How Napheesa Collier imposed her will on the Sky

That did not look like a rookie out there

MINNEAPOLIS — “The rookie was pretty good,” said Minnesota Lynx coach Cheryl Reeve. “I said to her, I don’t think she scored 27 points in three weeks of training camp, so it was good to see her unleash on Chicago tonight.”

Napheesa Collier was, in fact, pretty good. The Lynx rookie finished with 27 points — a Lynx record for a rookie debut — on 8-for-10 shooting, including hitting 8-of-11 free throws in Minnesota’s 89-71 victory over Chicago on Saturday. No WNBA rookie had scored more points in their debut since Candace Parker in 2008.

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However, Collier wasn’t all scoring on Saturday night. She added six rebounds, three blocks, and two steals while showing promising defensive instincts.

The player the Lynx saw on Saturday was the player they have envisioned since the draft. In order for Collier’s impressive debut to happen, she had to place her trust in her coaches. Throughout the preseason, the Lynx emphasized Collier scoring in the paint. Half of Collier’s makes came from inside the paint in her debut.

Exploiting mismatches

However, Reeve cautioned Collier that they weren’t going to run plays for her and she was going to have to assert herself in the offense. Reeve asked her to impose her will on the game and she did.

“I thought the ways that she scored in the paint, that’s what we’re trying to get for her and we finally got some of that,” said Reeve. “She was asking for it too. When we missed her on the first pass, it got swung to the wing and she’s hollering, ‘Give it to me, give it to me!’”

Collier’s aggressiveness from the opening tap was impressive for any player, but especially a rookie. Her ability to get to the line allowed her to build confidence early and force the Sky to adjust as their players picked up fouls.

Among the most significant effects of Collier’s ability to draw fouls on Saturday was the defensive mismatches they created. Collier forced both Diamond DeShields and Allie Quigley into early foul trouble. Once DeShields entered foul trouble, the Lynx deliberately attacked her by feeding the ball inside to Collier. This forced the Sky to leave DeShields in the game and risk committing further fouls or to turn to their bench earlier than they liked.

Chicago seemed intent on defending Collier with the smaller Quigley. The Lynx consistently identified the mismatch several times, leading to multiple fouls by Quigley and easy baskets. Surely, there must have been some brilliant switching pattern involved in creating this matchup.

“That was their doing,” said Collier after the game. “They put her on me and we noticed that it was a mismatch, so we tried to feed it in the post.”

Reeve added that she didn’t think Quigley wanted that matchup either and that attacking her inside with Collier, as they did to DeShields, made sense.

Collier’s hard work is paying off

What history may not say about Collier’s debut performance is that it almost didn’t happen this way. Thanks to the Lynx ruling out Seimone Augustus and Karima Christmas-Kelly before the game, the team was shorthanded on the perimeter and needed Collier to step into the void. Having Collier play 33 minutes was also not the plan.

As you would imagine, starting a rookie can make a coach uneasy. Inexperienced players are more likely to make critical mistakes than veterans. Reeve joked that she was “a wreck” when asked how she felt about Collier starting but later added the possibilities for her performance were exciting.

No player understands earning her coach’s trust like Lynx point guard Danielle Robinson. Reeve said before the game that she talked to Robinson about putting the rookie in a position to succeed. After joining the team last offseason, Robinson had to work hard to earn the trust of her coach. She impressed Reeve with her willingness to rise to each challenge and push herself no matter how hard Reeve was on her. If anyone could guide Collier into Reeve’s circle of trust, it’s Robinson.

Robinson laughed after the game when she was asked how she helped Collier, saying, “I don’t think she needed my help tonight.”

“I just told her when we were warming up, ‘Keep shooting tonight, no matter what, keep shooting’ and it worked,” added Robinson. “The three weeks she’s been getting more comfortable with her role.”

“Obviously they’re asking her to do a lot, switching positions. I think you saw tonight what kind of person she is, let alone what kind of player she is. She’s gonna adapt to whatever the team needs and that’s the best thing about our team, we don’t care who gets the credit. It could be a rookie, it could be Syl , it could be Steph – it doesn’t matter. We’re happy she got her great start tonight.”

What Collier did on Saturday night will likely prove not to be beginner’s luck. Both her coaches and teammates remarked how hard she worked on her shot and seeing it fall made them happy for her. Collier was an inconsistent 3-point shooter at UCONN but made 3-for-4 shots beyond the arc on Saturday. If she continues to work hard, she should continue improving in all facets of her game.

Collier said after the game that what she’ll remember about her performance in the victory is how much fun it was. Yet, Collier may have to work extra hard now that she’s shown what she can do. She won’t score this many points or score this efficiently every night, but it’s clear that she’s raised the bar. The Lynx are hoping that she won’t stop here.

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