September 18, 2023
Locked On Women’s Basketball: 2023 WNBA playoffs weekend 1: Minnesota Lynx shocker, Becky Hammon’s surprising A’ja Wilson decision
By The Next
Howard discusses Game 2 of the two series played on Sunday, Minnesota Lynx vs. Connecticut Sun— Chicago Sky vs. Las Vegas Aces
It’s time for another Locked on Women’s Basketball podcast episode. Host Howard Megdal is here with fresh reporting and analysis out of a wild first weekend of the 2023 WNBA playoffs. Just how did the Minnesota Lynx upend the Connecticut Sun in Game 2? Why on earth was A’ja Wilson in the game to get hurt late in the Las Vegas Aces’ Game 2 win? Are the New York Liberty and Dallas Wings headed to sweeps? All this and much more in a jam-packed 2023 WNBA playoffs Monday edition.
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Howard talks about how Minnesota was able to win Game 2 of the WNBA playoffs:
“They controlled that game for most of it. They were up 65-49. The Connecticut Sun, who were an excellent team, made a great run at home and got within two points, 65-63. And you’re just sitting there saying, geez, are they gonna be able to hold on, but Napheesa Collier, whom we’ve talked about this on the program, and we’ve talked about it frankly with her on the program. Napheesa Collier is a frequent guest here on Locked On Women’s Basketball, and Napheesa Collier is one of the elite players in this game.
Collier, navigating a back injury suffered mid-game, played 38 minutes, 26 points, 13 rebounds, two assists, two steals and a block. Did a little bit of everything. Very, very impressive game matched by Kayla McBride with 28 points; she did not come out of the game with eight rebounds as well. You get six assists out of Dorka Juhász, the rookie center, and another five out of Rachel Banham while she comes off the bench as a shooter, Rachel Banham, who also hit the dagger of a runner in the lane with just under a minute to go to put the Lynx up nine and put this one away.”
Howard talks about Connecticut’s Game 2 performance:
“Connecticut shot 16 for 30 from three; the great Jacqueline LeBlanc wrote about it for us over at The Next. But this is not been a great 3-point shooting team. It’s been a fine 3-point shooting team. And even with DeWanna Bonner shooting six for 10 from three, they were seven for 20 on Sunday, 35% league average effectively; nothing wrong with it. But that wasn’t enough to overcome everything else that Minnesota did better. And so you sit here and you wonder, well, I wonder anyway, was Game 1 the outlier, or was Game 2 the outlier? And we’re going to find out on Wednesday night in Minnesota. It’s going to be fascinating.”
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I think the win for the Lynx over Connecticut on Sunday was more of an indication of who this team can be than a shocker. They’ve played those games before, winning back to back to back games against the Mystics, the Liberty and the Sun (the last two on their home courts), winning a home and away pair from Dallas, four from the Sparks, and three of four from Seattle. Of course there were a few games getting trounced mixed in, but all season long the Lynx have shown glimpses of what they can be. Even though they had a better road record than home, it is certainly possible to take this series from Connecticut. That would be a shocker. As Coach Reeve said, “from 0-6 to 40 minutes to the semi-finals.” Not too bad for a rather mercurial team. However, regardless of the outcome, the decision makers have a large task looming ahead. How do they bolster the roster to erase the inconsistency that has plagued the team all season? For the moment, those of us in the stands and those fans who will watch on television can only think about Wednesday night. If everyone rises to the occasion and does their job, the worm will turn. In fact, the worm is halfway there.