The Minnesota Lynx have played the Los Angeles Sparks 12 times since the start of last year’s WNBA Finals. The score of those 12 games combined: 908-908.
One way or another, tonight will change that.
Game 5 is just a few hours from tip-off, and both teams know what they’re up against. In the history of the WNBA, no two teams have played each other this competitively, for this long, on this big a stage. Games 1 and 2 were decided by one possession, and while the following two matchups were double digit decisions, the feeling on the floor was still palpable.
For Game 5, the game that will determine the WNBA champion, the Lynx coaching staff are taking a hands-off approach, and letting their players go to work.
“We told them Game 5 is time for the players,” said Cheryl Reeve at Tuesday’s practice. “Coaches, get out of the way, this is about players making plays.”
But, so far, this hasn’t rattled the core of the Lynx. Quite the contrary, for some of them. Defending MVP Sylvia Fowles has had a mostly efficient Finals thus far, and isn’t feeling the pressure going into tonight.
“I’m actually relaxed. I think I was more jittery Game 4 because I knew what was at stake, but I’m more relaxed this time around,” Fowles said Tuesday. “I’m comfortable with what the coach is putting us in and what we have to get done. I’m very confident that we can actually go out there and do it.”
The Sparks have made shutting down Fowles a priority, even at the expense of some open Lynx shooters on the perimeter. This has come with limited success, partially due to her ability to evade the double team by moving quickly in transition.
She’s gotten the overwhelming majority of her buckets on the pick and roll, but also by closing off the defender, and having the ball handler throw the ball over the top. She likes to move quickly, before the defense can get back into position.
Exhibit A:
Exhibit B:
Still, the extra looks haven’t made it easy for the Lynx perimeter players to stay consistent. While Maya Moore has stayed relatively steady, both Lindsay Whalen and Seimone Augustus have seen their numbers fly up and down throughout this series. If the Sparks plan to continue their over-defending of Fowles in the paint, improved play of Minnesota’s star backcourt will be vital.
But Game 5 is always a different beast, and both teams know it. They began this 12-game draw when they faced each other in last year’s Finals, and little has changed.
“It was intense,” said Seimone Augustus of last year’s Game 5 showdown. “The first two or three minutes from last year, if I remember correctly, were tough.”
“I think that if you poll anyone anywhere around the league that if you have
one game and an opportunity to win a championship would you take it. I’m pretty sure
everybody would take that,” said Sparks All-Star forward Candace Parker. “So that’s the mentality we have to have going in. It’s not going to be easy.”
If anything is certain going into this game, it’s that neither team will ever feel comfortable until the final buzzer sounds. In this series, both teams have come back from leads of 20 or more. Both teams have managed to shut down the opposition’s stars on different occasions. Most importantly, neither team has won consecutive games in this series.
This is the type of series that deserved a Game 5. But, really, the 12-game tie needs to be broken. Both will happen tonight, when a champion is crowned.
Listen to Tim on Wolves Wired!
