. Now, on the same court, the WNBA has matched it with an equally improbable finish, Sophia Young's desperation jumper with 1.8 seconds left that bounced high off the backboard, off the front of the rim and back off the backboard before finally settling into the net to give San Antonio a 67-66 win in Game 2 of the Western Conference Finals.

Watching the shot live via Webcast, it looked like the Silver Stars were doomed when it went a little long on the first carom. Young could shoot that shot 100 times and I'm not sure it would bounce in quite like that again.

So much was riding on that shot. As San Antonio took possession with 1.3 seconds left, it looked like the Silver Stars' season was going to end on DeLisha Milton-Jones' layup moments earlier. With a win, the Sparks were headed to the WNBA Finals, while San Antonio needed the unlikely game score to force a Game 3 tomorrow. Now, the Sparks have to deal with a significant blow to their pysche and have only a little over 24 hours to do so because of the back-to-back games in the conference finals.

Los Angeles' advantage is that the Silver Stars were so hard-pressed to contain Candace Parker and Lisa Leslie in this game. Parker had 19 points and a remarkable 17 rebounds, while Leslie added a double-double of her own with 17 points and 12 boards. This was a mirror image of much of the series with Seattle, with the stars carrying the Sparks while the role players save Temeka Johnson crumbled. I know Shannon Bobbitt is the better defender, but having the rookie running the show down the stretch instead of Johnson was mystifying. Bobbitt shot 2-for-12 from the field and was responsible for a costly shot-clock violation in the final minute.

San Antonio's other big issue is backcourt injuries. Edwige Lawson-Wade left after rolling her right ankle and Helen Darling was limited and ultimately sidelined by a calf injury she's been battling since the Olympic break. If both are out, the Silver Stars will have to rely heavily on their starters in a back-to-back set.

All of that sets up a fascinating winner-take-all Game 3 tomorrow at 2 p.m. on ESPN2 just after Detroit and New York play Game 2 of their Eastern Conference Semifinals series at Noon.

Conference Finals Picks

Alas, recapping the Storm's season left me with little time to work on previews of the conference finals, which kick off ... well, actually about 20 minutes ago, but I haven't looked at the L.A.-San Antonio score, so I'm still going to make my picks.

San Antonio in 2
In many respects, the Silver Stars can be considered a suped-up (read: healthy) version of the Storm. Both teams are outstanding on defense and can struggle at times on offense, not unlike the Sparks. I think San Antonio's superior depth at this point of the season - especially if Edwige Lawson-Wade continues to offer a spark off the bench - will make the difference where the Storm fell just short.

Detroit in 3
The Libkids are certified playoff overachievers after extending the Shock to three games last year and taking out Connecticut in a first-round upset this season. Still, they'll have their hands full with a Shock team that absolutely took Indiana apart in Tuesday's Game 3. Even with Plenette Pierson's status up in the air and Cheryl Ford long out, Detroit seems to be clicking. I think the Liberty can make things very interesting, but the Shock will ultimately prevail on their temporary homecourt at Eastern Michigan University.

Jackson Hasn't Thought About Free Agency

Hello from The Furtado Center, where the Storm is completing exit interviews today with Lauren Jackson and Yolanda Griffith meeting with Head Coach Brian Agler and CEO Karen Bryant.

Earlier, we had our first chance to speak to Jackson about her future. Because point guard Sue Bird is playing out the second year of a deal signed as a core player and teams are now limited to one core designation per season, Jackson cannot be cored and will be an unrestricted free agent for the first time in her WNBA career. (Previously, Jackson signed the three-year deal just completed as a restricted free agent.) Also a factor is whether Jackson decides at some point to take a WNBA season off to rest and let her body get healthier. Those decisions are coming, but Jackson wants time to ponder them.

"To be honest, I haven't even thought about it," she told reporters. "There's a lot of things that will factor into my decision-making, but I haven't even really thought about it. I'm just trying to get fixed and healed and get ready to get back on the court again."

We'll have more on Jackson's status as well as a look ahead to 2009 for the Storm later tonight on storm.wnba.com, so stay tuned.

Cash Still Considering Her Options

As she enters her WNBA offseason, Seattle Storm forward Swin Cash has a decision to make with regards to her back, which has bothered her much of the last two seasons and became especially painful late in the 2008 regular season, forcing Cash to miss the Storm's last three games and limiting her in the playoffs.

"I have a herniated disc that has been pressing on the sciatic nerve," Cash explained to the media Wednesday. "For anyone who has that, it's very painful.

"I've been able to control it most of the season, but something just kind of happened in that Minnesota game (on Sept. 6) that irritated it."

Doctors advised Cash not to play in the Storm's series against the Los Angeles Sparks, but she soldiered through the pain and contributed in a reserve role. Now, Cash is scheduled to head overseas to begin playing overseas for USK Praha in Prague (the same team Storm center Janell Burse played for the last three seasons before moving to Russia for this winter) in mid-October, meaning she must make a decision on what is in store within the next couple of weeks.

