After a month-long Olympic break, the Minnesota Lynx return to action this weekend to finish out the regular season. The Lynx, who last played on July 11 against the Los Angeles Sparks, begin a second-half schedule that will consist of 13 games when they host the New York Liberty on Sunday evening at Target Center.
One of the hottest teams in the WNBA at 12-7 overall, Minnesota will aim to improve upon its current status as the No. 4 seed in the WNBA standings. Before that game takes place and play resumes throughout the league, let’s take a look at some key things to watch for throughout the home stretch as they aim to reach an 11th straight postseason.
Can Lynx Stay Hot?
There’s no question the Lynx started the year off cold, opening the season 0-4 and quickly falling to the bottom of the standings. But since that start, and especially in the final few weeks going into the Olympic break, Minnesota has completely turned things around.
When the second half tips off, the Lynx will still hold the longest active winning streak in the WNBA, having won seven straight while also claiming eight of their previous 10 games. Since that 0-4 start, Minnesota rounded out the first half of the year 12-3.
After a month-long break, it will be interesting to see if the Lynx can return to their red-hot form and hit the ground running to build off what they accomplished going into the break. With just 13 games left to play before the playoffs arrive, Minnesota hopes those winning ways continue into what they hope will be a deep postseason run.
Health Will Continue to Be Key
Health has and will continue to be a focal point for Minnesota over the course of the final month and a half of the regular season. In the first half, it was an issue for both the Lynx and the rest of the WNBA, resulting in Minnesota changing the look of its roster.
Since training camp, injuries have been a topic of conversation for the Lynx, notably when rookie Rennia Davis suffered what ended up being a season-ending stress fracture in her left foot. Since that point, injuries have continued to pop up, but Minnesota hopes that will start to shift following a month-long break to allow players some time to rest up and recover.Â
Going into the Olympic break, the Lynx’s injury report was also filled by the likes of Crystal Dangerfield (shoulder), Natalie Achonwa (right MCL sprain), and Aerial Powers (right UCL tear). The good news is Dangerfield appears ready to return to the floor when the season resumes, and Achonwa already returned to basketball activity when she played for Canada in the Tokyo Olympics. On the other hand, Powers’ status is still uncertain. There has been no update on her injury status, meaning she will likely continue to be sidelined for the near future.
Some players are starting to get back to full health for Minnesota, which will be important going into the final month or so before the postseason begins.
How Much Will Fans Impact Things?
Along with the resumption of the regular season on Sunday, Minnesota hopes it will take place in front of even more fans at Target Center in the second half.
Kent Youngblood of the Star Tribune reported that the Lynx will lift the COVID-19 restrictions in their home arena. In the first half of the season, there was a limit of around 2,000 fans that were allowed into games, with many fans and season ticket holders not holding their normal seats close to the floor.
Starting Sunday and for at least the rest of the regular season, Lynx fans will have the opportunity to get closer to the action and flood Target Center once again, although masks will still be required for all in attendance.
That development is big news for Minnesota. Target Center has served as one of the toughest atmospheres for opposing teams to play in throughout WNBA. Lynx fans have played a big role in helping their team make things harder for opponents, and Minnesota hopes that returns to some extent for the home stretch of the regular season.
The Lynx have had a total of nine home games going into Sunday’s matchup against New York, holding a record of 6-3. With about half of the games remaining being played at home, Minnesota hopes that number only continues to improve with even more fans in attendance along the way.
Key Stretches and Games Remaining
Over the last month and a half of the year, the Lynx have 13 games left before the final day of the regular season on Sept. 19.
After opening up the home stretch of the season on Sunday against the Liberty, Minnesota will have a tough slate of contests in the following four games against some of the top teams in the league. The Lynx will hit the road to face the Connecticut Sun in back-to-back games on Aug. 17 and Aug. 19, both of which are being played in Connecticut.
Then, Minnesota travels to face the Chicago Sky on Aug. 21 before rounding out the four-game span at home against the Seattle Storm on Aug. 24. That won’t be an easy stretch by any means for the Lynx, but if they continue to play like they did to finish the first half of the regular season, those could be close and entertaining games.
In September, Minnesota’s schedule gets a bit lighter in the final month of the year, which will be nice leading up to what the Lynx hope is the start of a deep playoff run beginning Sept. 23. In the last few weeks, a few notable games include hosting Los Angeles on Sept. 2, which is always an entertaining rivalry game, and hitting the road to play the Las Vegas Aces on Sept. 8.
Regardless of how the final month-plus plays out for the Lynx, the WNBA is back following a month-long Olympic break. Now it’s about if Minnesota is able to stay hot, stay healthy and stay in the postseason picture to round out the year.
