Why You Should Believe In The 2019 Minnesota Lynx

The 2019 WNBA season is upon us and with it a bevy of pieces predicting the outcome of the season. I won’t pretend to know who is going to win the championship, but from being at training camp and watching the Lynx during preseason I have some Lynx-specific predictions for you.

Will they all be correct? No, they will not. However, with the way things are shaping up I think it’s fair to say the Lynx will have a far better season than many are expecting. This squad looks deep, talented and well-constructed. The pieces the Lynx have put together complement one another well and the coaching staff is fully in on developing some of their young pieces to be productive players not just down the line but this year.

Most importantly, this team believes in itself. They believe they can be competitive, they focus on themselves over anyone else and they are gelling as a group. Even though they don’t have the “star power” other teams do, there are quite a few extremely talented and oft overlooked players on this roster. This team feels like it’s ready to be a Cinderella story—to the extent a team two years removed from a championship can claim that moniker.

Here are a few reasons why I think the Lynx will succeed:

The Lynx Nailed Their Smaller Moves

In the offseason and over the course of training camp, the Lynx moved out Alexis Jones, their 2018 second-rounder, their 2019 second-rounder and their 2019 third-rounder for the group of Odyssey Sims, Lexie Brown, Stephanie Talbot and Alaina Coates. That’s a ridiculous value. Sims looks prepared for a monster season as she takes on a larger role on offense than she was able to in L.A., Brown appears ready to be a key cog for the team off the bench, Talbot thrived at the end of last season and is exactly the kind of reliable shooter the Lynx need and Coates was the second overall pick in 2017—someone who has a real chance to rehab her career in Minnesota.

Championship organizations find a way to create value. That’s what the Lynx did this summer. They added three players who will certainly contribute and a promising young prospect without giving up much value at all. Jones’ career needed a reset, and there will likely be nobody taken with the picks the Lynx gave up that would even make the roster. Add on the Lynx’s moves in the draft and you’re looking at a ridiculously productive summer—the Lynx continue to show that they’re one of the smartest teams in the business.

Danielle Robinson Is Headed For An All-Star-Level Season 

The biggest addition for the Lynx this season might come from someone they already had in the building—Danielle Robinson. Robinson got off to a bit of a rocky start with the Lynx. First, she had to adjust to an entirely new system coming off the bench behind Lindsay Whalen who, for what it’s worth, played a completely different style than Robinson does, then her season was ended by a severe ankle injury.

Injuries are never good, but the silver lining is that Robinson spent the winter in Minnesota rehabbing and working on her understanding of the Lynx’s system. In addition to being completely healthy at the beginning of this season she has a newfound command over the playbook.

In the Lynx’s preseason, Robinson has consistently been one of the Lynx’s best players. She’s using her speed effectively, shooting the ball more and marshalling her squad on both sides of the court. Robinson is a three-time All-Star and it’s looking like she could find her way back there again this year. If she can have a resurgent season, which seems likely, the Lynx will be in good shape.

Brown Is A Legitimate WNBA Three-Point Shooter

Brown is ready for a new opportunity. She was heavily scouted by the Lynx before the 2018 draft but ended up going to the Sun where she languished on the bench behind a stacked guard group there. However, Brown has cracked the Lynx’s rotation and should be a featured player for Minnesota off the bench.

As a former college point guard who now spends a lot of time at the two, Brown can switch back and forth between guard spots at will and gives the Lynx a different look when she plays next to Sims. However, Brown’s biggest asset is her shooting.

Brown has a smooth release and she’s a willing and accurate shooter from the wings. The Lynx will use her as an outlet a lot as a shooter off the catch and they’ll run actions to get her open from beyond the arc. Brown didn’t shoot the ball very well in Connecticut in limited attempts, but she was a great shooter in college and her ability to translate that ability with a bigger opportunity in Minnesota should make all the difference.

Fowles Will Be Back In The MVP Conversation

I’ll continue to shout from the rooftops as long as necessary about how underrated Fowles’ 2018 campaign was. She set the all-time record for rebounding in a season and pretty much matched her 2017 MVP numbers. However, despite all that and finishing second in voting for defensive player of the year, Fowles wasn’t named to an All-WNBA team or the All-Defensive team.

Fowles was hurt last year by a team in transition that wasn’t very good at supporting her in her best qualities. Fowles needs a team that is willing to shoot from the outside to give her space in the middle and she needs a team that will get out in transition to take advantage of her ability outrun most WNBA bigs. This team will do that for her. Shooting has been a priority for the Lynx in training camp. Even if they aren’t knocking them down at first, everyone on the team has a green light and those that shoot the ball when they are open will have a far easier time finding minutes than those that don’t.

Even without any additional help, Fowles could put up a monster season, but with a team that’s primarily constructed to help support her, this could be a huge year for Syl.

Cheryl Reeve Knows What She’s Doing

There’s a narrative out there that Reeve won’t play rookies and will struggle with a younger team that doesn’t know her system as well. What those responsible for that narrative are forgetting about is Reeve’s ability to adapt.

Reeve knows she has a different kind of squad this year. While she’s going to teach them her system, she’s also going to build on the strengths that are already there. Reeve showed this offseason building the roster that she’s nothing if not innovative—now it’s her job to make all these promising pieces fit together. Reeve will be more of a teacher this year. Things might come a little slower. But she’s not trying to pit a square peg in a round hole. With players like Robinson and Sims, she has a more athletic backcourt to work with, with new additions Napheesa Collier and Jessica Shepard, she has a dynamic rookie tandem at the forward position.

The principals and culture that supported the Lynx’s success are still in place, all that needs to be adjusted are the X’s and O’s. Rest assured, Reeve is doing that. Don’t listen when people say she can’t adjust—those people clearly don’t know Reeve well enough.