The entire WNBA season will come down to one game on Thursday night when the Los Angeles Sparks and Minnesota Lynx do battle one more time with league supremacy for the 2016 season on the line.
The Sparks took Games 1 and 3 while the Lynx have been victorious in Games 2 and 4.
Lynx coach Cheryl Reeve mentioned that executing a sound defensive strategy will be vital in earning victory.
I think that it has to be a big part of the game for us to be successful. Hopefully we can get that done.
–Cheryl Reeve
Sparks head coach Brian Agler admitted that in Game 4, his team may not have had its full focus on Minnesota.
I think the most important thing that we learned—and it has nothing to do with X’s and O’s—is the fact that when you play in a game with that magnitude, how’s your focus going to be? To me, our focus wasn’t direct on our opponent.
–Brian Agler
He hinted that lack of experience could have played a part given how much the media asks his players about what it feels to finally win a championship when they have not been there before.
As for the players, Minnesota’s Maya Moore felt it was only appropriate this series ended up going the full five games given the fact that the Lynx and Sparks have proven all year long to have been the class of the WNBA this year.
You definitely couldn’t ask for more. It’s been a dramatic series. One that will definitely go down as one of the best. It’s been really fun and hard. To have a chance to end it here on our home court, that’s all we could really ask for. We worked hard all season to put ourselves in this position. We want to put everything we have into Game 5.
–Maya Moore
The Sparks’ Alana Beard says her team is also feeling good heading into Game 5 despite the fact the fact that it will occur on the road in front of a raucous pro-Lynx crowd. According to her, at this point, one can throw the playbook out the window.
There are no X’s and O’s. Heart. Will. Passion. All of that’s going to come together in this game.
If said X’s and O’s are to be looked at in the context of Game 4, one can certainly highlight Minnesota’s defense, that, in similar fashion to Game 2, made things difficult for Candace Parker, who shot four for 14 from the field. LA as a team was just under 42 percent shooting from the field in Game 4.
Whenever we play with that much energy and are locked in on defense, we give ourselves a great chance to win the game. We still have areas we want to clean up, but people made big plays on both sides of the ball. That resiliency is something is fun to be a part of. When everybody takes their moment to do what they need to do for the team, it’s really fun and rewarding.
–Maya Moore
On the Sparks end of things, a key element of its defensive strategy will obviously be to keep Moore in check. She was a big difference in the last game as she scored 31 points and was nine of 17 from the field. She also made 11 of her 12 free throw attempts.
You’ve just got to make her shots tough. It’s clear that she’s the best scorer in this league and rightfully so. We’ve just got to make her shots tough. Maya will score. You’ve just got to make them tough.
–Alana Beard
Minnesota was also in a similar position last season—a WNBA Finals series that went five games with the Lynx eventually winning the championship. Seimone Augustus expressed confidence in her team heading into Game 5’s winner-take-all.
Obviously, we’re able to lock in on what we need to do. Whatever we’ve been able to face the last few years, we’ve been able to get over it. I feel like this is another case we did what we needed to do. We are back home. It’s time to take care of business. We understand what that means.
Kristi Toliver, who was four for six from three-point range in Game 4 and scored 15 points, mentioned lessons learned from Game 4.
We’ve been learning this entire series. We’ve proved that we’ve learned lessons. After a great Game 1, we struggled in Game 2. After struggling in Game 2, we exploded in Game 3. Game 4 was just another lesson of playing with poise and being decisive. You can’t fault our effort. Our effort has been there. We’re just learning how to handle the moment. I think that was the biggest lesson we learned in Game 4.
As is always the case when playing the Lynx, a team has to prepare to also lessen the impact Sylvia Fowles and Rebekkah Brunson will have in terms of rebounding—particularly on the offensive glass. Fowles went for 13 rebounds in Game 4 while Brunson only had two with Moore, Augustus, and Lindsay Whalen combining for 22 boards.
I feel like we can get better rebounding. Last game, our guards came inside and lifted us up. They were crashing the boards, so I still feel like we can elevate in that area.
–Rebekkah Brunson
We just have to stop them from rebounding. It’s that simple. Put a body on someone. The games in which they’ve been successful has been games where they’ve done well collecting offensive rebounds, Games 2 and 4. When we were able to control the boards, that’s when we were able to win. We have to limit their opportunities. They’re a good team that’s able to hit shots, so when we give them second chances, it makes it even harder for us.
–Essence Carson
Nneka Ogwumike had 11 points in Game 4 and was five for 10 from the field. She mentioned that she got an aura of calm heading into Game 5.
For me personally, I feel like people are pretty relaxed. I think everyone is kind of ready to learn, ready to use not just Game Four, but the series as a whole as an experience. I think that also mirrors our season. This series really mirrors our season as far as working hard and putting in the work early and paying attention to details. Everyone seems in good spirits and I think that’s when we do our best.
Outside of looking at what both teams have to do to secure victory, Parker was also asked on if the competitiveness of this series was a testament to the WNBA’s new playoff format.
I think it’s been great for the league. Obviously it’s been great for us because we got a double bye. I think it makes for longer series and people get into it more. It’s great for the league because people like to get into the series. You get to make adjustments and changes. It makes it more interesting.
The evenness of the two teams and the evenness of the series may be balanced out by the fact that Game 5 is in Minnesota. Basketball is a sport where home court can mean the difference in winning a championship and the Target Center is sure to be as loud as ever for Game 5.
I’m looking forward to it. We hear a lot of talk about it, but it’s one thing to hear it and to witness it. I thought last year was pretty extreme, but I heard it’s supposed to be ten times that.
–Sylvia Fowles
By: Akiem Bailum (@AkiemBailum on Twitter, Instagram)
