Commissioner’s Cup final defeat is a learning opportunity for the Minnesota Lynx

Their next basket didn’t come for nearly 40 minutes of real time. 

By the time Napheesa Collier ended the scoring drought at the 9:13 mark of the third quarter, the Fever had taken the lead by way of 20 unanswered points. A lead Indiana never surrendered en route to becoming the league’s fifth Commissioner’s Cup champion in as many seasons. 

“I thought in that first half, we have a tendency to, as we’ve learned about ourselves over the course of how many games that we’ve played now, we have a tendency sometimes to get impatient,” Lynx head coach and president of basketball operations Cheryl Reeve said after the game. “I didn’t think that our commitment to moving the basketball and creating advantages, we had a hard time getting that done. We had some easy shots that didn’t fall, as did they, particularly early in the game. Then they kind of got their rhythm going and we sort of lost ours. We had [20] points, and then we had seven in the second quarter. That’s tough.”

Minnesota’s offense was there in the first quarter. The Lynx connected on 9-of-15 attempts and held a 20-12 advantage after the opening 10 minutes, but spent most of the rest of the game in an offensive tailspin. The 59 points, 13 assists, and 34.9% field goal shooting all marked season lows for the Lynx. 

“Give them credit,” Reeve said. “I [need to] watch the video back, but I imagine that they just sort of beat us to spots. We didn’t have our usual fortitude, fight in response to physicality. They beat us, give them credit.”

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When asked during the pregame press conference about exploiting any weaknesses the Lynx may have, Fever head coach Stephanie White remarked that they look ‘pretty flawless’ and have only built upon the quality she saw in last season’s playoff semifinal when she was the coach of the Connecticut Sun. 

“I often say that offense is like a dance, and they are flowing,” White said of the Lynx. “They are making great music and there’s no doubt about it. So, we have to try to be disruptive and we have to try and take them out of that rhythm.” 

Indiana’s defense did more than that. The Lynx found the bottom of the net on just 13-of-48 attempts from the second quarter onward. To think of it in Dickensian terms, it was a tale of two cup finals when thinking of Minnesota’s performance in this game last year versus this year. 

“Anytime you can play for a trophy it’s a big game, but I think it’s important as a team that right now, you know last year it was kind of a turning point, but I think you can look at this game as a turning point for us as well,” Shepard said after the game. “Because, okay, we got exposed in some areas and we know we can’t show up like we did today if you want to be in the Finals at the end of the year. I think you can just look at it as a turning point. Last season, they took the victory as a turning point. I think this year you can learn a lot from today and come in and approach every day better.”

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The good news for the Lynx is their worst offensive performance of the season won’t be found anywhere in the standings or drag down any impressive per-game statistical metrics. Additionally, there’s only one game to dwell on it as Thursday brings another game and brings the Washington Mystics—who defeated the Lynx and held them to their lowest point total in a regular season game in a 68-64 win in Washington on June 24—to town. 

Even in a game where the offense was nowhere to be found, Minnesota’s defense kept them in the game until deep in the 4th quarter. The Lynx shouldn’t have difficulty recapturing the firepower that currently boasts the No. 1 offensive rating in the league (111.1) and ranks second in points per game (85.3). 

“It’s good to look at it as a learning opportunity and with a growth mindset,” Alanna Smith said after the game. “We’re in a position where it doesn’t affect our standings, but we still want to hold it in a place that means something to us. We always want to play our best basketball and so we have to take this game to heart and learn from the mistakes we made in this game, the way we showed up, the way that we prepared, and just make sure that we don’t do it again.”

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