Quick Reaction, Storm 72, Tempo 93

The Toronto Tempo and Seattle Storm’s Saturday matchup presented a distinct big-picture juxtaposition.

The Tempo ranked third in offensive rating and second last in defensive rating. The Storm came in third-last in offence and fifth in defence. It was a difficult-to-stop force meets a frustrating-to-move object.

Even though Seattle pulled Toronto into a defensive grudge match through the first half, the Tempo eventually found their form, running the Storm out of the gym and dominating on drives in a blowout win at Coca-Cola Coliseum on Saturday.

Of note, the Tempo went 31-of-33 from the line, making their first 31 straight before rookie Teonni Key missed a pair in the final minute.

“We were aggressive,” Brondello said after the game “We’ve got players that can get downhill. I’ve been on teams where it’s really hard to get downhill. But we’ve got speed. Slim, Kiki, Julie, Laura, Marina, they can all get downhill.”

After finding heaps of success via the Nyara Sabally-Marina Mabrey pick n’ roll against the Chicago Sky on Wednesday, the Tempo went back to that well early and often. On the first look, Mabrey found Sabally with a looping pass over the top, but Kiki Rice fumbled a well-placed ping inside. Money Mabrey followed by cashing a pull-up 3 off a Nyara ball screen and then drilled another in transition. The Tempo maintained their lead through stingy point-of-attack defence — an emphasis in practice coming into this game — and by opening up the floor with drives and fastbreak scoring. The led 5-0 on the break through the first and 21-13 overall.

“Yeah, KYP,” said Brondello pregame of practising coverage on double drags. “Know your personnel. I think that’s important here because sometimes you want to be aggressive on the second one. We may want to switch it because it’s a switch player. Now, it’s more about our positioning on and off the ball. I think we’re getting hit on too many screens, and we’re not in our, we call them, obviously our congestion, our shrink, as well as we could.

“You know, I think the activity, we just need a little bit more sense of urgency behind the ball, and I think when Julie comes back, that will help us if we can get Izzy and Temi back. That will help us because it’ll give us a little bit more depth that we can go and play out a level that we need to have the best success in this league.”

Sabally and Rice were particularly active (more on that later).

But in the second quarter that intention and effort started to give way and the Storm poured on with heady drives and slick interior passing. They ran ‘Out Flex Pin’ — out screen flex screen then pin-down screen — and Natisha Hiedeman attacked the ensuing closeout and stuck a floater. Then a couple possessions later she splashed a pull-up 3. Mabrey finishing an and-1 was the Tempo’s only reprieve. She let loose from deep — eight attempts before halftime — but missed five straight after her pair of pulls to start the game. The fiery guard finally hit again after a drive-kick-swing connection from Allemand to Conde to Mabrey who caught and cashed from the corner. Basketball. The Storm shredded the Tempo’s shell opening up plenty of cuts to the rim. Toronto held onto a narrow 37-36 lead at half.

The Tempo opened the second half with a zoom action (screen into a handoff) but the Storm covered it perfectly and Toronto had no counter, succumbing to a shot-clock violation. Laura Juskaite threw an errant hit-ahead pass that was just out of Mabrey’s reach and out of bounds. Seattle seized its first lead on a Hiedeman pull-up 2. Mabrey amped up the aggression, first drawing a foul then rejecting a double drag and getting all the way to the hoop. More transition scoring from Rice and Mabrey fuelled a Tempo surge.

The relatively undersized Tempo had an opening in this game with the Storm’s leading scorer and starter centre, Dominique Malonga, out due to concussion protocol. They mostly hung in on the glass, but the Storm’s frontcourt did prove to be a problem with eight offensive rebounds and a plus-10 advantage in paint scoring.

But a 30-6 run starting midway through the third quarter, propelled by hustle plays from Rice — who scored a team-high six in that span — overcame the deficit inside. Steals from Mabrey, Allemand, Juskaite, Sabally and Rice got them running in transition and they didn’t look back, outscoring Seattle 17-4 on the fastbreak on route to a commanding win.

