An imperfectly perfect road trip for the Minnesota Lynx

Going into each of their last four games, and 10 of the last 11, that’s exactly what they’ve done. Show up. Win. And onto the next one. Light work, just like clockwork. 

Okay, maybe sweeping their latest three-game road trip wasn’t that easy, but returning home three wins better marks a successful business trip for the Lynx, who now face four games in the next seven days to close out the regular season.

“I think it says a lot about our connection,” All-Star and team captain Kayla McBride said after Minnesota’s 76-64 road win against the Atlanta Dream on Tuesday. “You know it’s hard, three games [in] five days, you’re traveling, things like that. I just think we’re relentless in our ability to stay connected.”

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The road trip was not without its challenges. The Lynx trailed the Fever by five points at the half in Indianapolis on Friday, and also trailed the Mystics when they went into the locker room during Sunday’s matinee. True to form, the Lynx made the necessary adjustments at halftime and won both third quarters, en route to winning each of their latest road contests.

“There’s tough times, there’s ebbs and flows throughout the game,” McBride added. “I’m just really proud of how we stayed together. Everybody had their moments, but collectively, I just think we have this toughness about us. We want to win every game. We know our goals are big and we have that in mind every time we step on the floor no matter who we’re playing. I’m just really proud of how we relentlessly continue to show up together.”

McBride was particularly relentless on the defensive side of the floor against Atlanta, limiting Dream star guard Rhyne Howard to 14 points on 5-of-19 shooting from the field. Howard entered Tuesday night’s contest on quite the heater, having put up 31, 33, and 36 points respectively in her last three games. 

Yet, not a single member of Minnesota’s locker room would describe any of the three wins as ‘perfect.’ Trailing at the half is rarely part of the game plan for any team, but owning the third quarter has been a staple for the Lynx all year long. The Lynx, who have the league’s second best scoring defense, allow just 17.9 third quarter points per game, making it their best quarter for defense.

“We’ve talked about this team being problem solvers, we’ve got players that don’t point fingers and they don’t hang their heads,” Reeve told media ahead of playing the Mystics. “They’re problem solvers, likely before we even get the coaches in there at halftime, I’m sure that they work through some of the issues and we reinforce.”

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The ability to make changes is part of any championship blueprint, but adjustments can’t be made unless there’s something to adjust. Minnesota may have won 10 of its last 11 games, but no one is losing sight of the areas where the Lynx have left more to be desired. Particularly, the uninspired first half defense that allowed the Fever to score 50 points in the first 20 minutes, and made Kamilla Cardoso look unstoppable when the Lynx narrowly defeated the Sky on Sept. 1. 

“Some of it is, in that game [against Indiana] we didn’t defend very well for two quarters,” Reeve said. “And I think about the game before that, we spent an entire half guarding a post player exactly the opposite of how we wanted to guard them. So we’re getting credit for adjustments, but that’s not what we were supposed to be doing. It’s one of those things that it’s great that we figure it out.”

“As a group, it’s just perfect. Your star player [Napheesa Collier] isn’t moaning at people about anything. They’re just really good together. Collectively, they figure out how we’ve got to come out in the third quarter to be better, and thankfully we’ve done that,” Reeve continued.

Collier, of course, has been a massive part of the Lynx’s success all year long. The reigning Western Conference Player of the Month for August didn’t slow down as the calendar turned to September, taking home Conference Player of the Week honors for the first week of this month as well. 

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The halftime adjustment against Indiana was a microcosm of what the Lynx have done all year long. After giving up 26 first-half points in the paint to the Fever, Collier and the Lynx clamped down in the second half, limiting the Fever to just eight points inside and holding their overall field goal percentage over the final 20 minutes to just 35.3%.

“It was definitely defense oriented,” Collier said of the halftime discussions after the 99-88 win in Indiana. “It’s something we’ve really emphasized this whole year and hung our hat on. Now that we’re really at the end we really just want to make sure that there’s no slippage. That we stay true to what has gotten us this far and what has really been the game changer for us. Really locking in on that and making sure we stay true to our identity. I think we did that in the second half. We came out [to] really focus on that end and it changed the game for us.”

Minnesota’s winning ways will be tested again on Friday night when the Chicago Sky come to town, desperately clinging to the eighth and final playoff spot. Meanwhile, the Lynx currently possess the league’s No. 2 seed. A chance at securing home court advantage for multiple rounds of the playoffs and making a run toward raising another banner would be beyond a lot of Lynx fans’ wildest dreams. But the Lynx are keeping talk of the world beyond Friday night to a minimum. 

“We’re not talking playoffs,” Reeve said. “We have four games in seven days, the first of which is Chicago, and it’s the only space I know how to be in. It’s the only space that you can be in and try to find the success that you want to find, which is win your next game. It’s the biggest game of the season, because it’s the next one.”