It’s Rainy Season in Seattle

SEATTLE — With two new starters and a revamped lineup, Coach Anne Donovan could accept the bumps in May and early June. But not in July, and not with the defending WNBA champs playing under .500.

In a league where parity is the rule this season -- 9 of 13 teams at the All-Star break were at or above .500 -- Seattle was the shocking exception.

“It’s very frustrating for everybody, not just for me, but every player ... to realize that we’re not living up to potential,” Donovan said. “At some point, you feel like a broken record.”

The Storm had lost seven of nine games after Wednesday’s 78-71 setback to Washington, falling to 8-10 this season. More troubling, no one had a specific answer why.

“We’re not helping each other out and we’re not playing Storm basketball,” All-Star Lauren Jackson said. “I don’t know what it’s going to take.”

The Storm lost three key players in the off-season. Guard-forward Sheri Sam signed with Charlotte, forward-center Kamila Vodichkova went to Phoenix and backup point guard Tully Bevilaqua joined Indiana.

Seattle is integrating five new players into the seven holdovers from the team that put together a remarkable playoff run last year to win the WNBA title, the city’s first professional sports crown since 1979.

Seattle started strong, winning four of its first five. Things changed June 7 in Connecticut, when All-Star guard Sue Bird broke her nose.

Bird missed four games, and while her absence gave rookie Francesca Zara an opportunity to gain experience, it came at a difficult time.

Jackson was still recovering from off-season ankle surgery. She struggled early to find her shooting touch and get in shape. Australian reserve Suzy Batkovic didn’t join the team until early June, and forward Iziane Castro Marques and center Janell Burse were learning their roles in the starting lineup.

Those factors, combined with a brutal June road schedule, sent Seattle spiraling.

“Personally, it makes me mad when people compare it to last season,” said Bird, who now plays with a protective mask. “We don’t have the same team back. This is a new team with new goals. We have the talent in this room, we’re just not putting it together the way we should.”

Donovan firmly believes Seattle’s problems lie at the defensive end, and many of the numbers back her argument.

The Storm was worst in the league in points allowed and field goal attempts allowed heading into this weekend, and near the bottom in turnovers forced and rebounds allowed. Teams are getting extra offensive possessions against Seattle.

Causes for the slump weren’t limited to the defensive end. Seattle’s three-point shooting hovered just above 30 percent, after the team led the league last year.

There’s also been spasms of inconsistency among Seattle’s top three scorers.

Jackson’s scoring is down three points from last year, in part because of the constant triple-teams she faces. Bird’s scoring and shooting percentage have dropped since she was forced to wear the mask.

And Betty Lennox has struggled to find the playoff form that netted her the Finals MVP award.