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July 22, 2004 - Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) News Release


7/22 – Indiana (12-10, 1st in East) at Seattle (13-7, 2nd in West) – 3:00 ET

PRIOR MEETINGS First of two meetings

PLAYER TRENDS Indiana's Kelly Miller is a leading candidate for the WNBA's Most Improved Player Award this season. She is averaging career highs in scoring (10.5), rebounds (3.0), assists (3.2), steals (1.05) and free throw percentage (88.4).

The Storm have a leading candidate for the Most Improved Player Award as well in the form of Betty Lennox. Lennox is averaging 11.3 points on a career-high 45.1 percent from the field and is grabbing more rebounds (5.3) and picking up more steals (1.39) than she has since her rookie season of 2000.

Although Fever forward Tamika Catchings is still one of the best players in the league, her numbers are down across the board from her first two seasons in the WNBA. Her 17.5 points per game, 7.1 rebounds, 3.3 assists, 38.7 percent shooting from the field and 35.6 percent shooting from three-point range are all career lows

Seattle's Lauren Jackson is trying to become the second player in WNBA history to win back-to-back MVP Awards. This season, she is leading the league in scoring (20.8) and three-point field goal percentage (47.4), is third in blocks (1.90), fifth in field goal percentage and ninth in minutes per game (34.0).

Storm point guard Sue Bird is one of several players threatening to unseat Sacramento's Ticha Penicheiro as the league leader in assists. Penicheiro has led the WNBA every season since 1998 in assists per game, but the Sparks Nikki Teasley (6.1), Bird (5.6) and Sun rookie Lindsay Whalen (5.4) are all ranked ahead of the seventh-year guard.

TEAM TRENDS Prior to the Indiana Fever's 31-point loss to Los Angeles on July 19, they lost their last seven games by a combined 33 points.

The Seattle Storm has yet to have a winning streak or losing streak shorter than two games this season. They are currently on a three-game winning streak with their last two wins coming by three and two points.

The Indiana Fever are the best rebounding team in the WNBA leading the league in rebound percentage (54.5) and defensive rebounding percentage (71.4) while ranking second in offensive rebound percentage (37.6). Seattle is tied for second in rebound percentage (52.1), fourth in offensive rebound percentage (34.5) and tied for fourth in defensive rebound percentage (69.8)

The Storm are a league-best 7-0 in games decided by 10 points or more, while the Fever are 4-2.

KEY STATISTICS
Indiana Offensive Efficiency – 97.6, 3rd Defensive Efficiency – 97.1, 9th
Scoring Differential – - 0.1, 6th Pace – 67.1, 12th
Reb Pct. – .545, 1st Off. Reb. Pct. – .376, 2nd Def. Reb. Pct. – .714, 1st

Seattle Offensive Efficiency – 102.4, 1st Defensive Efficiency – 92.9, 3rd
Scoring Differential – +6.6, 1st Pace – 70.8, 5th
Reb Pct. – .521, T2nd Off. Reb. Pct. – .345, 4th Def. Reb. Pct. – .698, 4th




7/22 – Minnesota (12-9, 3rd in West) at Connecticut (12-11, 2nd in East) – 8:00 ET (ESPN2)

PRIOR MEETINGS Second of two meetings. Minnesota leads series, 1-0

July 14 at Minnesota Lynx 66 – Sun 63
http://www.wnba.com/games/20040714/CONMIN/boxscore.html
http://www.wnba.com/games/20040714/CONMIN/recap.html

PLAYER TRENDS Minnesota's Katie Smith, a member of the 2004 US Women's Senior National Team, traisl Charlotte's Andrea Stinson by 16 points for third place on the WNBA's career scoring list. She trails second place Tina Thompson by 204 points. Smith is connecting on a career-high 41.7 percent of her three-point field goal attempts on the season.

Sun rookie Lindsay Whalen is impressing observers this season ranking first among rookies and third in the WNBA in assists per game (5.4), ranking fourth among rookies in scoring (8.4), and connecting on 37.5 percent of her three-point field goal attempts.

Lynx rookie Nicole Ohlde is enjoying a successful rookie campaign. She ranks second among rookies in scoring (11.0), first in rebounds (6.0), first in blocked shots (1.43), fourth in assists (1.8) and second in field goal percentage (44.1).

