Lynx confident offense will improve for Game 2 of WNBA semifinal series

It was brought to Lynx coach Cheryl Reeve’s attention after Minnesota’s Game 1 loss to Connecticut that the Lynx held the Connecticut Sun to 7 for 20 shooting in the final quarter.

Usually, that will produce wins, but not on Sunday.

“We only scored eight (points),” Reeve noted of the Lynx’s fourth-quarter output, before letting out a laugh.

There wasn’t much else to do at that point but chuckle. Minnesota’s offense has hummed for much of the season. That was particularly true post-Olympic break and the success on that end carried through the team’s first-round series sweep of Phoenix.

But it failed to show itself in key moments of Game 1 of the WNBA semifinal series against the Sun.

Frankly, it was more of the same from when the Lynx squared off with the Sun during the regular season.

The Lynx’s offensive rating was just 96.3 points per 100 possessions in games against Connecticut. That number would have ranked last in the league over a 40-game sample, and was a steep drop off from the team’s actual 102.8 offensive rating that ranked fourth in the WNBA.

Does something massive need to change moving forward in the series for the Lynx to be able to score against the Sun? No such panic is being felt in the locker room. Reeve felt Minnesota had open shots in Game 1 that simply didn’t fall. Particularly from Alanna Smith, who went 0 for 4 in the first quarter, and Courtney Williams, who went 0 for 4 in the fourth.

“Lan had shots, particularly early in the game, we take every one of them,” Reeve said. “Courtney has got to be able to score for us. And a lot of her shot attempts are ones that we see go down, and she wasn’t able to find the bottom for us tonight.”

This series pits the WNBA’s top two defenses against one another, so Sunday’s opener was true to form. Minnesota was again excellent on that side of the ball. But the offense put immense pressure on the defense to be perfect. Even the touches Napheesa Collier, one of the best players in the world, got in the post Sunday weren’t as productive as they typically are against Connecticut’s switch-heavy approach. Reeve noted the Lynx will gladly “keep rocking” with the looks they got.

“I think we’ll all play better on Tuesday (in Game 2), but keep switching,” Reeve said. “We’re good with that.”

That seems to be the plan for the Lynx in general — to generate the same types of looks they got Sunday. If that occurs, “I think we’re going to like the outcome a little better,” Reeve said.

Because they trust the law of averages that players like Smith and Williams, key cogs in the Lynx’s remarkable success all season long, will play out and they’ll produce similarly to how they’ve produced all season.

“Lan will bounce back. Positionally, getting offense from Lan will be really, really good,” Reeve said. “I know Court wants to deliver for us, and we’ll keep working to find her opportunities.”

This is all part of the process, Reeve noted to her team postgame. The deeper you go in the playoffs, the harder things become. The Lynx are great, and so are the Sun.

“And now it’s two teams just going back and forth, you’re not going to get anything easy,” Reeve said. “And now it’s just about players finding a way to make a play. That’s a place that we’ve got to make sure we excel in. Courtney is a player that can do that for us.”

So is Smith. And Collier. Even McBride, who can hit a couple more 3-point attempts. That’s the encouraging thing for the Lynx: There are numerous avenues to an improved offensive performance Tuesday at Target Center.

“It’s a long series for a reason, so we’re OK,” Lynx wing Bridget Carleton said. “We have all the faith in the world that we’ll perform better on Tuesday night and, hopefully, come out with a win.”

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