The Minnesota Lynx’s #1 seed looks far less impressive after the New York Liberty turned Game 1 into a reminder of just how unforgiving the WNBA playoffs can be. In the aftermath of the 91-75 loss, one analyst pointed to how two of their biggest offensive pieces might not fit together as well as the team needs.
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That analyst is Tyler DeLuca, who made his comments during an appearance on the Her Hoop Stats Podcast. There, he questioned whether Minnesota has found actual chemistry between Miles and Collier since the star forward returned from injury.
“You haven’t really seen a comfortability, I feel like, between when Olivia Miles and Napheesa Collier are both on the court together,” he said.
“I think you have pairs of two-man games between Courtney Williams and Phee and Natasha Howard and Olivia Miles, and then Kayla McBride eats off the gravity of those two-man games. And neither of those really got rolling in this.”
For a team that finished 33-11 in the regular season, DeLuca’s concern is interesting to consider, especially with the team’s season hanging in the balance. Even more interestingly, data from the regular season seemingly confirms his assessment.
According to stat-tracking website databallr.com, Miles and Collier being on the floor together made the team 7.9 points better per 100 possessions, but they seemingly had a stronger impact individually. When Miles played without Collier, the team’s net rating rose to 12.5 points better per 100 possessions, while Collier without Miles resulted in the team being 10.2 points better per 100 possessions.
The team is still good when both of the stars play, but the Lynx’s improvement when they play without each other cannot be ignored, and their poor performance against New York has increased these concerns significantly.
Miles was held to 11 points on 3-for-12 shooting for the night, including going 1-for-4 from three-point range, and only one assist while turning the ball over four times. Collier didn’t fare much better, finishing with 12 points on 6-for-14 from the field, turning the ball over three times, fouling out of the game, and logging a team-worst -23 plus/minus.
DeLuca also noted that Miles wasn’t able to settle into her offensive spots the entire game. He called on Collier to step up, especially when her matchup, Breanna Stewart, completely outperformed anyone on the Lynx.
“It looked like Olivia Miles was uncomfortable,” he said.
“[The] vets didn’t really settle the game down as a whole for Olivia Miles to more comfortably grow into it. If you’re looking at Stewie’s performance here, you’re looking at Phee and be like, ‘We need you to match that…’ That is what like that is the caliber of player that Napheesa Collier is. And I just don’t think we have seen that player come back to form fully since her return from injury.”
How New York Shut Down Olivia Miles and the Lynx
Miles was largely contained by New York through their excellent defensive scheme. The Liberty forced Miles to beat them as a driver, funneling her into the paint, which was defended by stoppers like Hannah Stewart, Jonquel Jones, and Leonie Fiebich.
They covered her passing lanes to her go-to pick-and-roll target, Natasha Howard, and that size ended up bothering Miles enough to force a poor shooting night.
Meanwhile, New York was carried on offense by superstar forward Breanna Stewart, who finished with 34 points and 12 rebounds, also adding six assists, two steals, and two blocks. The Liberty also made 13 of their 25 three-pointers for the night, outdueling the Lynx in a scoring masterclass.
Stewart revealed after the game that it was exactly what the Lynx had planned to do.
“We knew the shots that we were going to get,” Stewart said.
“We had a few days to really practice that and be intentional, and whenever we were able to draw two — kick it to the open person, and shoot it with confidence.”
Now, as the two teams head to New York for the second game of the best-of-three series, the Lynx now face a win-or-go-home situation. Only time will tell if Miles and Collier can regain their offensive tempo to force a Game 3 in Minneapolis.