Rebuilt Seattle Storm flash potential, but growing pains are ahead

At halftime of the Storm's season-opening 91-80 loss to the Golden State Valkyries, a pair of circus performers dubbed "Dauntless Duo" carried a long pole onto the court. As Jon Dutch balanced the precariously thin pole on his perspiring forehead, Anngela Burt quickly climbed to the top. While Dutch served as an unlikely anchor, Burt lifted herself into a handstand atop the teetering pole. The Climate Pledge Arena crowd enthusiastically applauded the duo's audacious balancing act.

The Storm, too, had a semblance of balance Friday - as Dominique Malonga (21 points, eight rebounds, 8 for 15 field goals), Zia Cooke (15 points), Jade Melbourne (13 points) and Flau'jae Johnson (12 points) all finished in double figures. First-year coach Sonia Raman deployed 10 different players in her Storm debut.

Especially early, there were glimpses of who the Storm aspire to be. A graceful, gliding drive and lefty layup from Malonga, the 6-foot-6 foundation of Seattle's future. A gaudy three from rookie guard Johnson, who raised both arms as she trotted to the other end. A floater through a foul by pink-haired point guard Natisha Hiedeman. A 17-10 lead, a frenzied pace and a raucous crowd to kick-start a new era of Storm basketball.

But there were not enough.

Get used to that, for now.

Because the Storm, who lost their top five scorers in free agency, must transform the fleeting glimpses into entire games. On Friday, they were outscored 46 to 29 in the second and third quarters, as Golden State gathered an insurmountable lead. After connecting on 4 of 7 three-point tries in the first quarter, Seattle went 5 for 19 beyond the arc the rest of the way. They shot just 41% from the field and committed a total of 14 turnovers and 22 fouls. They also allowed Golden State to drill 15 of 37 (41%) attempts from distance.

The result was often unsurprisingly sloppy, as Seattle tried to navigate the newness. A new coach installing new systems. A new roster with precious little veteran experience. No Nneka Ogwumike or Skylar Diggins to can a jumper, snatch a steal or lead a locker room.

Long term, the Storm were smart to rebuild their roster, after an aging core was bounced by the Las Vegas Aces in back-to-back first rounds. A franchise with four championships can't suddenly settle for early exits. And while Ogwumike, Diggins, Gabby Williams and Co. were productive players with playoff pedigrees, their collective ceiling sure seemed set. Confetti wasn't going to fall from Climate Pledge Arena's ceiling any time soon.

Malonga, Johnson, Jordan Horston, Ezi Magbegor (who will likely miss the first month with a foot injury) and No. 3 overall pick Awa Fam (who has yet to join the Storm while finishing her season with Spanish team Valencia Basket) provide an extended runway for future success.

None of which means it'll work. Rebuilds don't come with guarantees that growing pains and waits will all be worth it. But hopefully for fans, it'll afford the Storm a chance to reset their ceiling.

Short term? Friday was a preview, not a fluke. There's going to be a lot of hard handstands to hold.

"We actually talked about that in shoot-around," Raman said of her team's response to adversity. "Basketball's a game of runs, and I think the most important thing is staying together on the court, coming together, communicating with each other.

"Part of it is trying to figure out what the adjustment is on the fly, and the quicker this young team can learn how to adjust as they go, and learn in real time, the better we'll be. But I think the biggest thing is staying together, communicating and picking each other up."

The Storm, who outscored Golden State 27-22 in the fourth quarter, must pick each other up in the months to come. With three games against lowly Connecticut and another against expansion Toronto in the next two weeks, there will be early opportunities to gain momentum.

But realistically? This is probably not a playoff team. It's too young, too raw, too thin, too unestablished to threaten the New York Liberty, Las Vegas Aces, Indiana Fever, Atlanta Dream, Minnesota Lynx, etc.

For now, the greater goal is progress … and balance on both sides of the court.

"We discussed in the locker room, that's the worst we're going to be for the rest of the season," said Melbourne, with a hole where one of her front teeth was hours earlier. "So the little wins are the fight in the last quarter. It shows a lot of our character that we were down 20 and brought it back to 11 points. We know we can't give up 91 points on any given night. We can't allow them to hit 15 threes on us. But we understand when we do get stops, we saw it in glimpses, that our transition game can be the best in the league.

"So it's the little wins. We saw glimpses of what we want to be tonight. We didn't piece it all together. It's a process, and I have no doubt in the next few weeks you'll see more and more glimpses of us being that fast-paced, high tempo [team]."

The goal is for glimpses to turn into entire games.

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