Reality Bites

I watched last night's game alongside some knowledgeable fans up in Section 130; moms bringing their daughters to watch the action. One in particular played high school hoops, and settled a first half discussion between my wife and I about whether the Lynx were going to come back and win the game. "I agree with your husband", she said, "no chance they're going to do it tonight". And so it came to pass.

Last night's game resembled the early Wolves expansion days, getting blown out early, then making a run to make the final score somewhat respectable. We saw a complete reversal from the last two games, and a slide back to where the club was a couple of weeks ago: low percentage field goal shooting, and very poor defense, especially in transition. This is the bane of all jump shooting teams; missed long shots that produce rebounds which lead to easy buckets for the opposition. The offensive strategy was poor from the beginning, jacking up three pointers in their first two possessions. If I were the coach--especially with a prized rookie point guard--I would have called time out early at that point, and mentored my star-to-be PG in the ways of running an offense. I think it's evident that Harding doesn't quite have the full command of running a pro team as of yet; Phoenix attacked the basket off those misses, and began their early run.

However, when they tried to go inside, there was no one who could deliver. Ohlde was awful last night. She had been playing seemingly more under control the last few games, but the way to get her off whatever game she does have is to put a body on her and get physical. Stansbury and Ress tried their best to provide some low post punch in the second half, but by that time the game was finished, even with the run.

Coach Z's dilemma is that if the jump shots aren't falling, it's a house of cards. They can't rely on their defense, their low post game is suspect at best, and they as of yet haven't developed anyone that can come off the bench on a consistent basis to microwave the team. Phoenix's Penny Taylor made the Lynx pay early, then Kelly Miller of Rochester HS fame made them pay middle to late. Miller was particularly aggressive throughout the game; she resembles the female athletes that came out East Germany in the 1950 and 60's, looking almost too ripped as compared to some of her teammates. Someone should tell her it's okay to change out the hair style as well; we're in the millennium now, it's only the social conservatives that wants to take us back to the 50's, not the WNBA.

It's disappointing when a team playing on essentially a holiday game at home comes out so flat, given they had some recent momentum going. I suppose the youth card will be played heavily the rest of this season, but I reject that wholeheartedly. Sure the jump shots won't fall some nights and mistakes will be made, but it was evident from the get-go that Phoenix came ready to play, and the Lynx didn't. Effort is something you can bring every night, especially for a decent crowd that bothered to show up last evening. People aren't stupid, and even though this is still a cheap ticket, there's lots of competition for the family dollar, so when they see a team going through the motions, how is that supposed to build a renewable fan base, especially after all the miscues of the Taylor organization? Minnesota fans love teams who at least play hard. Moms love teams who play hard, especially ones who've played the game. Watching the faces of the ones in Section 130 last night, they knew early that the team was mailing it in. Those are the fans this club can't disappoint.