The Lynx want to win a championship. They have been looking for revenge ever since they lost Game 5 of last year’s finals in overtime. Now, they are one game away from being eliminated in the semifinals, saw their best player go down with an injury, and struggled to close out two consecutive games. Losing Game 3 hurt, but there’s more to be done.
Courtney Williams put the Lynx’s latest loss in perspective during her postgame press conference. “It’s still a series we’ve got to play,” Williams said. “This is one game. They won it, so we gotta go get the next one.”
Later, she added, “We’re still here. We’re still a great team…When it comes to the playoffs, or any game,…you can’t get too high, you can’t get too low…We still [have] a game we’ve got to win, so we can’t dwell on this one. You've got to feel it cause you don’t want to feel that feeling again.”
To bounce back in Game 4 and keep their season alive, the Lynx will need more production from Alanna Smith and Jessica Shepard, especially if Collier can’t play.
Smith struggled in Game 3, and Shepard barely played
Alanna Smith is a major reason for the Lynx’s success this year. Her ability to protect the rim and space the floor on offense makes her a perfect frontcourt partner for Napheesa Collier. Jessica Shepard, meanwhile, has been great off the bench for most of the season. She even filled in admirably when Collier missed some time earlier this season.
In Game 3, Smith didn’t look like one of the most impactful players on one of the best teams in the league. She struggled to find the bottom of the net, only got one rebound, and wasn’t as impactful defensively as Lynx fans are used to. Reeve eventually opted to play Maria Kliundikova for extended minutes instead, and Smith only saw the court for 12 total minutes.
Kliundikova scored eight points, grabbed six rebounds, and blocked three shots in 18 minutes on the court. She was one of two Lynx players who didn’t finish the game with a negative plus/minus. While Kliundikova played solid minutes again, the Lynx need to get more out of Smith, their starting center and co-DPOY—especially if Collier has to miss Game 4. She twisted her ankle badly late in the fourth quarter. After the game, Reeve said that it was probably a fracture, and reporters saw her using a scooter.
If Collier is out, the pressure to perform well is also on Jessica Shepard. Shepard played only eight minutes in Game 3. With Collier playing 37 minutes and few opportunities to go small against the Mercury, that is not much of a surprise. However, Shepard hasn’t necessarily been great against the Mercury. She only scored a total of five points and grabbed nine rebounds over the first three games.