Though the 2021 WNBA season is nearly three weeks old, the Minnesota Lynx have played just five games thus far. That total is tied with the Los Angeles Sparks for fewest in the W, while teams like the Connecticut Sun and Indiana Fever have already played nine.

Registering their first win Sunday versus the Sun, the Lynx are currently on a four-day hiatus between games. Last week, Minnesota had an eight-day break between contests versus the Seattle Storm.

While most would think players would struggle to find a rhythm with such delays, the Lynx are using them to their advantage.

“Because our training camp was so poor, these are valuable days,” Head Coach and General Manager Cheryl Reeve said Tuesday. “I think the players would probably tell you that they’d prefer to have another game soon because they look at the schedule and they see three days of practice and they wish we had a game in there, but I think these days will prove valuable for us.”

Reeve’s frustration with the team’s cohesiveness during training camp is in part to the late arrivals of Kayla McBride and Napheesa Collier due to overseas duties. Add in injuries to Aerial Powers and Rennia Davis, the replacement addition of veteran guard Layshia Clarendon this past weekend, and there’s reason to believe the extra practices can only help a roster with several new faces continue to build chemistry.

“There’s benefits to [breaks in the schedule] because we’re still putting the pieces together,” McBride said. “I came [late], and then Phee came, and now Lay’s here. We’ve had a little bit of injuries and stuff, so for us, it’s great.”

For Collier, who arrived from France on May 16 and had to quarantine for six days, the ample practices have been advantageous in reintegrating with her team.

“Since I missed training camp, I didn’t have that two weeks to jell with the team and meet everyone,” the third-year forward explained. “To have these breaks have been really helpful. Obviously, we didn’t start the season the way we wanted to, so as a team we can work on the things we need to. For me, personally, I’m catching up on that chemistry aspect.”

The added practice time to start the season could also prove to be an advantage competitively, adds McBride: “I think for other teams, it sucks because they’re loaded up [with games] right now and they’re playing every other day. They don’t really have that practice time at the beginning of the season.

“To have this time has been beneficial to us, it’s been beneficial for me.”