Rec’ing on…2007 WNBA Season Team Outlooks

It’s time once again for CJ’s fearless predictions for the impending WNBA season. There have been a lot of player moves this off-season, and one team folded leaving the west with one extra team (why is it always in the West…it actually cheats that conference come playoff time). So, let’s get started with the West, as that’s the conference I know best (bad English, I know, but it made for a fun rhyme).

It’s time once again for CJ’s fearless predictions for the impending WNBA season. There have been a lot of player moves this off-season, and one team folded leaving the west with one extra team (why is it always in the West…it actually cheats that conference come playoff time). So, let’s get started with the West, as that’s the conference I know best (bad English, I know, but it made for a fun rhyme).

Los Angeles – Last season’s regular season conference champ has a new old coach with the return of Michael Cooper. This is an important change, but perhaps not huge as previous coach Bryant did a pretty fair job last year. Even with the addition of one of my favorite players, Taj McWilliams-Franklin, the absence of Lisa Leslie due to pregnancy is going to be a significant hit for the Sparks. The key here is Holdsclaw. Is she up to leading the team for a year? Can Coop manage to keep her productive and healthy? The team has a good shot of making the playoffs given their talent, and could possible make it to the finals if they gel properly.

Sacramento – Last year’s finals runner-up has a new coach and some significant roster changes. Jenny Boucek has been an up-and-coming coach I’ve touted since her assistant days with the Storm. I think she’ll make a great addition to the franchise, but first-year head coaches can have trouble settling in with a new team. Add to that the many miles/kilometers on some of the player’s legs, and the stage is set for a transitional year. The return of Chelsea Newton, I think, is canceled out by the loss of Erin Buescher. Never underestimate the importance of the sixth man. I think it might be a struggle to repeat the success of 2006.

Houston – Another team with a new coach and aging talent (though if I had Swoopes and Thompson on my team, I probably wouldn’t worry about that). With all the personnel changes, as will as this being Karleen Thompson’s first head coaching stint, I think Houston will struggle a bit. I wouldn’t be surprised if they don’t make the playoffs.

Seattle – The Storm are always a team of great promise. With Lauren Jackson and Sue Bird (just coming off a Russian Superleague championship…which has kept them out of the WNBA preseason) you can’t count this team out. With all five starters returning, and an improved supporting cast, the only question is whether they can stay healthy. That’s been the problem the past few seasons. I think with LJ having proved her shins can stand the strain, Coach Donovan will have her on the court more than last year. If the Storm have one more championship season left in them, I think this is the year (and if they want to stay in Seattle, this might be the only incentive for the owners).

Phoenix – The Mercury were definitely the most entertaining, if not the most frustrating, team of 2006. While I was not a fan of "Paul-ball" the end of season run showed how potent it could be when the players finally absorbed the system. With the core group returning, the potential for Phoenix to FINALLY make a playoff series is definitely there. While I don’t think Taurasi will have another record-breaking scoring season, this team will be fun to watch. I think this is the year they make the next step.

San Antonio – Though I really enjoy the teams Dan Hughes coaches, I can’t help but think this will be another nail-biting year for the Silver Stars. While they gained Becky Hammon and Ruth Riley, they lost Pee Wee Johnson and Katie Feenstra. On the whole, I think this slightly weakened the Stars. Even so, Hughes teams are tenacious, and if there was a black-horse in the conference, it would be this team (again).

Minnesota – I have trouble reading this team for 2007. So much depends on Augustus becoming an obvious (i.e. vocal) leader for the team. She needs to step up to that role, otherwise the Lynx might just be a one-trick-pony show like they were last year.

Based on the above, I think the Storm may be the team to look for out of the West, but I wouldn’t be surprised if Phoenix breaks through or Coop plies his magic again in L.A.

Now let’s look at the East:

Connecticut – Mike Thibault has done an amazingly consistent job at Connecticut. Combine that with a healthy Lindsay Whalen and the continued shooting from Katie Giapalakis (hehe…. Douglas) the prospects remain solid. The question will be what effect the loss of Taj to L.A. will have. Taj was the heart of the team, and her loss could have some unintended effects. The biggest loss, though, I think will be Erin Phillips not being present due to pregnancy. It’s the bench that tends to send teams to the highest level, and the Sun now have a questionable one. This might not be Connecticut’s year.

Detroit – The champs made a lot of very well calculated moves in the off-season that I think made them even stronger. It’s no secret that Lambert and Riley didn’t exactly mesh, so I think the acquisition of Katie Feenstra for backup center was a great move…and one that will probably be of best benefit to Feenstra in her career. The biggest coup was getting Pee Wee Johnson. Combine her experience with the talent Ivory Latta brings (how did she drop so low in the draft?), and I would be surprised if the Shock didn’t tear up the league this year.

Indiana – Off-season moves and the draft certainly improved the size of the Fever, but will it be enough? Unless there’s a shift to bring more of the not-Catchings players into the flow of the game, I think they will continue to be the gnats of the East. Always in the thick, but not quite up to the caliber of teams with better balance. That won’t stop me from rooting for them…any team with so many players I enjoy watching (Catchings, Tully, Allison Bales, Sutton-Brown, DeForge) will always attract my interest and hope that they do well (except against Phoenix :-)

Washington – This is a team that pretty much stayed where it was last season. They didn’t really improve themselves, but they didn’t make themselves worse, either. Now that the players are used to Adubato’s system, and if Milton-Jones can stay healthy, they could make it beyond the first round of the playoffs…maybe.

New York – Still rebuilding. Trading Hammon to San Antonio was a gutsy move, but probably a good long-term one. Sometimes you simply have to accept that youth will improve. I, of course, will be rooting for Shay Doran (Go Terps!), but I can’t see this team making the playoffs. Too young against too many more experienced teams.

Chicago – The Sky had a more dangerous team than last year’s 5-29 record would indicate. Although they have a new head coach, I think the extra experience for Dupree combined with a healthy Brooke Wykoff and Dales will bode well for improvement. This is my pic for dark-horse of the East.

Obviously, I expect the Shock to dominate the East and make it to the finals again. On paper, I can see them beating any opponent, but I could see the Storm possibly winning it all, if only for a last hurrah for Seattle.

Now let the games begin…