Connecticut's Wendy Palmer is among the most improved players in the league this season averaging 10.1 points and 6.3 rebounds per game after posting averages of 4.7 and 3.3 a year ago.

TEAM TRENDS The Connecticut Sun ended a three-game losing skid at Detroit on Wednesday morning running its record against Eastern Conference foes to 10-2. On the flipside, the Sun are just 2-9 against the West this year.

The Minnesota Lynx turn the ball over on a league-high 24.9 percent of its possessions, while the Sun are second best in the league coughing it up on just 18.7 percent of its possessions.

The Sun permit the opposition to connect on 43.3 percent of its field goal attempts – ties for the third highest percentage in the league, while the Lynx make just 40.4 percent of its field goal attempts – the second lowest percentage in the league.

Minnesota holds the opposition to just 40.5 percent shooting from the field – the third best percentage in the league, and has the fourth most efficient defensive in the WNBA (93.2 points allowed per 100 possessions). On the other end of the floor, they possess the second least efficient offense in the league averaging 91.3 points per 100 possessions.

KEY STATISTICS
Minnesota Offensive Efficiency – 91.3, 12th Defensive Efficiency – 93.2, 4th
Scoring Differential – - 0.8, 8th Pace – 69.1, 6th
Reb Pct. – .505, 5th Off. Reb. Pct. – .330, 5th Def. Reb. Pct. – .681, 7th

Connecticut Offensive Efficiency – 95.3, 9th Defensive Efficiency – 96.3, 8th
Scoring Differential – -0.5, 7th Pace – 71.4, 4th
Reb Pct. – .488, 10th Off. Reb. Pct. – .280, 12th Def. Reb. Pct. – .695, 5th






7/22 – Phoenix (9-12, 6th in West) at Sacramento (10-11, 4th in West) – 10:00 ET

PRIOR MEETINGS Third of three meetings – Sacramento leads series, 2-0

May 20 at Phoenix Monarchs 72 – Mercury 66
http://www.wnba.com/games/20040520/SACPHO/boxscore.html
http://www.wnba.com/games/20040520/SACPHO/boxscore.html

June 27 at Sacramento Monarchs 63 – Mercury 57
http://www.wnba.com/games/20040627/PHOSAC/boxscore.html
http://www.wnba.com/games/20040627/PHOSAC/recap.html

PLAYER TRENDS Mercury rookie Diana Taurasi is pacing Phoenix in scoring (17.9) and assists (3.8) this season, and is on pace to become the fifth rookie in WNBA history to lead her team in scoring (Tamika Catchings, Lauren Jackson, Jackie Stiles, Swin Cash).

Sacramento point guard Ticha Penicheiro has led the WNBA in assists in each of her six years in the league, but this season she is averaging a career-low 4.9 assists per game. She is, however, connecting on a career-high 35.9 percent of her three-point field goal attempts.

Mercury guard Anna DeForge currently has career highs in scoring (14.6), field goal percentage (42.7), three-point field goal percentage (44.1), free throw percentage (84.6) rebounds (3.4), assists (3.4) and steals (1.57).

After finishing the 2003 WNBA Season with her first sub-.500 field goal percentage campaign, Monarchs center Yolanda Griffith is connecting on 51.2 percent of her attempts which ranks second in the league.

TEAM TRENDS The Sacramento Monarchs were forgotten by many after a 2-6 start to the WNBA season, but they have now won two in a row, three of their last four, seven of their last 11, and eight of their last 13. The biggest improvement has come on the offensive end of the floor where they averaged 63.8 points per game over the season's first eight games, and 69.7 points per game over their last 13.

Despite the fact that both the Mercury and Monarchs have losing records, they both have positive scoring differentials.

The Mercury are second in the WNBA in field goal percentage (43.5) and tied for 10th in opponent field goal percentage (43.3). They also lead the league in three-point field goal percentage (39.2) and are 12th in opponent three-point field goal percentage.

The Monarchs are the best offensive rebounding team in the W (38.8 offensive rebound percentage), but the second to worst defensive rebounding team (65.4).

