Analysis: Five things we learned about the Seattle Storm in season-opening loss

The new-look Seattle Storm certainly didn’t hit the ground running during a sobering 83-70 setback against the Minnesota Lynx in Tuesday’s WNBA regular-season opener at Climate Pledge Arena.

Of course, there are 39 games remaining, and championship-contending super teams comprised in the offseason need time to coalesce, which was a point of emphasis during coach Noelle Quinn’s postgame remarks.

No one believed the Storm (0-1) would go undefeated, and losing to a better-than-advertised Lynx team just might be the catalyst to spark a successful season.

Or maybe the fourth-quarter meltdown against Minnesota exposed unforeseen flaws in the Storm, who have to fix their troubles during a difficult three-game road trip that begins Friday against the Lynx (1-0).

Here are five things we learned about the Storm on opening night.

Half-court defense needs adjustment

The Lynx had success using center Alanna Smith and forward Napheesa Collier to initiate ball screens at the top of the post against point guard Skylar Diggins-Smith.

The plays resulted in open looks for Smith, who had a career-high 22 points on 8-for-15 shooting, and Collier, who added 20 points and connected on 9 of 19 shots.

There are countless ways to defend the high pick-and-roll, but the Storm have to limit the Lynx’s primary offensive play. Minnesota, which canned 52.9% on 51 shots inside the arc, isn’t particularly effective on the perimeter, where it shot 29.2% (7 of 24).

New backcourt needs to be better

Jewell Loyd connected on three of her first four field goals before missing the next 15 to finish 3 for 19.

Meanwhile, Diggins-Smith shot 4 of 13.

Simply put, the Storm won’t win many games when their All-Star guards each score 10 points. Making matters worse, they combined for seven turnovers, which virtually negated Loyd’s 10 rebounds and Diggins-Smith’s six assists — both team highs.

The good news? It’s unlikely they’ll repeat those performances many more times this season.

It was the fewest points for Loyd since Aug. 7, 2022. The last time Diggins-Smith, who sat out last season, scored fewer than 10 points was May 29, 2022.

The bad news? Minnesota didn’t devise any exotic defensive schemes to shut down Loyd or Diggins-Smith, who got several good looks and simply missed a lot of open shots.

Nneka Ogwumike and Ezi Magbegor led the way

While Loyd and Diggins-Smith struggled with accuracy, Ogwumike and Magbegor had no such difficulties in the opener.

Ogwumike was the Storm’s most reliable offensive performer while scoring 20 points, and Magbegor, who had 15 points, was their top defender with three blocks.

The All-Star duo combined for 35 points, 18 rebounds and three blocks, but couldn’t keep pace with Collier and Smith, who tallied 42 points, 20 boards and six blocks.

Where’s the 3-ball and Sami Whitcomb?

On a night the Storm were 1 of 9 from 3-point range — the first time they attempted fewer than 10 threes since June 11, 2019 — sharpshooter Whitcomb didn’t attempt a shot.

She was scoreless in 12 1/2 minutes off the bench, and it was the first time in her eight-year career that she didn’t attempt a field goal while playing at least 10 minutes.

Whitcomb also had her streak of 31 straight games with a 3-pointer snapped.

Nine 3-point attempts could be an outlier, but it’s not enough.

Quinn needs to get more perimeter shots either with lineup changes or tweaks to the offense. Early in the season, she wants to keep the schemes simple and is reticent to overload players with a multitude of plays and offensive sets.

Drawing up plays for Whitcomb is a good place to start.

Jordan Horston could be a star on the bench

Set aside the three turnovers and Horston gave the Storm quality production off the bench with eight points, seven rebounds, three assists and four blocks.

The second-year forward played with energy and enthusiasm and gave the Storm a much-needed spark at times.

Quinn indicated she likes Horston with the second unit and is unlikely to make a change in the starting lineup at this time.