Alexander Shun

Web Editorial Associate | Twitter

Minnesota Lynx vs. Tulsa Shock | 7:00pm

Where to Watch: No TV

Where to Listen: BOB 106.1 FM

The Minnesota Lynx open the regular season on Friday night at Target Center against the Tulsa Shock.

The Lynx closed the preseason on Monday night with an 85-80 win over the New York Liberty, however, they’re more concerned with how their season ended last year.

After getting blown-out by the Phoenix Mercury in a decisive game three in the Western Conference Finals, the Lynx are looking to capture the title that eluded them last season.

The veteran core for the Lynx are all fully healthy once again and ready to begin that title run.

Guard Seimone Augustus had a solid preseason in which she averaged 10 points per game and guard Lindsay Whalen was calm and in control of the offense, scoring at times and creating open shots for players at others. The other member of the veteran trio, forward Maya Moore, enters the season riding high as the reigning league-MVP and comes off a game against the Liberty in which she scored 19 points including a huge jumper late in the game to secure a Lynx victory.

The Lynx will look to start the season the same way they did last; 1-0.

Despite finishing with a dismal 12-22 record last season, the Shock are a team on the rise. Guard Skylar Diggins was the WNBA’s Most Improved Player last year (20.1 ppg, 5.0 apg) and guard Odyssey Sims developed quickly and finished second on the team in scoring (16.7 ppg). Such guards will put pressure on the Lynx defense all game long, but the Lynx are ready for the challenge.

Forwards Rebekkah Brunson and Damiris Dantas did a great job of protecting the paint throughout the preseason and such defense will force Diggins and Sims to settle for jumpers rather than drive to get easy lay-ups.

It will be a homecoming for Shock center Amanda Zahui who played her college career at the University of Minnesota. Zahui was selected with the second-overall pick in the 2015 WNBA Draft and will look to impress Minnesota fans once again in her regular-season debut with the Shock.

LAST MEETING

These two teams last met on August 16, 2014 in Minnesota at the Target Center and, although the game was close for three quarters, the Lynx emerged victorious, winning 80-63.

Sims led all scorers, dropping 31 points while grabbing four rebounds. Diggins did her best to help as well, scoring 11 points and dishing out four assists, but their efforts were for naught.

The Lynx countered with 19 points and 12 rebounds from Moore and 14 points and six rebounds from Augustus.

The Lynx only led 59-58 heading to the fourth quarter, but then outscored the Shock 21-5 in the final frame to win 80-63.

KEY MATCHUP: LINDSAY WHALEN VS. SKYLAR DIGGINS

There are going to be a lot of great matchups in Friday night’s game against the Shock, including the Seimone Augustus/Odyssey Sims matchup and the Amanda Zahui/Rebekkah Brunson matchup. The Whalen/Diggins matchup is going to be the best though. Whalen, the savvy veteran, will be going against Diggins, a rising young star, all night long. Diggins  has proven that she can score after averaging over 20 points per-game last year and will present quite a challenge to Whalen. Whalen however provides matchup problems of her own. Her ability to create scoring chances with her passing and then score the tough basket off the drive will force Diggins to play stellar defense for the entirety of the game. No matter what the outcome of the game is, this matchup is definitely going to be the one to watch.

PROJECTED STARTERS

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

Shock: PG – Diggins, SG – Sims, SF – Christmas, PF – Pierson, C – Paris