Reusse: Lynx turnaround is impressive, but they’re facing another feisty team now

Cheryl Reeve was promoted to head coach for the Lynx in 2010 and made the wise decision to coach ‘em up to a mediocre 13-21 record. This gave them enough chances to win the WNBA’s draft lottery and the right to choose UConn forward Maya Moore with the first pick.

Surrounded by other terrific talent, Moore and the Lynx would win 40 playoffs games and four WNBA titles over the next seven seasons. The nucleus aged around her and, in 2018, the Lynx were a mediocre 18-16 and lost a one-game playoff to Los Angeles.

Moore turned 29 that season and announced that winter she was leaving the Lynx and the game. It wasn’t termed a retirement then, but that’s what it became.

The Lynx had won two playoff games over the five seasons since Moore’s departure. Was Reeve — well-respected enough in the game to have been selected to coach the 2024 U.S. Olympic team — ever going to get this team back in serious contention?

She landed a prize in 2019 with the sixth pick, Napheesa Collier — another UConn-er, just like Moore and so many others. Collier gave birth to daughter Mila in May 2022 and played four games late that season.

The Lynx made the playoffs last season with a 19-21 record — and there was post-Maya playoff victory No. 2, but also two losses to the Connecticut Sun in the opening series.

And then came this great turnaround of 2024: Courtney Williams and Alanna Smith were first-day free agent signees in February, guard Natisha Hiedeman was acquired from Connecticut, and returnees Kayla McBride and Bridget Carleton played lights out.

Most of all, Collier went from a standout to a super-duper-star (as Reggie Jackson once termed himself).

Not much depth, but moving the ball on the perimeter, raining threes, and playing fierce defense — it added up to 30-10 record and the second seed. And after the Olympic break, where Reeve was the winning coach and Collier collected a gold medal, the Lynx were a winning machine.

Even the New York Liberty wasn’t going to be safe from this team, the way the Lynx were playing.

And the first playoff series against the over-the-hill Phoenix Mercury was a cruise, with the Lynx getting what they wanted offensively and scoring 101 and 102 points in two wins.

The Lynx had caught and passed the Connecticut Sun for the second seed with that post-Olympic surge.

The Sun won two consecutive to eliminate the Indiana Fever, offending famous sportswriter Christine Brennan in the process with an incident involving Caitlin Clark.

The WNBA players association overreacted by chastising Brennan for asking a tough question to the Sun’s DiJonai Carrington. Then again, Brennan is said to be writing a book on Clark and was over-the-top in her unhappiness over Caitlin not being on the Olympic team.

As usual, there is a feistiness to this collection from Connecticut, and that was evident in Game 1 on Sunday night at Target Center. It was a grueling battle for every foot of space on the offensive end.

The Sun were forced into misses and ugly inside ballhandling down the stretch, and it still outscored the Lynx 16-8 in the fourth quarter for a 73-70 victory.

Old-time, get on the floor and fight WNBA basketball … none of that smooth movement the Lynx had in the first round.

Reeve lamented missed shots, particularly in the last 10 minutes, but the possessions had to be earned and pressure built on those shots — as this slugfest ground to a conclusion.

Reeve played only seven players, getting Tom Thibodeau-like usage with her five starters, from 32:35 to 38:30 in a 40-minute game.

The flaws of the past two drafts remained evident, with Diamond Miller (No. 2 overall choice in 2023) not getting off the bench, and Alissa Pili, sitting as always and reminding cynics that the Lynx could have had Angel Reese instead in this April’s draft.

Oh, well. Only down 1-0 in a best-of-five series. Win Tuesday, the turnaround Lynx of 2024 will be OK.

That Sun bunch, though … they’re feisty.

In fact, the Connecticut players were announcing that as they made a postgame strut up the ramp to Target Center’s makeshift visitors locker room.

“We’re here!” came the repeated shout from the line of players. And several times, the “we’re” and the “here” were separated by a popular profanity.

This series should be fun. Or not, if the Sun is able to express that same bravado late Tuesday night (8:35 p.m. tipoff … thanks WNBA).