Storm @ Sun preview: Back-to-back victories? Could that be a thing?

You may think Golden State looked pretty bad Sunday afternoon against the Sun, but Seattle took that effort and raised it the night before in Washington, at least on the offensive end. The Storm continues its inconsistency by putting up just 58 points, 23 in the second half, in a 69-58 loss to the Mystics.

The Storm still sit at 15-11 and are battling for home-court advantage in the playoffs, but this has not been their best stretch of the campaign, 3-4 in their last seven and most concerning to those in Seattle is who they were to: Washington twice, Dallas, and (of course) Connecticut. 

While its defense has remained consistent, the offense has been putrid, to be kind. In addition to the 58 against Washington (who does have a good defense, to be fair), they scored 63 in the home loss to Dallas. They have dropped all the way to eighth in offensive efficiency and are dead last in the WNBA in offensive rebounding (20.3%) and free throw rate (.183), somewhat bizarre for a team that has either Ezi Magbegor or Dominique Malonga on the floor. The Storm shot just 11 free throws Saturday, Skylar Diggins was just 2-for-10 from the floor and had a -20 in the Washington loss.

Tina Charles and Jacy Sheldon celebrate against Golden State
 on Sunday (Getty Images/ Connecticut Sun)

The bad news for the Sun (other than the back-to-back) is that Seattle will likely be quite angry Monday night, and obviously won’t take Connecticut lately after losing to them at Mohegan Sun Arena just two weeks ago (famously an 11 a.m. start), although it should be pointed out that the Sun had the lead for much of the return matchup in Seattle two days later before falling.

In many ways, Monday’s game is similar to Sunday’s, the Storm once led the league in three-point shooting, but is down to fifth (33.5%). They are very good at the rim (71.4%, second in the WNBA), but struggle from pretty much anywhere else, so if the Sun can bring the intensity they did Sunday to contain Diggins and crew, there’s no reason they can’t stay in the game. But we’ve said that before.

What else can we look for and what kind of energy can the Sun bring on the second half of a back-to-back at Mohegan Sun Arena?:

SEATTLE STORM @ SUN

Time: Monday, 7 p.m. EDT

Place: Mohegan Sun Arena; Uncasville, Conn.

Records: Seattle 15-11; Connecticut 4-20

TV: NBC Sports Boston, WNBA League Pass

Line: Seattle -7.5

Absences: Seattle - Katie Lou Samuelson (out, season-ending knee).

Connecticut - NONE.

History between them: This is the fourth and final meeting between these teams and they’ve all come in a month (thanks, WNBA scheduling). The home team has won all of the last six matchups in the series, but the Sun had won 6 straight before that. The only time they met in the WNBA playoffs was the 2004 finals, with the Storm winning in three games behind MVP Betty Lennox.

What to look for: It does seem like Diggins is the key to whatever Seattle does, even if they have as many options as anyone in the league when they are truly rolling, including Malonga, who has not gotten many minutes, but did spark a comeback of sorts Saturday (and it looked like she was going to get her first dunk for a second). Nneka Ogumwike has been her consistent self all season and did have 18 against the Mystics, but finished at a -25. You’d figure a team-wide slump couldn’t last forever, but hopefully it can for one more night.

Marina Mabrey did not appear in any of the three meetings between the teams this season, so it will be interesting to see how the Storm deal with her. You also wonder how many minutes Mabrey will be allowed to play coming off the injury on a back-to-back. No one got more than 24 minutes Sunday (Aneesah Morrow and Saniya Rivers), so people should be rested and there was no travel involved, but we shall see. The Sun did play Phoenix very tough on the second night of a back-to-back before falling last month. 

Key players:  Seattle: Skylar Diggins - Diggins has looked all but unstoppable against the Sun this season and is shooting a team-high 39.6% from behind the arc. She also has more than double the free throw attempts anyone else on Seattle does and leads with 5.7 assists as well, so needless to say, as she goes, so goes the Storm. We’ll see who draws the defensive assignment for Connecticut.

Connecticut: Olivia Nelson-Ododa - Morrow got the start over Nelson-Ododa Sunday and performed fairly well, pulling down 11 rebounds to go with eight points. But Nelson-Ododa had a tough day, going scoreless and fouling out in nine minutes. The Sun are still going to need Nelson-Ododa for the rest of this season (and beyond), so it would be nice to see a bounce back game, especially because she will be fresh.

Advanced stat:  3.9% - Steal rate for Gabby Williams, which leads the WNBA among regulars; Saniya Rivers is currently at 3.2%, while Leila Lacan was at 2.4%, but that number does not include her five steals on Sunday.

Tactical spotlight: What does Noelle Quinn do to get Seattle’s offense untracked, especially without much of a prep? It should be pointed out that the Storm obliterated an Angel Reese-less Chicago team on Thursday that saw Erica Wheeler go 3-for-4 from behind the arc and Lexie Brown hitting all five of her shots. Who guards Diggins to start the game? It doesn’t look like Lacan is a starter now, so it could be Rivers, but that will be the biggest key.

On the other end, Seattle has been very consistent, and they do it by forcing turnovers, led by Williams. The Sun did a decent job in their home win and have been better of late at not turning the ball over (currently at 15.7%, 10th in the WNBA, but better than they were). In the win at Mohegan Sun Arena, Connecticut had just 10, so it might be a number to keep an eye on. And Mabrey is a wildcard as well.

Inside the numbers: 8,294 - Attendance at Mohegan Sun Arena Sunday as the fans continue to turn out despite everything going on with the Sun. Monday’s number could be lower, but it’s still impressive.

Prediction: 81-80 Seattle