Jace Frederick: Lynx will have to prove themselves all the way to the title

The Lynx have toppled the New York Liberty in four of five meetings this season.

Two of the victories were, frankly, blowouts.

Minnesota just edged New York on its home floor in Brooklyn in Game 1 of these best-of-5 WNBA Finals despite a significant rest and travel disadvantage, rallying back on multiple occasions on the strength of its tenacious defense. Frankly, there is little to nothing to suggest the Lynx are not the best team in this series with a significant matchup advantage.

And yet, New York is still the slightest betting favorite to the title. The Liberty are seven and a half point favorites for Sunday’s Game 2.

Why? Because the minds of many can’t comprehend what they’ve watched between these two teams. On paper, the Liberty look like clear title favorites. They have Breanna Stewart, Jonquel Jones, Sabrina Ionescu and Courtney Vandersloot. They are the No. 1 seed. They ended the reign of the mighty Las Vegas Aces.

And now they’re going to lose to … Minnesota? It just doesn’t seem possible.

But it very much is.

It’s so rare in pro sports today to see a collective work so well as a unit to create a tide that lifts all boats that the power of such an occurrence is often underestimated. The average observer may look at Minnesota and not realize the power it possesses.

If you haven’t paid as much attention this season and were only relying on past information to support your prognostication, you probably wouldn’t know that Napheesa Collier is playing the best basketball of anyone on the planet, or that Bridget Carleton has joined Kayla McBride among the ranks of elite snipers from the outside.

There would be no reason to suspect Courtney Williams had evolved into a stone-cold killer who will never back down from a big shot with the game in the balance, nor that Alanna Smith is a tenacious defender capable of locking down bigs who trump her in size.

You may be surprised to learn that Natisha Hiedeman, who started each of the past two years for Connecticut, is now Minnesota’s top reserve. Her presence in the lineup down the stretch Thursday played a big role in allowing the Lynx to climb out of that 15-point deficit with fewer than five minutes to play in regulation.

Hiedeman bought into her role coming off the pine this season, just as everyone around her equally decided to do their part — whatever that may entail — to lift the Lynx from low-end playoff team to championship contender.

Contender — not favorite. Not per the odds, anyway. The same ones that had this outfit at 50-to-1 to win the title at the season’s outset. But those don’t determine who lifts the trophy — the on-court play does. Minnesota’s has been consistently excellent. There’s no reason to think that will suddenly change Sunday, or at any point over the remainder of this season.

Cheryl Reeve has noted that this team doesn’t care what outsiders think of it, though it’s clear it’s at least somewhere present in the Lynx coach’s mind.

And if Minnesota closes the deal, there’s little doubt Reeve would revel in the chance to say, “I told ya so.” Who could blame her? By now, there’s little to no reason to not think of this squad as the WNBA’s best, name recognition be darned. The Lynx won the Commissioner’s Cup. They won the season series against New York, ditto for Las Vegas.

By week’s end, perhaps the Lynx will finally make believers out of all onlookers. At the point they’re holding a trophy on a stage at center court, there will be zero reason left on the table to doubt.