The WNBA Finals is all knotted at one game apiece after a pair of contests in Minnesota. The Sparks took the first game after Alana Beard’s buzzer-beating shot while the Lynx came back to claim Game 2. Now the scene shifts to Los Angeles.
Sparks coach Brian Agler mentioned that he was “disappointed” with his team’s play in Game 2.
We didn’t quite play with the focus and the urgency that we did on Sunday. That being said, if someone told me, you’re going to go up there and split, would you take it? We would probably take it against a good team like Minnesota is.
–Brian Agler
Lynx coach Cheryl Reeve says that at this point, it is all about players being able to make plays.
There is no adjustment somebody is going to make that is going to catch somebody off guard. It really is, at this point, about players making plays.
–Cheryl Reeve
One of the keys to Game 2 was Minnesota’s defense and the job it was able to do in holding Candace Parker to a three-for-12 shooting performance in the second game–and only six points. Reeve was pleased with how the Lynx defended her in the second game as opposed to Game 1 when she scored 14 and was five-for-12 from the field.
It’s been okay. I think at times, it’s been pretty solid. She’s getting shots and opportunities. We’re just trying to make it hard for her. Sometimes it works out and sometimes it doesn’t.
Agler remarked that a key for Parker is keeping her on the move and finding ways that she can assert herself in the offense. Parker herself was also asked about adjustments being made for for the third game.
We have to play better defense. We shot terrible. I think a lot of that was because of our energy and effort. I don’t think we were as focused as we were in Game 1.
Of course, Parker must not be the sole focus of any defensive game plan employed by any team facing the Sparks. One must also contend with Nneka Ogwumike as well. In the Sparks’ win in Game 1 she scored 19 points and shot eight of nine from the field.
At this point in the game, both teams know each other very well. Those are two very effective players. Obviously, there’s going to be a lot of attention on those two. That’s no easy task. They are very talented and gifted players. The highest amount of attention will continue to be paid to both of them.
–Maya Moore
Ogwumike was asked about the Sparks’ defensive mentality and said that her team needs to be more aggressive on the defensive side to open things up for their offense.
We definitely want to make it very difficult for their offense, which is what we did not do last game. Those stops will hopefully get us easy buckets.
Los Angeles’ defense has managed to hold the Lynx to under 80 points in the first pair of games—a far stretch from the over 100 points Minnesota dropped in one playoff game against the Phoenix Mercury in the semifinals. In Game 1, timely offense complimented the Sparks’ defense—not as much the case in Game 2.
Even though they only scored 79 and 78 points, we weren’t able to play our best defense. There were some holes that we need to fill to allow us to propel our offense. And when we don’t have those opportunities, we need to execute better in the half court situations.
–Essence Carson
Carson was also asked about how to neutralize another part of the Lynx’s strategy by not allowing Rebekkah Brunson and Sylvia Fowles to grab rebounds. They combined for 23 rebounds in Game 2 (15 for Fowles and eight for Brunson) including nine on the offensive glass (five for Fowles and four for Brunson).
We have to pay a little bit more attention to detail and make sure we find them and put a body on them, to make sure we give ourselves a chance to rebound the ball.
Brunson mentioned in her comments how she plans to continue her assert herself in terms of getting offensive boards.
It’s to our benefit, so we want to do whatever we can to continue to go in and crash the glass and get offensive boards. You never know when those extra possessions will matter.
During the regular season, the Sparks and Lynx met twice in Los Angeles with Minnesota claiming victory in both contests—albeit by small margins. Brunson says that at this point, those previous meetings with the Sparks on their home floor are moot.
It doesn’t matter what we did in the regular season. It doesn’t matter what we did previously. It’s all about what we can do while we’re here now.
Seimone Augustus says that from the outset of Game 3, she is expecting a much more energized Sparks team.
It’s going to be a heavyweight bout. If they throw a punch, we have to throw a punch right back. No matter what, we cannot give up on our defensive and offensive schemes.
By: Akiem Bailum (@AkiemBailum on Twitter, Instagram)