KEY STATISTICS
Phoenix Offensive Efficiency – 99.4, 2nd Defensive Efficiency – 95.7, 7th
Scoring Differential – +2.4, 3rd Pace – 67.9, 11th
Reb Pct. – .484, 11th Off. Reb. Pct. – .292, 10th Def. Reb. Pct. – .676, 8th

Sacramento Offensive Efficiency – 97.0, 4th Defensive Efficiency – 95.3, 5th
Scoring Differential – +1.5, 4th Pace – 69.1, 7th
Reb Pct. – .521, T2nd Off. Reb. Pct. – .388, 1st Def. Reb. Pct. – .654, 12th




EXPLANATION OF STATISTICS

OFFENSIVE AND DEFENSIVE EFFICIENCY – Points Scored and Allowed per 100 Possessions
Points Per Game and Points Allowed Per Game can be greatly influenced by the pace at which a team plays leading to inaccurate representations of team's strengths and weaknesses. Using Points Scored Per 100 Possessions (Offensive Efficiency), or conversely, Points Allowed Per 100 Possessions (Defensive Efficiency), takes the pace at which a team plays out of the equation, illuminating which teams are the most efficient at using their offensive and defensive possessions.

Points Per 100 Possessions is used rather than Points Per Possession because it has more of a traditional Points Per Game look to it.

PACE – Possessions Per 40 Minutes
Different teams play at different paces whether it is the run-and-gun style of Bill Laimbeer's Detroit Shock, the more methodical pace that has characterized many of the recent Charlotte Sting teams, or somewhere in between.

Beginning with the 2004 WNBA Season, official Possessions Per 40 Minutes statistics are available. The per-40-minutes version of the statistic is used as opposed to the per-game version to eliminate the additional possessions that are accumulated in overtime games.

OFFENSIVE AND DEFENSIVE REBOUND PERCENTAGE
Offensive Rebound Percentage is defined by the following formula . . .

TmOReb / ( TmOReb + OppDReb )

Defensive Rebound Percentage is defined by the following formula . . .

TmDReb / ( TmDReb + OppOReb )

Using a percentage, rather than total number of rebounds is a much more effective way to determine which teams are winning the rebound battle.

The reason for this is simple. A team can only get a rebound if somebody misses a shot. Here is an example to illustrate that point.

Team A misses 100 shots vs. Team B. They grab 35 of those possible offensive rebounds. Team B, on the other hand, not only is a great shooting team, but they grab all 25 of their missed shots vs. Team A.

Ranking Team A and Team B by total offensive rebounds would give us the following leader-board.

Team A 35 Team B 25

Team B, despite the fact that they grabbed every single available rebound, would be ranked behind Team A. If we rank the teams by Offensive Rebound Percentage, however, we get the following . . .

Team B 1.000 Team A .350

And Team B assumes its rightful place at the top of the list.

REBOUND PERCENTAGE
Rebound Percentage is determined by averaging Offensive Rebound Percentage and Defensive Rebound Percentage



WNBA Efficiency Rankings

Offensive Efficiency
Team OER (Lg. Avg. - 95.6)
Seattle 102.4
Phoenix 99.4
Indiana 97.6
Sacramento 97.0
Los Angeles 96.2
Charlotte 96.0
Washington 96.0
Detroit 95.7
Connecticut 95.3
New York 93.4
Houston 91.6
Minnesota 91.3
San Antonio 90.6
Defensive Efficiency
Team DER (Lg. Avg. - 95.6)
Houston 91.1
Los Angeles 91.9
Seattle 92.9
Minnesota 93.2
Sacramento 95.3
New York 95.5
Phoenix 95.7
Connecticut 96.3
Indiana 97.1
Detroit 97.7
Washington 98.1
Charlotte 98.3
San Antonio 99.0

WNBA Pace Rankings (Possessions Per 40 Minutes)

Team Poss/40Min (Lg. Avg. - 69.3)
Los Angeles 73.7
Detroit 72.3
Washington 71.9
Connecticut 71.4
Seattle 70.8
Minnesota 69.1
Sacramento 69.1
New York 68.9
Houston 68.8
San Antonio 68.0
Phoenix 67.9
Indiana 67.1
Charlotte 62.3

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