Similar to how their brotherly counterparts in the NBA seem to be, the San Antonio Silver Stars don’t have a bunch of stars, but they have a set of complimentary players to build around Sophia Young and Becky Hammon. Q from the outstanding blog “Rethinking Basketball” did an in-depth analysis of the Stars following their back-to-back against LA and Phoenix this week.

The Silver Stars embody what people mean when they say that WNBA basketball is “basketball the way it should be played” or any number of variations on that statement. It’s not flashy, it can seem dull at times, but when they get into a rhythm it’s a beautiful thing to watch.

There’s no better example of that than their performance in their back-to-back road games against the aforementioned Sparks and Mercury. Winning the second game of a back-to-back after such a brutal loss in the first game is not easy and a testament to the character of this team.

So what attributes of this team allowed them to leave Phoenix with a win after such a brutal loss to the Sparks?

A well balanced rotation, outstanding execution, and faith in their system allow the Silver Stars to remain effective despite bad matchups, off nights, or fatigue. Most importantly, their players complement each other extremely well, which allows them to find a rhythm and stick with their strategy even when they’re struggling.

Q goes on to talk about the chemistry of the team with Young, Hammon and Ann Wauters. A very good read, a very good blog.

Bob Corwin of Scout.com revisited his Western Conference predictions this week, and with a tip of the hat to the Women’s Hoops Blog, I present a bit of those recaps to you.

Update: (Candace) Parker continues to live up to the hype, drawing larger than average crowds for away games. However, she has failed to reproduce her initial effort against the Mercury. This is in a large part due to the balance in scoring of the Sparks front line, however. Parker’s versatility, though, shows just how good she is. Through her first 14 games, per game CP3 was ninth in scoring, second in rebounds, ninth in assists and third in blocks. Overall, she ranks second in Efficiency Rating. Throw in 50% from behind the arc (but only about one per game taken). Best in the world? Maybe not yet, but easily top five. Who would you take to start your team with tomorrow?

If you don’t read it completely, you should, but Corwin makes some great points that can’t be ignored right at the finish.

So far still true …

Biggest surprise out West: Houston coming back into playoff contention after its miserable start, particularly with injuries to Thompson and Dixon.

Conference MVP through June: Diana Taurasi.

While you can argue about his conference MVP pick (cases can be made for Sophia Young and Candace Parker), you have to admit that Taurasi’s play this season has kept the Mercury in playoff contention after their horrible start.

First off, I was all set to go watch the SA-Seattle game before something important with my family took me away very early Saturday morning, which is why I haven’t been able to update for a bit, but anyway…

•  Silver Stars weather the Storm with a pair of 20-point nights from Sophia Young and Becky Hammon as the Stars pretty handily defeated the Storm 87-72. Storm get their first loss of the season, Silver Stars make a early statement in the West.
• The Connecticut Sun continue to tear through all comers as they make an early statement about competing for the title. A 23-point victory over the Sacramento Monarchs leaves the Sun as the only undefeated team (LA and Minnesota don’t count because some teams have played three games while they’ve only played one and Minnesota doesn’t even play again until Tuesday).

Oh, she didn’t do a whole lot in her WNBA debut… she only scored more than any other league player’s debut ever.

• Candace Parker scored 34 in her debut with the Los Angeles Sparks, a 99-94 victory over the defending champion Phoenix Mercury on their home floor. Cappie Pondexter did everything to keep the Mercury in the game, scoring 32 even after arriving in the country the day before.
• Get ready for a lot of scores like the 100-67 loss, Atlanta Dream fans. The Connecticut Sun used a 32-8 run in the first quarter to lead by 17 at the start of the second quarter and didn’t look back.
• I don’t know if this means the Houston Comets are worse than we thought they were or the Detroit Shock are better, but the depleted Shock did just that as they defeated the Comets 85-66. Deanna Nolan couldn’t play much on her bad ankle, but Alexis Hornbuckle had a great WNBA debut, scoring 8 and getting 7 steals.
• The All-Star squad Brian Agler has assembled for his Seattle Storm used a 25-9 run in the third quarter to comeback from a halftime deficit and defeat the Chicago Sky 66-61. 2007 WNBA MVP Lauren Jackson led the team with 14 points and Sylvia Fowles had a rough debut for the Sky, scoring 6 and bringing down 7 rebounds.
• Katie Douglas returned to Indiana glory, scoring 24 points in her Indiana Fever debut and leading her team to a 64-53 victory over the Washington Mystics.
• Sophia Young’s 22 points weren’t enough as the San Antonio Silver Stars fell to the Sacramento Monarchs 73-64.

Forgot to show some love to Newscom for the photo of CP.