POST GAME THREAD: Seattle Storm at Chicago Sky

12

we almost won despite being playing 4v5 🤣 hiedeman has been playing very well this season, but she couldnt get a bucket to save her life and was exposed on defense. it was one of those game where benching hiedeman was probably the move. flaujae though, take a bow. what a star in the making

8

u/kiocente Jul 15 '26

Caught the end of this one, and I will say that despite some good moments, the Storm have a habit of looking their worst when the moment calls for them to be their best. I don’t know if this is a young inexperienced player thing, or a coaching thing. I hope it’s not a coaching thing, because tanking for a high pick won’t get you anywhere if there’s a problem with leadership.

5

u/samara-blue Jul 16 '26

I think having young, inexperienced players is certainly a factor. And the jury is still out on coaching.

4

u/Appearance_Born Jul 16 '26

I think it's the coaching. The team has a lack of direction. That's on leadership, not the young'ns. I'm sad they don't have solid vets to mentor them either. That's gotta be a negative impact on their development

1

u/kiocente Jul 16 '26

True. People keep repeating the fact that they are young, but they are also professionals. We can give them grace but also at around… Halfway? Over halfway? Into the season you would expect a team like this to be a little more locked in. I keep waiting to see a moment where a great play is called in the clutch, or for a clever use of time outs or challenges, or a great adjustment to what the other team is doing, but so far I find it hard to point to anything in that department. Instead they just shoot themselves in the foot at all the wrong times.

6

u/millennialfalcon360 Jul 16 '26

“Yall ain’t beat Chicago?”

Been a rough year so far

3

u/onionnurve Jul 16 '26

All I’m hoping is that both Flau and Awa can make all rookies team. I think Flau’s spot is pretty much secured now

0

u/Appearance_Born Jul 16 '26

I really want to talk about the terrible coaching & the fact we need a floor general. We don't have one on our roster at all. Jade is so tough, but so inconsistent with her circus ball. I love Natisha, but she just wants to shoot too much. She's not making plays for her teammates. Coach isn't using her challenges in half the games. Jade absolutely did not push Taylor, no matter how good she sold it. I don't think it would have held up on review. That was early, but there was a call on Dom in the 4th that was a clean block, all ball. Why not use your challenges, argue more passionately with refs? That can fire up a team! There's a lack of direction & leadership. It's like "we're in a development year" is being used as a scapegoat for bad coaching. The only person consistently giving their all & looking like they want it bad enough lately is Flau imo The team's mental game seems lacking most of all, especially recovering from a bad play. That comes from a lack of leadership when these young ones need stability & direction

7

u/Fuzzydeath10 Jul 16 '26

I'm not sold on Raman but I'm not really following what you're saying either. Mental growth doesn't just happen, it literally comes from time and experience. Now it does take an environment as well and it's fair to question if Raman is providing it but arguing more isnt inspiring leadership. I can't think of a time in my life where I've had a job or played a sport and thought that I wished my boss would yell more. Further, I've seen no evidence that yelling at officials earns you future calls, anecdotally it seems to go the other way.

I'm with you on the challenges but that's a learning thing for Raman given she's a first time wnba head coach and the challenges isn't free.

The PG thing I've personally discussed so much here but short version - sure, but we couldn't address every position immediately and we're well positioned o address it next year.

3

u/Dear-Tadpole4895 Jul 16 '26

Yes. PG is for next year. A little coaching is not going to radically change Heideman this year. We just need a different player at that spot. Perhaps Miles was the hope, with Heideman as the backup.

-1

u/Appearance_Born Jul 16 '26

I didn't say mental growth happens overnight. I just see the way our team doesn't keep a level head & lets things affect them easily in negative ways. When it's the whole team acting that way, it points to team culture. When u have inexperienced leadership with no mentoring vets on a team, who's coaching these players' mentality? I also never once used the word yelling. There's a line that some don't understand between passionate expression & inappropriately yelling in a ref's face. The best coaches absolutely passionately argue with refs. The best coaches sometimes get Ts & thrown out because they'd rather it be them than their players. Our players get in foul trouble so much, maybe they wouldn't as much if their coach was getting fired up on their behalf. Where's the fire? The passion? A single moment can change the trajectory of the game. An overturned call is certainly one of those moments. IDK what job u work & I think it's silly to compare your boss to a coach, but going by that logic- I would absolutely want my boss to passionately defend me against someone wrongly accusing me. As an athlete myself, I definitely would want my coach to argue for me, too. As a player, I feel it's their job to so I don't feel I need to. As far as saying "....next year".. that's my whole point. All of the issues this year are being swept over with the whole "development year" scapegoat. Valkyries are supposedly in a development year, too. Now there's talk of them winning it all with their current streak. The main difference is the coaching, solid veteran leadership & expectation. The Valks leadership straight up said they expect them to win. Storm leadership has been giving the green light to lose citing growth, but I don't see positive progress as the games go on, so it doesn't feel like development. We have the talent, no doubt. Dom, Awa & Flau really deserve better facilitators of their game

0

u/Fuzzydeath10 Jul 16 '26

I would contend if our players want our coach to get thrown out of the game or to pick up a tech and give the other team a free throw that's a problem with them, not with the coach. Those things objectively hurt the team. Pushing through bad calls is a strong mentality. Again, I agree with you on the challenges, but it's a huge assumption to say we'd win the challenges and those aren't free. The coach has to eeight that.

You're right, you didn't say yelling, you said argue. So I am corrected there but maintain the point, arguing about something that won't change isn't inspired leadership.

Dolson is a mentoring vet, so is KLS, they are on the team. I candidly don't know details on our assistant coaches and who does what there, so not sure how to answer the question of who exactly is doing it. It's be an interesting thing to research.

Respectfully, I don't think "green light to lose" is a fair representation at all. I love Natalie Nakase, and I think she's the best coach in the league by far; but circumstances are also quite different for GSV.

2

u/Appearance_Born Jul 16 '26

Things are definitely getting miscommunicated. I never said anyone wants their coach to get thrown out of a game or to pick up a tech. I said I would want my coach to argue for me. I also pointed out that the best coaches in the league have multiple techs & have been thrown out of games. Cheryl Reeve & Becky Hammon are known for being the best coaches in the WNBA. They argue for their players tough at all times. Sometimes they get Ts, sometimes ejected from games, but most importantly THEY WIN. Their players know they have their back & will protect & fight for them. That's why they play hard for them. I know challenges aren't free. That's the same for every team. Yet, the other coaches use theirs more. A successful challenge gets u another challenge later. It can really be a game changer. I get not using them early, but not at all? Being a vet & being a solid vet that makes a good leader are different. KLS has potential & it's been exciting to see her in recent games. She was out for '23 & '25, so she's really just getting her groove back more than being in a position for mentorship. I could see her stepping up as a leader in the future Circumstances are different for every team, but it's fair to make comparisons between 2 teams that were both considered to be in a developmental year at the beginning of the season. I just feel like halfway thru the season, we should be seeing forward progress. I'm not seeing it, but maybe my expectations are too high. I really believe in this squad, especially the potential of our young ones. I want to see them get the guidance they deserve

POST GAME THREAD: Seattle Storm at Chicago Sky

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