2009 WNBA – The Season Opens

At long last, the WNBA season has begun. Some things leapt out at me right away, and I had to comment on them.

I mentioned before that Detroit’s Achilles heel this season would be injuries. Clearly they started the season with that being the case. They entered their game with Los Angeles with only nine players. And then they lost Plenette Pierson for an unknown amount of time after her sholder was injured following a flip that echoed the one that hurt her last year.

Unsurprisingly, Detroit took issue with how the injury occurred. I’m of the point of view that the near-identical nature of the injury suggests that it might be something the Pierson is doing at least as much as it is her opponents taking her down.

That aside, I think the Sparks looked pretty good coming out the gate. As with Houston, the unsung star will likely be Tina Thompson.

I am noticing that the refs seem to be very unwilling to call charges. What were being called charges last year are almost invariably blocks this year. Odd.

Minnesota surprised me with how cohesive they looked. Coach Gillom certainly brings a totally different dynamic than Zierden did. I found it interesting that she rotates players frequently, assuring fresh bodies on the court.

On the other hand…Chicago. That was not pretty. I can’t help but wonder if the deliberate, half-court style can succeed anymore in the WNBA. It certainly suits Canty’s style. Not so much Kristi Toliver.

I have to say, I wonder why Chicago drafted KT? She doesn’t play that style. She’s an up-tempo point guard more suited to a Phoenix or L.A., not a half-court PG.Perhaps the direction of the Sky is to be more up-tempo.

Given statements by Key about her getting them to the playoffs, I was surprised that she was in the game just once for 3:58 (the least of any of the Sky’s players). Not even enough time to get over her rookie jitters. Her body language on the bench after she was subbed out of the game (and especially in the 2nd half) was atrocious. I wonder if she somehow got in Key’s doghouse?

San Antonio and Phoenix look a lot like the same teams that played against each other last year…though some of the players do look like the year-round play is starting to wear on them. But the headline for this game belongs to DeWanna Bonner. Though she looks like half a post player at times compared to who she’s playing against, she still earned herself a double-double. The LifeLocks might have just found themselves a crucial cog for success. Though, to be fair, the Stars likely didn’t focus on Bonner as a big threat. That’s going to change quickly.

And I’d like to comment on the other games, but they aren’t yet available on LiveAccess (or should I say not-quite-LiveAccess…it’s a little annoying that it’s not quite ready for prime-time).

Oh, and speaking of glitches…am I the only one who gets a browser crash when exiting the very annoying LifeLock flash when transfering to the official Phoenix web site? That needs to be corrected quick.