MINNEAPOLIS – Game 1 of the WNBA Finals lived up to the hype and then some on
Sunday afternoon in Minneapolis. The league’s top two teams proved to be only be
separable by a Chelsea Gray stepback jumper with 2.0 seconds left in the game to
seal the victory for L.A.
Now, with Game 2 approaching fast on the horizon, both teams have little time to
go back to the film room and practice floor to make the necessary adjustments to
ensure a victory in a must-win Game 2 (Tuesday, at 8 p.m. ET on ESPN2).
Here at the top storylines from Monday’s practices and media availabilities.
Minnesota Lynx
Setting the Tone
It was clear from a deficit that at its largest grew to 26 points in the first
quarter, that the Lynx did not have that fiery mentality out of the gates that
you would expect from a team that’s played in six Finals over the past seven
years. The squad didn’t record an assist until under two minutes left in the
quarter, and didn’t secure a rebound for the duration of it.
Head coach Cheryl Reeve was critical of her team’s willingness to win from the
start after having more time to reflect on the game Monday. “My team appeared
like they just showed up, the fans would be here, we would just be able to do
what we wanted to, we wouldn’t be able to play much defense, Reeve said. “We
played defense good enough to win a regular-season game, maybe a preseason game,
that was probably how good our defense was.”
The defending champs started the #WNBAFinals with a 28-2 run! #WatchMeWork pic.twitter.com/0nScLMkwPD
— WNBA (@WNBA) September 25, 2017
Reeve’s final point is an important one going forward for Minnesota in this
series. The Finals require you to find a will to win within yourself much deeper
than in a regular season contest. The first thing that must change in Game 2 is
how Minnesota approaches the first quarter and in particular the first five
minutes. Announcing their presence through crashing the boards and playing solid
on-ball defense will go a long way in affecting L.A.’s confidence down the
stretch.
Stick to What Got You Here
For the third straight season the Lynx captured the number one overall seed
heading into the postseason. While the team was without Lindsay Whalen for a
decent part of the year, they still saw the imposing trio of Maya Moore, Sylvia
Fowles, and Seimone Augustus put together productive scoring seasons. On Sunday
these three kept it going tallying 27 points, 22 points and 19 points
respectively.
While the start to the game was not what anyone on the Lynx’s bench could have
anticipated, the key components to an offense that has dominated the WNBA for
the better part of seven years still had effective scoring nights. If the Lynx
can avoid burying themselves into a deep hole early, the offense that got them
here has the ability to still flourish even against a stifling defense like
L.A.’s
“L.A. just came out and struck first. They were more aggressive than us,”
Augustus said Monday. “They were getting to the rim and got more paint points.
They basically didn’t miss. They were hitting every shot and we couldn’t hit a
shot. Once we settled into our defenses and bought into the scheme that coach
had already put together for us, everything just kind of clicked offensively.”
Playing Your Role
Delving deeper into Sunday’s final stat line the teams were pretty much even
across the board. Despite losing, Minnesota out-rebounded L.A. 35 to 34 and also
shot a higher percentage overall from the field, 50% to 47.8%. The teams forced
an equal amount of steals, eight apiece, while L.A. turned the ball over one
less time than Minnesota, 14-15.
It was the Sparks’ role players who made the most of their minutes when the
Lynx’s did not. Renee Montgomery, Rebekkah Brunson and Plenette Pierson shot a
combined 2-for-13 from the floor while also combining for four turnovers. Jia
Perkins and her six points, five rebounds, three assists, and two steals were
lone bright spot amongst Minnesota’s role players.
The stars are going to get theirs for Minnesota in this series and it’s up to
the others around them to limit mistakes and positively contribute when they can
if the Lynx want to win Game 2 and this series.
No Flashbacks to 2016
The way the 2017 series has started for the Lynx is eerily similar to the way
the 2016 Finals, which they lost in five games, began last year. Minnesota
suffered a defeat in the final seconds on their home floor in 2016 after Alana
Beard drained a baseline jumper as time expired. This season it was Chelsea Gray
who played the role of late game hero for L.A. as they again defeated Minnesota
in Game 1 in front of their home fans.
The memories of that devastating loss and its subsequent effect on how the rest
of the 2016 Finals played out cannot factor into the psyche of this year’s
championship run. While the team did overcome that loss and avoided going down
2-0, it felt like the Sparks gained the upper hand from the start and never
relinquished it. The 2017 Finals provide Minnesota a chance to rewrite the
script on momentum and give new meaning to resiliency when it comes to WNBA
titles.
“I think it’s a clean slate. I try not to look back at last year,” reigning 2017
MVP Sylvia Fowles said. “Last year didn’t work out the way I wanted it to work
out. So, I try not to focus on last year.”
“I’m definitely happy that this isn’t a one-game series and we get the chance to
get back on Tuesday and put it together for 40 minutes,” Maya Moore echoed.
Los Angeles Sparks
Enjoy The Win, But Not For Long
While Game 1 of the 2016 Finals did not feature a 28-2 start by L.A. and an
incredible comeback by Minnesota like we saw in Sunday’s series opener, both
games ended with game-winning shots by the Sparks – Alana Beard’s buzzer beater
last year and Chelsea Gray’s dagger with two seconds left on Sunday.
