Drop Off: Liberty win going small, now not the time to panic for Lynx

Contrary to all the “No basketball until Thursday!” remarks you may have seen online, some basketball was played Tuesday evening. Three games went down to the wire, all of which will have a hand in playoff positioning.

The Seattle Storm improved to 4-1 against the short-handed Washington Mystics at home, the Atlanta Dream turned it on late to defeat the Minnesota Lynx, and the New York Liberty stunned the Dallas Wings by erasing an early 17-point deficit en route to their first win of the season.

More on Tuesday’s slate:

Liberty win with Charles at center

The Liberty started the game in a 23-6 hole and still trailed by nine heading into the fourth. Wings head coach Fred Williams started the period with stars Skylar Diggins-Smith and Liz Cambage on the bench. Williams called a timeout and brought them back at the 8:25 mark after a 5-0 Liberty spurt.

Liberty head coach Katie Smith started the quarter with Tina Charles at center, and rolled with the same group for the rest of the period. Charles was flanked by Marissa Coleman, Shavonte Zellous, Kia Nurse, and Rebecca Allen.

New York outscored Dallas 30-18 in the final eight-plus minutes. Williams opted to go big with Cambage, Kayla Thornton, Azura Stevens, Diggins-Smith, and one of Karima Christmas-Kelly or Kaela Davis. Starting shooting guard Allisha Gray did not play in the fourth quarter.

This game did not come down to Charles and Cambage, though Charles’ confidence in her jumper and ability to put the ball on the deck did give Cambage fits. The biggest problem for Dallas was that they got smoked in transition. The Liberty were not perfect in their halfcourt execution. They didn’t need to be, though, because they often left the Wings in the dust.

Dallas’ halfcourt execution and plan of attack was far from ideal. Perimeter players at times stood flat-footed one pass away as Cambage worked to get it inside, inviting their defenders to dig down onto her.

I’ve been advocating for Kaela Davis to run their second units, but they burned through two possessions asking her to initiate floppy action. She’s the better option running off those screens rather than entering the ball to somebody else.

Then there was whatever you want to call this possession:

Dallas needs to get its offense right to tip the scales more in their favor the next time they’re faced with a Charles-at-center look. Cambage can put just as much pressure on Charles. Tuesday night was far too one-sided:

In the closing seconds, Diggins-Smith was on the wrong end of a few rough whistles. She was called for an offensive foul on a side out of bounds play trying to get to the ball. She later took a swipe at the ball as Charles brought it up with the Liberty up three.

I’d like to see additional angles of both plays before taking a strong stance on either. It’s just strange to see a superstar player on the wrong end of two foul calls so late in a game.

Take it easy with that panic button

Sylvia Fowles put one off the glass with 4:27 to play, giving the Lynx a seven point lead. The Dream would close the game on a 13-4 run from there. Go back and watch that closing kick closely before getting too wild with the takeaways from this one. And remember: Tuesday’s game in Atlanta was Minnesota’s third in five days, all on the road.

Both teams had plenty of chances to separate themselves late. Maya Moore lost Tiffany Hayes on a back cut after the aforementioned Fowles bucket. With 45 seconds on the clock and the Lynx still up three, Fowles and Elizabeth Williams got tied up going for the rebound. That jump ball hilariously led to another jump between Whalen and her former backup, Renee Montgomery.

The Lynx turned it over twice in that final stretch, and Brunson settled for a jumper with 15 on the shot clock and 19 on the game clock. Aside from pointing out those blunders, you’d really be pressing to make anything more out of this loss for Minnesota.

The Dream hung around long enough for McCoughtry to do what she’s done countless times before — hit big shots with the game on the line.

Links I like

Speaking of the Liberty, Jack Maloney put together a fun Tina Charles highlight mix.

Here’s Neil Olstad with a recap of Lynx-Dream.

Here’s Doug Feinberg reporting that the Liberty are courting potential new owners.

Here’s Chris Shields with some key stats from the first week of the season.

Here’s Dania Haughton, who spoke with Diana Tauasi on legacy and longevity.

Here’s Joseph Zucker on a two-win weekend for the Storm.

Next: Drop Off: 2015 WNBA draft class extensions, redrafting the 1st round

Here’s Kelley Evans on the WNBA’s Take a Seat, Take a Stand program.