Cheryl Reeve spoke like a coach with full confidence that things would improve after the Lynx lost Game 1 of the WNBA semifinal series earlier this week. She liked the shots Minnesota got, and assumed the Lynx would knock those same shots down as the series progressed.
As much as anything, she knew her squad would respond, because that’s exactly what it has done all season.
Reeve noted she doesn’t sleep through the night, because that’s the life of a coach. But every time her slumber is interrupted, it’s only briefly. Because there are few things to sweat with these Lynx.
“This team, that’s what I have my confidence in,” she said. “Every time I wake up, I can get back to sleep knowing this group, they’re going to bounce back. They always do. They know how to problem solve. They never finger point. They figure it out collectively, and we were going to bounce back. I wasn’t sure if we were going to win Game 2, but I knew we were going to go out hooping in Game 2.”
Sure enough, Minnesota responded to win not only Game 2 at home, but also Game 3 on Friday in Connecticut, controlling play from start to finish. So you would assume Reeve was thrilled. Not the case. She certainly wasn’t disappointed, but the coach was quick to point out the many things she believed Minnesota could do better.
“Two of the three games (this series), I don’t think we played great defense. We didn’t play great defense (Friday),” Reeve said. “We did some things well on some players, but (the Sun scored) 44 points in the paint, they got to the free-throw line, they clobbered us on the glass over and over and over again. That’s not a good defensive team. We’ve got to be a lot better.”
She also thought, for the second-straight game, the Lynx closed the contest out poorly, allowing Connecticut to score 27 points in the final quarter. That offensive production kept the Sun in the game longer than they likely should have been.
“We’re fortunate that we hit a couple of shots to save us,’ Reeve said. “But I sensed the same thing that weas happening at the end of Game 2, when we had a lead and we start softening up and not playing through a possession, doing what we had to do to make sure that a team doesn’t get back in it. It became a seven-point game with just under two minutes (to play). That’s ridiculous. So we’ve got to clean up our end, for sure.”
She isn’t alone in any of that thinking. Lynx All-WNBA forward Napheesa Collier agreed that Minnesota can go to “another level,” particularly on defense.
It may have to. Because Connecticut is sure to come back firing at home in Game 4 on Sunday, with its season on the brink in the best-of-5 series. The Sun have a lot of experienced veterans who are hungry for one last bite at the championship apple. The Lynx are trying to take that from them. They won’t go down without a fight.
The Lynx have been really good in each of their last two outings. They’ll need to be great if they hope to end this series in four games and avoid a decisive Game 5 back in Minneapolis.
“Obviously, it’s a hard thing to do,’ Reeve said of closing teams out. “We have to be a lot better in the areas that we were really easy to play against (Friday), because of how hard it’s going to be. Like we’ve done all season, being great defensively and rebounding the basketball allows us to play offensively where we want to play. Connecticut is going to try to do the exact same thing. So it’s going to be a test of wills on the defensive side of things.”
Will it be easy? No. But Reeve will rest comfortably in her hotel room Saturday night, confident her team will bring the performance required to take one more step toward the franchise’s ultimate goal.
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