Before the Minnesota Lynx dropped a close barnburner to the Las Vegas Aces on Saturday, they had pummeled the Dallas Wings on Tuesday. They have another light week incoming as they work through Commissioner’s Cup action.
Week in Review
The Lynx had just two games last week, one at home against the Dallas Wings which featured the top two picks facing off against one another. Minnesota ran circles around Dallas for a convincing 24-point win and hung triple digits on them. Then came a riveting matchup between the top two teams
in the W on Saturday which lived up to the hype. It was a photo finish down to the last minute between the Aces and the Lynx, but Vegas held on to end the Lynx eight game winning streak.
- Tuesday, 6/9: Lynx 100, Wings 76
- Saturday, 6/13: Aces 100, Lynx 97
WEEK 4:
OFFRTG: 110.9 (2nd) ↑↑↑
DEFRTG: 97.1 (1st) –
NETRTG: 13.9 (1st) –
eFG%: 55.5 (1st) ↑
TOV%: 18.7 (9th) –
OREB%: 36.0 (3rd) ↑
WEEK 5:
OFFRTG: 112.7 (2nd) ↑
DEFRTG: 98.9 (1st) –
NETRTG: 13.8 (1st) –
eFG%: 55.7 (1st) ↑
FTr: 24.4 (15th) ↓
TOV%: 18.0 (8th) ↑
OREB%: 35.4 (2nd) ↑
Olivia Miles Duels the Reigning MVP
Not enough good things can be said about Olivia Miles. She has been the driving engine for the red hot Lynx start while running the offense with the ball in her hands nearly every trip down the floor. Through the first quarter of the season, Miles has transcended the Rookie of the Year conversation and has at least entered the fringes of something much higher — the MVP race. While you never want to get ahead of yourself, there’s no doubt that the numbers, impact and team record of the Lynx allow you to give a strong argument that she can find her way into that conversation.
Another notch in the belt was going toe-to-toe with the reigning MVP and not blinking. Miles scored 29 points, 12 in the fourth, and made a few clutch buckets down the stretch to give the Lynx a chance to come out with the win. A’ja Wilson was great as well, scoring 24 points and grabbing 10 rebounds to help power the Aces past the Lynx. Even with the loss, Miles proved yet again why she is a rising star in the league and is still on her way up.
The Need for Reinforcements
Lynx fans have had the luxury of saying “We don’t have Phee or Dorka Juhász” in both wins and losses though there hasn’t been much of the latter. While it has mostly been smooth sailing for Minnesota this season, the matchup against Las Vegas proves what is almost always true when a star player misses time: You can do a great job of winning despite the absence of them, but you need their talent to consistently beat the best.
The other part that will help Minnesota to reach their full potential is that they have struggled to find any type of scoring pop off the bench without Collier and Juhász. Their return will help to have players in good roles with the ability to compete against the best squads consistently. The Lynx struggled to contain Wilson and though they played extremely well and nearly came out with the win, having a little more pop and depth on both ends can be the difference as the season goes along and postseason play begins.
