No weak Lynx, but Dream find vulnerabilities in victory against Minnesota
The Dream know that they have to bring their best when facing the teams in the WNBA. On Thursday, the Dream did all the little things to down the WNBA-leading Lynx 75-73 at the Gateway Center Arena in College Park.
Heading into Thursday’s game, the Dream (23-13) understood that they faced the league’s best defense. The Lynx (28-7) also have the WNBA’s most efficient offense, which punishes inside and outside the arc.
All of that has not changed drastically in the absence of Lynx forward Napheesa Collier, one of the leading candidates for MVP in the NBA.
The Lynx still remain in the top three in the WNBA, defensively and at the top of the league in 3-point efficiency.
“They’re very tough,” Dream coach Karl Smesko said before Thursday night’s game. “I mean, they’re very physical. They’re very tough. They’re going to defend. You’re never going to really find a weak link out there who isn’t really defending at the highest level.
“They are competing. They communicate very well. They share the ball very well. They’re very well coached. They know exactly what they’re looking for and when. And they have played together, most of them, for a while, and it looks like it.”
So, heading into Thursday night, the Dream knew they had to live up to being the No. 2 best defense in the league. The Dream held the Lynx to the third-fewest points scored this season while tying its franchise record for wins.
“It’s just our attentiveness to the details on defense,” Dream forward Brionna Jones said Thursday following the game. “I think throughout this whole season, we’re trying to get better on defense consistently. And I think, playing the top teams, that’s what it takes.
“It takes not just getting your offense going, but like, getting stops on defense and taking care of the ball. And I think we did a good job with that today. And that led to our success.”
The Lynx, of course, did not make it easy on the Dream. Four of the Lynx’s five starters finished the night in double figures, knocking down 45% of the 3-point attempts. Lynx forward Bridget Carleton snapped a four-game slump where she shot 12.5% from deep by making four of eight baskets from 3.
But the Dream, who beat the Lynx with Collier in the lineup in Minnesota on July 27, will continue to approach these big matchups with attentiveness with just eight games left in the regular season.
On Saturday, they face the Liberty, the reigning WNBA champions. Then on Aug. 27, they host the Aces, who won their ninth consecutive game and jumped to third place Thursday.
“I still think there’s quite a bit that can be improved,” Smesko said. “There’s definitely times where I think we’re competing at another level defensively, but there’s times now on offense where we’re deciding to take breaks, where our movement stops and we’re not moving the ball. And yeah, I know it’s a lot of work to play defense like that, and then have as much movement as we like to have on the offensive end, but against a team that’s good, you can’t have wasted possessions.
“And I thought we had a few. They’re (the Lynx) so good defensively, if you’re thinking you’re just going to hold the ball and break them down again, that’s not going to work. I mean, you have to do something to break them down. So for us, it’s every single possession playing at a championship level. And that’s a high standard. But I think Minnesota comes close to doing that night in and night out. So, if we’re going to try to make a run, get in the playoffs and make a run and win a championship, every possession is going to have to be valuable to us.”
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