“It was absolutely amazing,” Beard said of watching Gray’s game-winner after
having her own moment a year ago. “I think Chelsea said it best that every
athlete dreams of something like that, but I think the beauty of that shot is
that it could have been anyone on our team, but it was her.
“That was her moment and hopefully she relishes in it for now, but not too
long.”
What the Sparks don’t want to repeat is what happened in Game 2 of last year’s
Finals, when the Lynx won by 19 points – the largest margin of victory in the
five games series – to tie the Finals at 1-1 as the series headed to L.A.
While the Sparks had to get one win in Minnesota, they can’t be satisfied with
getting Game 1 and going back home with a split and trying to hold home court
and win the title in L.A. Again, we go back to last year, when the Sparks were
unable to win the championship on their home floor in Game 4 and were forced to
return to Minnesota and win a second road game to take the title.
Prior to Game 1, Candace Parker talked about being greedy after winning her
first title and wanting to have that feeling again. The Sparks have to be greedy
on Tuesday night at Williams Arena and look for a 2-0 lead before the series
shifts to California.
Reality Lives Up To The Dream
After hitting the game-winner in Game 1, Chelsea Gray said that moment is
something that athletes always dream about. So how did the reality of making the
shot compare to the dream she had growing up as she counted down and imagined
taking game-winning buzzer-beaters as a young player?
“It was amazing,” she said. “The adrenaline rush you feel after that is
incredible but at the same time, the buzzer didn’t go off, we still had to focus
a little bit. Alana made a heck of a play and forced a travel. So that was
good.”
As she was rewatching the biggest shot of her WNBA career, Gray didn’t just
revel in the joy of making the shot, she also turned a critical eye on herself
in evaluating the shot.
“I think I needed to elevate a little bit more actually,” she said with a laugh.
“There was actually two people on me so I could have passed it actually to
whoever was open I think it might have been Alana. So it was about going back
and seeing that as well.”
Focus On The Task At Hand
There was plenty of talk on Monday about the Sparks building the 28-2 lead in
the first quarter and the subsequent push by the Lynx to get back into the game,
eventually take the lead and then force the drama that played out over the
thrilling final minute of Game 1.
All of the players and coaches have been involved in games that featured big
swings like that – maybe not to the effect of a 26-point lead in a Finals game –
but building a big lead and seeing an opponent chip away at it is commonplace
not only in the WNBA, but in basketball in general. It’s called a game of runs
for a reason.
“It happens to a lot of teams,” said Agler. “Our league for some reason is like
that … you’ll see teams get out to double digit leads almost every game and then
the game creeps back together.
“The start surprised me more than the finish. I was surprised we got off to that
start. I wasn’t surprised they got back into the game because there was a lot of
basketball to be played.”
It may seem odd, but having such a big lead early in the game can be a bit
dangerous. There is a natural tendency to feel complacent; to feel that the game
is in hand and it’s just a matter of time before you get the win.
“I think that when you get into a situation like that – you always like to get
into those situations – but then the other team in going to respond in some
way,” said Agler. “They’re competitors, they’re going to fight you, claw,
pressure and try to make things happen. And then when a team makes a run on you,
then your team starts watching the clock, playing the clock instead of just
playing your opponent. “
“So I wasn’t [clock watching], but I know that other people do and that’s
something that we have to stay focused on,” said Ogwumike. “We have to focus on
the task at hand and what’s going on right now because its easy to do that. This
game is on the line and there’s so much going on, the crowd is going wild.
Obviously you have to be aware of time and score but you can’t be so focused on
the clock that you forget what you’re doing.”
Consistent Effort For 40 Minutes
In watching the game film from Sunday’s Game 1, there were plenty of lessons to
learn from both the first eight minutes when the Sparks were unstoppable and the
final 32 minutes when the Lynx battled back and nearly stole the game.
“We’ve already watched film, we talked about both,” said Agler. “Right now our
focus – like it has been all year long, nothing’s changed – is to try to
improve. We have just this one opponent now and so we have to try to find ways
to improve against this opponent.”
Every player and coach from the Sparks knows the Lynx won’t come out in Game 2
the same way they did in Game 1. They fully expect an amped up Lynx team playing
with its back against the wall to try to avoid an 0-2 deficit at all costs.
“I don’t anticipate anything less that,” said Agler. “We just have to look at
the game as we outplayed them in the first five minutes, and they outplayed us
in the last 35. There are a lot of areas we can get better at; we have to get
better at and hopefully we will.”
Whether they build another lead or have to play from behind, the Sparks are
prepared for however Game 2 plays out.
“I’ve been on both sides of games like that; it’s tough both ways,” said
Ogwumike. “For us, sometimes I feel we maintain our poise so well because we’ve
been on all parts of the spectrum. But we have got to get better at maintaining
poise when we have an advantage. That’s something that we have to do.
“And a lot of times it has to do with people making adjustments. We have to be
able to adjust to what people change. They came out ready to punch back and we
have to be able to stand our ground.”
“We played pretty good basketball, but we played five minutes of great
basketball,” added Parker. “We won two quarters and we lost two quarters. I feel
like we can build off of that, but we have to learn to adjust throughout the
game, not going back after Game 1 and going back to the film and adjusting, but
as individuals on the court.”
