Seattle Storm enter WNBA playoffs with renewed mindset, prepared to execute against Aces

Players and coaches spoke last week about what it would take for the Storm to make a deep playoff run before their spot in the postseason was clinched. The points they made still ring true, but some more specific keys to success came to light once their first round match-up became official.

It may seem simple to say that Seattle needs to disrupt Vegas’ offensive flow, stick to their own strengths, and lock into a playoff mentality, but each point has its own specific implications when applied to this Aces team.

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“Sounds like we got it, we’re good, but [the game] is not played on paper,” veteran point guard Skylar Diggins said Friday at practice after explaining the keys to the game.

The Storm understand how each of those factors will come into play and that there will be nuances they’ll have to adjust to, but ultimately they need to execute on the keys they’ve identified.

Disrupt, disrupt, disrupt

The Aces used a historic 16-game win streak to climb their way into second place after a rough start to the season. During that time, a lot has been clicking for the Aces, particularly offensively, so the Storm want to disrupt that flow.

“I think just making it uncomfortable for them in the ways that they score,” Storm forward Nneka Ogwumike explained. “I feel like that’s the key to success against a team like that is, regardless of the streak, they’re Vegas. At the end of the day that streak is interpreted as though they’re flowing very well, both individually and collectively. So there’s going to be an added level of focus on disrupting what is almost second nature to them right now.”

Diggins said that playing with the same kind of physicality that Vegas does will be critical to that disruption.

“We can’t just match that [physicality]. We have to exceed that, and have to be for 40 minutes,” Diggins said.

Seattle must also limit their fouls, and avoid sending the Aces to the line. Las Vegas are used to taking plenty of free throws, and make them at a league second-best 82.4% clip.

Unsurprisingly, slowing down three-time (potentially soon-to-be four-time) WNBA MVP A’ja Wilson is first priority.

“A’ja’s at the top of the scout,” head coach Noelle Quinn said. “We are not going to stop her, but we have to make it difficult for her — throw different looks at her with our post players.”

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This season, Wilson led the league in scoring with 23.4 points per game while shooting 50.5% from the field and 42.4% from three. She also attempted a league-high 7.3 free throws per game. Australian center Ezi Magbegor, who has been in top form in the latter part of the season, will be the primary defender tasked with limiting Wilson’s impact.

“Ezi’s playing great,” Quinn noted. “Sometimes those things aren’t showing up in the stat sheet, but just her presence on the defensive end, her physicality, her rebounding, is really huge for us. … Defensively is always where my confidence lies within Ezi. She’s a champion. She has playoff experience, and we’re going to rely on her effort with A’ja.”

“First and foremost, she has to stay disciplined in her principals stay on the court, not getting into foul trouble. And on the flip side, I think she has had some really good games or starts to games in Vegas. I think that’s going to be very good indicator of a good Ezi is her start and her aggressive level maintaining throughout the game.”

Ogwumike said the strong form and high confidence Magbegor is playing with has been huge for them.

“Ezi’s our defensive anchor,” Ogwumike said. “So being able to ensure that she feels not just confident, but feels instinctual, especially on both ends of the court, but especially with what she’s really good at. And she knows how to hone in on what she’s really good at, so I just try my best to stay in her ear and impart whatever I can to help her do her job to the best of her ability.”

Magbegor says having confidence instilled in her throughout the season by her team has been important to keeping up her defensive form throughout the season:

“I think seasons are long, and so knowing that the whole season is important, but [now] it’s do or die, and just wanting to show up for the team and where they’ve carried me in the front end of the season,” Magbegor told The Next about her improved form. “I think just also knowing that I’ve been in the situation before and we’ve been in the situation before and so it’s nothing new … just being able to tap into that experience.”

However, the Aces’ depth is part of what makes them so formidable. They have plenty of firepower on their perimeter, both starting and coming off the bench. Chelsea Gray is still one of the top point guards in the league, and Jackie Young is playing at an All-WNBA level, scoring 16.5 points per game. Rookie Aaliyah Nye and fourth-year Aces player Kierstan Bell have both also had impactful performances, rotating who takes the starting spot that was vacated by Jewell Loyd.

Off the bench, two-time WNBA Champion Loyd is shooting 38.2% from three and 2021 WNBA Champion Dana Evans is hitting from outside the arc at a 36.6% clip.

“They have a lot of power coming off the bench. I mean, if you think about the run it’s been because of their bench,” Diggins said. “Obviously, when you play around A’ja Wilson, you know, she’s been the equation a lot of people haven’t been able to figure out. And so when you play around A’ja Wilson, you get a lot of doubles, triples. When you come off the bench, it’s different alignments, not as much pressure coming off the bench.”

“When you play with superstars, they’re able to find you. And so I think that’s the great thing about it. They establish their superstars early, and then get everybody else involved from there. So we have to make sure anybody that comes off the bench we have to pay attention to.”

In their wins, the Aces have shot an average of 37.7% from three. In their last game of the season, a 103-75 victory over the Los Angeles Sparks, Las Vegas hit 22 threes on 45 attempts. Guarding the three-point line will be key to the Storm strategy.

“You can’t discount anybody, no matter how they enter the game or how they stay in the game,” Ogwumike said.

