The Minnesota Lynx have won yet another game, beating the Seattle Storm 105-102 behind the latest offensive explosion from Olivia Miles and Kayla McBride. However, while the box score showed a historic outing, head coach Cheryl Reeve’s postgame words to reporters suggested problems on the other side of the ball, per a YouTube video of the postgame press conference by The Ballers Magazine.

“Yeah, I mean, it’s terrific on the offensive end, right? Our three perimeter players have been special all season. Right now we’re needing them to have these prolific efforts in order for us to win a game because our defense is nowhere to be found. And so, happy, you know, that they were able to hang in there, live with a big basket.”

Her comments followed a night where McBride scored 33 points off six three-pointers. Miles continued an impressive rookie season, adding 32 points, eight rebounds, and eight assists. Those two, combined with Courtney Williams, who scored 21 points, accounted for 30 of Minnesota’s 37 field goals and went a perfect 18-18 from the free-throw line.

Miles and McBride have been lighting up the stat sheet all season. Earlier this year, after a 104-100 win vs Phoenix Mercury, Miles and McBride became the first Lynx duo to score 30+ points in the same game. In that game, McBride had 37, and Miles had 33, her career high and the most by a rookie in franchise history.

However, these defensive issues have been a concern during the Lynx’s now six-game winning streak, as Reeve highlighted while speaking at the post-game presser per the YouTube video posted by The Ballers Magazine. After the team’s last game against the Portland Fire, Reeve had strong words, explaining that there are “no excuses” for the poor defensive effort.

“I think tonight, defensively, we couldn’t guard one-on-one … our guards have to buck up, and they’ve got to have more pride on their one-on-one. This is not the first game that we’ve seen this … not a success for us tonight, defensively. We won the game because we outscored them. We’re not going to give the W back — we’re going to hang on to the W — but we have to start making some progress there and recognition. I’m not sure that it’s sinking in, so I don’t know what lies ahead for us defensively.”

Reeve has a point. Despite Minnesota having the record in the league of 21-6, their defense has dropped significantly since the start of the season. They opened last season with the best defensive rating in the league, but rank just 13th during their winning streak.

However, it doesn’t seem like the players are sweating it.

Despite Reeve’s warning, Lynx stars remain confident during winning streak

Despite Cheryl Reeve making it clear that she expects more from the team’s defense, Olivia Miles and Natasha Howard don’t seem too worried about their head coach’s comments. After the game against the Portland Fire, both players were asked about Reeve’s comments on their defense.

“That’s just Cheryl being Cheryl. I think she holds us to a very high standard,” Miles said. “Yeah, tell us what I’m doing.”

“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,” Howard added with a smile.

Their not being worried shows up in the stats. During the six-game winning streak, the Lynx’s offense is comfortably in first place. Miles and McBride have also lit up the stat sheet during these games.

McBride is averaging 27.7 points per game over this period, adding 3.3 rebounds and 2.2 steals while shooting 50% from three. At the same time, Olivia Miles is averaging 22.3 points, 6.7 assists, and 4.8 rebounds on 46% from the field and 43.3% from three, per StatMuse, despite sitting out two games due to her calf injury.

While the Lynx ultimately left Seattle with another victory, their head coach is clearly not satisfied. She doesn’t believe that a championship contender can rely only on offense, and until that effort returns, her stars will have to carry an increasingly heavier load.