The Game

The Lynx suffered a tough loss last night the Sparks. Now, they travel to Seattle to take on the Storm on the second night of a back-to-back.

The Storm lead the league with a record of 20-7. They’re also rested—they didn’t play a road game against their rival last night. With last night’s loss, the Lynx are in fourth place with a record of 15-11, one game out of second place.

The last time the two teams met, the Lynx prevailed, holding the Storm offense to just 79 points while scoring 91. In that game, Maya Moore scored 32 and Sylvia Fowles added 28. It would be too much to ask for the Lynx’s two stars to replicate that level of production tonight, but they’ll certainly need to be effective if Minnesota wants a chance to win.

This might be the Lynx’s toughest game of the year, but if we’ve learned anything this season it’s that you can’t mark games down as wins or losses before they’re played. Minnesota certainly gave Seattle trouble the last time the two teams met—there’s no reason that can’t happen again tonight.

What: Lynx at Storm
When: Friday, August 3, 9 p.m. CT
Where: KeyArena
Watch: NBATV
Listen: Bob 106.1 FM

Finding Offense

An anemic and turnover-prone offense was the culprit in Minnesota’s loss last night—the Lynx coughed up the ball 14 times and managed only 57 points, a season-low. Some of that low total was because Cheryl Reeve rested her starters for much of the fourth quarter, but an eight-point first quarter didn’t help either.

To beat the Storm, Minnesota needs to figure out their offense. The Lynx are at their best when they’re moving the ball and playing through Fowles in the post. Fowles has improved measurably as a facilitator this year, and that will be tested tonight. If the Storm don’t double-team Fowles, she should be able to score on Natasha Howard, who gives up a lot of size to the Lynx’s imposing center.

If the Storm do choose to double, which is likely, Fowles will need to be patient and pass out of the post with confidence. There will be open shots to be had if Fowles starts dominating—it’ll be up to the rest of the Lynx to knock them down.

Breanna Stewart Is On Fire

Breanna Stewart was named the Western Conference Player of the Month for July, averaging 22.5 points, 8.7 rebounds, 1.5 steals and 1.4 blocks per game. She scored over 20 points in seven games and over 30 in three. On the season, Stewart leads the Storm in both points and rebounds. She’s a beast.

Stewart won the 2016 WNBA Rookie of the Year award, but this year she has her sights set on MVP. Rebekkah Brunson better get some sleep on the plane from Los Angeles, because she’s got quite a task ahead of her shutting ‘Stewie’ down. The last time the two teams met, Stewart scored 27 points but didn’t get much help from anywhere else on the roster.

Projected Starting Lineups

Lynx: PG – Whalen, SG – Augustus, SF – Moore, PF – Brunson, C – Fowles

Storm: PG – Bird, SG – Loyd, SF – Clark, PF – Stewart, C – Howard 

Injury Report

Lynx: No injuries to report.

Storm: No injuries to report.