"I think, obviously, surgery could be an option," said Cash. "Do you wait it out? Do rehab? Just a lot of different things. I've seen some of the best specialists in the country, got a lot of different opinions. I guess it's pretty much me praying on it and determining what's the best route to take right now. I've played and I feel like I've gotten a little bit better, so I don't know if you want to jump right into surgery, if that's the answer."

If Cash did undergo surgery, she indicated the recovery time would be around 8-12 weeks with the possibility of an aggressive rehab schedule getting her back on the court sooner rather than later.

"It wouldn't be something that would be drastic and keep me out for a long period of time," Cash said.

Aside from the situation with her back, Cash has been looking forward to playing overseas after spending recent offseasons working out in the U.S. and broadcasting for ESPN.

"I obviously wanted to spend a little more time playing at a higher level," she said. "I can train here and I can go play with the guys. In Miami, I played pickup, (partner) Chafie (Fields) and I and played with Ruth (Riley) sometimes when she was down there. But to get overseas and to get that high-level competition was what I really wanted to do to get me back to that level that I know I'm able to play at in this league consistently. That was the biggest reason why I wanted to go over there."

- We had a chance to speak to 10 of the Storm's 13 players today. Lauren Jackson will do her exit interview tomorrow, while Yolanda Griffith's has yet to be scheduled. Sheryl Swoopes wished to speak to the media tomorrow, when Head Coach Brian Agler and CEO Karen Bryant will also wrap up the season.

- OK, the Kelly Santos story mentioned in my main story on the Storm's disappointment and how much players enjoyed being teammates deserves more explanation. I'll attempt to do it justice. When the Storm went down to Los Angeles for Game 1 of the playoff series, the team stayed in a different hotel than in the previous two trips to L.A. This will prove critical.

When the team arrived at LAX, Santos left to spend the evening with friends watching Brazilian movies. They brought her back to the hotel the team had stayed at previously, and Santos spent the night there. On Thursday morning, Santos went to the room of Equipment Manager Danielle Yellam to get her gear for practice only to get no answer at Yellam's room number. After a phone call, Santos finally realized she was in the wrong place.

With little time to spare, Santos hightailed it over to the Storm's new hotel via taxi and was able to make the team bus to practice. It was only then, Sue Bird explained, that teammates got inquisitive as to how Santos' roommate (Kristen O'Neill) could allow such a mix-up. When O'Neill said Santos had never shown up, they got suspicious.

"After reviewing the whole story," said Bird, "we're like, 'So, where did you stay last night?'"

That's when Santos had to come clean about staying at the other hotel.

The great unresolved question of this whole story remains how Santos was able to check in to the other hotel and spend the night. Apparently she was told at the front desk that her team was staying there. What team? Impossible to say.

"Somebody there needs to be fired," Bird joked. "How crazy is that? By far highlight of the year."

Santos was a little less thrilled the story went public, saying with a grin that Bird was not her friend if she was telling everyone.

"I really work with nice people," Santos said, glad Agler wasn't upset. "Everything's OK for them, it's not a problem.

"So, that's my story. I have to write a book."

Share Your Thoughts

Looking at the comments in the last 12 hours, it looks like fans want a chance to talk about the season that was and share their thoughts, so let me provide a specific entry where you can leave your comments on the 2008 season.

Postgame Post Mortem

The big thing I wanted to ask about after the game was the play with 32.4 seconds left where Sue Bird fouled Marie Ferdinand-Harris and sent her to the line with the Storm down three. Bird seemed angry after the play.

Some background. During the preceding timeout, we were able to catch some audio of Storm Head Coach Brian Agler on the radio broadcast, which was off air. It appeared Agler was ordering a foul. I was a little dubious of the strategy with more than enough time to get a stop and potentially get the ball back down three with a chance to tie.

On the inbounds pass, Tanisha Wright immediately fouled Sparks guard Shannon Bobbitt, putting the Storm at the limit. Then Los Angeles inbounded to Ferdinand-Harris and Bird applied pressure before being quickly whistled for a foul. It was possible that Bird hadn't wanted to foul Ferdinand-Harris, an excellent free-throw shooter, but it occurred to me that the team might have wanted to defend straight up after the first foul.

Bird confirmed that notion. It seems possible that the referees might have anticipated the Storm intentionally fouling and gone quickly to the whistle. Ferdinand-Harris hit both shots and the Storm was forced to try to foul the rest of the way.

Bird still seemed a little shellshocked as she talked to reporters, uncertain quite how to react to some of the big-picture questions. She did make it clear that she refused to consider the season a failure because of what the Storm accomplished during a record-setting regular season.

Sheryl Swoopes was, inevitably, asked about her future. She didn't have a firm answer, explaining that if she continued to feel good she would like to play another season. Swoopes was resolute that if she plays in 2009, it will be for the Storm.

The Storm will hold exit interviews over the next couple of days, and storm.wnba.com will have plenty more analysis looking back on the 2008 season and ahead to what is in store for the upcoming offseason.