One week ago, the Minnesota Lynx welcomed the Phoenix Mercury to the Target Center and handed them a loss as a parting gift. For that game, the Lynx were without Diamond Miller and the Mercury were without Brittney Griner and Rebecca Allen. For today’s matchup in Phoenix, the Lynx are still without Miller and both Griner and Allen are listed as questionable. If both were to return I would suspect that they would be on restricted minutes.
Even so, the presence of Griner would make a big difference for the Mercury’s offense and defense. But we have seen the Lynx deal with Teaira McCowan and Kalani Brown with Dallas so how much of a difference is difficult to predict.
Minnesota Lynx and Phoenix Mercury Since Their Last Meeting
After the loss to Minnesota on May 31, the Mercury went on to defeat the Los Angeles Sparks by 19 points, and then lose to Seattle by 18 points. Consistency has been an issue all season for the Mercury, something that the return of Griner and Allen should help rectify. The Lynx continues to quickly shore up mistakes, getting production from the entire roster. The bench is far more productive than in recent years, and the defense and three-point shooting have both significantly improved.
right back to work. pic.twitter.com/k1jFpXeCXu
— Minnesota Lynx (@minnesotalynx) June 6, 2024
The Lynx still have moments where they lose some sharpness, but manage to return to form. Even the loss to Connecticut was an overtime down-to-wire one-point affair. For the Mercury, Diana Taurasi is still making an impact, and both Kahleah Copper and Natasha Cloud have added a definite punch to the Mercury offense. It is the inconsistency in scoring that is the most baffling.
Whether or not it is a question of a new team that has yet to gel is hard to determine, and rookie coach Nate Tibbetts is learning his team on the fly, having had only a couple of weeks of training camp to get to know them.
Final Thoughts
The Lynx continue to gain respect around the league, and Napheesa Collier has become an integral part of the MVP conversation. The team is so noticeably unified that, even in moments when there is cold shooting, they do not seem to lose their intent. The support among the players is always apparent, and that brings them together when things get a little dicey.
The Mercury are 3-1 at home. The Lynx are 3-1 on the road. Not being a big believer in home-court advantage, the Mercury will have to contend with a Lynx team that is not intimidated playing in someone else’s house. Whether or not the Mercury’s famed X-Factor is indeed a factor remains to be seen, but it will likely have little to no effect on the visiting Lynx.
The Mercury currently sits at No. 8, with the Lynx at No. 3. Both have aspirations to move up and stay in playoff contention. The Lynx are on a roll, and the Mercury wants to get rolling. This should be an energetic matchup.
And that, my friends, as they say, is that.’ — Martin Ruben.
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