Lynx find plenty of room to improve when it comes to hitting the glass

Because of the way the team is constructed, with a starting lineup filled with players who are both willing and able to take three-point shots but also relatively undersized, this year’s Lynx are not going to be a dominant rebounding team.

But, as coach Cheryl Reeve said, they can improve. Or, perhaps more forcefully, they had better improve.

“We just can’t be last in the league in rebounding percentage,” Reeve said. “It’s not necessarily why we lost the game in Dallas, but we can’t walk out of an arena having allowed the other team to get eight more possessions than us.”

Thursday in Dallas, the Wings broke an 11-game losing streak — and ended the six-game winning streak of the Lynx — by scoring 48 of their 94 points in the paint. The Wings got 14 offensive rebounds.

That last stat is a bit deceptive. The Lynx actually won the battle of second-chance points 12-9. Over the course of the season, despite often struggling to rebound on the defensive end, the Lynx defense has made the battle of second-chance points basically even this year during a 13-4 start.

But, to Reeve, it has to get better. If the Lynx can move up to the middle of the pack in rebounding percentage, that — along with the team’s third-ranked offensive rating — would make the team that much more difficult to play.

And it has become an emphasis.

“We have to change some of the muscle memory,” Reeve said. “We’re going back to the old school.”

That means working on — and emphasizing — blocking out. The team worked hard on that in practice Saturday before flying to Chicago.

Good timing. Because the Sky, though only 6-10 this season while playing rookies Angel Reese and Kamilla Cardoso extensively, are built to play inside. The Sky is first in offensive rebounds per game (11.2), points in the paint (41.9) and second-chance points (11.5), which offsets a three-point attack that is last in the league.

This will be many Lynx fans’ first look at Reese.

Reese was taken by the Sky with the seventh pick in the WNBA draft, the position the Lynx traded out of. The Lynx swapped picks with Chicago, getting the eighth overall pick, with which they took Alissa Pili. The Lynx also got the Sky’s second-round pick next year, a developmental big in Sika Koné and the right to swap first-round draft picks in 2026.

Many have questioned why the Lynx didn’t stand pat and take Reese at No. 7. Understandable, considering Reese is one of only four WNBA players currently averaging a double-double. She is second to Caitlin Clark in rookie scoring (13.5) and second in the league in rebounding (11.1).

Ask Reeve, and she will say the Lynx believed Reese’s skills while playing at Louisiana State — defense and rebounding — would translate to the WNBA.

But perhaps this trade will — eventually — look like one that benefits both teams.

The Lynx have transformed their offense, from a mid-level three-point shooting team last year to the best from long range this year. They signed Alanna Smith, who though relatively undersized at center at 6-4, is a true stretch 5, someone who can hit a shot from outside. Bridget Carleton is taking and making more threes. It’s unclear whether Reese, who has only attempted three three-pointers all season, would have fit into this attack.

And with a collection of posts of Collier, Smith and Dorka Juhász, any incoming big would not have started under Reeve. In Chicago, a team in rebuild mode, Reese has started every game.

On the other side, the Lynx got Pili, whom they believe will blossom into a strong contributor; a player in Koné with a big upside; and perhaps some draft capital.

That all of this is a point of discussion only points to the league’s growing popularity.

But for Sunday, Reeve wants her team to block out better and give up fewer rebounds on the defensive glass. She wants a return to the perimeter defense that limits dribble penetration.

“I think we can move the needle with the group we have,” Reeve said.