The Minnesota Lynx are currently enjoying a 5-match winning streak. With a 20-6 record for the season, they are at the top of the league standings. However, for coach Cheryl Reeve, this is exactly the time they cannot get complacent. Reeve used her speech honoring Sylvia Fowles at Target Center and called out her team to be more organized defensively before the Portland game.
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Now this was a little perplexing for rookie guard Olivia Miles and Natasha Howard, given how good the Lynx have been this season, even defensively.
“That’s just Cheryl being Cheryl. I think she holds us to a very high standard. Yeah, tell us what I’m doing,” Miles said in a post shared by Andrew Dukowitz.
“We got to get back to our fundamentals; that’s all when it comes to defense, but we good though, we know how Cheryl is(smiling),” Howard added.
The stats do highlight the underlying trend that the Lynx have been very organized defensively. They have the second-best defensive rating in the league, at 101.6, only marginally behind the Valkyries. The Lynx have the best net rating in the league as well, at 11.
Minnesota are not committing unnecessary errors, as they are fifth best in the league in turnover percentage, at just 16.9. When the Lynx combine this with the league’s second-best field goal shooting, they successfully control the tempo of their matches and ensure the results go their way.
However, as coach Reeve pointed out, there is still scope for improvement. The Lynx are still without Napheesa Collier, and Dorka Juhasz’s recent foot strain has weakened their interior rim protection. The team also struggles against physical post play, highlighted by the fact that they rank a lowly tenth in the league when it comes to defensive rebound percentage
However, the biggest silver lining of the season has been the way rookie Olivia Miles has turned up.
Miles leads the Lynx in scoring and assists, averaging 19.1 points, 4.7 rebounds, and 5.9 assists per game, shooting 49.8% from the field. She has already set the record as the quickest player in WNBA history to reach 400 points, 100 rebounds, and the 100-assist mark.
Her brilliant court vision and dynamic scoring ability have enabled others in the team, like Kayla McBride and Courtney Williams, to score freely as well.
It’s rare for a rookie to be in contention not just for Rookie of the Year, but for the MVP title as well at this stage of the season.
The Lynx have the team to push for a deep run into the playoffs. The All-Star break would provide them a reprieve to come back with the same intensity they have shown all season till now.