The Minnesota Lynx are wrapping up the regular season tonight, but not already know who they will face when the playoffs begin this weekend.
The team will finish the regular season with their final game against the Indiana Fever at home tonight, but when the playoffs begin Sunday, they will welcome the New York Liberty
to town after they secured the eighth seed following their 83-65 loss to the Atlanta Dream.New York intentionally rested Breanna Stewart, then held out key rotation players in Sabrina
Ionescu, Leonie Fiebich, and Pauline Astier in the fourth quarter despite it being a single-digit game with six minutes remaining. Jonquel Jones also tweaked an ankle backing into a fan’s foot in the third quarter and never returned.
Back to the Lynx, in their three-game regular season series against the Liberty, New York came out on top twice. On July 3rd, they defeated the Lynx 99-86 at the Barclays Center. A little over a week later, on July 11, the two teams met at the Target Center, where the Lynx pulled out a 90-85 victory. The season series concluded last week with another game in Minneapolis where the Liberty fairly easily beat the Lynx 93-81.
It’s important to note that Napheesa Collier did not play in either of the first two meetings between the two teams, and that could make a big difference during in their upcoming postseason matchup.
Even though the Lynx struggled at times this season against the Liberty, they could still be considered big favorites going into the series as the number one seed. The Liberty still have championship DNA after controversially winning it all in 2024, headlined by their big three of Stewart, Ionescu, and Jones. It will be a big test for Minnesota, who lost to New York in a five-game series in the WNBA Finals two years ago, but the Lynx will be ready for redemption.
Looking at tonight’s rematch against the Fever, the Lynx might not be expected to go all out. They have already announced they are holding out Olivia Miles again in hopes of getting her fully healthy for the playoffs. After losing four of their last five games, including two of three since the FIBA World Cup break, one of which was against the Liberty, Minnesota may also just need to get back in the win column and shore up their leaky defense (10th in defensive rating in the last 5 games).
During the team’s Tuesday night loss against the Fever, they struggled out of the gates, trailing by 23 points at halftime. That led to most of the reserves getting action compared to the starters. The only starter who played more than 15 minutes for the game, or even got on the court in the second half, was Maya Caldwell-Ellwanger. She is just a temporary starter in place of Olivia Miles, who is nursing a sore calf.
The team’s ultimate priorities could be to keep the group as healthy as possible going into the postseason.
