Scouting Report | Lynx At Liberty

Lynx at Liberty, 6:30 p.m.
Westchester County Center
League Pass, BOB 106.1

Only two days after Sylvia Fowles put on an outstanding performance against Dallas Wings center Liz Cambage, she’ll have her work cut out for her yet again Friday night as the Lynx face Tina Charles and the New York Liberty.

Charles has been one of the most dominant frontcourt players in the WNBA since she came into the league in 2010. She has averaged a double-double over the course of her career (18.1 points and 10 rebounds), and she was the first player in WNBA history to record three games with 20 points and 20 rebounds.

Though she came into the league as primarily a post player, Charles has developed a reliable three-point shot over the last several seasons. Last year she shot 34.8-percent from beyond the arc on 69 attempts.

A player like Charles will be a bit of a different look for Fowles than her matchup with Cambage. Fowles loves to work in the paint, and her inside presence is a huge part of the Lynx’s defensive gameplan. The Liberty will undoubtedly try to use Charles’ shooting ability to pull Fowles to the outside.

However, even if Fowles is forced to play more on the perimeter against the Liberty, the Lynx will still have a significant size advantage on New York’s starters. The Lynx starters are taller at every position, and they will likely try to take advantage by posting up Rebekkah Brunson and Maya Moore if the Liberty focus on trying to neutralize Fowles.

Another player to watch is Liberty rookie Kia Nurse. A six-foot point guard out of Connecticut, Nurse was excellent in her first WNBA game on Sunday, scoring 17 points and hitting two three-pointers on 50-percent shooting. She also added three assists and two steals.

Friday’s contest will be a fun one, with good matchups all around. Though the Lynx should be favored to win, they can’t afford to come out flat. The Liberty won the Eastern Conference in 2017, and have only gotten better over the offseason. The Lynx will need to execute their game plan and stay focused to start their week-long road trip on a positive note.

Injuries:

Lynx: No injuries to report.

Liberty: Epiphanny Prince (concussion), Sugar Rodgers (left knee sprain) and Brittany Boyd (achilles) are out. Kia Vaughn is not with the team as she plays in the EuroBasket tournament.