06.12Is Sue Bird in a Scoring Slump?
Sue Bird, who entered her seventh season with career marks of 42.7 percent overall and 38.7 percent on 3-pointers, is having her worst shooting season — but it’s not even close to her worst scoring season.
Her worst field-goal percentage was as a rookie in 2002 when she shot 40.3 percent. Her 33.8 percent 3-point clip last year was a career-low.
But Bird isn’t rattled, since she’s doing what she’s paid to do better than any other player in the league — averaging a league-best 6.5 assists per game.
“It was just one of those days,” said the five-time All-Star after Wednesday’s game. “That’s life. Sometimes they go in and sometimes they don’t.”
Brian Agler isn’t worried. Sue Bird shakes it off as if it’s nothing. No one around Storm headquarters seems to be bothered by her staggering shooting numbers, but Seattle’s star point guard and two-time Olympian has been nothing short of brutal.
Of Seattle’s top seven players in terms of minutes, Bird is the only one below 40 percent from the field.
Bird’s field-goal percentage (32.7) ranks 120th overall in the WNBA. Of the league’s 15 guards who average at least 11 field-goal attempts per game, Bird is second-to-last in field-goal percentage — trailing only San Antonio’s Becky Hammon.
Bird’s 3-point field-goal percentage (20.5) ranks 82nd overall. Out of 42 guards with at least 1.6 3-point attempts, Bird ranks second-to-last — trailing only the Silver Stars’ Helen Darling.
“She’s going to be fine, there are no alarms right now,” explained Agler after Bird went 1-for-12 on Wednesday in an 83-77 home win over Phoenix. “Obviously we’re better if she shoots the ball well. But she’s not trying to miss.”
Fortunately for Bird and the Storm, they take on Darling and Hammon at 5 p.m. Friday in San Antonio. Their struggles are a big reason why San Antonio (4-4) has the second-worst shooting percentage (39.1) in the WNBA.
But this is a road game, and that always spells trouble for Seattle (7-3). With the Storm going 1-3 away from KeyArena so far in 2008, its all-time road mark sits at 47-90 (.343).
San Antonio is undefeated at home this year — including a 15-point win over Seattle on May 24.
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June 15th, 2008 at 11:45 am