Scouting Report | Lynx at Fever

Lynx at Fever, 11:00 a.m.
Bankers Life Fieldhouse
League Pass, BOB 106.1

The Lynx are on the road again looking to rebound from a loss in Chicago and exact their revenge on an Indiana team that handed them a brutal loss last week.

The focus for the Lynx has to be on stopping center Natalie Achonwa, who lit Minnesota up for 17 points on 70-percent shooting in the teams’ last meeting. Longtime Lynx nemesis Cappie Pondexter also scored 12 for the Fever off the bench.

But truth be told it wasn’t the defense that was the problem the last time Minnesota faced Indiana. The Lynx only mustered 59 points in that contest—it’s hard to win with that kind of output. Both Maya Moore and Sylvia Fowles were held to single digits, in fact, Rebekkah Brunson was the only member of the Lynx who reached double figures.

Wednesday’s game is complicated by the fact that the Lynx will be playing shorthanded. Brunson is dealing with a thigh injury, and Cecilia Zandalasini has an ankle sprain. With those two unable to suit up, the Lynx will likely need to use Moore at the power forward position for more minutes than usual. Tanisha Wright and Seimone Augustus will also both probably see time at the small forward spot. Endy Miyem will start at power forward, but look for coach Cheryl Reeve to move towards a smaller lineup if things don’t go well early on. Reeve has not been using those small lineups as much lately, but necessity is the mother of invention, so she’ll definitely have something drawn up.

Road games are tough, and while the Lynx are certainly eager to impose their will on the Fever after Indiana embarrassed them on their home court last week, they need to prove that they can bring the same level of energy and aggressiveness to a matchup with a statistically inferior opponent as they do against stiffer competition. It’s a day game, so flip it on during your lunch break. We’ll keep you posted on how everything turns out.

Starting Lineups:

Lynx: PG—Whalen, SG—Augustus, SF—Moore, PF—Miyem, C—Fowles

Fever: PG—K. Mitchell, SG—T. Mitchell, SF—Vivians, PF—Dupree, C—Achonwa

Injuries:

Lynx: Rebekkah Brunson (thigh) and Cecilia Zandalasini (ankle) are out.

Fever: Shenise Johnson (knee) is questionable.