Lynx coach Cheryl Reeve looked stunned after Game 2 of the WNBA semifinals. Not in the fact that Minnesota lost, but rather the manner of defeat.
Minnesota coughed up a 20-point lead partially due to Phoenix’s upped physicality, but also via unusual errors on Minnesota’s end.
Forward Napheesa Collier noted the Lynx “beat ourselves.”
“Our response to it was very uncharacteristic. Some of the body language in terms of players that we’re not used to seeing certain looks from,” Reeve said. “I think the lack of execution led us to the uncertainty. We’re looking around and all of a sudden had a bunch of ‘oh, (crap)’ looks. Execution, simple things – pass and catch, just be able to dribble the ball up the court. We’re throwing it out of bounds. … I can show you four turnovers right now in a minute and a half that had nothing to do with Phoenix. That made us out of sorts. That’s what led to that.”
Unforced errors, a lack of composure. It’s the opposite of what has defined Minnesota for the better part of the last 15 years. Sunday’s second half certainly didn’t resemble the product this current collection has put on the floor over the past two years.
That such a performance arrived at a key moment, Collier noted, is “definitely frustrating.”
“But it’s a series, it’s a long series,” she said. “It’s tied, now, so we need to go to Phoenix and take care of business.”
Game 3 is Friday night in Phoenix. Minnesota has to win one of the next two game in Arizona, or its championship hopes will come crashing down in disappointment. The Game 2 collapse is the type of failure that can break a team. But don’t expect that to happen to the Lynx.
This is the same group – for all intents and purposes – that had its heart ripped out and stomped on in a controversial ending to Game 5 of last year’s WNBA Finals that left the Liberty with the trophy and the Lynx feeling as though a championship was “stolen” from their grasp.
The response was to return even better this season, waltzing to the No. 1 seed and home-court advantage throughout the season. The Lynx often joke they’re fueled by the “power of friendship.”
“I know we laugh about it, and it’s kind of a running joke. But I actually truly believe that a group of people that like each other and enjoy being around each other translates so well to on court,” Lynx forward Alanna Smith said. “And we’re able to hold each other accountable. … When you have so much joy in what you’re doing with the people around you, you can only be successful in that.”
They derive not only joy from one another, but hope and motivation, even in the most dire of moments. What doesn’t kill these Lynx has, traditionally, made them stronger. Friday provides another opportunity to get back up off the might and fight out of the corner.
“It’s a resilient team. It’s a team that responds … they’re problem solvers,” Reeve said. “Nobody said this stuff was going to be easy. This is all part of the journey. Now we’ve just got to see if we can go beat a really good team at their place. That’s, obviously, we know a tall order, but we’ll do everything we can to do it.”
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