So what is going on with Alana Beard? Her shooting percentage is awful, and her defense, which was incredible against Charlotte and Indiana, was below average against Los Angeles and Minnesota.

First, according to a few inside observers, Michael Adams is not coaching well at all. Chamique Holdsclaw has basically decided Adams does not know the women's game, and Claw is taking the game into her own hands. That leaves the rest of the team to fend for themselves. Alana is FORCING the action instead of letting the game come to her. This has led to some ill-advised shots that are very low percentage ones.

Second, Alana is afraid to slash because she has been called for a few offensive fouls. She is settling for her outside shot, which is the weakest part of her game. Usually she develops confidence in her outside shot by starting out slashing/driving. Without that part of the game, she has to rely on her signficantly weaker outside shooting. This also makes Alana much easier to defend, which limits Washington's ability to score in the halfcourt.

Finally, the groin injury that hampered her in the ACC and NCAA Tournaments was re-aggravated during the preseason. Beard shot nearly 41% from three during the ACC season. After her groin injury flared up, her postseason shooting percentages (from beyond the arc, especially) plummeted. In the preseason, the injury flared up again.

I have no doubt Beard will be a great WNBA player, but she really should take off a few weeks to let her groin injury heal properly. And watching a few WNBA games from the sidelines would benefit her a lot as far as learning not to force shots and to take smart shots within the flow of the offense. By contrast, this is the one area that has allowed Diana Taurasi to emerge not just as the overwhelming favorite for Rookie of the Year, but also for Most Valuable Player of the entire league.