Seattle Storm

72 – 93

Toronto Tempo

A-	Nyara Sabally 26 MIN, 8 PTS, 4 REB, 0 AST, 2 STL, 2-5 FG, 0-1 3FG, 4-4 FT, 1 BLK, 1 TO, 15 +/- Quieter game offensively for Sabally after a career-high against Chicago Wednesday, but her defence really popped. Her mobility navigating the perimeter and hanging in on switches was significant. They started out playing blitz to switch and she stuck with Jade Melbourne on a drive. Great active hands at the level too.
A	Laura Juskaite 25 MIN, 14 PTS, 5 REB, 1 AST, 2 STL, 5-8 FG, 4-5 3FG, 0-0 FT, 0 BLK, 1 TO, 25 +/- Hit the glass, hustled and scored efficiently. Her scoring was dormant for most of the game, until she stepped into a pair of big 3s down the stretch to solidify the Tempo lead. Also was a strong presence in the defensive shell with her length and awareness.

B+	Brittney Sykes 29 MIN, 15 PTS, 3 REB, 2 AST, 1 STL, 4-12 FG, 0-4 3FG, 7-7 FT, 0 BLK, 1 TO, 8 +/- Not the loudest game from Slim but she made timely drives that pulled the Tempo offence out of brief lulls. Her veteran savvy really shows up in these spots and is invaluable to the Tempo maintaining a rhythm.
B+	Marina Mabrey 29 MIN, 18 PTS, 3 REB, 4 AST, 1 STL, 6-13 FG, 3-9 3FG, 3-3 FT, 0 BLK, 3 TO, 6 +/- She was money Mabrey out of the gate, banging back-to-back pull up 3s for the Tempo’s first points. She was really letting fly, missing her next five, but maintained moderate efficiency and later started access the paint with her dribble. She both drove to score and utilized her gravity to set up a Juskaite corner 3.
A	Kiki Rice 28 MIN, 17 PTS, 6 REB, 1 AST, 4 STL, 4-8 FG, 0-2 3FG, 9-9 FT, 0 BLK, 3 TO, 24 +/- Kiki wasn’t firing on all cylinders in this game, but she willed herself into a home run performance regardless. Her activity and anticipation on defence were on display as jumped transition passes for steals, hedged and recovered around a double drag for a steal, and straight up picked it as well. Her driving and shooting wasn’t there, but she put on a clinic hustling in transition, on the glass and on second-chance opportunities.
B+	Maria Conde 23 MIN, 13 PTS, 6 REB, 2 AST, 0 STL, 3-6 FG, 3-4 3FG, 4-4 FT, 0 BLK, 1 TO, 19 +/- Made an error early, dribbling the air out of the ball, eventually double dribbling and turning it over. Was better when she was forming up or spacing to the corners and finishing plays rather than initiating. Her length as a helper was a welcome boon for the Tempo.

C	Teonni Key 9 MIN, 0 PTS, 1 REB, 0 AST, 0 STL, 0-1 FG, 0-1 3FG, 0-2 FT, 0 BLK, 0 TO, -1 +/- Limited minutes and wasn’t as physical and forceful as past appearances. Needs to be a presence on the glass and as a roller to carve out a rotation spot.
B	Kia Nurse 10 MIN, 0 PTS, 2 REB, 0 AST, 1 STL, 0-2 FG, 0-1 3FG, 0-0 FT, 0 BLK, 0 TO, -4 +/- Also didn’t play a ton and mostly during the Storm run but she did hit the glass and stay active in the gaps admirably.
A-	Julie Allemand 17 MIN, 6 PTS, 4 REB, 4 AST, 1 STL, 2-4 FG, 0-2 3FG, 2-2 FT, 0 BLK, 2 TO, 15 +/- Allemand is very much a straw-that-stirs-the-drink player, and in this game she got actions flowing and helped dictate a pace that got the storm defence in a blender at times. And when the time was right, she also put her head down and got to the hoop. Great return and her running bench units will be important if she remains in this role.
Inc	Tima Pouye 4 MIN, 2 PTS, 0 REB, 0 AST, 0 STL, 0-0 FG, 0-0 3FG, 2-2 FT, 0 BLK, 0 TO, -2 +/- Garbage time but got her first Tempo points on a pair for free throws!

A	Sandy Brondello Brondello is still sorting out transition lineups but she found one that worked in a big way in Sabally, Juskaite, Conde, Rice and Allemand to finish the third and start the fourth. The defensive versatility and quick-decision making flipped the game in their favour. Her emphasis on defensive coverages and sets from practice also came through in this one. Power to the players.