Stick to Storm strengths

Though the Storm finished seventh in the league standings, are the numerical underdogs, and didn’t clinch their playoff qualification until their final game of the season, they are a talented team. Seattle went 10-9 against the top five teams in the league, including a 102-82 blowout of the Aces early in the season. The playoffs are not the time to re-invent the wheel — the strengths that have helped the Storm find success throughout the season should be what they lean on in this match-up with the Aces.

“There are going to be highs, there are going to be things that maybe aren’t favorable our way,” Diggins said. “I think what favors us is our pace and fast break points, points in the paint.”

Seattle leads the league in fast break points per game (12.9) while Vegas are eleventh (8.8). The Storm also lead the league in points off turnovers (17.6) though the Aces are close behind in fourth (16.2). Seattle are third with 39 points in the paint per game, while Las Vegas are eleventh with 31.9. After losses, both players and coach have admitted that they’d gotten away from playing to their strengths.

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Quinn pointed to those same strengths as places where her team found previously success against Las Vegas and added that they need to knock down their three-pointers.

“On their streak, their defense is number two,” Quinn remarked. “Part of that is they’re rebounding and they’re packing the paint, they’re going to zone. So offensively we have to be very efficient, and playing in transition is one of those keys. …”

“They have to defend us as well, so playing our game is going to be very important,” she added.

Las Vegas has plenty of talented scorers, but defense is also one of Seattle’s calling cards. They have a top four defensive rating in the league, with many standout individual defenders like Gabby Williams, Magbegor, Diggins and Brittney Sykes. Individually and as a team, Seattle’s defense has helped them stay in games all season. It almost always boosts their offense, particularly when it forces live ball turnovers.

“Last year it was a little bit difficult to maintain a defensive effort when our offense was slipping,” Quinn explained. “If our offense gets into lulls, we’ve kind of talked through [this season] trying to push the pace, get in transition, get to the free throw line.”

Storm players will also need to remember the mental lessons that were learned during the many close games they played this season.

“I think just being able to capitalize on each possession,” Magbegor explained to be critical. “I feel like it’s definitely going to be heightened. I feel like every play is going to feel like a game-winning play, but just being able to stay the course remain steady, not get too high, too low, and just execute the game plan.”

“We have to have next play mentality,” Quinn said. “There are going to be ebbs and flows to the game, and we have to just be very sharp and understand understanding personnel, tendencies, play types, all those actions to defend … having that mindset of the game is possession by possession…. Withstanding these runs with getting to the baskets, getting to the free throw line, finishing layups, so that we can [deal with] whatever the game breeds — maintain a lead, get back into the game, all of those things that occur in playoffs.”

While Vegas will host Game 1 and Game 3 (if needed), the Storm are looking to start strong on the road knowing their record is 9-11 at home and 13-9 on the road.

“[We’re] hoping to bring that road warrior mentality against this team,” Diggins said. “It’s a small series, and so we have to start well. So that’s our mentality, just traveling with our defense, physicality, defending the three-point line, limiting turnovers. And obviously on the offensive side, playing with some type of pace … and then trying to make them guard multiple actions.”

Lock into playoff mentality

Everyone agrees that the playoffs are a different beast compared to the regular season. Part of that increased difficulty is the three-game series, which limits the amount of time teams have to conjure up their best basketball. Teams often approach the playoffs with a renewed mindset, and Seattle should do the same. Both the players and Quinn reiterated this in the days before Game 1:

“The thing about it is we get to go 0-0 so it doesn’t matter if we’re better than them all year or they have a better record than us,” Diggins said. “It’s about who’s gonna be better in that 40 minutes. And that’s what I love about playoffs.”

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As they prepare to face a team that won a historic 16 consecutive games to close the regular season, this idea should be helpful mentally for the Storm.

“I think that you have to approach it as an individual game,” Ogwumike said. “I can’t imagine that they looked at the first game of this streak and said, ‘Let’s go for 16.’ They’ve been approaching every game as what’s in front of them. And I think, as a team that’s playing against a group of people that are flowing really well, you have to do the same thing. And also understand that there’s a level of disrupting that flow, and then, of course, establishing your own.”

Both teams have their fair share of players with extensive playoff experience. Las Vegas’ players have an added benefit in that most of their core got that experience as a group and have been playing together for a long time. According to Ogwumike, they need to “match that level of focus and maturity.”

The only player who is set to play significant minutes with has no previous playoff experience is rookie Dominique Malonga, though she has postseason experience in international and European leagues.

Three Storm players have taken a playoff run all the way to a WNBA Championship — Ogwumike in 2016 with Los Angeles, Magbegor with Seattle in 2020 (her rookie season) and Lexie Brown in 2021 with the Chicago Sky. Diggins went all the way to the finals with Phoenix in 2021, but fell just short of a title. That veteran experience in the starting lineup and on the bench will be helpful as they face all the unique challenges of a playoff series.

“I think just knowing how important focus is,” Magbegor said of what lessons she will take into these playoffs. “I think, especially as a game goes on, as the series goes on, fatigue tends to set in. … Knowing to lock in and focus, whether you need to take a second, or get a reminder from someone, I think that’s really important.”

The mindset is there, the scout is clear: their success on Sunday evening will come down to execution. Seattle will face off against the Las Vegas Aces for Game 1 of their best-of-three series on Sunday, Sept. 14 at 10 p.m. ET.