Lynx added Myisha Hines-Allen and went on torrid stretch run

On Aug. 21, the day after she was traded from Washington — the only WNBA team she had played for — to Minnesota, with starting center Alanna Smith battling foul trouble, with no practice and barely a film session to prepare, Myisha Hines-Allen took the floor for the Lynx in Las Vegas a minute into the second quarter.

Her first Lynx stat was a defensive rebound in her first few seconds. Later, a steal. Later still, an assist. By the time the second quarter had ended, Hines-Allen had scored six points with two assists and a steal.

This is what’s called a seamless transition. Yes, the way the Mystics and Lynx play are similar. Yes, Hines-Allen, in her seventh season, is a vet who has played with Lynx star Napheesa Collier in Europe.

But the way Hines-Allen has hit the court running, and the many ways she has helped the Lynx since her arrival?

Impressive.

“That’s really hard to do,’’ Smith said. “Especially when you’ve been with one team for so long. It’s great for us. Our bench is already deep, but adding another piece like that, someone you can really trust, makes us really hard to play.”

It was a trade-deadline move. And because it didn’t involve the acquisition of a starting player might have pushed the move a bit under the radar. But for a team second in the WNBA standings with four games remaining in the regular season — the Lynx play host to Chicago on Friday at Target Center with the playoffs set to start Sept. 22 — it was a significant addition.

The 6-1 power forward provides depth, defense and rebounding in the post. Her ability to pass fits in perfectly with the way the Lynx play.

“That’s why we made the trade,” coach Cheryl Reeve said. “Because she fits into what we did. Who she is as a person. She checks all the boxes with us.”

In nine games since joining the team, Hines-Allen has averaged 6.7 points, 2.7 assists and 4.1 rebounds. In the Lynx’s recently concluded three-game road trip — all victories — those numbers jumped to 7.7, 4.7 and 6.7. In Tuesday’s 76-64 victory in Atlanta she scored six points, had nine boards and six assists in 21½ minutes, becoming only the fourth player in Lynx history to come off the bench and have at least six points, rebounds and assists in a game.

“It all starts with the people,” Hines-Allen said. “Everyone was so accommodating, super nice and genuine. It starts with that. Then, the similarities with D.C. and here, the way they play, made it a lot easier.”

Hines-Allen is the latest in a line of Lynx players who credited Reeve with letting her play to her strengths, not placing her in a box. So Hines-Allen wasn’t asked just to battle in the post, or to help a team very much in need of defensive rebounding. She has also scored and passed.

Hines-Allen scored seven fourth-quarter points against her old team in Minnesota’s 78-71 win at Washington on Sunday. The Mystics led 55-51 when Hines-Allen stole the ball, went end-to-end, scored, was fouled and hit the free throw. Moments later she fed Collier for a layup, then scored herself.

Plus/minus is the most important stat. Hines-Allen has been a plus player in eight of the nine games she’s played for the Lynx, a plus-10 or better in six of them.

“I’m just trying to do my part in it,” she said. “I came here, they were already winning. It was just adding on, trying to do my best not to bring them down, to add what I was capable of doing.”